Crossing Our Wake - Harrisville, MI July 26, 2012

Harrisville, MI

Harrisville Municipal Harbor

July 26, 2012

This may not be our final post - but it probably will be.  We still have a few days of travel left to get to our home port but we have officially crossed our wake.  It has been a fantastic adventure and I can't believe it has been a year.  We met so many wonderful people and we saw some pretty cool stuff on the way. I could write for hours about the places and people, but I think the best part of the trip was going to the Bahamas.  Living on the boat was for the most part great but it did get a little tight at times and there were times that we just had to get off for a while. 
I will list some statistics below.  As you can see, we did not anchor out much so marinas were the biggest part.  If you add dinning out and groceries then food was 32% which I am sure doesn't surprise anyone who has read the blog or knows me.  We had some wonderful meals on the trip and most of those were great because of the company as well as the food.  We had one mishap, but other than that the boat ran great and we had no mechanical breakdowns.  We spent more money than budgeted - but again if you know me that is really no surprise.
The biggest surprise was how much work this trip was.  Charting, navigating, making reservations and blogging take a lot of time and effort.  I also realized how much I don't enjoy driving so if Ginny had not done 95% of the piloting and docking, I might have turned around after the first week.  I guess I am droning on and on so goodbye for now and if you ever get a chance to do the Great Loop, do it.

Days:  365
Statue Miles: 7,000
Gallons of Fuel: 5,000
Engine Hours: 785
Average Miles Per Gallon: 1.37
Average Speed: 8.75
Percentage of Costs:
     Dockage: 25%
     Fuel: 24%
     Dinging Out: 18%
     Groceries: 14%
     Supplies: 6%
     Repairs: 5%
     Other: 8%

Tobermory - Last Stop In Canada

Tobermory, ON

Tobermory Harbor

July 25, 2012

We had a good time in Killbear for two days but we were ready to move on to our final stop in Canada which was Tobermory.  We once again left early with "Kismet" and "Cbay" and traveled with them for about an hour and then they turned North and we went West.  We had a total of 90 miles to our destination so we ran on plane the whole way which was the first time we have done that since we left for the loop a year ago. The trip was uneventful and we got into harbor as the wind was picking up.  We were in Tobermory in 2005 the first year we had our boat.  Technically this is where we crossed our wake because we have been here before but I don't like that idea so we will consider our loop closed when we arrive in Harrisville in the US.  Tobermory is a very nice city and the town is clustered around the harbor so everything is close.  They were expecting some storms but it just rained so not bad.  We got a take out pizza and salad for dinner and turned in early.  This was the first night in a long time that we have not been with other loopers at cocktail time.  We are excited to be heading home but we still have some long runs so we are curbing our enthusiasm until we get home. On Thursday we are heading for the US across Lake Huron which is about 65 miles.  

 Leaving Killbear Marina

 A light house in Georgian bay

 The last picture of Kismet we will take since they are heading North

 The fuel dock in Tobermory

 Brown Eyed Girl dock on the wall in the city

This is a large ferry that runs from Tobermory

Honey Harbor, Sans Souci and Killbear

Honey Harbor, ON

South Bay Cove Marina

July 20-21

We finally left Midland after 7 nights and quite a few dollars on Friday morning.  "Kismet" waited an extra day for us after their repairs so we headed off a whopping 10 miles to Honey Harbor across the bay.  It felt strange running the boat again and we were a little nervous but the weather was great and "Kismet" led, so all went well.  The city of Honey Harbor is right off the small boat channel in the Georgian Bay but the marina we stayed at was two miles up the harbor.  The only real obstacle was a big rock called "Jack's Rock" right before the marina.  The obstacle was which side to pass it on.  We saw the green and red bouys (which were not on the charts) when we headed in so we followed them into the marina.  South Bay Cove Marina is quite large with a lot of big seasonal and transient boats.  The marina is modern with very nice docks and great dock hands.  The ship's store was well stocked and there was a discount for Loopers.  Overall this was one of the nicest places we have stayed.
Not long after we arrived, John and Mary on "Passport" pulled in.  We had not seen them in a very long time and it was great to finally catch up again.  They had some wonderful stories and they looked great.  We all decided to take our dingys into town so we paraded back up the harbor to the town dock.  This is a very, very busy place for boats of all sizes and they all go full speed.  We tried to stay out of the way as best we could.  We stopped at the dock and there was a restaurant and small market there.  I bought some rolls and we decided to come back the next day for lunch.  When we got back to the boat we saw that Bill and Pam on "Seabiscuit" were in port.  We had not seen them in long time so - the reunion was on.  We had cocktails and then went to dinner at the restaurant in the marina.  The ratings for the restaurant were very good so we were expecting great things. The food was good, but the company was excellent.  

The next day was warm and calm and I caught up with some chores until about 11:30, when we left on our dinghys for lunch at the town restaurant, The Country Grill.  We had a very nice lunch on the upper deck and then did a little shopping at the market below for some fresh vegetables.  When we got back to the boat we saw Marc and Michele on "Marc's Ark" whom we had not seen in quite some time.  When I went to see Mark, Michele said he was helping someone on another boat change oil.  She said the boat was "Blue Heron" and we were so excited because we have been trying to catch them since they started the loop on the Chesapeake.  The owners are Craig and Barb from Cincinnati, Ohio and we met them at the fall rendezvous in October of 2011 when they were planning their trip.  What a great time we had catching up and swapping stories.  It was quite a reunion.  We all decided to have cocktails at a couple of picnic tables and then cook out on the grills provided by the marina.  What a great time we had, but sadly some of us were moving on the next day.

 A little light house on the way to Honey Harbor

 A grocery store on an island with a dock

 Jack's Rock

 On the way into South Bay Cove Marina

 Many of these little statues along the shore

 Mary and John from "Passport"

 Dean and Beth on "Kismet"

 South Bay Cove Club House

 A prop graveyard - Many rocks and many broken props

Left to Right around the circle

Craig, Michele, Marc, John, Rusty, Craig, Beth, Bill and Barb

Ginny, Michele, Barb, Craig, Craig and Mary

Sans Souci, ON

Henry's Fish Camp

July 22

It was pretty hard to leave on Sunday for 30 mile run to Sans Souci because we will probably not see the other boats again as we are heading South soon and they will all be going to the North Channel.  We got an early start because Henry's Fish Camp, our next stop, does not take reservations. Check out time is 11:00 so we wanted arrive there about 11:30.  We headed out of Honey Harbor and up the small boat channel.  We led, followed by "Passport" and "Kismet".  The channel was very well marked and there were some stretches of open water so we made very good time.  There were a couple of narrow passages but no slow zones and we arrived at Henry's about 10:30 instead of 11:30.  I called in on the radio and asked for dockage for three boats and the owner said that not everyone had left so he might not have space.  I thought we might have to anchor for while and wait but, lucky for us all, Beth got on the radio and sweet talked a place for all of us.
Henry's is just a few long docks perpendicular to the shore and is a very popular place for lunch.  The boats that are staying overnight are put closest to the shore for power and the rest of the dock space is for people coming in for lunch and dinner.  We all tied up and walked around a little.  After a while, Joe and Tara on "Seabatical" and Pam and Bill on "Seabiscuit" come in, so we had another nice crowd for dinner.  The place is pretty small and because of bears, it is not a good idea to be wandering around in the woods.  Apparently, about five years ago the bears were not such a problem because there was a yearly bear hunt and also because the bears hung out at the city dump.  The city went green and separated their trash and put it in containers so the bears could not get in.  The local PITA people also helped put an end to the bear hunt, so now there are too many bears with no place to go.  The owner of Henry's has shot a few bears this year because they come into his place cause trouble.  We had heard that a bear had been coming around at night and that the some of the staff were going to stay up that night and if the bear came in again, they would shoot it.  When we got up the next day, several of the people said they heard a shot around midnight, but it was not confirmed if that was a bear or not.  Anyway, we all had a good day of relaxation and then went to dinner.  I didn't get the fish so I don't know how it was but others did and they said it was good.  After dinner Ginny and I went to the boat and watched some TV and hit the sack even though we were not leaving until 8 the next day.

 One of the narrow places on the small boat channel

 Henry's from the water

 Our dock for the night

 Sea plane coming in for lunch

 They have a dock for planes

 Seabiscuit

 Beth, Pam, Bill and Dean

Joe, Tara, Jan and Rusty (on Cbay) - John has his back to us because he is showing Ginny where we are on the chart

Killbear, ON

Killbear Marina

July 23-24

We only had 17 miles to travel on Monday to Killbear Marina at the base of Parry Sound.  There are two ways to get there.  We chose the small boat channel but a couple of the others went outside.  Our route was pretty straight forward but there was one place where you had to stop and then make a hard turn to port and then back again to starboard.  "Kismet" was nice enough to lead the way, so we followed with "Passport" and "Cbay" behind.
The wind was supposed to pick up and continue for the next day.  We arrived before it was too bad and we stayed two nights.  We all went to dinner at the marina restaurant and it was very good, especially what Ginny's pasta.  On Tuesday, "Seabiscuit", "Passport" and "Seabatical" left which was very sad for us because we had just joined them again a few days ago, but we understand how this works.
Tuesday was very windy and we were planning on leaving Wednesday morning so we were hoping the wind died down.  Internet was next to impossible to get so we did not have a very good handle on the weather but it worked out OK because Wednesday morning was light winds.  We liked the marina and the scenery was wonderful but we were a little down because we once again we would have to say goodbye to Beth and Dean.  I know it did not work out so well last time and neither of us wanted a repeat of that so we all pretended that it was a normal day and agreed to say our goodbyes in the morning.

 Kismet going through a tricky place.

 Very shallow and two tight turns

 Another wonderful evening

 The Killbear Marina office and store

Killbear Marina

Back in the Water in Midland

Midland, ON

Bay Port Yachting Center

July 13-19

If you have been reading the blog you know a rock jumped up and bit us.  We limped into Midland, Ontario last Friday the 13th (should have known better) and have been out of the water until today around 3:00 P.M.  I guess it could have been worse, but it was not a fun week.  It was miserably hot so we could not stay on the boat and we were bored silly most of the time.  Thanks to Beth, Dean and Ziggy for letting us stay on their boat for the first two nights.  Sunday and Monday we stayed in a Knights Inn in Midland.  If you ever get to Midland, DO NOT stay at the Knights Inn.  On Tuesday we moved to a Comfort Inn which was way better and then on Wednesday night we stayed on the boat because the weather was cooler.  Today is Thursday and we are back in the water with the air conditioner going full blast.

I wish I could say that hitting an object and having it fixed in a strange place is not traumatic and is just "part of boating" but that's not true.  You feel terrible and you want to go home and hide, but since we don't have a home we are making the best of it.  The money issue is bad enough, but then you have to listen to strangers tell you that "You need to stay in the channel son" or "There are two kinds of boaters in Georgian Bay, those that have hit a rock and those that will".  We may look back on this and laugh one day but I doubt it.  I am done feeling sorry for myself and happy hour starts now so we will move on.

The best part of the week was that we got a visit from some other Loopers who live in Canada.  Garth and Kathy from "Algonquin" and Sid and Evelyn from "Something Special" came to visit on Wednesday.  We had a great time and I can't tell you how much we appreciated their visit.  Sid and Evelyn drove over 3 hours to see us.

I also want to say what a fantastic service department they have at Bay Port which is headed by Scott.  I honestly don't know how he does it, but he seems to please everybody and I know he works 7 days a week.  If his boss is reading this then give Scott a raise.  Scott had the busted parts off the boat the first night we arrived here and his crew was "Johnny on the spot" to put everything back to together when the parts came in.  The real heros are the guys in the trenches.  Earl and Cody did all of the work on the boat with the utmost professionalism and expertise.  Cody is a young Earl and he was just as meticulous as the master about his work.  Ed, the travel lift operator was fantastic.  Ed was always available when we needed to be moved and he was an expert.  Page drove us around several times and was a joy to talk with.  I don't know every one's name-  but kudos to everyone.

 Kathy, Garth, Evelyn and Sid - Thanks guys

 Bright and Shiny Strut

 New shaft and new coupler

 Starboard Prop

Port Prop - See last post for the before

A Big Bang and a Change of Plans

Midland, ON

Bay Port Marina

July 13-?, 2012

In our last post you may recall we were headed for Honey Harbor on Friday which in on the East side of Georgian Bay.  We got to the last lock on the Trent Severn Waterway in Port Severn only to discover it was a little crowded because it is the smallest lock on the waterway and can't handle more than one big boat at a time.  We only had to wait for one lock down and up and then it was our turn.  There were a lot of boats behind us backed up including "Kismet" who was heading to Midland.  We got through the lock fine and some very skinny areas after the lock.  We were about a mile from the lock when we hit.  The boat went up on its side and there was a big bang.  Obviously we hit a rock and it was bad so we stopped and tried to figure out our bearings.  We were on the wrong side of the marker so we had to limp back to the deep water  before we could relax a little.  After looking around at the markers we determined that there was a red marker on a big rock but there was also a red buoy about 20 yards away from the other red.  We unfortunately assumed that the buoy was green so we went between them. When we put the port engine in gear there was a terrible vibration but we needed to keep going slowly because there was some very tight areas ahead and if we drifted out of the channel it could be worse.  We got through Potato Channel and into Midland Bay and then we decided to shut down the port engine and use the starboard engine to limp into Midland.
I had called the Bay Port Marina as soon as we could and they said they could help.  This is the same marina that "Kismet" was going to so we would be together again.  We got into the marina and they said to take the boat to the lift which was all the way in the back of the marina.  They pulled us out right away to asses the damage and it was pretty bad.  Both props were damaged, the port shaft was bent and the port strut was bent.  Now by this time, Kismet was there and they needed to get pulled to check their props.  The marina put us back in and tied us up to the wall while they pulled Kismet.  They took the props off of Kismet and then put them back in the water and tied them up.  The marina then pulled us out and put us on blocks to work on the boat.  The mechanics stayed until well after quitting time to take our props off and pull the port shaft out of the boat to get them to the prop shop.  At this point the only thing we know is that the shop worked on the props on Saturday and they are making a new shaft for me on Monday but I have no idea about the strut or when we will be back in the water but we are thinking Friday.
Since the boat was out of the water there is not air conditioning and it is very hot.  Kismet was nice enough to let us sleep on their boat on Friday and Saturday night which was fantastic.  We were able to secure a hotel room for the rest of the week and we are now in a Knights Inn in Midland waiting for the marina.  We don't know where we are going from here but we will figure it out this week.  Wish us luck and stay tuned.

After the Big Chute and before Port Severn

Maybe the fish know it is the channel so they hide out

Boats in front of us at the Severn lock

Kismet waiting patiently behind us

Getting backed up at the lock

I don't know what he was diving for

Narrow channel under the bridge

I took this picture from the back deck on the port side after we hit (It is red right on this section of the waterway)

This is the other red that was on the rock.

OUCH!!!!

Not good

This is supposed to be straight.