Day 58-60 Aug3-5 Gore Bay Boat Hospital

To put Ron's mind at ease, we decide to go to Gore Bay and have a mechanic take a look at Wild Goose II. This might prevent us from anchoring out if the forecast doesn't change. However, better to be safe.
We pass Little Island on the way that looks like......you tell me :)??
After fuel and check in, Ron gets the name of a mechanic. He (Norm) responds quickly and comes to the boat. He and Ron remove some set screws which had been worn and need to be refitted, so Norm takes them and he'll be back in the morning.

I wake up to find Ron looking at Loonies and taking photo's, I had been down in the cabin watching cartoonies :)
Ron gets some great shots.

It's rather hot and humid early this morning, so Ron and I suit up to swim, and as I jump in, Norm is heading down the dock. It's freezing cold water even in my shortie wetsuit, but cools my body temperature. I swim across the docks to a ladder and get out as quick as I went in. Ron changes back to shorts and the two get to work drilling the dimples in the shafts deeper.
It's time to check out the props and the boat moves to the slings to be pulled up out of the water. After we move it, I go for a walk so that there is less stress for everyone. Hot, humid, unhappy skipper, broken boats and hot flashes don't mix.
I go visit the beach where some puppies are being trained by mom to swim and cool off. I then go to the outside cafe' for a diet coke and some water and watch Ron from a distance.
 After inspection, the starboard prop is tightened and the port is checked "just in case". Well, well...the port side is stripped and after checking, there is no machinist who can make a new one anytime soon. The part is welded onto the shaft and we are to wait a few hours for it to "set".
We wisely use this time to go to town and pick up a few things for dinner and by the time we return, Wild Goose II is ready to go back to the dock.
After Goose is docked, we try to cool off and decide that we'll save a nice dinner for another time...we eat quickie left overs and we end up on opposite ends of the boat as we all settle in for the night. Glad that when I wake up this day will be over.
Chill out day is Thursday with a nice cool , dry breeze. We do some small chores, defrost freezer, blog, change sheets etc.

Patti sleeps the afternoon away while it rains. Ron wakes me up and the  weather has changed yet again back to cool and sunny, with a breeze. We walk to town to The Twin Bluffs for a very relaxing BBQ rib dinner. Just what the doctor ordered. Captain Ron, crew and Goose are all "back to normal", whatever that is.

Day 57 Monday Aug 2 Kagawong

We spend the morning waiting around in the light rain and drizzle for a couple boats to move so that we can get out.

The current has increased and Ron needs some swing room to get out safely.

My niece Brittany called with good new about her new job. I am very happy for her.

Depart LC at 10:55AM and it appears that the weather might have split. I sure hope so as we are headed to Kagawong and The Bridal Veil Falls. I would like to swim there.

By 1:30 it looks like an all day rain, so we head to the trails anyway. The trails have been recently improved and it was an easy mile or so trail to get to the falls. Well worth getting soaked for!

By dinner, the rain has let up and Ron is able to grill out. We watch the kids jumping in the clear cold water by the docks and at shore as well.

Day 54-56 Little Current Holiday Weekend

This morning I wake up to what I think is the stereo,but soon realize the music is not from our speakers. I am surprised to see a man on shore singing away with his cup of Jo. I want to stay here even longer than planned.
After a heart breaking weather report  we have to leave Manitowaning due to weather change, were not sure if we'll get a dock, but we decided to pass through Little Current and give it a shot at the town docks. Private marina's are all full due to the Canadian Civic Holiday, but the town docks are first come first serve and we went through after a few boats had just left.  Lucky us! We are excited to see the activities planned for the weekend. Water ski shows, cardboard boat races, kid's games, car shows...too many things to mention.
 .
We were docked right next to the Fish and Chips/Ice Cream building and it turned out to be a prime people watching location.
It was kind of amazing that there are so many people that look like people you know. It was fun!
We see the sailboat Sabrina (Mel and Jan) there from our home port on Lake Erie.
We get our printer out and make some photo's for Two Turtles and two of the little dog on the boat docked next to us, Blue Max IV. What a good dog. And what a beautiful boat. It's a Marine Trader like ours, however it's back deck is covered. The galley is down which leaves space for a couple of comfortable chairs ( I am so jealous). So the trade off....  inside seating where we sit outside...and of course they have galley down which was never a favorite for us. Love the space it added, though. We enjoyed their company.
Dinner at The Anchor Inn was good as always.
Double checking the boat brings up an issue that Ron must solve under the boat. He tightened the nuts holding the starboard prop to the shaft. Also double checks the starter and the batteries from our bad start yesterday.
On our way back from the butcher shop, an old car parade went by. It was neat with a variety of older sports cars mostly. There a singers spread through the streets playing various types of music with tip hats, jars etc.

The next day we find ourselves walking the streets of downtown where vendors have set up booths. We buy some t-shirts and sheets and run them back to the boat before the parade starts. Cool small town parade is quite fun for me anyway. Ron could not help pretending he was part of the parade, since that is the only way he's gotten to a parade as an adult. Oh, all those summer parades we did are so distant.Talked to Lynda, Mom and Dad on Skype. It's always good to talk to home.
We cook on board in anticipation of a great parade of boats and fireworks. We were not disappointed.

Day 53 July 29 Yet another NCYC Boat

With the power still out in Killarny, we decide not to stick around for showers or breakfast. Not sure as we head out where we'll end up, however, the big blow is over and it's time to move. We say so long to the friends we met and are not sure that we'll see them again during this journey.

I am surprised that there are no waves as we reach the end of Killarny Channel. After getting a "no room at the inn" from Little Current, we turn into the next bay and steer through low rolling hills to Manotowaning.
What a gem of a place.
We pass an area that has the vague silhouette of Mount Rushmore without the carvings. The water is so clear, I think you could drink it without any problems.
We head to the fuel dock, however, cannot maneuver within the water depth and the tight space of docked boats to get to the dock. So, we decide to wait for fuel and head to our assigned dock.
The  beautiful beach  and swimming dock comes into view as we round the corner.
It appears to be all new, or at least updated.
We are surprised to find a great Internet signal and nice washrooms, convenient and inexpensive washer/dryer.   Avery large passenger ship that was replaced by Chi-Chimung to run people from Tobermorey to the island. It is being refurbished and currently not open for tours.

As we sit on the back deck, we see Infinity IV motor sail in to the harbor and wonder if Lee Merkle is aboard.
Come to find out it's new owner, Gill and Jan Bucholtz are the new owners and are staying here for a month.
Guests on board from Port Clinton, OH. Sorry, I forgot the names, a surgeon from their local hospital and his wife who is a nurse have been visiting for a week and leaving Saturday. We passed along a "hello" to our friends at PCYC.
The kids and a few adults are swimming, skiing, and screaming about how cold the water is. Lot's of fun to watch.

Ron and I get the dinghy in the water so that he can drown some worms and I can hike to town to see what's there.

 Town is pleasant with a couple burger, pizza joints, some unique shops and a grocery. I gather a few needed things and head back to the boat.

Days 50-52 July26-28 Our adventures in Killarny

Oh, I just want to sleep in one morning....please. Again, we are up early to shower, eat, and get Goose ready to roll so that we can make it to Killarny at a reasonable time.

Leaving St Amant's was pretty easy and Metal of Honor travels along.

When we approach Killarny we'll have "crossed our wake" as we will now be travelling in familiar waters. Our intention is to try new anchorages and marina's as much as the wind and waves will allow.

The water has turned to a Caribbean Blue with a water temp of 68 as we are in the open Georgian Bay. The sun is warm and as we turn to enter Killarny we have a gentle rolling side sea.

The Sportsman Inn is very busy as they just reopened after a 3-4 year remodel. The Inn and Marina was hit real hard by an ice storm (I think) that ripped out their docks and did much damage. New owners came in and have worked over the past few years to fix it up and it turned out awesome. All new hotel rooms and suites, dining rooms, washrooms, fuel docks etc. Top Notch. Very friendly and hard working staff.

There is no doubt that lamb chops are in store for dinner tonight.

Ron celebrated with Kevin and some guests at the piano bar and had a blast. I did feel sorry for him as he crawled home. He had fun and this night was one of his bucket list check marks for this summer.

Wind is picking up and it's made for a very interesting day of boats sticking around and some coming in for safety. Two "teaching" ships come in with students and we watch as they do their chores.

Tuesday we took some walks: to breakfast at The Pine Inn, (which is another favorite for us any time of day), we also walked to the general store and LCBO. Not sure if we'll be anchoring out this weekend, but the stores are so convenient, it makes sense to be prepared.

Loopers meet at 5PM near our boat for card and story exchanges. Well, of course Happy Hour too. I overheard one of the gals mentioned that two things needed to get done when arriving home after The Great Loop. #1 go to AA meeting and #2 sign up with Weight Watchers.

 We have a couple people on the boat to check out our screens. It's great exchanging ideas and Ron goes over to a couple other boats to do the same.

We have a photo opp and then the group goes to dinner and we cook on board. Second night out for Captain Ron :) I stay back again and get some reading time.

Lot's of wind and rain last night and maybe some more today.

 Considering our travel options for tomorrow is tough.  Not sure if the winds will lie down.I think we've just thrown our hands up and decided to head out and then make a decision based on the what we see when we get out there into the main channel area.. I guess we could always turn around if it's too bad. Ron and the skippers get together and Ron answers questions from The Lopper's who have not been here before. They as well decide that a few options should be selected and then make the decisions when heading out into The Channel tomorrow.

It appears that someone has called ahead to Little Current and everything is booked due to the upcoming Civic Holiday Aug.2ND. Since Little Current has the most dockage of all the area, I find it hard to believe that we can't get in. I call Boyle's, Spider Bay and one other marina by the swing bridge...all full. The town dock's are first come first serve. Wow, must be a heck of a weekend holiday.

Power goes out for the whole area and  generators are starting to come on. I run to buy ice in case it last longer than 24 hours and there's a run on ice.. We used the power outage as an excuse to eat in and heat up leftovers in the microwave and settle in early.