44°6′48″ N 81°48′57″ W (Current position)

We left Tobermory this morning at 8:00am. There was a heavy dew on the boat from the night before but the sun was shining brightly & the forecast for our passage to Goderich looked really promising. It would be greedy to expect much better.

We have had an awesome day today. Ironically it has been the best day for sailing that we have had since we left Goderich on July 26th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have been motorsailing all day today, with the jib & the mizzen sails deployed. This kind of sailing is what Ananda was built to do. With favorable winds and the engine at only 1500 RPM we have consistently travelled at 7.3 to 7.7 knots, with periods of reaching well over 8.3 knots as we surfed down the swells that were passing under our stern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are now past Point Clark and Goderich is only a couple of hours away. We are about 2.5 nm off shore & on a straight line towards the entrance to our marina. There’s a large wind farm along the shoreline but the winds are so light that the blades are barely turning. As a result we have taken the jib in but left the mizzen up. It helps to smooth out our ride in the gentle swell from the north west that is crossing under our stern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have not eaten much today. It’s just been so fantastic that we both wanted to soak up as much of this as we can.

Chris just fixed up a great snack plate of smoked whitefish, crab & raw veggies & dip. That will hold us until we are tied up on the dock in Goderich.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers everyone!

45°15′18″ N 81°39′52″ W

Not sure what it is about boats & docks in marinas but they sure have a way of bringing people together.

This afternoon Chris & I were sitting in Ananda’s pilothouse having a quiet drink and a nice looking fellow from the boat in front of us strolled past and said hello – so we thought the only really neighborly thing to do was to invite him aboard for a chat.

William, from a CS 33 named “Liquid Fix” stepped aboard and the gamming began! William & his wife Deirdre are from Sarnia and have been sailing in the North Channel for several weeks. Like us, they are now preparing to head home.

William likes racing sailboats, as does Chris so the gamming kicked into high gear and time began to melt away. Next thing we know we see William’s wife Deirdre walking the dock looking for her husband. We called her aboard and she joined in the gam.

Now Deirdre tells us that she is a nervous sailor but after we heard what she had been through, she has to be a seasoned vet to still be on board and cruising with William. Sounds to me like they are a great team and it shows!

Our conversation drifted away for a bit towards how we all pay for the privilege of sailing these waters and William confessed that he was a successful businessman and inventor. He is a pharmacist by profession and he invented the device you see Deirdre holding in her hands in the photo above. Pharmacists all over the continent and overseas use this little device to help them accurately dispense prescription pills. Anyway, enough of that “work” stuff, let’s get back to other stuff that really matters…..

While we were gamming a New Orleans style jazz band set up shop on the boardwalk across from our boats and began jamming and busking. They were great and provided a nice background to our conversation. They also drew a pretty good sized crowd to support them and show their appreciation for the group’s efforts.

 

 

Time was marching on and William and Deirdre headed back to Liquid Fix for their supper. Then Chris sprung into action and began finishing work on his signature Dolly Parton Chicken Caesar Salad. How this salad got its name is a whole other “chapter” that I will save for another day….

Needless to say, supper was awesome, as always!

 

 

I was banned from the galley while Chris was making dinner so I walked ashore and called Catherine to check in and give her an update on our travel plans. When I was walking back to Ananda I spotted Deirdre enjoying a few moments on the deck of her boat and snapped this shot of a seasoned sailor catching some of the last warm rays of sun for this day.

 

 

Tomorrow Chris & I begin the last leg of our journey home. We will aim for Port Elgin or Kincardine, depending upon the conditions we encounter. Who knows, we may go all the way back to Goderich. We will find out tomorrow.

Stay tuned and cheers everyone!

45°15′18″ N 81°39′52″ W

We are now tied up on a dock in “downtown” Tobermory. Our original plan was to anchor in a very small bay on Cove Island, which is pretty close to Tobermory but the weather was not cooperating so we headed into the marina.

The Little Tub Harbour Marina is right in the center of the action. The harbour is long & narrow & the main business & tourism section of the town surrounds it. In addition to all the pleasure craft there are numerous sightseeing passenger & dive boats going in and out of the harbour. Some of the best scuba diving on the Great Lakes is very close to Tobermory. In fact, the water area is so significant that Parks Canada has established Fathom Five Marine National Park in this region.

 

Tobermory is also a very popular place for land based travelers, with bus tours as well as many cars traveling to Tobermory as their destination or perhaps boarding the Chichiman ferry over to Manitoulin Island. I am “cheating” a bit today with this posting because I took the photo below last year when I was here with Chris on his boat “Twocan”.

This ferry is pretty neat. It runs between Tobermory & Manitoulin Island several times a day & in addition to carrying cars & their passengers it will also take walk on passengers who want to simply go back and forth on the same day – a bit of a budget cruise. They even do moonlight dinner cruises!

So, Chris & I are now just chillin’ on the dock, people watching & contemplating our next day’s activities.

Ananda is happy to be here & taking a break too.

Cheers everyone!

45°53′17″ N 81°30′40″ W (Current location)

We are now en route from Kilarney to Cove Island. We left Kilarney at 7:30 am & should arrive at our destination around 1:00 pm this afternoon. A short passage today of about 40 nm.

We spent last night at a dock in Kilarney at the Kilarney Mountain Lodge. This is a really neat place at the eastern end of the channel that passes in front of the town.

 

 

 

 

 

New owners have recently taken over the place and are investing a lot of money into improving & updating the property. They even have 2 bright red Muskoka chairs at the end of every dock for boaters to relax in & enjoy the view.

 

 

 

 

Not far away from the Lodge is a very unique Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) store with its very own dock for their boating customers!

 

 

 

We also met some really nice dockmates yesterday. Tied up in front of us were Owen & Happy, from Madison, IN aboard their 1971, 30′ Palmer Johnson sailboat that they have named EXEAT, which in Latin means “she goes out”. How cool is that? 👌

Owen was telling me that he bought the boat 15 years ago as a bit of a project boat. He repaired the entire deck as well as making many other improvements over the years. Owen & Happy have been cruising in the North Channel for over 10 years. They joined us for a drink after dinner & Chris shared some local charting knowledge with them.

Shortly after sunset another boat came into the opposite side of the dock that we were tied up to. Chris went over to help him tie up his boat & invited him to join us for a nightcap. Rick Stout is a professional boat captain & marine consultant. He specializes in boat deliveries, training skippers on how to handle their own boats, boat repairs, etc.

Rick was born & raised in the Owen Sound area and has been boating since the time he could walk. His father & his grandfather made their living as professional boat captains & Rick has followed in their footsteps. He has so any stories to tell about life & boating in this whole area that he is writing a book about it. He’s not sure when it will be finished but when it comes out I want to buy a copy!

Over & over again we keep meeting such nice & interesting people. That’s a big part of the boating life!

Cheers everyone!

45°55′11″ N 81°46′11″ W

This morning we are on our way to Kilarney via Little Current. It’s cloudy & raining a bit but the visibility is good. Our journey to Kilarney should take us about 5 hours.

We made it to Little Current just in time to get through the 1:00 opening of the swing bridge there otherwise we would have had to wait another hour for the next scheduled opening.

We are now passing by the south side of Heywood Island. Prior to this we were in winds the were ranging from 15 to 20 knots (including our 7 knot boat speed into the wind).

We track our wind direction & speed using a wireless anemometer mounted on the top of the main mast. It “broadcasts” a signal to the receiver inside the pilothouse. This is a great little device. (It should be for what it cost!)

 

 

 

 

When we have the wind on “our nose” like this & the waves begin to build & the ride can get a little bit rougher but we are warm & dry inside the pilothouse.

 

 

 

 

 

The forecast for this afternoon is clearing, with the winds subsiding & the sun coming out. Just in time for us to arrive at our destination, make the boat secure on the dock & mark the occasion with a nip of something special.

Cheers everyone!