Slip E 21
Bay Port Yachting Center
Midland, Ontario
44°52’03.5″N 79°46’48.9″W

Ahoy!

Well, today was our first (mini) cruise aboard our “new to us” boat.

She was located at South Bay Cove Marina which is near Port Severn, ON. This marina is about 41 kilometers (by road) to Midland.

Bay Port Marina in Midland is where we will get a mini overhaul of the boat prior to heading off on our summer cruise.

We basically need to replace every hose on the boat for the engines, fuel supply & plumbing. We will also get the engines & all systems thoroughly checked over to ensure full safety & reliability for extended travelling.

Our journey from South Bay  to Midland took us about 90 minutes – to travel around 8 nautical miles. No speed records broken here but none the less, it was very exciting!

The screenshot shows our route. Even though the traveling distance is considerably shorter by water it took us almost 3 times as long to make the journey.

Fun fact – today was the first time I ever drove this boat!  During the sea trial a few weeks ago I let the previous owner do all the “driving” while I followed the surveyor around as he was checking out all the systems!

It was a bit intimidating backing the boat out of our slip for the first time at South Bay Marina & heading for Midland – especially driving a twin engine boat for the very first time ever, but it wasn’t long before I felt comfortable at the helm & Catherine was there to help me keep an eye on the navigation & boat systems.

At the helm for the very first time.

Slow passage through a “no wake” zone.

The weather on our little voyage was fine. It had been raining pretty steady all day but by the time we started out the rain was over. The sky was overcast  but the winds were relatively light & the water was reasonably calm.

We arrived at the marina slightly ahead of schedule.  It was pretty breezy while we were  docking but Declan, our boat broker was there to greet us along with a couple of other boaters. With their help we were able to get safely tied up without any incident.

All in all we can consider our first journey to be a success. Hopefully there will be many more to follow.

Cheers!

Wally

South Bay Cove Marina
Port Severn , Ontario
44°52’03.5″N 79°46’48.9″W

Ahoy!

Well, it may be a bit hard to believe but today we acquired a “new-to-us boat”. When we sold “Santosha”, the 34′ Marine Trader trawler I thought that the rest of my boating days would be through occasional self-drive boat charters in different parts of Europe. We did that in France in 2023 and 2024 and we had wonderful adventures each time but the one week boating experience each year left me longing for much more. It’s a hard habit to get over!

In the fall of 2024 I started “casually” looking for another boat. We found a couple that looked promising but they both ended up having problems that we were not willing to take on. And then finally we found a very nice boat in Georgian Bay that was just right for us. It’s a 1987 Albin Trawler, 37′ long. Double cabins, each with their own head and a really well laid out flybridge.

We just took possession of her today (June 23) and are pretty excited about this new adventure. The boat is currently located near Midland, Ontario on Georgian Bay. We have some updating work that needs to be completed prior to starting to cruise with her. Hopefully we can get that work done in the next 7-10 days, then we will be spending the summer exploring the Trent-Severn Waterway.

I’ll be blogging about our work on the boat for the next couple of weeks – including a proper introduction to the boat and then we will start to head “south” from Georgian Bay towards Lake Ontario.

Cheers!