After topping off at the gas dock at St. Amant's the next morning we made our way back out
Byng inlet and into the small craft channel. This was full of more rocks and
twists and turns, but the channel was well marked and there were only a couple
of 90 degree turns.
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| St. Amant's - one stop shopping! |
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| The rocks are getting bigger. My sister Mary, the amateur geologist, would have a field day here! |
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| Whale shaped rock |
For several days I have been noticing that the rocks near the more open water resemble huge whales, with their backs just above the surface. One of the Canadian boaters we met said, "There are 30,000 islands above the water and 30,000 more just one foot below the surface." Fortunately for us the channels are well marked!
We then entered the open bay on our way to the Bustard
Islands. The waves were much calmer and the five mile ride was fairly smooth. Not much to
see, the islands were mostly uninhabited, more rocks and trees, and didn’t seem to call to us so we
went back out to the open water. |
| Lighthouses on the west end of the Bustard Islands |
We wanted to make good use of the relatively calm seas for
several more miles before turning into Beaverton Bay where we followed the
channel to Collins Inlet.
One exciting moment of the day was when we recognized a bald
eagle flying overhead. I followed it with the binoculars for a while – what a
graceful bird with a long wingspan.
Our anchorage was on Mill Lake which was very quiet with just our boat and one cabin on the far shore. John took the time to get the dinghy down and try out our new motor for the first time.
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| The motor actually works! |
Captain’s
Log: July 18, 2014
Departed: St. Amant’s Marina, Byng Inlet, 8:15 a.m.
Engine hours: 7.4 hrs.
Actual hours: 7 hrs. 30 min.
Nautical miles covered: 45.99
Arrived: Anchorage in Mill Lake off Collins Inlet 3:45 p.m.
Wx: Winds forecast to be S 5-10, open bay had one foot waves, much smoother ride than yesterday. Temps cool
Engine hours: 7.4 hrs.
Actual hours: 7 hrs. 30 min.
Nautical miles covered: 45.99
Arrived: Anchorage in Mill Lake off Collins Inlet 3:45 p.m.
Wx: Winds forecast to be S 5-10, open bay had one foot waves, much smoother ride than yesterday. Temps cool
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| The water was calm and flat in the early morning |
Collins Inlet is a natural waterway and the 12 mile section
we cruised along today was absolutely beautiful. The sides were mostly tall
rocky cliffs with vegetation growing out of many nooks and crannies. With no locks, buoys, or narrow channels, this was one of our favorite parts of the cruise so far.
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| Mother Nature does a wonderful job of designing a rock garden |
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| Killarney, Ontario |
Killarney is on a small channel leading from Georgian Bay to the North Channel. It is a small resort town with a cruise-in general store, famous fish and chips and several marinas. We certainly covered some territory over the past few days with another leg of our journey behind us!
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| Herbert Fish and Chips |
Okay, this place doesn't look like much but we were told we had to go there! At lunch time the line was long to place orders and everyone was waiting patiently. We were not disappointed - the fish was good and the hand cut fries were almost as good as Al's French Frys (yes, that is how they spell it) back in Vermont.
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| Gnome Sweet Gnome - a memorial garden along the main street |
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| Trimming a chart down to size |
Charts, charts and more charts! We handle several paper charts every day along with the electronic chart plotter, the Skipper Bob cruising guide and Active Captain on the internet which gives us up to date reports on where we are headed at the moment. We go over the charts for the next day's cruise every evening and today we looked at the North Channel, the very northwest tip of Lake Huron.
Captain’s
Log: July 19, 2014
Departed: Anchorage at Mill Lake, 9:00 a.m.Engine hours: 2.7 hrs.
Actual hours: 2 hrs. 25 min.
Nautical miles covered: 13.61
Arrived: Killarney – Sportsman's Inn
Wx: Warmer temps, winds light and variable, nice cruise
Wow! You are really "flying" along! Can almost smell and taste the fish and chips at Herbert's in Killarney. Great photos of loons. Could you see any of those 30000 islands one foot underwater?
ReplyDeleteMike, we are taking advantage of good weather and arrived in Little Current today. As long as we stayed in the channel we didn't run into any of those islands under the water! We plan to be back in the US by this weekend.
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