We are in Hamlet

September 30, Tuesday

Change of pace...font, that is.

We waited patiently until 10:00 am until the Lockmaster arrived to open the lock, or more precisely, unlock the washrooms, open the doors, find his coffee cup and THEN ask us what we wanted. So by the time we got into the lock it was 10:30 and it took about 10 minutes to lock through, but we had to go back inside once we were in the lock because they forgot to charge us for PULLING the dinghy. If it was on the deck, it wouldn’t count, although if we use it in the river and don’t have a sticker for it, would we be in trouble...we paid the extra $55.00.

The weather was cloudy and warm most of the day, with on and off rain and a few feeble attempts at sunshine. We got over the Big Chute railway with no problems and we tied up for a few minutes before realizing that we could make the next lock today! So we took off.

 The colours are glorious here, and despite the weather we got a few good pictures. The waterway system has changed a lot in the last 10 years... bigger cottages, more cottages, humungous houses with crappy little boats. I have to say the power boaters haven’t gotten any smarter or better at boating. They still think that ‘no wake’ doesn’t apply to them and it’s funny to watch a sailboat bob around in their  waves. And there are no sailboats here because there is no place to put masts up and down. We passed one sailboat heading to Georgian Bay.

SO we are sitting in ‘Hamlet’... that’s the name of the hamlet...a cottage resort, some condos and a general store. Close to the top of Lake Couchiching. Lots of houses and boat but no distinct edge to the village. We missed the bridge opening. It says in the charts, there is 9 feet o clearance and we needed 8 but Rick measured it and there is really only 7.5 feet..high water this year. So we tied up and wait for 10:00 tomorrow. We should be well past Lake Simcoe tomorrow and into the bottom half where most of the locks are. We had thunder and some rain when we arrived here but its stopped now. We had soup for supper and went over to the general store to get ice cream for dessert. The soup was Potato and leek but I jazzed it up with cauliflower and turnip and corn that was left over and some spices and feta cheese. I have this handy-dandy little starfrit chopper that can do almost anything with veggies cooked or otherwise.  Oh and we cancelled the phones today. I tried this morning and got into an argument with the other end. Apparently both phones were in Rick’s name and no-one would talk to me. He tried later and as of Oct. 13 we will be without phone numbers. However, I was told that the phone can be used to create a hotspot even without a sim card...I somehow doubt that...so I can keep the blog and facebook going.

Time for dishes and bed...I know, I know, its only 8:00 pm but its hard work driving the boat and reading all day!  It is really dark here right now... no stars and tall trees in the narrow river...kinda creepy...and funny noises...I think the ducks are sneaking up on us. Time to shut the door. G’night

September 29 Port Severn

September 29  Monday,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Quentin & Todd!!

We left Owen Sound on the 27^th  around 2 pm  and made it as far as White Cloud Island. We were meeting friends there and we knew we wouldn’t get to Midland anyway, having left too late.  It was hard saying goodbye to everyone but we will be back in the spring.

We got to White Cloud around 7:30pm. We didn’t have any wind and babying the new motor along made us slower than we anticipated. The weather was awesome. I think maybe the universe has given up on trying to slow us down ...our determination has finally triumphed! Now if only Lotto Canada would cut us some slack! “ I prob’ly shouldn’t a said that.”

We left White Cloud at 9 a.m. after having coffee and showing off the boat to our friends, who have a gorgeous Bertram Trojan that you could hold a dance in! But he’s 6 feet tall and doesn’t fit in our boat without a lot of bending and folding...like Jack and Gary and Joe...and come to think of it, almost everyone taller than 5’6”. I guess we’re the water equivalent of a hobbit hole.  I LOVE it!

So we got as far as Thunder Bay. Everybody freaked when I texted that...no, we didn’t go the wrong way!  There is a Thunder Bay at the top of Nottawasaga Bay. It was dark when we anchored so it was a good thing we decide to run in there.

This morning we left early...730.am, and got to Queen’s Cove Marina in Victoria Harbour at 12:30 pm.

 The nice lady at Queen’s Cove who took our call is from Port Elgin and Bill Walker’s sister-in-law (for you non-O/S-ers , he’s the MP). We were originally headed for Dutchman’s Cove but they can’t take boats wider than 15 feet. (we are 16.5’) We called Doral but they wanted $300.00 to take down the mast and they were even further away from Port Severn. It took 2 hours and a lot of messing about to get the mast set on the deck and under the top without ripping down wires and balanced but we did it.

We are now sitting in front of the first lock at Port Severn. %#@&^ government office doesn’t open until 10 am and the last lock closes at 3:30  every day so we are going to have to boogie to get through in 12 days. There are 45 locks:  that’s 4 per day and we still have to cross Lake Simcoe as well. We should be good as long as the weather holds. It has been amazing. Oh, I said that already. Of course, we had awesome wind as soon as the sails came off, and I expect we will have beautiful sailing weather all the way to New York, when the sails go back on.  

So we are getting to bed earlier ever night as the dark comes quickly now. I won’t be having tea tonight. There’s quite a noisy waterfall beside us and I don’t need any extra encouragement to get 16 times.

Tomorrow will be exciting...hopefully I can keep my mouth shut this time and we will get through with no hassle. Today I tried to cancel my phone and someone in a foreign country wouldn’t let me because apparently I don’t have one...they are both in Rick’s name and they won’t talk to me. So don’t be surprised if you can’t reach us at all after tomorrow. We are going to MAKE SURE they cancel our phones!!!

However, I can blog with no problem, so you will hear from us in the next few days. Locks are boring after you’ve done one or two so don’t get worried if I have nothing to report. ‘Scuse me a minute ...that damned waterfall...

Sept.26...We are off again!

September 26, 2014

Hello Again,

Hear that? That’s the sound of a new engine running well. Of course we haven’t left the dock yet but we are planning to leave tonight or tomorrow a.m. and head to Wiarton. From Wiarton we will push over to Midland and take the mast down. The weather is good for the next week (so they say) so we should be good!

It’s been a tough month. Waiting for the extra part; finding out that the clutch cable was too short; waiting for my glasses (that never came) and when we thought we could schedule a departure, Rick’s back (skin) surgery got scheduled. We decided it would be better to get it done now rather than try to re-schedule later next year.

So he had it on Wednesday. The stitches are dissolving and we can leave! He’s fine...no pain and I will make sure it stays clean and heals properly.

The motor was not difficult to set up. The configuration is not “exactly the same” as the old one and we had some tense moments when it looked like the two electrical harnesses were mismatched, but reading instructions helps so we resorted to that in the end J. It turned over the first time we didn’t need to shriek at each other to be heard.  We ran it for a half hour and turned it off, then we turned it on again and it started!!  When Liz came down with the kids, Rick let Todd start it and it worked for him too! Todd was impressed, almost enough to want to go with us again, but he doesn’t like the warning buzzer!

So now it’s clean up the cockpit and re-pack the stuff we’ve spread out sitting here. We will say our goodbyes again to whomever shows up today (Carol came by and Kelly was here yesterday. We took the kids and Liz for dinner last night and we saw everyone else on the weekend and Tuesday night for dinner. Later today we will hand the car over to Jack and head out.

We are cancelling our phones when we hit the States and getting a better one but the number will change, so I will let everyone know the number when we get it. We don’t expect people to call us unless it’s a dire emergency, but we will call when necessary. I will keep up the blog and post on Facebook so everyone can keep tabs on us. And if you know someone who cares, pass the info onto them please!  Liz or John, tell your Mom and sister what we’re doing. Trish, Crystal and John keep your mom and dad up-to-date, and Liz, make sure Jack and Ted know what we’re doing. That way everyone stays in touch.

So, gotta go change the laundry, and put more stuff away. Take care of each other and enjoy your winter.   

 Susan & Rick