Honeymoon, day 8

7-24-16

 Waking up in Empire found us refreshed and ready to hit the trail for more fun. Yeah right, we were both ready to roll back over and go back to sleep! It felt good to be back in a real bed, no getting up every couple hours to soak up water, and no fear of large waves crashing over our bow. We were both a bit bummed we did not get to sail on Lake Charlevoix but that can be another trip.
 We finally crawled out of bed and made our way to breakfast. Once again we ate way too much, at least I did as I conned Carrie into digging the leftover blueberry French toast out and warming it up. Man is that good stuff! After breakfast we took a long walk around Empire and checked out the lots as were house dreaming which one we wanted as our vacation home. We had no trouble picking out several.
 We walked down to the beach and the lake was really calm as the wind was barely blowing. We could see rain off in the distance across the lake and radar showed a small shower headed at us. After loading up my pockets full of rocks we headed back before we got wet. On the way back I asked Cindy if she would like to paddle her paddleboard in Lake Michigan after the rain passed. She was excited and said Sure!
 On the way back to the inn I stopped and reserved a paddleboard for me to paddle at the Empire Surf Shop so we could paddle together. While at the surf shop the rain set in but it was short lived. We stopped in the Empire Village Inn for the best, I say again, the BEST BLT ever! I suggest getting it on wheat bread instead of sour dough but either way it is absolutely delicious!!!!
 Returning to the inn to get the inflatable paddle board out of the boat and aired up while Cindy changed I was greeted with sunny skies and warming temps. Funny how the wind was picking up too. What is it with wind on this trip? Off to the surf shop to pick up the paddle board for myself and leg tethers so we did not loose our boards. That turned out to be a really good idea on our parts.
 Arriving at the beach parking area the wind was really starting to howl. Those calm waves that were there earlier when we got this idea, long gone! They were replaced with 2 and 3 foot rollers that were still growing. Oh, this look liked fun! What turned out to be even harder than paddle boarding in 3 foot waves was just getting the dam boards to the water. Their curled up nose made walking into the wind almost impossible as the wind would catch your board and take you where ever it wanted to take you. We struggled into the wind and finally arrived at the waters edge. How hard could this be? We have paddle boarded a lot down south, on nice smooth lakes, in no to light winds. How different could this be??
 Well, lets just say A LOT!!!! Neither Cindy nor myself had ever surfed before but we have seen it done on TV so surely we can figure it out. NO WE CANT! To start with just getting away from the shore line is not as easy as they make it look. I got washed back right into Cindy to start with and knocked her over. In my attempt to get up I got flattened again! Time to regroup. Lesson #1 keep the board on your down wind side, maybe I should have shared that with Cindy. If it is on your downwind side if the wave lifts the board, and it will, and the wind catches it, it will, the board does not get slammed into you knocking you over. Lesson #2, get out away from the breaking waves ASAP!!!! The sooner you do the less chance a waves will break right on you. Again, should have shared with Cindy.
 I finally got back to my feet and on my board then paddled like hell to get out away from the shoreline. Once I was clear of the breakers I was able to just bob up and down in the surf. Sometimes I could look back and see the shore, sometimes I couldn't the waves were rising and galling that much. I kept waiting on Cindy to join me, and I waited, and I waited. Finally I got up on my knees and looked back. She was struggling. Here, you watch and see what I mean.

 God love her. No matter what happened she never failed to have a smile on her face. Just one of the many things I love about Cindy.
 Sadly, the best part was not captured as I turned the camera off thinking how interesting will it be to watch me help Cindy get her board back to the south end of the beach. Well, as it turned out it would have been hilarious! Cindy was really struggling to get her board back down the beach as the wind and the waves were doing what they wanted with her and her board. So me, being the caring husband I am, went back to help her. I grabbed the strap on the front of her board and started dragging it through the surf and rocks but it seemed very heavy for some reason. Battling the waves I just thought it was the waves so I continued on. Finally I turned around to see my pretty little wife partially submerged with one leg canted towards the back of her paddle board and her other leg up in the air like a stick bobber with her frantically trying to reach her leg that was pointed towards her paddle board. Oops! I did not realize she was still tethered to her board. Seems I overlooked that part. I hollered back to here "take off your tether!!!" as she was climbing to her feet. She replied, "I am trying Genius!!!!" as another wave knocked her back down. At this point I should probably point out that very few people are in the water but there are quite a few peeps on the beach and pretty much everyone of them are laughing their asses off at us by now!
 Finally free of her tether I get her board back down the beach and up the shore to the grass. We are both winded by now and laughing hysterically. How hard can it be to paddleboard in 3 foot waves? Pretty dam hard!
 We went across the parking lot to South Bar lake and enjoyed the warm water for a bit while we rested up for try number two at the big water. The waves on South bar were not an issue but the wind still was. Not sooner than you stood up the wind would blow you towards the far end of the lake so fast you did not need to paddle and you were still making a wake. I figured out pretty quick that if we let it take us the whole way down the lake we would have one heck of a paddle into the wind to get back. So we got over to the west side of the lake pretty quickly and still had a pretty hard paddle back as we tried to stay out of the wind as much as possible.
 Not ones to give up easily, we decided to go back out to the big lake and give it one more go, this time minus the paddles. Surely it would be easier just using our arms to paddle us out. Again, we have seen this done on TV, how hard can it be? Stupid question on my part as the answer again was pretty damn hard! With my long arms I did fair a bit better than Cindy as her short little arms barely got to the water on each side of her board. She finally did get out past the breakers and was able to bob up and down in the waves for a bit. We let the wind and waves carry us north till we were down to the light house at the north end of the beach before we "surfed" our way to shore. At least I tried to surf in. I was happy I had the tether as my board would have been found on the south shore of Canada a few days later if I had not been tied to it!!!  We returned the rented board and just responded "it was an experience" when they asked how it went LOL!
 After getting cleaned up we headed up to Glen Harbor to do some shopping before returning to the beach to stake our spot by our favorite fire pit for the sunset fire. It was another gorgeous sunset and the fire felt great. We stopped by Joe's Friendly Tavern on the way back to the inn for a night cap before going back and crashing. It had been a fun day but sadly we were down to just a few more before would have to return to the real world. With Cindy asleep on my shoulder I vowed to make the most of every minute we had left on our trip as I did not want it to end...

North Channel Honeymoon Sail Day 8

7-22-16   Time to head back to the States

 Waking up about 6 am Saturday morning after getting up every two hours to chamois up the water that leaked in found no wind blowing. The water was like glass and I was very glad I tossed out the stern anchor before we went to sleep. Our boat likes to wonder around in the night when the wind gets too light to hold us back tight on the anchor line. All to often that means the anchor line gets wrapped around the keel and someone, usually, always, me, has to go swimming to get it free.
 The sky was clear and the sun was just starting to peak up over the stone mountains to our northeast. We wanted to get an early start back so we could get across the Mc Bean Channel before the wind and waves kicked up incase their winds forecast was not totally accurate. Seeing how our leak was worse when we were beating into waves and the whole trip back would probably be into the wind I just thought it was prudent to get back before the wind god woke up.
 We pulled in the anchors and motored out of from behind our rock wind block and out into the main body of Oak Bay as we headed southwest. The water was as smooth as we had seen it since arriving a week ago. We saw a lot of boats anchored on the north side of Hotham island as it provided a good wind and wave block the day before.

 We continued to motor southwest till we got to the exit of Oak Bay. Once we cleared the exit we turned west and headed across the McBean Channel to Little Detroit. The wind had yet to start blowing and the Mc Bean was super smooth as well.

 As we motored along at about 5 mph, hull speed, we discussed our options for the remainder of our honeymoon. With the leak we really did not want to try to sail on Lake Charlevoix like we originally planned to so we decided to just try to get a hotel room and take in the town from ashore. I tried every site I could find but there were no rooms to be had in Charlevoix due to the Venetian festival going on. After a brief discussion we decided to try and return to Empire and spend a couple more days at the Cottonwood Inn and just play around there. I went on line and saw they had open rooms but was unable to get through on the phone. I reserved the room online and left instructions for them to call me or text me to let me know they got the reservation.
 By now we were coming up on Little Detroit

 Time for Cindy to make her "Securita. Securtia, Securita" radio call. I really wanted her to use her sexy voice as it always makes me weak in the knees when she uses that voice. It was still early and not any traffic so ahead we went.

 It is not extremely narrow but you want to make sure you are right in the middle as it gets shallow quickly on the sides. About half way through a small power boat came streaking around the northeast corner and passed us going west bound just off our port side. So much for making radio calls LOL. I doubt he had a radio and if he did he would have never heard it anyway with the outboard screaming in his ear.
 We turned north after exiting Little Detroit and made our way back to Spanish. We noticed that no matter which way we turned the wind turned with us and was on our nose the whole way back. So much for sailing. We just motored the whole way back.

 After pulling our leaky little boat out we headed back to the parking lot to drop the mast and prep her for a 1000 mile ride back home. There were several other boats in the lot stepping their mast in preparation for sailing the North channel and few who were pulling out like us. Guess who came pulling in the lot after us, yup, Deja Vu! We had a good chuckle over how fitting that boat name was to our week as it seemed like in regards to the leak we kept feeling like we had been there before.
 We talked with the other sailors and shared our adventure with them. One said "so your the ones" as he had seen the post on the Trailer sailors Facebook page about our struggles. Sadly we had to admit that was us.
 While Cindy was down at the marina taking a shower the Admiral from Deja Vu came over to return the lighter I had given them before we left the week before.  She asked if we were able to get the boat fixed and how our week had been. I gave her the condensed version of our week. She was very nice and told me that we will have many more sails and that most will be better but some may be worse. She said she could tell I married an angel and that she knew we would have many happy years together based off how we survived the week we just had. I told her we made the best of it and at least had got to sail to Fox Island. She said it had been a very windy week and they only made it as far as Hotham Island. she said it was either too windy or no wind. We must have missed that no wind day. Come to think of it that was the day our boat hung in the boat lift all day.
 Soon  we were ready to head west to the boarder. Even though the week went nothing like I had planned we still had a lot of fun. We met some really nice peeps and got to see some very beautiful scenery. The best part was that I got to spend almost every minute of every day with my Bestie and that was awesome!
 We stopped at a hotel restaurant on the lake near Blind River and got lunch. The setting was very nice and it would be a neat place to sail to from the Drummond Island area and have lunch. You could anchor out and dinghy into their beach. After lunch we continued onto the border and back to the states.
 As we crossed the international bridge at Sault St Marie there was quite the backup to get into Canada but no line to get in the US. That seemed odd. We pulled up in line as the truck in front of us pulled out. I just pulled up to the booth as I did not see anything that said stay put. Brace, our border crossing agent, informed me that will motion us to come up when they are ready. I started to apologize and he said not to worry. I gave him our passports when he swiped through a bard code reader. Then he looked out his booth and back at our boat. I thought here it comes, a boat search. He then asked me if we launched out of Spanish. That kind of threw me as I was not expecting that question. I said yes. He then informed us that he was taking his sailboat to the North Channel in a few weeks and was going to launch out of Blind River. He wanted to know if he should go on to Spanish. we spent the next tens minutes talking boats, sailing, and the North Channel with him. Turns out he just bought a Catalina 25 which is what we are thinking about getting if we can sell our boat. He gave us our passports back and told us to have a safe trip home and to come back again. We thanked him and continued on.
 Pulling out of the customs area I was about half mad again. Cindy asked me what was wrong to which I replied "I spent 5 hours and 20 bucks getting all this paperwork ready, I drew a diagrams of the boat and labeled it where everything was stored, and no one asked to see it!!!" Cindy replied laughing "Let it go". So lesson learned,  Border crossings with a boat are not a big deal...
 We pulled into Charlevoix MI about 6 PM and luckily found a parking place big enough for the boat and truck. We were not sure if were supposed to park there but we fit so that was all I was worried about. We headed downtown and strolled along the streets checking out the shops. I was able to find a new shirt at the Momentum store to replace the one I set on fire as we all set around the fire at Empire the night after we got married. One spark pops our of the fire and what are the chances it lands on me and melts a hole through my new shirt? 100% if you are me! We worked our way north and across the draw bridge that crosses the channel from Lake Michigan to Round Lake. Both of us were getting a little thirsty so we stopped in the bar on the north side of the bridge and were luckily able to grab a couple seat the bar as the place was hopping. While we were there the draw bridge opened to allow a sailboat through.

 I snapped a pic from inside. You get the idea, bridge opens up, boat goes through, bridge closes back down. I know we had something tasty to eat there but for the life of me I forget what it was. We had a cheeseburger and it was fixed in a peculiar way. Crap, Cindy's memory issues are wearing off on me. In my defense we ate almost every meal out for 2 weeks. After a while they all sort of blend together. Ok, this is driving me nuts. Standby, let me see if I can find the menu on line. Found it! It was the Weathervane restaurant in Charlevoix and it was the bacon jam burger with pepper jack cheese on a pretzel bun. I do remember that it was delicious!
 Stuffed to the gills one more time, that really seemed to be the theme for this trip, we stumbled back to the truck in a food stupor hoping it had not been towed. It was still there and so was the boat. I was kinda hoping someone would steal it at this point but no such luck. The parking lot had really filled up and I was a bit concerned I might have some issue getting it out of the parking slot it was in as there was not much room. I looked around there was a SUV off our right side that I thought if I could use a anchor point if needed. My thought was if I did not have room to get the trailer around into the lane between the rows of cars I could hook my heavy duty ratchet strap to the SUV and the boat trailer and drag the boat out to get enough clearance. Cindy seemed a bit concerned at my plan but luckily there was just enough room for the trailer to clear the car beside us. Off to Empire!
 We arrived in Empire just about dark. We parked the boat and dropped the trailer at the Cottonwood Inn before heading off to the beach in hopes of catching the sunset. Too many clouds for that and there where bugs everywhere as there was hardly a breeze. Scrap the beach and off to Joe's Friendly Tavern for a beverage, cause God knows we needed more calories LOL!!!
 We had a nice chat with the lady tending bar and once she found out we were the couple who had gotten married a week before she was all excited to talk with us about how it all went. Very friendly place, hence the name. We finally headed back to the inn to get some sleep in a real bed that I did not have to get up in the middle of the night to mop up water around.
 As we laid in bed we talked about having to go back to the real world. We were both dreading that dearly. I know for myself I could spend every minute of every day with Cindy although I am sure she would probably need a break from me time to time. We still had a few days left before we had to go home and we vowed to make the most of them as we drifted off to sleep wrapped up in each others arms...

North Channel Honeymoon Sail Day 7

7-21-16 

 Friday morning seemed to come way too soon. Waking up every hour to chamois up water under the floor was a less than desirable way to spend your night, trust me on that one. Poking our heads out of the boat proved we were still above water and that the wind was still blowing. It did feel like it had calmed a bit but was still probably 10 to 15 mph at 7 am.
 Time to put the blueberries we had picked the day before to good use so I fired up the stove and made us some blueberry pancakes. They might have been small but once heated up in the batter they sure were flavorful. After breakfast we hopped in the dinghy and went over to the east side of the harbor to check out that side of the island. It wasn't as pretty as the west side as it lacked the views of the water but it was still fun to climb around on the rocks.
 As we hiked about Cindy started telling me that she wished I had not told Russell and Jean that we would be back in that day as she wished we could stay out at least one more night. We had plenty of food and beverages, might run a bit low on ice but that was just keeping the booze cold so we could stay another night. Knowing that the wind and waves were probably going to get cranking again pretty soon I thought we would just stay put, maybe even tuck behind the rocks if the other boat left. Cindy really wanted to get down to the Benjamin's so we decided to try it.
 Back when we first started planning this trip I made the point of saying, several times, that we needed to travel early and get to our anchorage early. Not only to get a spot but to avoid the winds and waves that build early and big there. Just being a 20 foot boat we could not plow through 4 foot rollers like a bigger boat. Cindy was worried I would not let her sleep in if we did that but I assured her that in the original plan I had allowed time for sleeping in on days that we did not venture out. Well that plan was long gone and now it was mid morning and we were just getting started, in a boat that had a leak, into winds that had continued to build all morning. The winds were now 20 plus and the waves were 2 feet and increasing. We just needed to go 2 or three miles. How bad could it be. Remember my 3 strike rule, I was soon about to put it to use.
 We decided that we would just motor because the wind was right on the nose. Heading out of the harbor and into the main lake area we realized the waves were pretty big as the bow fell off the first one. Down the bow went with a big splash when it bottomed out. Something down in the cabin caught my eye so leaving Cindy in charge of the tiller I went below just as we fell off another wave. As we bottomed out I could clearly see what it was that got my attention. Water shot out of the port side of the top of the keel trunk between the keel trunk and the bottom of the winch box. OH SHIT! With chamois in hand I tried my best to stem the spray but with each wave brought more water. I was really thinking this was not a good idea. Not that we would take on so much we would sink in 3 miles, but if it got worse, everything was going to get sprayed in the boat. At least now I was pretty sure were the real leak issue was.
 About then we fell off another wave that rolled the boat to port pretty good nearly dumping out the tote I was wringing water out into. Another big spray of water came in when the keel trunk filled up underneath. Executive decision time. Although the Admiral out ranks the lowly Captain, I had to pull rank. I turned around and hollered back at Cindy, wanting to make sure she heard, "Turn around and run with the wind!!!" We need to stop crashing into these waves before I was swimming in water.

 Cindy brought the bow around and almost immediately the ride smoothed out a bit. We were now surfing with the waves instead of plowing into them head long. I stayed down below and mopped up the mess before going topside to deploy the headsail so we could run along without the motor on.
 No matter how much we wanted to see the Benjamin's today was just not a good day for us to beating it into the wind and waves. The original plan allowed for lay days if we ran into winds like this. But now with our time limited sadly we did not have that option. Looking at the chart and taking into consideration what the winds were doing and what they were forecasted to do I had to come up with a plan to get us out of here. The winds were supposed to really get cranked up to 35 to 40 mph in the afternoon and then lay down overnight and only be 10 to 15 the next day. So looking at the chart I felt like we could hide on the lee side of Eagle island and Frichete island and get back to Oak bay where we could find a quite little cove to hide out in and enjoy another night on the water. That would get us closer to Spanish so we did not have so far to go the next day incase the winds did not do as forecasted. Cindy thought that sounded like a great plan so off we went. Things finally calmed down enough once we got behind Frichete island for me take a pic or two.

 Here we are with just  a double reefed main and about half the headsail unfurled and were doing between 5 and 6 mph on a broad reach. That is pretty good as hull speed is 5 mph. The wind was still honking but the waves here were not as bad as the island was breaking up the fetch.
 We had plenty of company as several other boats had the same idea. I think we counted 10 or 11 sailboats all headed up the east side of Frichete with us. As we round Gilmor Point we were over taken but this very pretty wood cruiser.

 Notice his crane they use to lift their dinghy aboard with. Turned out they were headed for Oak bay as well.
 We followed the wood boat into the bay and then turned to the northeast to go in search of a private little cove a couple of honeymooners could have some fun in :-)  This cabin on the lake cracked me up. Must have been built back when the lake was 5 feet lower a few years back. Either that or someone had very poor planning skills.

Watch that first step, it could be a wet one. We had our sights set on a small cove northeast of this cabin but as we rounded the point we saw two large motor cruisers in there already. You know what they say, 2 is company but 3 is a crowd, so we turned around and went further northeast.
 Oak Bay is very pretty but you better watch your charts and depth readings as this is one of those locations you could ding a rock pretty easily if you are not paying attention. We got back out in the main body and unfurled the head sail and ran up the bay under sail. We were now heading for what looked like could be a very nice anchorage in about 8 feet of water behind a couple of small islands. On the way there we passed several coves on the north side of Hotham island that were getting pretty crowded with larger boats hiding from the wind.

 They are kinda hard to see but there were already a dozen or so boats anchored in this cove. We continued under sail further back in the bay till we reached the mouth of the cove we wanted. I furled in the head sail and fired up the motor so Cindy could motor us in as I watch off the bow for rocks. We just had to move a bit to port to stay clear of some rocks then eased back behind the last island in the pool. There was already one boat in the cove tucked up tight behind the island but there was room for us behind them so we set our trusty new claw anchor and backed off till we had the scope we wanted. We were not totally protected from the wind but at least the water was much calmer than we had at Fox harbour. We set up the pop top tent first thing and got our house keeping down. I soaked up all the water I could under the liner before we retired to the cockpit to enjoy the beautiful view of the stone mountain and a cold beverage.

 Again I just have to say the picture does not do it justice. It really was a beautiful place. The air quality up north is just so clean. The blue sky is just so crisp and sharp you feel like it might cut you if stare at it too long.
 We finished out beverages and hoped in Ding Dong to do some exploring. We motored out to the mouth of the cove opening to see how the waves were. Cindy was getting sprayed by waves coming at us hitting the bow so we turned back :-) We parked on one of the rock islands and went hiking. Of course we had to go all the way to the top just so we could see what was on the other side.

 There were 3 thirty foot plus sailboats tucked into that cove trying to hide from the wind. The view off the southern point of the island looking to the southwest down Oak Bay was very pretty.

 This was actually taken on the island to the east of our anchorage that we climbed in search of a place to watch the sunset that evening. It was a rough climb that had us off into the woods several times trying to get around deep cuts in the rock. We decided that it might be better to watch the sunset from Ding Dong instead of trying to climb back up here in low light. Here is a pretty little hiker that crossed my path

 What do you know, that is my wife, fancy meeting her way out here LOL!
 We tooled around quite a while in Ding Dong then went over to apologize to our neighbors for disturbing their peace and quite. They were really nice and had been hiding out there since Tuesday. They were retired and spend the summers on the water there and winters in Florida. Must be nice. They said we were the first boat to come back in there to join them.
 We made our way back to our boat where lounged about and maybe even took a nap. I remember my eyes were closed. Pretty sure I might have dozed off. Waking up I felt that familiar empty feeling so I started cooking supper for us. Tonight we were going to have a North Channel delicacy, grilled Spam!!! While the Spam grilled I made some broccoli and cheese noodles to go with it. Say what you want, Spam on the grill is just pretty darn tasty! Cindy even had to agree on that one.
 After dinner I aired up Cindy's paddleboard so she could paddle around a bit. The water was really much warmer feeling that either of us really expected which was a pleasant surprise. While Cindy paddled

 I put my 83 dollar, US, Canadian fishing license to good use. This was the first chance I had to actually fish so off I went in Ding Dong in search of a lunker. I found him, just a little before he reached true lunker status though

 I caught two fish total, the other one was even smaller. That was only 41.50 each for minnow...
 We decided to take North Channel baths as the sun began its slide to the other side of the Earth. I just jumped in and after the initial shock I warmed up or got numb to it, not sure which. Either way it did not feel bad, actually rather refreshing. Cindy weenied out and just sat on her paddleboard. The skeeters were just starting to fly around by the time we got back aboard. We made quick work of drying off and jumped inside the boat. After lighting the candle we settled in to play some more cards while we watched Captain Ron on the fire. Well who can concentrate on cards watching a movie. I think Cindy took advantage of me as I played two awful games of cards.
 I took this picture out the window as I thought I saw the beaver who lived in the lodge on the bank just west of us.

 Later I would realize two things. One, you cant see in the picture what I saw, and two, it wasn't the beaver but instead it was a very large snapping turtle! He must have been at least 2 feet across and had a head larger than a baseball, but smaller than a softball. We saw him again the next morning and it was very clear who was in charge of the cove.
 We finally heard a loon off in the distance as we sat in the boat that evening. What a fitting way to cap off our last night on the North Channel. I think we both knew or understood that this trip was not going to be a typical honeymoon trip. No matter how much I prepared for it there were just going to be so many factors at play that were beyond my control. No matter how much I told or continue to tell myself that I still feel awful. I feel like I let my beautiful wife down. Had I just removed that keel winch the leak probably never would have happened. I have learned my lesson and hopefully all you who read this who have 30 pus year old sailboats follow my example and remove every piece from your boats and reseal them. Not every piece but one, but every piece. Just as soon as you skip one it will be the one that bites you in the ass like it did me. I just hope if it does, that you have a wife as half as understanding as mine.
 Sure our trip could have been ruined by the leak, by the mosquitos, by my come apart, by the leak again, but Cindy just refused to let it phase her. I could learn a lot from that little lady if I just wasn't too stupid to see the melt downs coming and not let it consume me. Cindy informed last night that we could easily be married for 35 years which considering our ages would be a long time. Hopefully by the end of our lives together I will have learned to be more like her in some ways.
 All I know is that as I laid there in our leaking little floating love nest with my wife snuggled up tightly to me as she drifted off to sleep I felt so blessed, honored, and down right lucky to have found such an incredible little lady to experience this adventure called life together with me. I love her more each day and I knew as the number of days remaining for our honeymoon dwindled to just a few, I was really going to miss her by my side all day long. But for the moment I just enjoyed her being in my arms as I softly kissed the top of her head and whispered I love you to my pretty lil bestie...

North Channel Honeymoon Sail, day 6

7-21-2016

 Thursday morning came way too soon for both of us as we were sleeping like babies. It felt good to sleep again. We both knew we had a big day ahead of us so reluctantly we got up and got going.
 We met up with Russell and Jean in the office and settled up our bill before going over to put our girl back in the water. Back in the water all was good sitting in the lift so I said good by to the gang at Almenara and motored back to the slip at Spanish to pick up my bride before we headed off to try and salvage what little bit of our time we had left on the North Channel.
 With Cindy aboard and back on the tiller we headed back out the channel that by now we were very familiar with. I check for leaks as we exited the channel and sadly found water. I wanted to cry, ok, so maybe I did cry, no one saw me and I won't say for sure.
 The keel bolts were dry so that wasn't the problem. So where is it coming from. I stuck my head down into the keel locker and locked up. Water was running down the side wall from the top of the keel trunk. How in the hell could that be? I took some of the underwater epoxy Russell gave me and managed to plug up that whole, or so I thought. There was also water coming in around the top of the keel trunk in front of where the winch mounted on.
 I was crushed. At first I told Cindy to turn around as we should not take a leaking boat out but then I finally had enough and said " F it!! If she sinks our problem is over. We will just get in the dinghy and catch a ride back with someone. Let's go!" So off we went!
 This was not easy for me to do as a pilot I strictly adhere to a 3 strike rule. I never want to get to 3 strikes or issues against me in the air. We had already had 2 strikes and now we were still leaking. Probably not one of my best decisions but after all the planning, work, and money spent we were going to sail the North Channel or else! EXACTLY the kind of attitude that gets people killed in planes...
 So off we went. With Cindy at the helm and me down below on leak detail we motored our way to Little Detroit where Cindy got to make her radio call. " Securita, Securita, Securita, 20 foot sailing vessel will be passing through Little Detroit from West to East in 2 mins over".

 Just as we approached the entrance a power boater called entering Little Detroit from eastbound. So much for calling ahead. That was one thing we noticed about people on the water up north. They were just rude. Maybe they just had no patience. Whatever the reason they cut us off, crowded us, ignored our calls and went in front of us. On dry ground everyone was as nice as they could be, in the water they were just the opposite. With all the issues we had I was the one who had the right to be rude.
 We held our position outside the channel and let the little man with the 34 foot penis extender come through then we took our turn. It felt good to finally get Little Detroit and see what was on the other side after being so close twice before.

 Once clear the channel the sails went up and Cindy was sailing.

 As for myself, well I had plenty to keep me busy down below bailing. I had looked on the chart and we were going right down the center of the Mc Bean channel.

 We should have 100 plus feet of water the whole way so I had no worries about shallow water causing Cindy any issues. No sooner than I had that thought with my arm stuffed way up under the floor I hear the depth warming go off on the chart plotter!!! Cindy yells down to me that we were in 4 feet of water!!! WTF!?!?!?! I told her to turn the boat as I ripped my arm out from under the floor impaling myself with multiple shards of fiberglass pungee sticks. Once up in the cockpit with the Admiral I looked around and saw nothing that looked like shallow water. Nothing on the chart. But the chart plotter depth reading was bouncing around from 9 to 3 to 100 plus feet. I stopped to think about the settings and when I set it up we were in our home lake with less than a 100 feet of water so it suggested the shallow water setting. I scrolled up to the general use setting and hit enter. It immediately jumped to 154' and held steady. I turned around to tell the Admiral that she was good and that is when I saw our next big issue.
 The sky to our west was just a wall of black. Great, all we need is a storm! I checked my phone and luckily I still had a signal and could get the live radar. Boy was it ugly. I should have took a screen pic. There was a bowing line of severe thunderstorms to our west headed right at us. I had to laugh, really, a severe thunderstorm, what the hell was going to be next??
 After a year of researching, reading, and cursing around Google earth I knew this place like the back of my hand. Oak Bay was a couple miles east off our port side. We would just pull in there and anchor up to the west side and ride it out. So while Cindy sailed us there I went back to my water removal detail.
 Arriving at the mouth of Oak Bay first in front of a large powered cruiser we waited for a sailboat to come out before we would start in. Once again, Mr. Impatient in his penis extender cut us off and went between us and the sailboat leaving so he could get in the bay first. I guess waiting in line was too much to ask. Oh well, we could get places he couldn't so we tucked in tight to the rock wall and trees and dropped two anchors not knowing how bad it might get.
 We were all set to ride it out but had a little time before it hit so we hopped in the dinghy and motored over to the island and did some exploring.

 Funny how we never wear these inflatable PFD's at home when they are so comfortable Cindy even hiked wearing hers :-)  We both really enjoyed climbing around on the rocks looking for blueberries. There were non to be found here due to the really dry spring but we saw lots of bushes. We had a awesome view from the top.

and we could see our little girl patiently waiting on us down below

 With the storm getting closer we headed back to the boat and shut her up for the storm. We had plenty of company as others took refugee from the storm too

Took this just as the shelf passed over the boat. Time to shut up the companionway and ride it out.

 We had a snack and played cards while it rained. We really lucked out in that the really bad parts of the storm went north and south of us so it really wasn't too bad.  It rained maybe 45 mins and then moved on. We climbed out and surveyed our situation. All seemed good so we started prepping the boat to head back out into Mc Bean channel and continue onto Fox island.
With the path setup in the chartplotter and with Admiral Cindy on the tiller I went back down below to keep us above water. What started out as a nice breeze was picking up quickly into a full blown wind and the water was starting to get choppy as well. By the time we rounded Gilmor Point and headed southeast towards our entry point into Fox Harbour the wind was cranking. We pulled in some head sail and let out the main some more to stand the boat up a bit. By the time we turned east

into the entry for the harbor the wind was probably 25 to 30 and blowing right down the harbor. My hope was we could tuck in behind a large rock and hide from the wind. As we motored back into the harbor just our luck that someone beat us there and had the one good anchorage out of the wind. We dropped anchor and ran out all 120 feet of rode as we were in about 20 feet of water with a stiff wind right on the bow.
 We had invested in a Lewmar Claw anchor before we came up as it was the recommended anchor for the area. We were both really impressed how well that little claw held. It never slipped once the whole time. I ordered a 4.4 lb anchor as it was rated for 20 feet and under. At first I did not think it would go into the anchor locker I made but it goes in there just fine so that is even better! I added 25 feet of chain to the 100 foot anchor line and we never had any issue anchoring.

 Once anchored we popped the top and installed the tent top just to make sure we were ready for the visitors at sundown. Once our house keeping was done we hopped in Ding Dong and went exploring. West of where we anchored was a nice little water way that lead out to the west side of Fox island. We went ashore there and climbed up to the top of the rocks to check out the view. We could see for miles to the west so we decided that is where we needed to take in the sunset at. We also found some blueberries here! Not big ones, about the size of a pea, but at this point we were not going to be picky. We finally found about a cup full of berrys before returning to the boat to check on the leak and get supper cooking.
 When we packed for this trip we had one whole cooler full of canned foods just in case I did not catch enough fish. Well seeing how we are only going to be on the boat a couple days we are not going to worry about running out of eats.
 I lit the grill so it could warming up while i prepared the flat bread pizzas. We found a 3 pack of 8" flatbed pizza crust, a small packet of pizza meat sauce, a small can of mushrooms, and cheese. I put them in our rail mounted oven/grill and watched the temp gauge as they baked. In about 10 mins we had yummy smoked pizzas!

 Dinner was delish and it was all we could do to eat it all. By the time we got the dishes washed and everything put away it was almost time for sunset!
 Cindy and I love to watch the sunset together so anytime we can get out and catch it we do. Tonight we were going to watching it set off of what we have called Sunset Point on the southwest corner of Fox island.
 Back in Ding Dong we headed west back through the narrow channel then went ashore on the east side of Sunset point. We scurried up the rocks like a couple of squirrels and set up our wine bar!

Always practice safe drinking and boating, even in the North Channel!
 The sunset did not disappoint as it was beautiful.

 The temperature was awesome and there was still a nice breeze. Here we are celebrating our one week anniversary!!!

 It was just beautiful and we were both really glad we threw caution to the wind and did not turn back when we probably should have. So far the leak has been something I have been able to stay on top of and aside from all the fiberglass shards in my hands and the blood loss from the stab wounds it is all good.
 Motoring along in Ding Dong back to the boat through the narrow waterway

 We decided it would be fun to have a fire so we picked up my backpack and headed off to the mouth of the harbor. We scurried around and gathered enough wood to last us a while then just as I was lighting the fire the mosquitos arrived. Run to the dinghy!!!! All I could think as I pulled the started rope was "please start, please start". The cruise and carry lit right off and away we went! Arriving back to the boat we jumped in and got inside before too many skeeters joined us. I lit a citronella candle and that did an amazing job of keeping the skeeters at least a foot away from the boat.
 We played a game of cards as the last bit of sunlight faded to black out our starboard side window.

 While not everything has gone as planned we have hung in there together and we have had a great time. Someone told me that you never remember the trips that everything goes as planned. If that is the case then it is guaranteed that we will never forget this one!!!
 I had noticed that the leak was worse the more weight we had in the bow so we decided to sleep on the table with it dropped down. After getting our bed made I set my alarm to go off every hour to wake me up so I could mop up water under the floor just to make sure we did not wake up with more water in the floor. So every hour I woke up and wiped up water with the chamois.
 I guess it was the 3 am alarm that something caught my eye. It was the moon out the screen in the door as it was looking to the northeast. I had to venture outside to see it as it looked huge in the night sky. It was so beautiful out that I had to wake Cindy up to come out and see it. All we had for cameras were our phones and I did not think they would work so we did not bother to try and take a pic but is was breath takeningly beautiful. The moon was so bright you could actually read by it. The stars were so bright and crisp they looked like you could reach out and touch them. We just stood in the cockpit with my arms around Cindy as we stared off into the night sky. There were just a few high thin wispy cirrus clouds that the moon had light up like neon lights. Words, nor pictures, could fully convey the beauty of that night. I feel the same way when I try to describe Cindy to someone.  
 Words nor pictures truly do her justice. She has been so much fun to be with on this trip and has taken all the set backs in stride. We have laughed a lot, after that first night, and I am sure we will laugh countless more times about the setbacks through the years to come. I am just so glad fate brought us together and now we husband and wife. All the problems we have seem so petty now as I stood there under a billion stars with my best friend in my arms...

Here is a our sail path for the day. Not too bad considering all we encountered.

North Channel Honeymoon Sail day 5

7-20-16

 5 am, Wednesday morning. "WHAT'S THAT NOISE?" Cindy ask me waking me from my slumber. I listen, then in my foggy state of mind I tell her it is just someone motoring around in the slips in their dinghy and try to go back to sleep. After all the stress of the past few days with the boat issues I was finally got a desent night's sleep and was not really wanting it to end at 5 am.
 But as I laid there trying to go back to sleeep that noise remained constant. It sounded like the faint hum of an electric motor and water running. The water sounded like it was right behind our boat. That seemed odd as the fresh water spigot to our slip was up in front of the bow.  Then it hit me, like a ton of bricks! That wasn't some one in their dinghy, it was our BILGE PUMP!!!!!
 When we first started keeping her in the slip I feared getting a call at 3 am from the guys at the boathouse that our boat had sunk so I put in a automatic bilge pump just in case. Our boat does not have a true bilge area so it wound up in the keel locker with the hose ran to the stern just under the rub rail. It won't pump the boat dry but it might keep it above water till the battery dies.
 I scrambled out of the V birth and put my feet down into 2 inches of water on the floor. I just dropped my head and told Cindy we had a leak. So for the next 2 hours we sponged and chamoised water up and dumped it overboard. About 7 am we had it dried up enough to see that the keel bolts started leaking sometime after I last looked at them at 11:30 last night.
 I gave Russell a call at 7 and he asked if we were on the water. I laughed and said well were almost under water. " Oh No!" Replied Russell. After talking a few minutes Russell told me to get back to the lift and they would be waiting on us.

 So back to the lift we went and out came the keel again. Cindy and I got some breakfast and checked out the LCBO store, liquor and beer all in one right where we turn to go down to the marina. We finally went back and resealed the keel bolts and put it all back together. This time we all agreed to just let her hang in the lift for 24 hours.
 Cindy and I hopped in the big white semi and headed off to Little Current as I wanted her to get there one way or another. On the way there Cindy asked me if I saw the canoe in the tree? I was clueless on that one but she swore there was a canoe in a tree down over a guardrail. I mentally marked the spot and continued on.
 We arrived in Little Current and found a parking spot big enough for our steed. We strolled around the streets of Little Current all afternoon checking out the shops, beach, and docks. The water around the docks was so clear you could easily see 20 feet down to the rocks on the bottom. No trip to Little Current would be complete without a stop at Knockerville ;-)

 We stopped in the bar where the Cruisers net is aired from and got a beverage and snack. I finally tried the poutine which is french fries covered in brown gravy and shredded cheddar cheese. We had seen that on the menu at all the resturants we had been to in Canada so I had to give it a try. While it wasn't the worst I had ever eaten it would have been much better with white gravy.
 After ice cream on the docks and a stop by the quilt shop before we headed north out of town. I had remembered seeing a sign for White Fish falls so I was curious to see if there was a water fall there. We followed the signs through a small town that looked like it was out of a Hollywood movie set then around to a road side pull off where you could just barely see the water fall.

 Thinking there had to be a better place to see it from we drove on and came to a small park where we parked. We walked a short trail and then bingo! There it was! We had to take a couple of pics.

Granted, not Niagara Falls but still a pretty little waterfall. There used to be a mill there but it is long gone now. Wish I had my fly rod with me as I would have loved to try to catch a small mouth hiding down in the rocks.
 We continued on back to Spanish but had to stop where Cindy saw the canoe in the tree. I passed it then turned around and went back pulling over close to the guard rail. There was no water anywhere down there so I was a bit perplexed where it was. Then Cindy saw it and pointed it out to me.

Yep, it was a canoe in a tree alright, about a 100 yards off the road and down the hill. How Cindy ever saw it still baffles me to this day as she can miss some things inches from her eyes LOL! Not only was it a canoe but there was a dummy sitting in it with a fake bear climbing the tree with a fake moose standing back watching. All those things Cindy did not see until I pointed them out. See what I mean? How did she ever see the canoe LOL!
 We made it back to the marina at Spanish and made use of our slip rental with hot showers before returning to check on the boat. She was still hanging where we left her. The sealer around the keel bolts had skimmed over bit to be safe this time we were going to leave her hang over night.
 Russell and Jean offered us the use of one of their camper trailers to spend the night in since lodging was not that easy to come by. We gladly accepted and joined them in the patio chairs till the skeeters told us it was time to go in. We retreated to our camper and played some cards before we both fell victim to heavy eye lid syndrome. It felt good to be in a bed that wasn't on a boat trailer or we had fear of waking up under water.
 My beautiful lil cuddle buddy snuggled up tightly to me and soon we were both out like lights! I wonder what excitement tomorrow might hold for us???

North Channel Honeymoon Sail Day 4

7-19-16

 Well once again we woke up in the boat as it sits in the parking lot of the Spanish Marina. No reason to get to excited about getting up as it might be a while before Russell is ready to lift our boat out. We slowly come to life and figured out the plan for the day.
 After talking to Russell at 7 am we have several hours to burn as he told me to come up the river at 1 pm and they could get us out. So we got cleaned up then took a walk to the lodge about a mile or two west of the marina. It was a cute little place with several cabins that they rent out. They did not serve food like a restaurant but did feed the campers. We looked around then walked back to Spanish where we went in search of a antique store. We found it on the northeast side of town but it was closed.
 We grabbed a bite to eat at Dixie Lee Chicken then headed down to the marina to launch the boat and head up the river. It was hard not to show up too early as I was ready to get the boat in the air and try to figure this out. I loaded up my tools that I had brought with us "just in case". Maybe I jinxed us doing that. About 12:30 Cindy pushed me off the dock and away I went.
 The river is dredge up river as well and is marked but the marks are a bit odd in that they stop at one point just past the marina which at that point you are on the northern side of the river. They markers start again about 1/8 mile up river but now they are more towards the southern side of the river. I figured a straight line between the two point was what they intended so that is what I did. At one point I was down to 4 feet of water. So much for 9 feet all the way.
 The guys were waiting on me at the marina and directed me into this small area with a  few slips. It was pretty narrow and with the wind blowing, yes, it was howling again, it made docking a bit challenging. With the Memory Maker all tied up to the dock we went over to get the wood boat out of the lift.

 Not everyday I get to see a 38 foot wood cruiser from 1964. Had I known it was going to be so much work to get this boat out of the lift and back on the hard I would have just put our boat back on the trailer and headed home. I felt even worse than I already did for all the work the guys had to do to get this boat out of the lift. Russell tried to make me feel better and assured me they needed to get it out of the lift anyway as it was not sealing up like it should so they needed to see what they issue was with it. I did not feel much better.
 We finally got our girl in the slings and lifted her out of the water.

 Russell pulled the lift forward and we blocked up the keel so we could remove it and have it stand straight up while we lifted the boat. The keel is cast iron and weighs 400 lbs so I did not want it to fall over on its side as that would have been a pain to stand back up.

 

 With the keel removed I was able to look up into the keel trunk.

 Other than the leaking keel bolts this was the only real sign of damage that I could see. My original thought was that the keel had rubbed on the keel trunk on the ride up but that turned out not to be the case. Instead what made this mark was that when the keel is down it comes to stop against the back of the keel trunk at this one spot. So this small area of fiberglass is trying to stop 400 lbs from swinging too far forward. Other than that we could not see any other obvious area of leaks.
 The keel bolt holes were wet from the water that ran in them so we used a water activated epoxy to stop up the holes and then redrilled them once it hardened. While the epoxy set up Russell ran to Blind River to pick up his atv's for his bear hunting business while Cindy and I went to dinner at a small restaurant east of town. We met back at the marina at 7 pm to re install the keel. We lowered the boat back down and lined up the bolt holes using quick setting 3m 4200 marine sealer. Thirty minute later we had it all back together. Russell was ready to set her back in the water but I suggested we pay the bill first to give the sealer enough time to skim over. Some things you read say it will continue to setup under water but I would prefer to give it as much time as possible to set up.
 After paying the bill which I felt was very reasonable we set her back in the water. No leaks were visible so I shoved off and headed back down the river to out slip at the Spanish Marina. Cindy was waiting for me as I pulled in and we tied the boat up to our slip dock. Finally, we were going to get to spend the night on the water, even if is just in the slip. We felt like we were finally heading in the right direction.
 We got cleaned up then played some cards while Cindy practiced her "Securita, Securita, Securita" radio call for when we head through Little Detroit the next day. Boats call that out over VHF channel 16 before they enter that area to let other boaters know they are coming through as it is not very wide and the only safe place to be in a boat that draws more than a foot or two is right down the middle.  I took one last look at the bolts on both side of the keel trunk and all was dry before we crawled in the V birth. Maybe we lucked out.
 We tried to watch Captain Ron, again, and again I feel asleep shortly after it started. Maybe some night I will make it through that darn movie. At least tonight we had renewed hope when we closed our eyes.

North Channel Honeymoon Sail Day 3

7-18-16

 Again morning finds us waking up in our boat but instead of bobbing up and down in the water we are held fast by the trailer below us. Yes, we are still in the Spanish Ontario marina boat trailer parking lot. But at least today we are going to try it again.
 Hopeful this is the real deal we prepare like we are going to be gone for four more days. We get cleaned up, replenish our ice and fuel, and then launch the boat. No water so far so we park in our slip for a bit just to watch it. While we wait we decided to climb the stairs up to the wind generator that sits on the rocks just eat of the marina. It looked like we should have a great view from up there.



 There was a nice lookout from atop the hill and we can even see our leaky little boat just to the left of Cindy's visor. You can even see the nice notch in my forehead from the grill mount. Back down the stairs to check on the boat. There was some water but it did not seem to be too much so we decided to at least go get on the water. Maybe we could at least spend some of the day on the day on the water.
 I stopped by the dock house to see if I needed to pay for another launch as we launched before they opened. After I explained our issues with the boat they were super nice and told us not to worry about it and then also told me about a boat repair marina just up the river. Seems they had a boat lift and might be able to help us. So I called Almenera Marina and talked to Russell. He was very nice and told me he had a wood boat in the lift soaking trying to let the wood swell up to shut off the leaks but it should be out the next day. He said he would come down to see us. It just a bit he came down and talked with us. He was very nice and felt awful for us that our honeymoon was not going so well. He said to call him first thing the next morning and hopefully the wood boat could float on its own and they could get us in the slings. Finally a small glimmer of hope.
 After talking with Russell we headed out of the marina and back down the channel. It seemed the leak was worse when we were moving so I kept mopping up water under the floor as Cindy motored us out.

The wind had really started to pick up and the waves built quickly. We headed back down the same path we had taken Saturday as we knew it was clear of rocks and we hoped we could get to the beach at Shanly island to spend the day. The waves really got cranking as we headed south so we stopped short and found shelter out of the wind as much as we could hope on the east side of Green Island.

We dropped anchor and just relaxed for a bit on the water. Someone took a nap while I continued to mop up water. By now my hands are looking like I have been fighting with a very large tom cat with really sharp claws as they never intended for someone to slide their hand up under the hull liner and it was riddled with fiberglass shards. Most of which where breaking off in my hands.
 While Cindy slept I got the dinghy motor off the rear rail and attached it to the dinghy. I tried to slip away quietly but I guess the sound of a weed eater firing up was enough to wake her LOL! I motored around the little cove for a bit to get a feel for the dinghy. It really did very well for a 40 dollar Walmart rubber boat. I headed back to the boat to check on the leak and to wake up Cindy from her nap so we could go hike a bit on Green Island.
 With the Admiral aboard we headed over to a spot I thought we could land the dinghy. We got out ok but it was rather steep to get started up the rocks. We made it up and the view was awesome.

  Here you can see Ding Dong with the Memory Maker in the background. We climbed all over the rocks in search of blue berries but none were to be found. Cindy had to take a break and soak up the view.

We motored back to the boat and grilled some braats on the grill for lunch. The wind was still howling but it was a very pretty day with very comfortable temps. The leak was still leaking but I was able to stay up with it and keep it mopped up.
 We just relaxed and soaked up the rays for most of the afternoon. I have to say one of the best things we have discovered so far is the Moose, 94.1 out of Algoma. They played an awesome selection of tunes! We have listened to the station non stop since we found it and I don't think they have repeated a song yet. Even now as I type this I am listening to them online ;-)
 About 5 we decided to head back to Spanish so we could get the boat back on the trailer and get the tent top on before the mosquitos came back out. The wind had calmed some and had changed from the southwest to the northwest during the day. We decided to sail a bit on the way back so we hooked a left and sailed out into the lake till we far enough hat we could clear the north side of the small island then turned back for the channel into Spanish.

 We loaded up our girl and headed for our camp site in the parking lot before heading off to have dinner at the Spanish River Inn.
 All in all it was a fun day but again, just not what we had envisioned when we started this adventure. But at least we are both able to focus on the positives at this point and make the best of it. Sure we might not be anchored at Long Point cove or a the Benjamins but we were together, we were on the water, and we were not at work. All good things in our book!
 We had a good dinner at the Inn then returned to the boat to get inside before the dirty bastard blood suckers came calling. We tried watching Airplane again but I am pretty sure I did not make it 5 minutes into it before I was asleep.
 The days are going by way too fast. I just wish there was some way I could put the brakes on all the clocks and just stop time. I am already dreading the end of our honeymoon and the return to the real world as I know that means Cindy will not be by my side all day long and I will miss her so very much...