August 13, 2012  Day 94     Beaver Island         Total miles to date:  1732.5

We chose to leave our anchorage at Baie Fine just before 10:00 and were out into the North Channel by 11:10 (it would be easy to stay at Baie Fine longer!). We saw One September and Jim’s Joy departing also.  Sea Hunt IV decided to stay another day and let the boys fish. We also saw Karma and Boreas arriving together in Baie Fine – it is the place to be!

We arrived at our destination to anchor between Strawberry Island and Beaver Island at 12:55.  Strawberry Island is a nature conservancy with no development and Beaver Island is quite small with only one home on it. So this was another quiet spot!  Later in the afternoon we were joined by a sailboat who also anchored here.

We have seen very little wildlife here between the two islands –just a few birds and ducks. We spent a quiet day on the boat relaxing and planning our trip.

We will go to Little Current tomorrow to the Town Dock Marina. We will do major grocery shopping since there are two grocery stores in Little Current. Our plan is only to be there one day and then continue to anchor out.   

August 12, 2012  Day 93        Baie Fine           Total miles to date:  1710.8

“If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good.”  Dr. Seuss

We were finally able to leave Killarney today at 9:30, after waiting for other boats to leave that were blocking us.  No rain or wind, just partly cloudy as we departed. We enjoyed the Georgian Bay with is 30,000 islands and are now experiencing the adventures of the North Channel.

Loaded with fish - chased by birds!

Once we got into Killarney Bay, we passed the fishing boat owned by Herbert’s Fisheries as it headed back to the restaurant.  There was no doubt what it had on board – the sea gulls and other birds had practically engulfed it wanting to get a share in the morning catch.

Covered POrtage Cove

We made a side trip today to see Covered Portage Cove. We would have anchored there but we want to go farther since it was only 10:30.  It truly is beautiful and the granite hills made a perfect backdrop for it.  We saw Crawdad anchored there along with others and are sure more boats arrived later as it is a favorite anchorage.

We entered Frazer Bay by noon and then Baie Fine by 12:45. It is a jewel! Baie Fine stretches for 10 miles and is compared to the fjords, with high hills framing the sides of the water. At the end of a two mile narrow section, Baie Fine ends in a Pool which is a large basin and is on the must see list.  First we passed a few boats anchored med mooring style in Mary Ann Cove. Next we saw Sea Hunt IV anchored in a cove by themselves.  Andre, Luc, and Pierre were out in the dinghy, spotted us going by, and raced over to say hello. We then continued on to choose a beautiful anchorage with a perfect view.

Entering Baie Fine

Breathtaking Baie Fine

Our hiking trail!

View of Three Narrows Lake
from our hike to the top

Around 3:15 we took our dinghy to The Pool (passing One September and Jim’s Joy in their anchorage on our way) and decided to hike up to Lake Topaz, which is accessed by a rough, rocky uphill climb.  We eventually made it to the top to view the lake, took pictures, then went even farther following this same trail. When we had climbed back down much of the way, we saw two wooden signs on a tree - one pointing to Lake Topaz to the left, and one pointing to Three Narrows Lake, from where we had just come. So no, we did not see Lake Topaz but we did see a lake that was a much longer hike! (Where was that sign earlier??) We finally got back to the dinghy and since we not wearing watches, we only knew we had been out a very long time. When we got back to the boat we weren’t surprised to see that it was 6:30.  We had a few sore muscles but glad for the experience. We had hoped to see some wildlife today. All we spotted on our hike were chipmunks and a woodpecker. We certainly didn’t want to see a black bear on our hike but we do keep watch for them from the boat!  One constant sound is that of the loons – their cry is so distinct it is forever etched in our memory. We were too tired to do much of anything the rest of the evening but have a light dinner and enjoy the view that Baie Fine offers!

Carried Away at anchor
in Baie Fine

Tomorrow we will leave for another anchorage between Beaver Island and Strawberry Island.  We want to anchor out as much as possible while we are in the North Channel.

August 11, 2012  Day 92        Killarney                   Total miles to date:  1684.1

Otter fun!

Did we say flexible is the key word around here?!  We had good intentions of leaving this morning but it was still not “great” out and no one else was leaving, so here we are – our 4^th night in Killarney. We did use the day to get more work done – and more visiting!  Bill fixed the water line to the small refrigerator on the sundeck. Joyce did lots of vacuuming and more laundry.  We went over to Sea Hunt IV and visited with the family of four on the loop. Great people!

In the afternoon we were briefly entertained by three otters on the dock until they decided to jump in the water to join otter # 4 who had a fish in his mouth! At least we able to get the cameras out in time.

We walked over to the Killarney Lodge to listen to a local singer who performs six nights a week. The room was packed and we enjoyed the evening.

We will definitely leave here tomorrow morning and anchor out for two nights. Tuesday we will be in Little Current at the Town Dock Marina.

Tomorrow, August 12 marks exactly 3 months since we left Yorktown.  It is still hard to believe how far we have come, how much we have learned, and the wonderful friendships we have made. We continue to enjoy each day!

August 10, 2012  Day 91        Killarney            Total miles to date:  1684.1

Friday was a “weather day” as predicted. The winds began early but the rain held off until 3:30 and then it was non-stop. Many boaters were doing “projects” – cleaning, maintenance, etc.  Bill changed latches on some of the cupboard doors in the flybridge and added a trip line to the anchor.  Joyce polished much of the interior teak; did laundry; and did some baking.  She also walked to the post office.  Before the rain started many people were just out on the docks visiting.

We talked with a few other Loopers. We are not sure what anyone will do tomorrow, but if the weather isn’t too bad, we will leave the marina and head to the North Channel. Killarney is the crossroads between the Georgian Bay and North Channel.  There are a few anchorages we want to try before going to a marina in Little Current in mid-week.  Little Current will be our last chance to provision before we get back to the United States in about ten days.

Joyce made a pot of chili and we had dinner on board tonight. The cool rainy day was a good time for that! 

August 9, 2012  Day 90        Killarney             Total miles to date:  1684.1

Coming back to our marina
 on the dinghy (we call our dinghy
"A Little Carried Away"!)

Change of plans!  Weather coming in tomorrow with wind gusts 25-30 mph so we do not want to be anchored somewhere near any rocks.  We are all staying put until Saturday.  We took the dingy out after lunch and were delighted to find Lisa and Ron just arriving on Outbound. We had not seen them since we were in Orillia.  We made plans to go to dinner with them tonight.  Then when we got back to our dock another Looper boat, Sea Hunt IV arrived. They are the DuBois family from Canada and have their two sons, 8 and 11 on board. They are home schooling them. They have a five year travel plan – one for the Loop, one for eastern Canada back down the US, to the Bahamas the Caribbean, the Panama Canal to the west coast to Alaska. Now that is an adventure!  We spent quite a while talking to them. They are a great family.  One of the best parts of the Loop is meeting so many wonderful people. On our dinghy ride we saw another Looper boat, Copecetic, a Catamaran from Chesapeake City, Maryland, but we did not get to meet them yet.

Our plans for doing boat chores did not fully materialize and the list will continue into tomorrow.  But, we had a fun time visiting with everyone. The marina is getting full because so many boats have come in to prepare for the storm that is scheduled to hit tomorrow.

We did go to Herbert’s Fisheries with Lisa and Ron and had a good fish & chips dinner again tonight.  During a dinner conversation, we realized that they know Joyce’s sister and brother-in-law in Atlanta. Such a small world! Lisa and Ron came back to our boat for a nice visit.  We are already discussing seeing them in Florida this winter and perhaps traveling again with them next year.

We tied extra lines on our boat as we brace for the winds tomorrow!

August 8, 2012  Day 89       Killarney                Total miles to date:  1680.1

Leaving our anchorage in Collins Inlet

The Sportsman's Inn at the marina

We arrived at the Sportsman’s Inn and Marina in Killarney  before lunchtime and got in line at the fuel dock. It was a very busy place. After we got fuel and a pump out we went to our slip.  Jim’s Joy, Karma, and One September are also here. 

After we got settled we walked to the post office to get the mail we had delivered here.  Then we came back and had lunch and caught up on email, the blog, banking, etc…

Gloria and Jim, Gold Loopers on Crawdad, stopped by for a visit. They are at a nearby marina.  We followed them to Killarney today when we left our anchorage together.

Herbert Fisheries (served from an old
red school bus)

Milk and bread
from the local store

Later this afternoon we walked back down the main road to have an early dinner at Herbert’s Fisheries, where everyone eats fish and chips on picnic tables.  Their two fishing boats bring in the fish daily and it is a very popular place any time of day!  We also bought fresh whitefish to bring back to our freezer. They vacuum packed it while we waited as it was just prepared! Then we stopped at the local “general store/grocery store” for a few items. Next stop was for ice cream – still getting Kawartha ice cream here!

Carried Away at the marina

We also spotted Boreas here at the marina – we have not seen them in two weeks!

Bill plotted our route for Thursday – we will head to Baie Fine (pronounced Bay Fin) which is as close as we will come to a fjord like setting.  We will not have wifi again until we reach Little Current in a few days – most likely Monday.  We will update our adventures then! 

I am posting this a little early this evening but we have had a busy day.

August 7, 2012  Day 88    Collins Inlet            Total miles to date:  1672.1

We woke early under a very cloudy sky. When the light showers began we decided to wait for the sun to come out before leaving our anchor. We only needed to travel a couple of hours today.  Bill used the time to check on anchorages in the North Channel and Joyce got some cleaning done.

Stunning scenery in Collins Inlet

We left at 12:30 and then it started to rain again!  Fortunately it did not last long and we were soon entering the beautiful Collins Inlet, bordered by hills of trees and granite. 





One of many beaver dams

Crawdad at acnhor near us

We anchored at 2:30 near Gloria and Jim on their Grand Banks, Crawdad. They are Gold Loopers and are returning to their home in Michigan. We met them in Britt a few days ago.  They brought their dinghy over to our boat and joined us for appetizers. We had a great visit and enjoyed hearing about their boating experiences.

Tomorrow will be a short trip into Killarney where we will stay at a marina and also pick up mail that we had delivered.  We also need to add fuel!




Another sunset to remember

Killarney will mark the end of the Georgian Bay and then we will enter the North Channel!  We plan to be in the North Channel until August 20 when we will enter Drummond Island, Michigan and go through customs. It is hard to believe we are about to complete the last phase of our adventure through Canada.