7/29 - St. Ignace (Mackinac Island)

Taxi ride to the Grand Hotel

The Grand

The Grand Hotel Dining Room (a Grand Lunch at the Grand Buffet)

Porch View Left

Porch View Right

View from the porch

Our ride back to town awaits

Having done some chores (laundry, boat maintenance) earlier in the morning, we took an 11:30 a.m. ferry to Mackinac. The racing boats had completely evacuated the harbor, but some of the ferry dock space was now occupied by a small American Caribbean Cruise Line ship, the Grande Mariner with 100 passengers aboard.

Today the town was really crowded with bicyclers, people horse-back riding, and the regular horse-drawn buggies as well as pedestrians. We surveyed the scene for awhile, and then George summoned a taxi (also horse-drawn) which took us up to the Grand Hotel. Upon entering we were greeted by a concierge who advised us that the fee was $10.00 per person to tour the hotel and its grounds, but that fee could be used to off-set the cost of lunch in the Dining Room which was $40.00 per person. Since this was our plan, we then made our way to the next level to the enormous Dining Room over-looking the famous football- field long porch with a stunning view of the water.

The buffet lunch was indeed lavish with many choices of fruits, salads, shrimp, oysters, cold meats, breads, and prime rib, fish, chicken, pasta entrees and potato and vegetable accompaniments. Following the tables filled with these items, came the sumptuous dessert tables. Needless to say, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in a delightful atmosphere, and decided that considering that there was no additional tax or tipping allowed, the price was quite reasonable for the caliber of food, ambience, and service we received.

We next ventured out onto the porch to sit in the sunshine on two of the hundreds of rockers placed out there, and conversed about the numerous friends we have who would have really enjoyed being here with us. We returned to town via the elegant Grand Hotel carriage to do some shopping and then took the ferry to St. Ignace after having had a special day on Mackinac.

7/28 - St. Ignace (Mackinac Island)

Local Transportation

Stone arch

Fort Mackinac and the tea room deck

Downtown Mackinac

Lunch with a view

We boarded the ferry to Mackinac Island at 9:30 a.m. for the 5 mile crossing. As we approached the harbor, the scene was extremely festive, since approximately 100 sailboats that participated in the Port Huron - Mackinac Race filled the docks with banners and flags flying. Ashore, no automobiles are permitted and transportation is done by horse and buggy, bicycle, or foot.

We joined our fellow tourists and our first order of business was to take a carriage tour of the island in order to get an overview of things, and then we wanted to tour Fort Mackinac. The tour made various stops, and we got to see the huge, lovely Grand Hotel. We had a great time at the Fort, where we saw and took part in several re-enactments of military life in the 1880s. We also had lunch provided by the Grand Hotel on a promontory of the Fort with a view that was absolutely gorgeous! We toured several historic sites in town that were also part of the Fort tour, and then returned to St. Ignace by ferry. We decided that we would go to lunch and tour the Grand Hotel tomorrow, as well as do some shopping in this definite tourist mecca.

7/27 - St. Ignace, Michigan

Boat Houses along Les Cheneaux

St. Ignace Marina

After winding our way carefully through the Les Cheneaux Islands (meaning channels) with about 11 miles of shallow depths and twisting turns, we finally entered the open waters of Lake Huron for the final 12 miles of our journey to the St. Ignace Municipal Marina. St. Ignace is the location of one of the ferry crossings to Mackinac Island and is on the northern side of the vast Mackinac Island Bridge over the Straits. The marina is protected by a huge stone breakwater, and we decided that this would be a better place to keep "Reflection" in view of the huge ferry wakes that occur in Mackinac Island itself or in commercial Mackinaw City, another ferry crossing on the mainland side. As we approached, we came behind Mackinac Island and caught sight of the Bridge as we made our turn toward the harbor. We were tied up by 11:30 a.m., and spent the rest of the day making our plans for how we would spend our next two days visiting famous Mackinac Island. Docked next to us was "Morningstar", a Grand Banks 49, owned by Gerry and Jeanne Cilibraise from Livonia, Michigan. They had completed the "Loop" recently, and had kept the boat in Marathon, Florida last winter, so they shared lots of local information with us about Lake Michigan, and had other suggestions for us about good harbors, etc. for the rest of our trip.

7/26 - Les Cheneaux Islands

De Tour Light

With the skies still overcast and the temperatures in the low 60s we traveled 28 miles through the DeTour Passage to the Les Cheneaux Islands located along the northwest shore of Lake Huron. The winds were fairly light and we proceeded to Government Bay, one of the best anchorages in this group of 100 islands. Though the wind did come up later in the day, we spent a calm night with occasional rain on the hook.

7/25 - Drummond Island

Since we awoke to heavy rain (at least it didn't snow), we decided to stay at Drummond Island Yacht Haven another day to do chores, make phone calls, and to plan out the next segment of our trip on Lake Michigan. Dan and Mary Jo, who we met last evening, turned out to be a great source of local knowledge as to the best places to go in the next few weeks, and we made some changes to our itinerary based on their information. Later we rented a car at the marina to do some grocery shopping, and returned back just in time to host the Houles and the Florys on our boat for cocktails and stories.

7/24 - Drummond Island, Michigan

We spent our last Canadian money at the fuel dock before we left this morning, and headed out on our 43 mile crossing to the U.S. About an hour out we headed into pea-soup thick fog, and were very thankful for our radar. We also decided that sitting on the fly-bridge in cold and damp conditions wasn't that much fun, so we went below and ran the boat across from our cozy main salon. Eventually the fog cleared, and as we approached Drummond Island the sun even came out! Alleluia! As we crossed into U.S. waters, Pat hummed "The Star-Spangled Banner" and coming into the channel we were happy to see American flags flying at all the houses as we approached. Our five weeks in Canada were great, but we simply missed our own country and were glad to be "coming home"! Within 15 minutes of docking, a U.S. Customs and Immigration official came on board, checked us out, and charged us $27.50 for a decal which will be sent us to display on the boat. He didn't really care or check if we had bought anything in Canada, all he really cared about was that we didn't bring any lamb, goat, or citrus into the country. So, we threw the lambs and goats over-board, and disposed of the one lime we had left in our gimlets that evening. "Houlegan" arrived an hour later, and Ray and Caryl invited us to their boat that evening with another couple who were aboard their Island Packet 35 sailboat from Michigan, Dan and Mary Jo Flory.

7/23 - Blind River, Ontario

This morning we left under bleak skies and in cool temperatures for Blind River, a port 27 miles away from Gore Bay on the north shore of the North Channel. This location was our last in Canada. Just as George thought we would leave the country without Canadian Customs boarding our boat, two officials made their way down the dock checking other boats and then headed to ours! All they did was check our boat papers and stamp our passports, and they didn't even board our boat because they thought the boat was so beautiful that they didn't want to come into the main salon with dirty shoes! We later took a cab into town to celebrate our last night in Canada with dinner at the "Mustang Bar" at the "Iron Horse Restaurant". It was "wing" night, which always attracts the Captain. Pat ordered a jumbo shrimp cocktail and a rib and wing combo platter which came with a salad. George ordered a platter of chicken wings, poutine (a Canadian dish of fries covered with gravy and cheese), and an order of onion rings. You can imagine our surprise when this already "over the top" feast came out with a shrimp and fries platter in place of the shrimp cocktail. Our table was filled! It was a cardiologist's nightmare! We ended up taking most of the wings and ribs back to the boat, and had lots of laughs on our last night in town!

To buy a new ice maker or not to buy a new ice maker that is the question.

You no doubt have heard of our ice maker "giving up the ghost". The captain has been doing some figuring on whether it is practical to continue to buy ice or to purchase a new ice maker. Here is the situation: (This may look very much like a high school word problem) a five pound bag of ice costs about $2.25 (US). We use one bag of ice every day and a half. A replacement ice maker costs about $1,100. Over the next twelve months we will use about 240 bags of ice, because we will be on the boat almost all the time. The cost of all this ice is about $540. However, after this year we will probably be on the boat about thirty days a year for an ice cost of $45. per year. The question is: how many years it will take to break even by buying the new ice maker (not counting inflation)? The answer is about 13 years. Since we may only keep the boat another few years, the answer is obvious - BUY A NEW ICE MAKER (I love my ice).

7/22 - Gore Bay

After another peaceful night at anchor we headed 15 miles across the channel to Gore Bay. The weather is expected to get showery for the next several days, so we decided to pull into the Gore Bay Marina for the night to see what happens. Shortly after we tied up, "Houlegan" with "Loopers" Ray and Caryl from Mississipi, pulled in. We last saw them on Saturday in Killarney, when they stopped by to chat. Since we never had a chance to really get to visit with them, we invited them aboard for cocktails. We had a delightful evening hearing about the experiences they've had on their trip which they began in Gulfport on 12/1/08. Ray is retired from the Navy, and Caryl is retired from the Air Force and is a registered nurse. They expect to be back home by this Thanksgiving.

The entrance to our anchorage in the Benjamin Islands

(note the pink granite)

Our anchorage in the Benjamin Islands

(Note all the trees leaning the same way. The wind blows so hard here in the winter the trees all bend from northwest to southeast.)

We had an early breakfast at the Anchor Inn, an old hotel one block from the docks. Upstairs there is a room which is the "broadcast studio" of Roy Eaton, the host of "The Little Current Cruisers Network", which broadcasts everyday in July and August at 9 a.m. on VHF channel 71.

Roy is a retired high school principal who began this service in 2004, and it has grown beyond his wildest dreams. He gives the latest marine weather, world news, sports scores, business reports, what happened today in history, and North Channel events. Following this, call-ins are made from individual boats traveling in the area. Some have messages to transmit to other boats, and most just announce where they are presently and what their next destination will be. Roy's service is now registered with the Coast Guard and Air Search and Rescue and has helped in locating many boaters. We were privileged to sit in at his broadcast with some other boaters to see what goes on behind the scenes. Today we assisted him by writing down the names and info on 124 boats in the area! In 2008 he had 4,708 call-ins! He is a wonderful man who volunteers his time and talent to helping many people and it was a pleasure to meet him.

We finally left the dock after the morning's events for the lovely Benjamin Islands, a favorite anchoring area in the North Channel. We rode around for a while among the islands, evaluating what would be the best location for "Reflection", and eventually settled on a beautiful open area where we anchored in 41 feet of water! Twenty- two other smaller boats were also anchored in more shallow waters nearby. We kept our eyes open for bears, which had been spotted on the shores in previous years eating blueberries, but we didn't spot any today.

George woke up at 2:00 a. m. to see if he could spot the northern lights we were told were visible at these latitudes - and there they were. A beautiful blue green glow in the northern sky, the aurora borealis, at this latitude it appears as a false sunrise.

7/20 - Little Current

Little Current Harbor (where there was little current)

After a quiet night at anchor, we traveled down the Landsdowne Channel past very large limestone rock islands to the town of Little Current, where the waters of the North Channel are funneled into a 100 yard passage into Georgian Bay. The town is on the tip of large Manitoulin Island and is connected to Goat Island by a swing bridge which opens up only on the hour for 15 minutes. Boats jockey in front of the bridge every hour in the swift-moving current to make it through. Because there was very "little current" today, we passed through very smoothly and were tied up at the Town Docks by 11:30 a.m. This was a good place to get groceries, and to do our final banking and laundry before we return to the U.S. They also had a Chinese restaurant that delivered dinner to the boat. This was a great preliminary to watching one of our "Charlie Chan" DVDs!

7/19 - Covered Portage Cove

"Reflection" in Covered Portage Cove Outer Anchorage

Covered Portage Cove Inner Anchorage

Inner Anchorage

Big kid at the helm of the dinghy

Covered Portage Cove anchorage

Just as we thought the scenery couldn't get more beautiful, we entered the magnificent North Channel. Though we traveled only 7 miles out of Killarney to Covered Portage Cove, it was a wonder to behold. The mountains appeared to be covered in snow, but they were really made out of white limestone rock. Some of it reminded us of the British Virgin Islands, where the islands are built on coral. These are built on stone, and the waters are equally blue/green and pristine. We decided to anchor in the outside area of Covered Portage Cove, but we eventually put the dinghy in the water and explored the inner cove which we felt was a little too small for our boat to swing comfortably in at anchor. It turned out to be a wonderful anchorage spot, and we were joined by at least 8 more boats in the outer cove, and another 6 in the inner cove.

7/18 - Killarney - The North Channel

Mr. Perch Fish and Chips

Collins Inlet

Though "Adagio" decided that they would like another night at anchor, we said "good-bye" to Beaverstone Bay at 7:30 a.m., so that we could get to Killarney Mountain Lodge fairly early in order to enjoy a full day there in Killarney. A good portion of our twenty-one mile trip took place through jagged Collins Inlet, a narrow, deep, high- walled fjord. It was breath-taking! At the end of the inlet we crossed the last section of Georgian Bay to the village of Killarney which marked our first port on the North Channel. Our slip was ready for us when we arrived, and by 11:30 a.m. we had not only scoped out the entire town, but we were on line at "Mr. Perch". This fish restaurant in a school-bus which is attached to Herbert Fisheries is famous for its fried white-fish and fries. Naturally, it began to shower just as we were about to order, but the rain didn't last long, and we procured seats at a picnic bench under a tent set up outside. The parking lot was filled by the time we left, and we followed up our low-cholesterol lunch with Farquhar's ice cream which is a product made on Manitoulin Island, the enormous barrier island that is the break-water for the North Channel from Lake Huron. The weather fluctuated widely all day, sun, then clouds, then rain - almost at five minute intervals. We had a lovely dinner at the Lodge, and then afterward we went to the Carousel Bar to hear Andy Lowe, who has sung at this lodge for ten years. He put on a great show, and even acknowledged us as "Loopers" from New Jersey, as well as Pat's singing voice which he could pick up on the "sing-alongs". It was a great night!

7/17 - Beaverstone Bay

Views from our anchorage in Beaverstone Bay

"Adagio" called us from their marina, and we initially decided to make the 33 mile journey to Beaverstone Bay together. The wind had calmed, but the skies were still overcast with very cool temperatures. Our boat, however, was placed on an inside dock perpendicular to the gas dock. Unfortunately, a sailboat came in for fuel and a pump-out and boxed us in so we couldn't leave until it left. For the uninitiated among our readers, a "pump-out "means that a vacuum pump is attached to a fitting on the boat's deck, and all the waste from the boat's toilets is vacuumed out. Usually this is a very simple procedure, but on this day a 13 year old dock hand was in charge, and inadvertently let the hose go too early and sprayed the sailboat and himself with feces, etc. We felt so sorry for the boy, who was not only embarrassed, but covered with the stuff. For him you might say that it was a "shitty day"! Though disgusted, the boat owner kept his cool, and cleaned up the mess on deck, and finally pulled out, so we that we could leave. By now, we were approximately an hour behind "Adagio", but we called them and told them to find us both a good anchorage. We operated our boat from the lower station to escape the chill as we crossed Georgian Bay, and eventually tucked ourselves into a lovely anchorage among the rocky islands of Beaverstone with the other boat nearby.

7/16 - Byng

We continued our stay at "Wright's Marina" because the winds increased and it showered on and off all day. This allowed us to catch up on some chores, make some phone calls, write some emails, and cook a great Italian dinner aboard.

July 15 - Byng

Pointe au Baril Light House

Barrel at Pointe au Baril
(Canadian Aid to navigation - If you can see the barrel you are in safe waters. If you can see it very well you are on the rocks.)

Reflection tied up very snuggly at Wright's Marina

We traveled approximately 33 miles in the company of "Adagio" this morning to Byng Inlet and the village of Britt, Ontario. Thirteen of those miles were on the open waters of Georgian Bay which can become very uncomfortable when the wind is in a westerly direction. Luckily, today it was from the southeast, somewhat on our stern, and we got into the inlet before things really picked up. We stayed at "Wright's Marina", which is a small family-owned operation in existence for over 35 years. They even offered us a courtesy car, but there really is no town to visit, so to speak. Though it was raining, we had dinner with Dave and Pam from "Adagio" at "The Little Britt Inn" which we had been advised to not miss because it is on "The Best Places to Eat in Canada" list. One of the items on the menu was "Elk Medallions"! That and the conversation we had with our restaurant driver regarding the 35 degree below zero temperatures here in the winter with copious amounts of snow, and how he has spotted bears along the road mere steps away from our boat reminded us that we are a long way from New Jersey!

A special note:

The crew of Reflection would like to thank everyone for their overwhelming support and condolences on the untimely loss of our beloved Ice Maker.

A sad day aboard Reflection

The Ice Maker 1987 - 2009

Gone but not forgotten.

.

We are sad and disheartened to bring you the news of the loss of one of the most valued members of our Reflection family. Our faithful servant, the Ice Maker, passed away three days ago. For the past 18 months that we have known it, it has served us well, producing thousands of ice cubes without asking anything in return. Three days ago it stopped running and after many attempts we were not able to resuscitate it. It was the compressor - after 22 years of service it just gave out.

Killbear Point Light

.

We decided to get underway today at 8:30 a.m., because the wind had finally lightened up. When we left, the marina looked like a ghost town, because some boats that had waited out the weather there for as much as five days couldn't wait to make a run for it even earlier than we did! It was only in the low 50s with a breeze, so we had on our storm gear, socks, gloves, etc (luckily there was no snow forecasted) . This was certainly the coldest July 14th we had ever experienced! George carefully followed our GPS and the charts on our 29 mile trip, which again took place amidst rugged yet beautiful scenery. The water was pristine, and it changed color today to almost a Caribbean green.

After we anchored in this roomy bay, we were joined by 9 other boats, with five of them forming a raft-up. A short time after our arrival we heard that a "Mayday" had been called in our vicinity on the Marine Radio. One of a group of kayakers had a serious breathing problem and needed emergency care, but they were on one of the rocky islands. Boats were trying to come to the rescue, but couldn't get close because of the rocks. The Coast Guard was on the line, and we didn't hear the details, but somehow the patient was transported to shore where an ambulance was waiting.

After the excitement we had a quiet afternoon and evening. There was light in the sky until well after 10:30 p.m., and we believe it was the glow of the Aurora Borealis (yes we are that far north)!

7/13 - Parry Sound

Because the wind was still blowing hard, we decided to stay another day and do chores around the boat, laundry, and food shopping. Food (and everything else) is very expensive here compared to the U.S. (rib eye steak $16 - $17 per pound, Kleenex tissue cube $2.69, and on top of it all add in 13% sales tax on everything except food) and we do miss some of our favorite brands. George is also shocked by the liquor, beer, and gas/diesel prices (six pack of Coors Light $13.50, 1 3/4 liter of Absolute vodka $54.50, gas near $4.00 per gallon and diesel about $3.20 per gallon U.S. dollars). Transient prices at the marinas, however, have been quite reasonable compared to those at home. We invited Pam and Dave from "Adagio" aboard for cocktails, and shared with them some info we had on marinas in Florida. After they left, we then went to a local café for dinner where we had a pleasant conversation with a Canadian couple from our marina at the table next to ours.

7/12 - Parry Sound

After a lovely evening at anchor we made our way to Big Sound Marina in Parry Sound. Several familiar boats are here and in the adjacent marina: "Adagio" from Ohio,
"Maya Lisa" from Virginia, and "Houlegan" from Mississippi. We are all "Loopers", and are all on relatively the same schedule more or less. On some days some may go ahead, and others catch up at other locations. Although it was a sunny day, the wind was howling here, and many of the local Canadians were moaning about the fact that the weather has been about 20 degrees cooler than usual. Since their summer begins to wind down around August 15th, every day counts for them! We have to agree that it feels more like fall here than the middle of July!

July 11- Kineras Bay

Our anchorage at Kineras Bay

Despite some early morning showers, and the continued high-wind warnings, conditions seemed fine for us to continue on our way. "Maya Lisa" decided to head to a marina in Parry Sound today, but we wanted to spend another night at anchor, so they headed out ahead of us, and perhaps we will catch up to them tomorrow. What is great about this trip is that we see familiar "Looper" boats from time to time, but everyone is on their own schedule. Just like yesterday, we attempted to go into another designated Canadian public land "Over-night Anchorage". Some have small docks where you can go ashore, and/or tie up to rings on the land, or moorings (if the boat is less than 35 feet). Many of the boats anchor Mediterranean -style by putting down a forward anchor, and then tying a stern anchor to a tree. Once again this kind of anchorage was not a good idea for us, because on the week-ends they are jammed, and we like a lot of room around our boat. Instead, we again went a little farther a field and found beautiful Kineras Bay, where we were the only boat anchored.

July 10 - Sans Souci (Henry's Fish Camp)

Rocks, rocks, and more rocks

One unhappy boater today missed a buoy and tore the shafts out of his boat. It sank in minutes!

Environment Canada (similar to NOAA in the U.S.) kept announcing high-wind warnings and rain on the marine radio today for tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday so we decided to travel to the famous tourist restaurant, "Henry's Fish Camp", where we could also dock over-night and evaluate conditions on Saturday. Within an hour of our arrival we were happy to see "Maya Lisa" with Hank and Ceci aboard also pull in at the dock. We hadn't seen them since the lock in Lakefield on 6/28. After we said our "hellos", we agreed to have cocktails aboard their boat with dinner afterward at the restaurant. It was fun to catch up with places they had been since we last saw them. They have lived all over the world, since Hank had a career as a U.S. Foreign Aid official, but they now live in the Fredricksburg, Virginia area and cruise on their boat about five months a year. The fried Pickerel dinner was great, and we came back to our boat to discuss our future planned stops.

July 9 - Longuissa Bay

One of many houses on the rocks

It was great to be out on the water today, and there were many boats out with us in beautiful Georgian Bay. We had to watch our GPS, charts, and visible buoys closely because THE ROCKS WERE EVERYWHERE! Every once in a while there were also bottles tied in the water to mark another newly- discovered ROCK! The scenery was almost other-worldly with homes built on rock boulders in the middle of the water. We have speculated that these houses must be built in the winter, when trucks would be able to drive across the ice with building materials. The water was also so clear that you could see how close we sometimes got to the rock ledges along the channels. We attempted to go into one anchorage today, but though it was very beautiful, the large amount of boats there did not give us a safe feeling, so we traveled on to lovely Longuissa Bay, where we were sheltered and a little farther off the beaten track. Even in this spot there were nine other boats with us, but at least we were well spread out.

July 8 - Midland

Today was our 37th Wedding Anniversary, and since we couldn't tour the area yesterday because of the weather, we decided to stay here another day. During business hours members of the marina's customer service staff are permitted to drive transient boaters to and from locations they would like to visit in the local area. We took advantage of this service and visited Discovery Harbor in the nearby port of Penetanguishene. It is an historical site which had its origins during the War of 1812, when the British Navy established a presence here to defend the Georgian Bay ports from a possible rear- flank attack by the American Navy. After the war, when Drummond Island in the North Channel was given to the U.S. by treaty, the British forces there were transferred to this fortification. We had an enjoyable time on our guided tour, and had a celebratory dinner in the town of Midland in the evening.

July 7 - Midland

We awoke to pouring rain and chilly temperatures and decided that this would be a good day to stay put at Bay Port Marina. George walked up to the office with his chart book, however, to see if there was anyone there who could suggest some good anchorages and best places to stop in Georgian Bay. We have always found that local knowledge is better than our just relying on information in guide books. This was truly our lucky day!
Ken MacDonald, the General Manager of not only this 700 slip marina, but the over-all manager of several more marinas owned by a large holding company in this area, was willing to come to our boat after closing time to go over the charts. Ken also gave us two CDs of Power Point presentations he has done for boating groups specifically about Georgian Bay and the North Channel. True to his word, Ken came aboard and spent over 1 1/2 hours with us mapping out the best routes and anchorages in these Canadian waters.
We found him to be a truly warm, wonderful person who loves this area, and we were over-whelmed by the graciousness of this very busy man who was willing to spend so much time with us to make our voyage a good one.

July 6 - Midland, Ontario (Georgian Bay)

Riding the Big Chute Railway

A one way passage rock cut - Little Chute.
A real thrill if another boat is coming the other way.

On this chilly, overcast morning at 8:30 a.m. we headed over from our dock to Big Chute where we waited to be called onto the railway. Luckily, we were the only boat there - what a difference from yesterday's madhouse! When we were called, George skillfully moved the boat onto the platform where the expert railway personnel moved three large straps under "Reflection" in a criss-crossed pattern so that she sat on her keel, but could not move from side to side because of the straps holding her steady. The aft section of the boat hung off the back of the car so that her rudder and props would not be damaged. We were amazed at the time and care we got, and when the railmen and George were satisfied that everything was safe, "Reflection" went on one of the greatest rides of her life. The view from the top of the hill before we went down in slow-motion was like being on the top of a roller coaster. In about 7 minutes we made it down back into the water, where we were quickly floated and on our way again. We motored through winding channels to Port Severn and the final lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway. This lock was the smallest we encountered, and our boat filled up the lock! When we left the lock we couldn't believe the tight little channel we had to transit to get through our final bridge. But this was only the beginning! Of course, by now the wind was blowing hard right on our nose, and we had to make our way through a series of tight, shallow channels to reach the open waters of Georgian Bay. Captain George navigated us well through the entire process and we scooted across the bay to Bay Port Marina in Midland. Because we had gone through so much this morning, it seemed to take a long time, but we actually made the trip in only 3 1/2 hours. At this point we have traveled 740 miles and have gone through 73 locks over a period of 31 days!

July 5 - Big Chute

One of many narrow passages on our way to the Big Chute

Swift Rapids Lock ("going down" - 47 feet and fast)

House on the rocks

Big Chute Marine Railway (lock)

Tomorrow it is our turn to get on board

Someone we met earlier in the trip told sister Pat that the area beyond Orillia would be some of the loveliest we would see on the Trent-Severn, and this certainly seemed so today. Beautiful small lakes, rocky islands, quaint cottages, and enormous homes with boat-houses abound in this area. We have also seen the largest amount of boats of the entire trip past the Hudson River. One of the two locks we went through today dropped us 47 feet very rapidly, but we managed everything very well even though it was just the two of us working the fenders and lines. By mid afternoon we pulled up to the public dock at Big Chute where planned to spend the night. Cameras in hand, we walked over to the Visitor's Center and observation deck where we could closely observe the workings of this marine railway lift which will carry our boat down 57 feet tomorrow. It is an amazing operation, and we watched numerous boats, as many as five at a time, enter this enormous apparatus that looked like something out of "Star Wars", and be transported over a road from one body of water to another. They looked like they were going up and down on a slow-motion roller coaster! George had a chance to talk to one of the operators, advised him of some of the nuances of our boat, and was assured that they would take good care of us on Monday morning.

July 4 - Orillia

Bratwurst for breakfast at the farmers market (keeping to my see food diet)

After going to the Farmers Market at the Opera House this morning, we said a fond "good-bye" to our crew, and George walked them to the bus station where they were bound for Toronto today, and flying home to Richmond tomorrow. We then followed up doing laundry, cleaning the boat, and food shopping. By the time we were done, the Captain and First Mate were exhausted, but looking forward to moving on to Big Chute tomorrow.