Friday June 18 – We needed to get going, but of course we move slowly in the morning. The forecast was for late afternoon rain, 15 knot winds from the Southwest, and a possibility of thunderstorms. We got going by 11am, and had a great sail heading across Georgian Bay to the north side of Christian Island – Big Sand Bay. About half way however, the wind started to shift forward to the South and then Southeast. We were sailing at 35° onto the wind and were off course by 20° to the North. In came the headsail and on came the motor to get us back on course. The other determining factor was the dark clouds starting to close in from the Northwest. I saw a couple anvils and that was enough to get me to think more about getting to our destination then saving diesel. Our little off course trip did take us within a couple hundred yards of the southern Georgian Bay weather buoy, which was interesting to take a peek at.
As we approached Hope Island and our waypoint for turning south into Big Sand Bay, the dark clouds were overhead. Earlier I thought I heard thunder over the sound of our engine, but things did not look all that bad. It did start to rain on us, but it was not hard and not long lasting. We made our turn and after a half hour we were at anchor in Big Sand Bay. Most of the clouds broke-up and the sun poked through. We tried calling our friends in Penetang who usually listen to the VHF around 6pm, but no contact. We are only about 9nm from Penetang as the crow files from Big Sand Bay. Cell coverage is very poor here, so making a phone call is problematic as is sending text messages (besides, I don’t think Garry has is cell on until he is on his boat anyways).
The shore here has good sized sand dunes and cottages in the tree line above. We were surprised to see nude bathers on the beach. So when we took our evening dips in the still 50°F water, we followed the local habit. With the nice sunset, we had salad with tiger shrimp, and listened to CBC radio (news and “As it Happens” program). We went to bed expecting high winds and maybe some rain. If we had high winds, I did not notice it overnight.
Saturday June 19 – As usual, we slept in late getting up around 9:30am and made coffee. The sky was overcast initially, but by 11am the clouds broke and the sun came out strong. The wind does seem to be shifting to the Northwest, and is supposed to go North overnight, and there is a possibility of early evening thunderstorms. We may move over to Sand Bay on the south end of Hope Island. We will see…
Goodbye Little Port Elgin... heading for Big Sand Bay
Little Port Elgin Bay anchorage view of escarpment to the southwest
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