Buckhorn Yacht Harbour to Fenelon Falls
50 kilometers distance – 5 hours travel time

Click anywhere on map to enlarge it

A Major Change In Our Summer Plans
Our original plan for this summer was to travel to Kingston and then spend the balance of July, August and early September on the Rideau Waterway along with a return trip or two down the Ottawa River to Montreal. However, after a great deal of consideration we decided that we should focus on spending more time in the summer at home and travelling see our family which is spread far and wide – not only here in Ontario but also in New Brunswick, Alberta, British Columbia and France! After all, there is only so much time and money – difficult choices need to be made.

This has been a very hard decision to make as we had a fantastic time aboard Belisama last summer – perhaps the best boating summer that Catherine and I have ever had together. We were hoping for a repeat of that this summer but we find we are encountering a lot of competing priorities plus we are not getting any younger. Last winter was a particularly difficult winter for both of us with bouts of physical and minor health challenges. A close friend of ours tells us we both have “ARS”  –  age related stuff – a common condition among seniors. We think he is right. I turned 74 this past May and unfortunately am starting to really feel my age. As a result, we will put Belisama up for sale and see what happens. It may take a while to sell her because there is a lot of uncertainty in Canada’s economy. In the meantime we will continue to use and enjoy her.

Here’s a link to the For Sale listing in case you are interested: 1987 Albin Palm Beach 37 | Maple Leaf Yacht Sales

Our summer plan has been changed to a short cruise from Buckhorn to Midland where we have listed Belisama with Maple Leaf Yachts.

We left Buckhorn Yacht Harbour Marina at approximately 10:00am and headed to Fenelon Falls.

Map Quest Maps – A Great Alternative To Google Maps! – Click anywhere on map to enlarge it

Our cruise took us through Buckhorn Lake to Pigeon Lake and then on to Sturgeon Lake with only one lock to pass through at Bobcaygeon (Lock 32). It took us about 3 hours to travel 24 kilometers from Buckhorn to Bobcaygeon. We figured that was a good time to stop and have a lunch before carrying on to Fenelon Falls.

Bobcaygeon Lock 32 – Image copied from the internet. Click on the image to enlarge it

Our trip from Bobcaygeon to Fenelon Falls was approximately the same distance – 24 kilometers but we were able to travel a bit faster because there were fewer 10 km/hr speed limits and “No Wake” zones on the second part of our journey.

Just outside of Fenlon Falls we got a glimpse of the local “flying fish”. This fella makes the jumping carp on Lake Erie look pretty lame!

Fenelon Falls Flying Fish – amazing how it can hover in one spot for so long!

We arrived in Fenelon Falls at 4:00pm with plenty of time to pass through the lock but there was no mooring space on the upper side of the lock so we decided to tie up overnight just below the falls.

Fenelon Falls Overnight Mooring & Ice Cream – image copied from internet – click to enlarge

Fenelon Falls is a busy community with lots of amenities for tourists and cruisers. We had dinner aboard Belisama and then walked over to the local ice cream parlor (“Slices and Scoops”) for our dessert. It is directly across the street from the lock – less than 5 minutes from where we were tied up for the night. Well worth the walk, especially on a hot summer evening.

Slices and Scoops – image copied from the internet

After enjoying our dessert we settled in for the night enjoying the sound of the waterfall in the background. Tomorrow we head for Orillia.

Cheers!

Buckhorn Yacht Harbour
44°32’43.9224″N, 78°21’3.5568″W

Ahoy! It has been a long time since my last post. I have been dealing with multiple competing priorities plus a certain amount of lethargy on my part – sorry! Anyway, it’s high time I got caught up with what’s going on.

Tuesday, July 7, 2026 is launch day!

Launch Day For Belisama

Buckhorn Yacht Harbour doesn’t have a travel lift. They launch all of their boats using a hydraulic trailer and a substantial boat ramp. It was interesting to see our boat launched this way.  On previous occasions I have seen their marina staff launch boats that were even bigger than ours using this system – very impressive!

Belisama being launched (small) motor boat style!

Here is a link to the video I took of Belisama being launched: https://youtu.be/B_Rn9Fo2q1s (video is posted on my “semi-private” YouTube channel). After a long winter Belisama finally gets back in/on the water!

She Still Floats!

A lot has happened since last September. She has undergone a big refit with many improvements. Here is a list of the “major” items completed by Buckhorn Yacht Harbour staff (and others) over the past winter:

Systems/Mechanical/Electrical:

• New fuel feed lines from the deck fill ports to each of the 3 fuel tanks
• New fuel tank vent lines from the fuel tanks to the hull exterior vent fittings
• New fuel feed lines from the each of the fuel tanks to each engine and to the generator
• DC and AC electrical wiring systems improvements (clean up “orphan” wires, etc.)
• New engine hour meters for port and starboard engines
• New On/Off power switch for windlass
• Exhaust hoses from both engines replaced from engine manifolds to water mufflers
• New starter battery for port engine (new starter battery for starboard side in 2025)
• The “spare” propellers were modified by reducing blade size and pitch to reduce boat speed at low RPMs and installed for sea trial (Kawartha Propeller). The original propellers are stored on board for future use if needed.

Fiberglass Above The Waterline:

• Minor “wear and tear” damage to the transom’s swim platform door and door frame was professionally repaired
• Multiple drill and service holes and minor cosmetic damage to a variety of spots on the boat (all above the waterline) professionally repaired

Exterior/Interior Decoration:

• New exterior blue sunbrella window and door coverings (Amanda’s Top Shop)
• Cushions reupholstered in main cabin/galley settee and forward cabin (Amanda’s Top Shop)
• New curtains for all windows in main cabin/galley settee (“Admiral Catherine”)

After Belisama was launched there were still numerous items to be checked over so Buckhorn Yacht Harbour generously put us up in one of their covered slips. When I first saw these covered slips last year I wasn’t too sure about what it would be like to have a covered slip for an entire boating season but after only one day I was a convert!

Belisama spent a little over a week in this slip while the final commissioning work was completed by Buckhorn Yacht Harbour staff. During that time we had a mixture of blistering hot heat and a few big thunder and rainstorms. Belisama stayed cool and dry the entire time and the aft deck and flybridge proved to be the best place to hang out through the heat of the day and even during the rainstorms! It was also a great place to watch FIFA 2026 World Cup Soccer Games on Belisama’s “big screen” TV!

Watching the World Cup in style with unlimited refreshments and a private bathroom.

While we were in Buckhorn the air began to have a heavy campfire smell. At first I thought this was due to people on all of the properties surrounding Buckhorn Lake having campfires in the evenings but soon realized that all of this smoke was actually coming from the forest fires around Thunder Bay. Then the news reports started coming in about heavy smoke all over southern Ontario and deep into the USA. It’s hard to comprehend the size of the fires that caused so much smoke to cover such a massive area.

Soon it will be time to cast off. There has been a major change in our plans for the summer – stay tuned!

Cheers!