08-30 Port Colborne

We stayed 3 nights in Pt Stanley to get the best weather for this longest passage of the trip. 97 miles through the water between 5AM and 19:45, for an average of 6.6 knots. It was very dark when we left, but there were hints of dawn by 6 and the sun actually broke the horizon at 6:48. We’re back on the same piers at the top of lock 8 to wait for our transit, scheduled for Tuesday.

It was 6C when we left in the morning and despite the lovely sunshine we didn’t peel off layers until late afternoon. The lake temperatures that had been so warm varied from 19 to 21 over the course of the day.

08-27 Port Stanley

We arrived in daylight this time and tied up on the wall closer to town. There’s a new restaurant complex on the pier since we helped Peaty deliver Clipper.

08-26 Erieau Marina

It was a little nerve wracking getting all the way down to the end when the depth showed only 3 or 4 due to weed, but there was 15 feet on the wall at the old railway dock.

it might look like you can run straight out into the lake, but check the chart! Much nicer than it looks from the entrance. There’s a well equipped marine store and the chance to buy frozen local perch.

08-24 Leamington

Another stop in Leamington to fill the fuel and water, empty the head, and swap out the propane tanks. And also enjoy the sunset. Great sailing with 15 on the quarter.

08-23 Windsor Yacht Club

We made a stop at Stag Island last night and thought we might anchor at Peche Island tonight, but the wind was wrong. We wound up in slip E17, after trying for W7. As you might expect from the plot, it was too shallow, but I was able to reverse back out. They only take transients from other yacht clubs, but it was still about $100 for the night.

WYC is definitely an urban destination and that weird sound is cars passing by 😉.

08-21 Bayfield

Today the wind was lighter and right behind us, so there was a lot of diesel involved in getting us here in time for groceries and dinner at the Black Dog.

the cold water had us driving in mist until about noon, starting at about 500 ft visibility but improving rapidly. Flat water and mist on the webs

08-20 Port Elgin

Great broad reach in 15-20 NE, dropping to 10 towards the end of the day. Slip H25 is a long walk from the office!

We were visited briefly by a swallow and we had this nuthatch aboard for several hours before flying off. I hope they made it safe to shore…

08-17 Snug Harbour

Stopped in Little Current for fuel and water, then had a lively sail across to the very well protected Snug Harbour where we shared the space with two large C&C and a small one. Skies are very clear, and it’s a cold night. 

One downside of Snug Harbour — no cell service. I didn’t take explicit notes along the way, but some harbours I have saved blog notes since the app was unusable: Baie Fine, Bad River, Wingfield, South Benjamin, Eagle, James Bay, Long Point (Erie) and I’m sure there were others. 

08-18 was our intended departure for Tobermory, but they have upped the forecast wind to 20 from the east. We do not need to be in Tobermory, and we are staying put. We haven’t done much waiting for weather so far on this trip… Hurricane Erin is headed north in the Atlantic and looks to be impacting the flows around here. A moderate westerly could be a long wait 😎

08-19 Tobermory

Not quite the same spot as previous stays, but close. Today’s forecast was 15, dropping to 10 around noon, so we headed out.

Tobermory is not the same as it used to be, probably a victim of its tourist success. There are a lot more tour boats, and more people, except for today when the cancelled the tours due to weather. The grocery store and the diner are gone from the harbour (they used to fill the holes in the photo below), probably because it was too tough for the locals to get through the tourist traffic. There’s only a handful of transient sailboats.

The weather we sailed through from Snug Harbour was up to 20 knots from the SE, then E, and there was more rock and roll than most tourists like. We are tired and will sleep well after taking advantage of the hot showers.

08-16 Rous Islands

Apparently we are getting repetitive as today closely matches August 2. 2012.

https://rwsdragon.blogspot.com/2012/08/turnbull-island-to-rous-islands.html

The wind didn’t fill in as much, but we are under squall watch and expecting 15+ from the NE during the night. The anchorage remains uninspiring.

08-15 Turnbull Island

There’s plenty of room and depth to avoid the rocks on the way in, but it takes some attention. The centre of this little archipelago is protected all the way round.

We had a nice drift from Beardrop, then sailed past once the wind came up. Another couple of miles and there’s nothing between here and the St Mary’s River.

08-14 Beardrop Harbour

We scouted Moiles Harbour, but were unimpressed and went on to Beardrop. Entered cautiously following all the guidance. I saw some brief 4 foot readings, but I’m pretty sure that was weed. We will pay close attention to the weather after the excitement when we were last here.

We had a nice sail this morning, with an amazing lift, then motored when the wind died. We had a brief puff of wind in the late afternoon, but Laura had muffins in the oven. It doesn’t get much cruisier than that!

08-09 Bad River Channel

The plot shows our successful exit track. We went quite close to the indicated rock in order to avoid the unindicated rock about half way to the opposite shore. We know it’s there because we found it on the way in, about 4 ft under at datum. Gentle clattering, but still disconcerting…

Definitely worth it as one of the prettiest anchorages ever. 

We spent the day travelling from Byng Inlet by way of the small boat channel to Dead Island, then outside the rocks, but inside past the Bustards to the BRC entry. 

08-11 Snug Harbour, off Lansdowne Channel

On our first pass by here three weeks ago, we listened to a grounding saga unfold, as Killarney Rescue towed them off the shoal near the centre of the entry channel. It is important to follow the guidance in Ports and stay further west. 

The harbour is perfectly protected with tall woods all around, and there was lots of room when we arrived. 

08-12 Baie Fine and The Pool

We followed all the way to the end of Baie Fine and up the little channel to The Pool without coming close to grounding. After all the hype it was kind of underwhelming a DC a destination. It’s nice enough, but definitely topped by Bad River. Worth the trip in, but maybe not a must do. 

On the first two trips up here we skipped Baie Fine and The Pool because the water was lower and Dragon III’s keel was deeper. In hindsight we might have made it anyway, and that definitely put it on my personal must-do list for this year. 

After circulating through the crowd at the Pool, we came back out to a little cove on the south side of Baie Fine, which we now have all to ourselves. It also has a lovely view of the rocky ridges along the north side of the bay. 

08-13 Clapperton Harbour… again

We got going early from beautiful Baie Fine and the hills were glowing in the morning light. We motored at speed set to make the 11 am bridge swing at Little Current and were right on time. We docked on the wall and went up the hill for a full grocery shop. Didn’t worry about not finding smoked fish, as I figured we could get some from Wally’s.

It turns out you can’t go back again. The tiny perfect marine store in the green shed is gone. The shed is still there, but Rob sold to the city two years ago and now all they have is gas, diesel, and ice. Very sad…

We sailed, then motored when it died, which brought the wind right back up ;-) We’re in much the same spot as last time, but further off the island. Boats are filling in around us…

Along the way we encountered a very familiar looking tug — with the name Heron on the back.

08.08 Byng Inlet

We thought we were about to have an exciting morning, but this squall line de-organized itself into just a bunch of rain, then the mess from Lake Huron went south as we went north.

We sailed up Shawanaga Inlet and took a right at Turning Island. The northern passage gets tight in places, with heavy boat traffic to and from the many cottages. The feel is forested and protected until you suddenly reach the flat, rocky mess of the shore at Pointe Au Baril.

We motored out past the light house (closed like the one at Winfield) into steep waves and 20 knots in the narrow channel between the rocks. It got lighter as we reached down past Hangdog Reefs and took the commercial channel into Byng Inlet.

At almost the end of the inlet we found a secluded anchorage with trains and no cottages.

08-06 Franklin Island

The day after GBR we had a nice sail with brother John, then back to Kidd Bay on White Cloud for the 4th and 5th. This morning we decided to skip Christian Island, as the wind was coming from precisely that direction, making Parry Sound a fetch. Nick from Moonstruck had shared a favourite anchorage on Franklin, so we decided to give it a try. The latest sonar charts on Navionics made his recommendation seem doable. There was room for a RIB to squeeze out between us and the rocks as we passed through the narrows. I was happy to stop and anchor with a shore tie at the first opportunity to get out of the way.

We are the only sailboat in here tonight. The shallowest reading I saw was 8.5, and that’s referenced to the transducer, so probably closer to 10 actual. We dropped in 11, then tied about 15 feet offshore to keep us in place. The water reads 25C, so very comfortable swimming.

This is one of the prettier anchorages we have been in lately, especially if you prefer granite to limestone. It’s not a secret, as there are plenty of power boats in here with us, but there was still space when we pulled in around 17:00.