Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig.

Once east of Tobermory, we got great escarpment views

After leaving Tobermory we had a lovely sail downwind and spent the night in Wingfield Basin.  It was our first night having to share an anchorage.  Besides three rafted powerboats having a bit of a party it was quite peaceful.

Helming from the hammock on the way to Wingfield

Our first time anchoring with neighbours.

After Wingfield we spent a night in Lion’s Head. Much of my time was spent messing around with the Genoa furler which is still giving me grief.  But we had time to drink beer with Steve from our Power Squadron course, who we ran into (not literally) at the docks.  He had spotted us a few days earlier and been waving at us on the water and trying to hail us on the VHF but we were oblivious.

Lion’s Head is a lovely town with everything you could need – groceries, LCBO, hardware store (one of those old-timey ones that sells one of everything but Lord knows where you would find it), a couple of restaurants, a beach, and lots of sailboats in the marina.  A spot to consider keeping our boat in permanently when we come home.

Judging by the number of folding bikes outside the LCBO,
we weren't the only cruisers stocking up!

The last stop before heading home was Owen Sound where I finally caved in and called in a professional rigger to help us with our furler.  He raised the genoa about 8” up the forestay by attaching the tack to a length of rope instead of directly to the drum.  This eliminated the halyard wrap and now the sail furls up with almost no effort.  An expensive call-out but a free solution.  You take the goods with the bads, folks. 

Now home for a few days to pick up the kids.

It's a Long Way to Tobermory

Two days traveling up the coast has landed us in Tobermory.  The first leg from Kincardine to Chantry Island (Southampton) was what cruising is all about: 

A lovely broad reach in about 12 knots of wind...

... and a peaceful anchorage for the night.

Bruce Nuclear Plant

On the way we passed the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant.  Reg sent a photo to his father who regaled us with stories the construction of Bruce A in the 70's.








The second leg from Chantry to Tobermory was the other side of cruising.  Motoring in the doldrums, a quick exciting sail later in the day, a tangled jib furler, a soaked crew (well, only me), and abandoned plans to anchor because the wind direction was all wrong. Luckily, Little Harbour in Tobermory never turns anyone away and they were able to squeeze us on to the end of a dock. 

We fit on this dock like the slipper on an ugly stepsister.

Planning to anchor in Wingfield Basin on the north east corner of the Bruce Penninsula for one or two nights now.  We'll be without wi-fi so I'll post again in a few days.

Wingfield Basin

Three Blustery Days in Kincardine

We have just finished a 3-day stay in Kincardine.  Our first extended stay anywhere that was a result of planning and not breaking something vital!

We had a nice sail in on Thursday with storms all around us but we were in a nice, dry bubble.

When we arrived in Kincardine were were placed in a slip that was 2' wider than the boat on a fairly narrow channel.  I managed to get her in but not without a lot of help from the dock hands.

We got a real treat on Friday - a visit from home! Our friends Eric and Tegan came up for the night with their wee ones. 

Someone was unimpressed with this photo shoot!

We had a BBQ on shore and then wandered into town for the car show.  Their toddler was in heaven - little boys love everything with wheels.  The kids didn't love sleeping on the boat quite so much.  We had heavy onshore wind all through the night and the boat was rocking a little too much for comfort.  Judging by how many other boaters told me they napped on Saturday afternoon, I don't think anyone got much sleep in the marina that night.

The big winds had caused a build up of waves on Lake Huron which brought out all the surfers, kite surfers, onlookers, and the kid in all of us.

 

Another treat in Kincardine - provisioning with a car!  One of Reg's coworkers keeps his boat here so he took Reg grocery shopping where he bought all sorts of heavy luxury items like spring water and pop!

Having people around also meant we got a rare photo of the two of us together!

The Doldrums

Another day of motoring today as there was barely a breath of wind on Lake Huron between Sarnia and Bayfield for most of the day.  When we were about 25 minutes from our destination a storm passed south of us causing the wind to pick up from 0.5 to 17 knots in about 3 minutes.

We borrowed the marina bicycles in Bayfield and did some provisioning and explored the town.  A pretty tourist town - can't imagine how quiet it must be in the winter.

Sailing from nowhere...

... to nowhere

The (in)Famous Bluewater Bridge

Today we motored up the St. Clair river to the Sarnia Yacht Club on Lake Huron. A mostly uneventful day except for going under the Bluewater Bridge where there is quite a current as Lake Huron empties into the river.  We had been told by many sailors to stick as close to the Sarnia side as possible where the current is somewhat weaker.  Even following this advice we still had a speed over ground of as little as 1.3 knots with our instruments showing approximately 5.8 knots.  A heartfelt thanks to everyone for the advice as the trek was slow but trouble-free.

Upon arrival at the Sarnia Yacht Club we came across a local sailor who backed his boat out of his slip when we were about 6' from crossing his stern.  Luckily we were on high alert as we were in an unfamiliar harbour so were able to reverse quickly and avoid a collision. Turns our sailors can be jerks, too.

The Sarnia Yacht Club is a great place and I would highly recommend it to other boaters in the area.  They only charged us $1 per foot for the night including tax.  I think this is likely the cheapest dock fee we will encounter on the entire trip.  As a bonus, the club has a private beach where we got to cool off and then sit in chairs in the surf reading while the sun set.  Lovely.

For dinner we went to a local Italian restaurant (http://salvatoresinpoint.com) where they don't have a menu, they just bring you whatever is freshly made that day.  Not having to make any decisions other than the wine choice was quite refreshing and as all the pasta is made on site I don't think any dish would have been disappointing. 

Sorry, no pictures today so I'll leave you with another cute animal photo I stole from the internet.

Putting Lessons into Practice

Over the fall and winter Reg, Sam, and I took some courses with the Canadian Power and Sail Squadron (http://www.cps-ecp.ca/).  This week we got to put some of the lessons learned into practice.

Using paper charts to do some route planning for Lake Huron

Whipping the end of the fender lines

Lining up a range on the St. Clair River.  Almost there...

... perfect!

Somewhere on the Lazy River

We left Windsor after 3 nights with a functioning alternator and a spring in our step.  The trip up Lake St. Clair was uneventful as we didn’t have enough wind to sail.  The lake and river were extremely busy as it was a glorious Sunday with the St.Clair River Classic Offshore Boat Race (powerboats) and lots of families out on their ski boats.

We spent two lovely night at Ecarte Marine in Port Lambton. This place has the friendliest staff and locals (retired staff who live on site I think).  We arrived on Sunday after the office was closed so we tied up to the wall near the gas dock and figured we could sort things out in the morning.  We had a lovely evening chatting with a guy in his early 70s who is taking his Alberg 30 to the North Channel from Erieau.  This is the second time we have run into him and likely not the last. We also enjoyed some fantastic people watching on the river.

Floating dock complete with a trolling motor, a BBQ, a cooler, and 8 passengers

The next morning, we paid up for the night before ($1.30 per foot – the cheapest yet) and were planning on heading straight out.  The alternator set up was still making us nervous, however, so we had the in-house mechanic do some work for us.  He adjusted the pulleys so the belt runs straighter and assured us that the newly-welded arm is holding strong.

He was finished in early afternoon so we decided to stay another night.  Reg was able to put in a full day of work and I did some laundry (free!), stocked up on beer (the staff drove me to the store!), and read my book under a shady tree.

On our second morning the staff brought us coffee and fresh cookies from town. Now that is service.

Now on to Sarnia and the Bluewater Bridge which every sailor we talk to tells us is tricky to get under with the strong current.