Port Severn - Georgian Bay

Port Severn – Georgian Bay July 10-July 14

Our last day in Port Severn we did some laundry at the Severn Suds J (a name that struck us as quite amusing) and we also did some grocery shopping.

Gary was starting to look a little scruffy so I
gave him a #2 all over.

Sitting Pretty

Man, oh man, I find the prices of things up here to be crazy high!!  We wanted fruit and veggies but the quality was sad and the prices darn right outrageous.

It was pretty breezy and we wanted to get an early start the next morning, so we locked through and stayed on the bottom wall.

July 11

We were woken up around 0500 by Mexican fisherman, I kid you not!  They were so loud (and did I mention Mexican?) that we figured, what the hell, and casted off.  I was nervous to leave the safety of the Trent for the unfamiliar Georgian Bay with its rocks underwater biting at props and its winding channels and low water depth…

And sure enough, hardly 5 minutes into the trip we arrived at Potato Channel, so narrow and shallow one would almost think it unnavigable.

Narrow Potato Channel not even 5 miles out
of Port Severn where
many a boater has had the unfortunate luck of losing
 a prop or even a shaft.

Potato Channel;

But we made it through and when we arrived at Frying Pan Bay we were sad to see it was chock a block full of anchored boats and we weren’t able to find a spot.

We checked our charts and without even realising it we became gunk-hollers. We found a gorgeous anchorage and dropped our anchor thinking that surely more boats will show up to share our little paradise with us, but none came, we ended up having a lovely piece of Georgian Bay all to ourselves. We spent two days swimming and laying around. We took the tender and went exploring of some large rocks in a nearby channel. 

A short visit to Honey Harbour and we were we stocked up on a few more groceries and fish bait, cause so far the elusive Walleye( Pickerel) has evaded our lures and coaxing.

Rock climbing

Exploring

Honey Harbour smart worms

Gorgeous Georgian Bay

Anchored at Tomahawk Island

Pizza cooked on the boat at anchor

Striking a pose on a rock in Georgian Bay

We took some time and gave Time& Tide a good cleaning on the inside and outside.

July 13

We took off early and headed towards Frying Pan Island. For years now Gary has been telling me about Henry’s Fish Camp where he and Wayne spent a night 4 years ago when they brought Time & Tide home from Lake Huron.

Carolyn, Susan , Pattie and Carol
came for a visit

Henry's Fish camp

A few props damaged by the rocks

Gary enjoying his Fish and Chips

 We looked for an anchorage near the Island and found on off Jumbo Island. It was a tricky spot to get into, the water level going from a safe 16 feet to a scary 2 feet. We steered her in, me at the helm and Gary on the bow. We dropped the anchor and turned her around to tie her stern to the shore. This prevented us from swinging into the loving arms of a boulder underwater. I was torn between the gorgeous water and the scary rocks so close to the hull of the boat but Gary assured me everything was ok and as usual he was quite right. 

It was like having my own private pool. Off the swim platform there was 5 feet of water which shallowed to 2 feet. The water was crystal clear. It is so beautiful it is impossible to describe. 

Carol braved the cold water and went for a swim

Our Inukshuk, this one is a hockey player

Carol and me- proud of our little Inukshuk

Jimmie tied off behind Jumbo Island in crystal clear water

At lunch time we got into our dingy and headed for Henrys and a nice fish and chip lunch. When we arrived we saw Sojourner, a Selina 36 with Susan and Carolyn, who we met in Frankfort. It was wonderful to see familiar faces. We also met Pattie and Carol, friends of theirs who are visiting from Florida. We invited them to come and visit us at the anchorage and to swim in the lovely water.

Carol and I swam to the shore and built an inukshuk (this one is a hockey player)

July 14

Knowing that there is bad weather and high winds on the way we couldn’t stay at the anchorage on Jumbo Island with a stern line tied to shore, so we packed up and headed north on the small craft channel.

Canoe Narrows

As we were leaving the anchorage, Gary called out to me. He had noticed about 300 meters behind us a big black bear was swimming from one island to another. I was so awe struck I never even thought of taking a picture. We quietly waited for him to go ashore and as he walked out of the water we could see he was a big one. I kept saying WOW for about an hour!!

We passed through the dreaded Canoe Narrows without an incident and continued on to Hopewell Bay. 

Hopewell Bay

We found a great hidey hole where we planned to be for a few days waiting for the bad weather to pass. The place was swarming with little house flies that bite.


We had to close everything up and turn on the generator to be cool inside. The next morning we said to hell with it and left for Bayfield Inlet knowing that there would be safe harbour against the pending storm. 

We were anchored behind Gibraltar Island for 3 day waiting for the bad weather to pass.

Sunset- Gibraltar Island - Bayfield Inlet

Before we anchored we thought it best to top up with fuel so we went into Bayfield Inlet.  The lady at the marina told us it was more expensive as we go north so we ended up filling up and paying $1.79 for a liter of diesel. Afterwards we found out that she fibbed as the fuel in Killarney is only $1.48!

The bad weather blew in and we had a rocky night on the hook but she held tight and we were very safe. I was scared at times, especially when the gusts of 70Kmp winds pushed us around. Things always seem worse in the dark.

The rain never materialised so it stay warm and muggy. The deer flies were terrible. After attempting to fight them off with bug juice and fly swatters, I almost became disheartened. They don’t seem to bite Gary at all but love to feast on me. The bites hurt like heck and the itchiness can drive one crazy. There is a magical 45 minutes at around 8:15 pm when the deer flies have left for the day and the mosquitos haven’t arrived yet. It is my favourite time of day! I don’t want to sound like I am complaining; I am living a dream but those beasty little biters sure make life miserable.

                                           …to be continued