Happy first day of Spring!!!
Another winter has come & gone, I'm happy to report :-)
This is the next to last posting from our Big Adventure, one that took us and our new Sea Ray Sedan Bridge from Michigan to Lake Simcoe over a three and half week period of travelling the waterways . . .
After spending a couple of days at Big Sound Marina in Parry Sound, we headed back southward with the 'Water Wings' & 'Maple Leaf' crews.
This is the Coast Guard station at Parry Sound, located immediately to the north of Big Sound Marina;
When visiting Parry Sound (the town), there are two routes one can take to get there. The most direct one when coming from the south (the one we have taken these past few seasons) is South Channel. The other route rounds the north side of Parry Island and leads through Parry Sound (the body of water).
This would be the first time taking the Parry Sound/body of water route for the Boogaboo crew. I don't mean to sound like a highly seasoned traveller, but when captain Von A. referred to the Sound as 'Big Water', we were somewhat taken aback by that pronouncement. After crossing both Lake Huron and the main part of Georgian Bay, this was akin to a day on Cooks Bay :-) Deep, yes, but BIG, not really.
Snapped this photo at the top end of the Sound (that's Killbear Provincial Park towards the top right corner) at 1:22 pm. Clear and sunny - with some ground level clouds in the distance;
This was taken at 1:36 p.m., a mere 14 minutes later and that ground level cloud has presented itself as full on fog. These are the types of conditions that warrant that new chartplotter I got to replace the old, unreliable Raytheon unit that came with the boat;
Like I always say, it's all good so long as I can see A's behind.
So to speak ;-)
These guys popped out of the fog right in front of us;
Things are clearing now as we head into a beautiful stretch called Long Sault;
Clear, sunny and hot for the rest of the trip southward;
As I mentioned in the previous post, the Georgian Queen caught up to us at this point. We were wondering how far it could proceed along this path, as the charts indicated some tight and winding passages ahead of us.
Ultimately, it turned of the route we followed and stayed more out on the open Bay. Good thing, too, as we were travelling slower & he would have been right up to us in no time;
Here's a series of shots taken through Long Sault. A really pretty passage!
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Looks pretty narrow, eh?
Try it with a 14'-3" beam ;-)
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As were on our way down, captain A. decided he would try to get as close to the port hand markers as possible with his dingy in tow. Something about the running joke that if one isn't sure where to go, the best bet is to 'stay close to the green ones'. So, he did;
Four hours later, we decided to pull back into Wani Bay for the night, as the Maple Leaf crew had not got to experience this slice of heaven - and their batteries were still giving them troubles.
At least we know that this place is Number One with the Big Guy;
I'll toast to that!
I tell ya, there's nothing like an ice cold beer after a day of travelling on the water;
Another beautiful sunset to cap off the day;
Look - over there . . .
Miss Ellie heads to the bow of Maple Leaf to enjoy the evening sky;
Looks like we're still Number One :-)
Yes, I do have a thing for sunsets . . .
Wow;
I don't recall what song was playing, but it looks like the three of us at least knew the chorus;
Last year, we got a new camera so that Anchor Girl could capture (amongst all the other beautiful shots) some close up photos of the Loons we see along the way.
Here's a couple of really good, clear ones she got while we were here;
This one, too;
Everyone's taking a midday swim;
And I'm just enjoying the lovely scenery ;-)
Unfortunately, the Maple Leaf had to leave before the rest of us to get back home in the U.S., as they had learned a few days before that their garage back home had a small fire & they were anxious to get back to see the extent of the damage;
Later that afternoon, Anchor Girl & I took the dingy for a tour around some of the micro bays in the area to check out the scenery. We ended up finding our way into a great little bay that I figured we could easily get the Big Boy into for an anchorage & wondered why nobody else was anchoring in there.
On the way out (through a different path) we spotted this sign. Pretty much tells the storey;
Take a look at this rock we saw on the way back to our boats. Looks like any other rock one would see on The Bay, right?
Look closer;
Don't that look like a cartoon duck that was painted on the rock? It wasn't - just a natural fault line shaped like it;
Now, THIS is what a real duck on a rock looks like;
Another inspirational view for the Group Of Seven artists;
That afternoon we spotted a C-130 Hercules search and rescue plane flying low and slow overhead. That's what these guys on deck were looking at - along with pretty much everyone else in this bay;
Seems the Coast Guard got a report of a cruiser on fire in the area of Starvation Bay, which was no more than a kilometer north of us;
Here's some video from the dramatic air search for the vessel;
Evening presented us with DEAD CALM waters.
A great opportunity to see all of the stuff going on below the surface. I didn't get a photo or any video of it, but Mr. Von A. & I saw a Loon 'flying' through the water right behind the boats. Ya, Anchor Girl was sitting on the swim platform and the thing darted within inches of her feet, but she missed seeing it. A very cool experience!
Take a look at how far along you can see the stern anchor line;
What is he looking for?
He's looking for another one of these big monsters!
This catfish must have been 3' long with a girth of at least 10"!
Video of the GIANT fish.
Sort of;
Not wanting to miss an opportunity of letting the Big One get away, Analus quickly got into the dingy for a few casts. Seems those big old fish are a bit smarter, as he only snagged a little guy;
Our last evening at anchor for our holidays :-(
It sure is a wonderful experience to spend a few days and nights at anchor in a spot like this - close to nature, no traffic sounds and lots of . . . . great memories.
One of those great memories for me is to relive the wonderment of being able to hit a switch to fire up the big Westerbeke generator (it exhausts underwater and is very quiet as to not disturb the neighbours) and be able to use ALL the the systems on board;
Next time we get 'Boogaboo IV' to it's new home on Lake Simcoe.
