I am writing this while we’re traveling on the boat, but won’t post it for several days because we are anchoring in gorgeous harbors until next weekend.
Rain and high winds were in the forecast on Thursday, so we found a small inlet and anchored for two nights. At first it was another beautiful day and we thought we might have stopped too soon, but by Friday morning, it was raining continuously. It never got as windy as predicted, but we were glad to be in a sheltered spot anyway.
During our rain delay, the challenge was to stay occupied. The complicating factor for me in the early morning was that Brian slept until 10:30 - after going to bed at 9:30 the night before! I think he may have reached another plateau of relaxation and I hope he can maintain it. I was very quiet until he got up. During the day I pulled out every activity I had packed: magazines, crossword puzzles, books, drawing, crocheting. Brian washed the windows outside and inside, letting the rain rinse the soap off the outside windows. He collected all the spiders and their webs and threw them overboard. We have heard that we should only get spiders on board when we’re at a dock, not when we’re at anchor. Brian had just enough reception on his cellphone to be able to take a conference call at 5:00. I defrosted the fridge and made a good dinner of turkey-burgers and ramen slaw. The slaw recipe is big enough for a dozen people, however, so we might have to eat it for several days.
We’ve noticed boats, plants and animals unique to each area we’ve visited. Here in Georgian Bay, beautiful tall pines grow right out of the boulders. There are summer cottages on many of the boulders, with lots of common orange daylilies and Queen Anne’s Lace surrounding the houses. The boats are small fishing boats with shallow keels that zip around without any regard for the scary rocks below. We see lots of loons in the water (they sound exactly like Katherine Hepburn). There are also bullfrogs that sing in the night.
Today it’s very foggy with about 1/4 mile visibility. Brian has to steer by radar through these islands, with or without fog, because unless you are a native to the area, you have to rely on the radar to see what’s underneath as well as what’s nearby. I do not like the fog. It is tummy-clenching and heart-stopping, slow going and nerve-wracking. A local cruiser called “Refuge” offered to guide us through the narrow passages, and we took him up on it. Many of the channels are so narrow that only one boat at a time can go through; you wait in one of the larger areas until it’s clear.
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