It is time to leave Midland. Thanks for your hospitality!

August 1^st, 2014. Friday

 Where did the year go? It is August already!!

 

We just came downstairs, after sitting top-side watching the sun sink in a blaze of gold, and finally pink. There is a slither of a moon in it’s  place, now.

 

Our Thursday of preparation meant we could slip off the dock at just on 7.30am this morning.

Let’s go back to the beginning of Thursday.

 

After a hearty breakfast we gathered up our back packs et al for a long walk. We had decided to ask at the Marina office for a ride up the hill to Walmart. We could have biked, but we have already done that hill twice now, and I wasn’t up for another ride that strenuous. Paige was happy to drive us, and dropped us off outside Payless Shoes. It was an unplanned stop, but dressed as if for winter, we went inside to look for a sensible pair of winter shoes for me, and found some with a one inch heel and covered toes that fit perfectly! oh joy! I have size 9 1/2 - 10  feet, so finding the right size and something that doesn’t look horrid, is a challenge.

Next up was Marks. We didn’t know what they sold, so we went inside. Remember how we had bought Waz a yellow rain jacket in Bobcaygeon at the Hardware store? Well, that wasn’t warm also, and we are going south through the USA in the Fall, and we have been told the cold will be with us in those parts…Kentucky, Tennessee etc.  We happened upon a Jacket, which we thought was 30% off (sorry...out of luck there!), but at $89 + tax was a lot less than we would have paid in NZ for the same thing…a warm, 100% waterproof, red and grey rainjacket. It will fit over sweaters for real toastiness, also. I will get to wear the yellow $20 one instead. At least you wont miss me, on deck!

 

 

 

 

Finally we arrived across the parking lot at Walmart. We had a few food items to get for the boat, and their prices on produce were excellent.  Finished there in short shrift, we made our way down King Street to West Marine where we were forced to purchase a  whole new pump for the dinghy. All we needed was the bayonet fitting that goes into the dinghy…nothing else, but do you think we could find one? At least we now have a spare pump, should we ever need it. It seems to be a week for needing spare parts…more on that later!...Apart from the prop, that is!

That mission accomplished, I was promised a Latte if I walked all the way down King Street. The weather had gone from freezing cold wind and the need for a scarf and jacket, to both of us stripping all those trappings, down to t-shirts. Too bad I had worn jeans….but I ended up turning the bottoms up to help keep me cool!

The wildflowers along the roadside and sidewalk were so pretty, and so fragrant, but we couldn’t identify where the lovely scent was coming from. Perhaps you can tell us? Which of these flowers??

 

We passed the very orderly cemetery, and marveled that Canadians seem to die in rows…funny that! J

As arrived at the top of the shops leading down to the harbor and stopped at the Ladybug Café…it was now 12.30pm! Worms were biting! We hadn’t seen this little café before, and it is a bit crowded with kitch, but the food smelled great, and the choice of soup/sandwiches and wraps was just what we wanted. We both chose the Turkey wrap with a cranberry mayo...toasted! and of course a Latte. Their machine is very new, and it made a wonderful Latte. We were ever grateful!

 Our tummies full, we were able to concentrate on other things. I had to go and check the lottery ticket I had purchased at the beginning of the week, and imagine our surprise when the store keeper greeted us with “Here are the Kiwis!!!” Nice to be memorable, lol. We didn’t win anything, but they were selling Hokey Pokey Ice-cream, so Waz had to have a single cone, and I chose a Magnum out of the freezer.  The Canadian Hokey Pokey isn’t like the kiwi variety, but Waz said it tasted goodJ

 

We had gone in and out of a few stores on the way down, and enjoyed looking at furnishings and marveling at the small prices for things such as sectional sofas…$1,800! For the same thing in NZ you would have paid twice that!


King Street, Midland.

Not sure what these are, but they are cute. EVERYONE has a colored Adirondack chair on their deck/dock/beach etc. They are very comfy, I might add.

This is Dino's, where we ate lunch with Ken and Brenda  on Monday.

 

We made our way, finally, to the Bike Path that goes around the harbor (where we would otherwise have biked) and walked the final mile or more back to the Marina. As we approached the marina office, the FedEx man pulled up, and sure enough, he had our parcel forwarded from Robyn, in Pt Breeze. Thanks Robyn!:) xx

It was a good day to be sailing on the bay, obviously!

These kids were having a wonderful time on the beach adjacent to the Yacht Club. This wasn't far from the walking/bike path that goes all the way to the Bay Port Marina.

 

P dock where we were originally supposed to be parked, but glad we weren't. This is right at the entry to the marina.

 The main Office with the fed Ex truck parked outside:)

And the expensive little beauty that is now 100%!

 

 

 

We called into the office where we were informed that our prop had arrived, and was good to go. YAYA!...well the yay was short lived, when we asked for the bill for not just the prop, but our accommodations, two charts, some spare parts etc…OUCH! Another expensive month. Last month it was new batteries!

The prop appeared at the boat before we did. They are very efficient at this marina! A dock-hand was waiting for us to appear to open up. He even carried the prop onto the boat for us! Now THAT is serviceJ

We didn’t have a lot to finish off before our departure the next day, but a myriad of small things. Some you can’t do until the day, but for the most part we were ready to leave.

 

Jack and Martina, our next door neighbors, were invited over for drinks and nibbles at 5.30-ish, and we enjoyed hearing about them, their grandchildren  and especially their Mercedes…supposedly a ‘SMART’ car…They have many funny stories to share about it. We laughed a lot and enjoyed their company. They are both retired Medical Professionals, and we discussed the many similarities between NZ and Canadian socialized Medicine...I think Canada is light years ahead!

We feel so fortunate to meet such interesting and generous people. These folks have sailed everywhere, and spent more than 30 years sailing Georgian Bay… they had lots of ‘tips’ for usJ 

We had eaten so many nibbles that our dinner consisted of Dessert, after that.

Sleep for me was hard to come by, as it often is,  just before we depart…Waz seems to sleep through everything. I woke feeling as if my eyes had been glued shut...you know that feeling? I sure needed more sleep than I had!

Waz  had set the alarm (he may have told me this!) for 6am, so we were up with the ducks but before the Canada Geese, which we normally hear swimming past our window…squawking as they go!...It usually wakens us up!

There is a ‘normal’ rhythm to life and eating scrambled eggs at barely 7am is not in that rhythm, I’m afraid. It was all I could do to get them down, washed with our normal cup of coffee.

I did take the time to get the camera out before we untied the lines, and the stillness of the morning was delightful.

 

 

 Sunrise over Georgian Bay!

I have to admit to being a bit apprehensive in regard to what the day would bring. We had made the executive decision NOT to take the Small Boat Channel to Killarney. I don’t think my now delicate psychie could tolerate that. I have become a total wuss over the narrows, shallows and rocks. Yes, I have said this before, but today that was reiterated, yet again.

 

Leaving the comfort of the marina, the new friends, the beauty of the small town and just knowing where you are going to wake up, was a bit of a challenge, this morning. Normally we aren’t ‘into’ Marinas, so this was a new feeling. I was tired, granted, but we are also half way through our Loop…I cannot explain all this…now…Perhaps another day!

 

Looking back to take the last photo was something Waz did this morning. I was busy taking in all the fenders and ropes…we wouldn’t need them for a while.

On the road again...

 

Leaving the comfort of Midland Bay.

 

 The water in the Bay is either very shallow, or very deep. Most of where we went today, was deep, thankfully, with just a couple of shallow/narrow parts….which still managed to make a wiener of me.

 Leaving so early was lovely…fresh but hazy, and the photos don’t look the best as a result. There were a surprising number of sailboats out enjoying the little bit of wind. The water was pretty flat until we rounded the corner out into the bay from Penetanguishene (penay-tang-guish-een…it’s Indian) Bay. The wind wasn’t bad, but the half meter waves were beam-on, which meant we rocked and rolled a bit. We changed direction a few times, according to which rocks and Islands to avoid, and made our way to Twelve Mile Bay, just before Lunch. We had decided not to push it, going up the Bay, and to enjoy the parts we would see more intimately. Having made the decision to ‘go outside’ the Small Craft Channel, we didn’t want to completely avoid the beauty of the inner Bay.

A cute little light house on the shore not far from the turn into Penetanguishene Bay, the bay next to Midland.

 The odd yacht was out enjoying the light breeze and the early morning.

 These parts are known as the 30,000 Islands, but all books say they should be known more as the 100,000 Islands, so many are they. This one is typical. Windswept pines and low scrubby foliage on Pink Granite rocks.

 Yes, those are all Islands in he white...the yellow ones, that is.

A marker sitting on rocks. The orange on the rock is a lichen.

 This is the scene that greeted us as we came through the markers at O'Donnel Point. Not a fabulous introduction to 12 mile bay!

 Looking back to our path through a channel barely larger than the width of our boat, at 16 1/2 feet. There was no margin for error coming through this channel, and I nearly 'lost it'. Rock clearly visible in the clear water, on either side of us, and there was VERY LITTLE depth!

 The crosses tell us that there are rocks there. Usually there is a number associated with it...in this case it is 2 feet under the water! The water might look like it is deep, but there is not much room on either side of us to get through the red and green markers. This is even more challenging when  there is a wind blowing, as there was today, as we the boat is tall and has a lot of windage....where we get blown sideways, if not careful.

 Looking back at those troublesome markers. We had to go between the red and the green.

 The next challenge was to line the boat up to go through this little gap into the bay where we would anchor for the night. Those yachts are actually out on 12 mile Bay, passing the entrance to our haven.

 There was one yacht already in the bay....and about 3 other boats.

 Waz enjoying the view down one of the channels that shoot off from our bay. We went down there the following day....carefully...in the dinghy.

The rocks are stunning....as long as you just have to look at them, and not negotiate them!:)

We were the fourth boat to anchor in the secluded bay Waz had chosen for our first night. The collection of craft grew as the afternoon wore on, with the final count being in excess of 16 boats. The forest is low growing on the rocky outcrops and islands, and in some places there are only wind-swept pines. We are surprised at how many holiday homes (Cottages) we see on these windswept islands…often just lumps of granite in the middle of the bay. Further up 12 mile bay, the cottages are a bit cheek by jowl, which wouldn’t be how we would choose to spend our precious vacations, but we can see that the scenery is stunning and the ability to play in the water (albeit cold for us) and ON the water is something folks would look forward to every year. Small boats are everywhere

 

 

We are also surprised at the lack of bird life. We sat and watched a Loon (surprisingly large birds) fishing this evening, and the water is so clear here that we could see him swimming (fast) under the water. FascinatingJ….he went a Loooong way!

There are fresh water seagulls, and we did observe two large brown raptor type birds riding the thermals, when we anchored, but couldn’t identify them…no white head! So they weren’t eagles. They also weren’t Shags, of which there are plenty, in these parts.

The small craft zoom past the entry to our anchorage at great knots. It is rather funny, to tell the truth, because you can only see them for the split second it takes for them to appear in the entry and then disappear again. We hear them long before we see themJ zoom, zoom!

Early afternoon, who should appear but Jack and Martina in their yacht. How nice to see them againJ . Jack came over to say hello when they had launched their dinghy. After his invitation to join them at ‘Sea Level’ aboard their yacht, we agreed to join them tomorrow night for drinks and nibbles.

Before Jack arrived we had been talking to 6 kayakers…well, not strictly true…They are Yachties who carry kayaks with them. We chatted and exchanged the information as to where we had come from and where we were all going etc….they agreed to come back after their paddle, and give us some local knowledge. They were all on their way home, after five weeks all the way to Mackinaw Island, on Lake Michigan. These folks are on their way back to Midland and the Yacht Club next door to Bay Port Marina, from whence we had come. They leave early in the morning.

 

 

Diane and her husband have done the Loop in 2006/7, and she was most helpful, having done what we are about to do. She was also very encouraging to me, understanding how I might be ‘over’ the rocks etc. Thanks for the moral support, DianeJ

Their suggestions were great, and we enjoyed a couple of hours with five of them on the Fly Deck. The best kind of guests…they brought their own wine/drinks and food, lol.  They got the .50c tour of the boat, and, being used to yachts, were envious of the space we have here.

We are grateful for their knowledge and easy company. Most enjoyable!

 

We plan to take the dinghy out tomorrow. Tiki-touring is easier in the little boat…especially now it has been pumped up! Yay!

As I have said, we saw the sun go down before locking up upstairs and coming down before Waz was eaten by mozzies. They are ferocious! The bugs seem to be greater in these parts for some reason…lots more forrest??

It seems that most of these boats will stay the weekend, and depart on Monday…this being a long weekend. We will be going the other way…west and north.

The generator had kittens, mid- afternoon, so Waz had to go down into the hot dungeon (engine room) and put a new pump in…the impellor was totally munted!! Destroyed. It had worked for less than 400 hours….only 11 months! Just as well we had a spare impellor. One problem though…the brand new pump that we got from Elite Diesel in Houston is the wrong one…they supplied it! How could they supply a pump that doesn’t fit the Genset?? Aieeee…this is just another mishap from these folks, and they will be hearing from us, and we expect a new one couriered to wherever we choose, when we have internet access.

Before I got stuck into making lunch, I made up a Chinese Five Spice marinade for the dinner ribs. I do this instead of the usual smokey flavored ribs you get in most places. I guess this a very much a leftover from my Hawaii days, when this recipe was our family favorite!

The ribs went into the oven to slow bake as soon as Waz finished the installation of the new impellor…around 5pm. They cooked slowly…and darn it…I was too hungry to take pics…sheesh! But they were delish! Trust me!! We even have leftovers for another night.

Strawberries and cream for dessert, along with a cuppa. Nice end to a lovely warm day with blue skies.

Well, it is 10pm, and I can hardly keep the peepers open, despite taking 40 winks, early afternoon.

 

Ciao for now.