Hello - Summer??

Still waiting for that thing called summer to show itself. Waiting. In the meantime, we've been keeping busy (and warm) at The Cottage by running back to our boats for another sweater, or coat or just to make sure the heater was on! Oh well, despite the sometimes frigid temps, I've had a really good time so far this season. And I'm becoming somewhat of an expert at installing electronics and programming MMSI numbers. . . Of course, we may need another load of firewood before too long, since some 'troublemaker' we know insists on making the fires every night - even in the rain :-) Apart form battling the cold & rain, we have actually been able to get out on the water - even if only on the dinghies; Poor Anchor Girl hasn't even been able to work on her suntan; We met up with Water Wings a couple of weeks ago. This was our second time out on the lake this year and we actually spent a couple or three hours on the water, cruising slowly around Thorah Island; Check this out. This is made up from two photos that I put together for a panoramic effect. . . . (There goes the firewood); Myself doing a speed run on Boogaboo Tender. The new radios me & Graham (Graham! Graham! Graham!) got have built in GPS(s) so we can track our speed. I've gotten my little boat up to a blistering SIXTEEN MPH! Cool;

Weatherman Blues

Other than a brief time on Friday evening for me to capture another super sunset (above picture), it looks like the weatherman dropped the ball - again. What was supposed to be a sunny and hot weekend turned out to be a cool and rainy one. Oh well, got lots done around the cottage, including getting all the summer stuff back on the boat. We're pretty much ready to go right now, other than some minor mechanical adjustments and some waxing on the topsides. Sure was good to be back on the boat for the whole weekend!!!
After we all got over that bit of excitement, it was on to Saturday's rain storm. I took this one right before the rain hit with the approaching clouds in the background; A quick note on the above picture. As some of you have already noticed, AG picked up a new flag to replace the old, tattered one. As of right now, that old flag has not been disposed of, as there was some controversy as to what should be done with it. Seems Anchor Girl wasn't too comfortable with my informing her that the proper etiquette for disposing of an old Canadian flag is to burn it. Well it is. Here's a LINK to the government of Canada web site that outlines these sorts of things.
After it stopped raining, the Pefferlaw River had risen to the highest point any of had ever seen - in all the years we have been coming there ;-)

Just In Case . . .

Just in case you were considering a trip to The Bay this year - or if you are just up for some reminiscing - I put together a video montage of the Picnic Island store & docks in Honey Harbour. If you watch closely (there will be a test), you'll notice lots of A.) Wind and B.) Boat Traffic. The C.) Lots Of Rocks goes without mentioning.

 Pretend you didn't read that :-)

 Any who, for anyone wanting to spend a few days in the area of Honey Harbour or Beausoleil Island, this is the #1/only spot for boat fuel (gas), people fuel (food/gas), pump out, water, french fries and ICE CREAM. All of the above in one spot. Probably why it's always so darned busy. And a real treat to get in and out of! Did I mention the constant wind? Watch;

Plus . . . Just in case you are looking forward to visiting Bobcaygeon this summer, we have a clip of non other than Free Bird zooming at break neck speed across Canal Lake back on the July 1st weekend '08. This section of Canal Lake is the eastern part, just past (going that way from here) Bolsover and looking toward the 'Hole In The Wall' bridge. Finally for this evening, just in case you were waiting for 'someone' to post some more pics from the Labour Day Long Weekend at Lagoon City, I guess you'll have to wait. PARKER!!! In the meantime, here's a video clip of some of us standing around discussing the finer points of dead carp disposal; As always, your comments, suggestions and photos are welcome . . .

Port Severn to The Little Chute Boat Cruise

 Before we get into this evening's posting, I wanted to offer this amusing bit of insight for your consideration. I know we have a limited audience for the Blog, so I don't expect big numbers to show up. With that in mind, I can tell you that when I share a video clip and post it here, these vids usually garner roughly 30 - 40 views over a two to three week period. Don't worry, it only took me a couple of hours to download from my video camera to my computer, edit, render, upload to You Tube and post on the site. I guess the sights and sounds of summer just aren't as appealing to our viewers as I would have thought . . .

 Ok, whining over, the amusing thing about our most recent video clip of the shenanigan's on (and through) the ice of the quickly disappearing Pefferlaw River is that after only SIX DAYS, there has already been an incredible 117 views!! I guess humour wins out over sentiment, eh?

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 Some shots of our 'trip back' from The Bay at the end of last year's summer holidays. I bring this to those of you who have been this way & like to reminisce, as well as those of you might be doing this trip this year for the first time. Now you will have the benefit of seeing what is to be encountered along the way - or way back. Right at the top of Lock #45, Port Severn is a number of nice spots to spend a night or two. This photo of the lock was taken from the Rawley Resort, which is right across the river. The shot at the top is of Mr. Von A. in front of the building that houses the restaurant. This place is top drawer, all the way & the owners (Barry & his wife) park their big boat out front, as they are also long term Georgian Bay boaters. Besides owning this joint, they also own South Bay Cove marina in Honey Harbour.

 

 Here's a view of Lock #45;  

Looking in the other direction (from the same spot), you see Severn Boat Haven, a full service marina;

 

 Here's where things get fun again. After leaving the challenges of Georgian Bay, this part of the Trent Severn Waterway is relatively easy to navigate. Just keep an eye on your charts, watch the markers and enjoy the ride. The one spot that can be a little disconcerting the first time going through is the Little Chute, which is just before (returning) / after (heading down) the bottom of the Big Chute Marine Railway. As you can see, there is ample warning of the fact that this man made channel is quite narrow (one boat wide) and the current can be really strong here. Remember that next to the Big Chute is one of the larger hydro generating plants along the system, so the outflow (as well as the rest of the flow from the Severn River) all has to come through this spot;

 

 Again, not a big deal. Just make sure you have some positive power to maintain control and be ready for some of the swirling water that can be present. With all the rain we had last year, there were a number of narrow areas like this that we had some strong flows. In particular, there is a passage called 'Hydro Glen' (the site of a former dam/power plant) where the water was moving so fast that we picked up 5 mph going downstream through there! Here's Water Wings passing up-bound (homeward) through the Little Chute;

 

Finally, here's a video of our boats running the Chute;