| Gina
then raised the bow anchor, which had a ton of seaweed on it, and away
we went. As we slowly pulled out of
Mill Lake, we took the front glass down and fastened the front bimini
back, but kept the camper top in place. This allowed me to stand
all the way up at the helm, with the sun and breeze in my face. Normally
we run with all the canvas up, so this made this part of the trip rather
nice. We motored past McKenzie Island and turned west into Collins
Inlet.
At 10:05 we passed the picturesque
red-topped saltbox lighthouse at the east end of Killarney. Entering the
channel we went by Killarney Mountain Lodge, and down a ways to the
Sportsman Inn, where we saw Sport n’ Life docked. We pulled up on the
inside main dock and tied up. |
| We
proceeded to fill the water tank, get ice, and pump out the
holding tank. We talked to Marc, Seth, and Ingram on Sport n’
Life for a while. It was nice to meet up with them again. They
recounted how they met up with Instead Of in Tobermory, and that
they finally met Bill and Mary. They told us that as they were
leaving Tobermory Harbor that Instead Of had turned back. We
weren’t sure what that was all about, but it sure was great
seeing familiar faces after a few days.
We used the pay phone at
Sportsman Inn to check our messages. Gina found out that her Dad
had fallen and hit his head. He went to the hospital, but
apparently he was all right, but a little shaky. I had a message
from Lime Cutter from 5:00pm yesterday asking if we might still be
in Mill Lake. I was not sure at the time where Jim had called
from, or if he even had cell phone reception. |
Killarney East Light
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| Finally
at 11:45 we shoved off and headed west out the Killarney channel,
and made our way down Lansdowne Channel. Visibility was great and
we just followed the route on the chart plotter with ease. In 2004
we had a difficult time navigating these parts with the old
plotter, as there are three red buoys, which makes if tricky to
figure out the exact route to take.
We cleared the Boat Rock waypoint
at 12:20, turning north into Frazer Bay, and proceeded about 3 ¾
miles towards McGregor Point before turning east for the run past
Frazer Point and into Baie Fine. As we neared this narrow entrance
to Baie Fine, there was a fast approaching boat on our stern. I
was entering in the next leg of the route into the chart plotter,
and in the short time it took to do so, we heard a ‘growling’
sound. Gina said, “I think we hit bottom”, but I was in denial
and thought it sounded more like prop cavitation to me. But either
way, it was apparent that we went too close to the shoals on the
northern shore as we neared the entrance.
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Cruising
Frazer Bay
Baie Fine
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At
12:30 we passed the EH2 buoy marking the entrance, and
slowed down. I now had the Baie Fine route entered into the
chart plotter, but was running through my mind of how I
could of prevented getting off course. I guess it wasn’t a
good idea having a route ‘change’ so close to a
precarious position. The boat still sounded and responded
ok, but the fact that I knew which way to go and had gone
over it ‘in practice’ so many times, only to go astray,
bothered me immensely.
Once inside Frazer Point,
we followed the buoyed route, which takes you back across to
the southern shore, and past the old Okeechobee Lodge. As a
teenager, I had been to this Lodge while on a boat cruise in
the early 70’s. It was a Mecca for North Channel boaters
back in its heyday, but now it is private.
The water depth is ample as
we cruised at slow speed just a few yards from the
shore. A little further and you pass the last buoy,
EH5, and then you’re “on your own”. From here we
headed northeast to go between the shore and a small islet
before turning due south at the small entrance to Mary Ann
Cove. Giving a wide berth on the starboard side to clear
some reported rocks, we idled across the calm cove to
anchor.
Gina and I pride ourselves
that we are fairly proficient and make a good team at both
anchoring and rafting off. But this time it turned out to be
a little testing. |
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| As
we sterned in close to shore, Gina set the bow anchor, and
then I decided to go to the bathroom first before securing a
line to shore. Well, in a short time that took, the wind
caught us and got us out of position. In a ‘semi-panic’,
I ended up jumping in the water with the stern line, but not
before we were getting too close to the rocks. With me
yelling commands from shore and Gina trying to jockey the
boat to a better position, it was not a pretty sight. We
(she) basically had to pull up anchor and start over again. |
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| We
finally got situated satisfactorily, but not before a lot of
raised voices and stress. I tied the long stern line to a
tree on shore, as we were in a fantastic spot, in deep water
just 10 feet from the rocky shore. I vowed that I wouldn’t
take a potty break during crucial situations any more. It
was 1:00, hot, with some wind, and after the 33-mile trip
from Mill Lake today, the tripometer read 356 miles total so
far.
Time for a well earned
lunch of salami, cheese, shrimp, and some crackers and dip.
I enjoyed a cold Corona, while Gina made a martini. Mary Ann
Cove is probably one of, if not our most, favorite
anchorages (this being the second time here). Relaxing here
you get a view of all rock and trees in a small setting, and
you can see north out into Baie Fine and watch the boat
traffic.
After lunch I put on the
goggles and grabbed the digital camera to dive under the
boat and check out the props. The water was very clear, and
after looking at them and feeling the edges, it appeared
that yes indeed the starboard prop was bent over maybe a ¼”
? I took a few pictures (the camera works underwater), but
still couldn’t tell for sure the extent of the damage done
by shoaling on the way in to Frazer Point. At least they
weren’t obviously mangled. |
A Quick Swim
to Shore
To Tie Up The Stern Line
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