Wednesday August 25 – Got up at 6:30am, had breakfast, showered, and were off the dock by 8am – a miracle! When we got out on the water the wind was from the Northwest, but it was lighter than 15 knots. It had rained early in the morning and the skies did not look real friendly, so we were expecting to get some rain again. The wind had been from the Southwest over night and had built up some waves from that direction. With the wind now from the Northwest, the waves were all confused and coming from different directions, but they were only a couple foot high. So we tried to sail, but without much luck, and had to motor the whole way. We got in just before 3pm.
Around 4pm we headed into town and to the Black Dog Pub. For a snack Kathi had a salad, and I had a bowl of bean and sausage soup and then a “spinach tapas shrimp” which was really good! Then back to the boat to sit in the cockpit and eventually heat up the leftovers from the night before. Nice to be plugged into shore power as we can use the microwave to reheat things. Kathi went to bed early and I watched most of “Sherlock Holmes” on my laptop before I went to bed.
The marine weather report had changed late in the day saying the predicted 25 knots from the Northwest was now downgraded and it would be 15 again tomorrow, so we plan to go to Sarnia tomorrow early…
Thursday August 26 – Well, it blew 25 knots last night, all night. The new marine weather report issued at 3am indicates that it would blow like that until 6am and then veer to the North at 20 knots. When we got up this morning it was still blowing pretty hard and we were getting some wave action in the marina (Bayfield is on a river and waves from a westerly direction push waves and water up the river). When you walked up to the shower/bathrooms you could see the waves crashing on the break-walls at the entrance to the harbor. The waves are predicted to be 2 meters (6ft to 7ft) all day and not subsiding until this evening. Of course the wind is to go light overnight and then start up in the morning from the Southwest at 15 knots – exactly the direction to Sarnia. We have no good choices, although we could sail through the night starting out late.
We will probably go for some hikes and maybe back to the Black Dog or the Albion Hotel for lunch and internet access… we will see what the day brings and if the wind and waves change later this afternoon.
Things do seem like they may have calmed down a little (~3:30pm), but it is much too late for us to think about heading to Sarnia. We the freighter traffic, I don't want to go in there in the dark.
We hiked over to the marina on the other side of the river to see if Wayne and Joyce were there on Norden Passage. This is their home port. I expected them to be like the Harveys and have the boat pulled and on dry land by now, and them back in Kitchener. To my surprise the boat was at the dock, open, but no one was around. Merit and Radar (another boat we in Little Current, an older center cockpit Columbia ketch who are on the same dock as Norden Passage - Radar is their German Shepard) came over to Wayne's boat while we were looking to leave a message. He invited us on to his boat and we talked for a while and borrowed a pen from him for me to write a note for Wayne and Joyce on back of one of our boat business cards.
On the way there at the entrance to the north-side marina complex was a restaurant called "The Docks". On our return we ended up going there for lunch. I forgot my jacket (it had really warmed up) and had to go back after being about a third of the way back to the boat and get it. Kathi headed back to the boat. She is off shopping for a couple grocery items. I decided to keep scanning around for an internet connection and finally found an open one.
The Environment Canada Marine Weather report for southern Lake Huron reports that tomorrow morning the wind will be Southwest at 15 knots... we will head for Sarnia, which is of course to the Southwest... I am still hoping they are wrong and the wind stays to North or West for us. I really don't want to motor into the building waves (forecast to be 1 meter or less, but they will build during the day) to get to the head of the St. Clair river and Sarnia Bay Marina a mile or so down river...
We were just heading out to the south break-wall to watch the sunset when we heard Wayne Van Norden say "Where are you guys going?" and spent the evening with him and Joyce talking and watching the sunset. Wayne is a dynamo at 67. He was the one from Norden Passage who at Sault Sainte Marie locks was at a marina and tried to help a women out of the water and was thrown, when the powerboat she fell off of blasted its engines, off the dock and injured his knuckles and knee. This may limit his ski instructing at Mont Saint Anne north of Quebec City this winter. His knee is getting better, but he will need surgery on his hand. It was great to see him and her, and earlier today Merit and Radar! We have had such a great trip and met so many nice people, mostly Canadian, but Americans too.
The Environment Canada Marine Weather report for southern Lake Huron reports that tomorrow morning the wind will be Southwest at 15 knots... we will head for Sarnia, which is of course to the Southwest... I am still hoping they are wrong and the wind stays to North or West for us. I really don't want to motor into the building waves (forecast to be 1 meter or less, but they will build during the day) to get to the head of the St. Clair river and Sarnia Bay Marina a mile or so down river...
We were just heading out to the south break-wall to watch the sunset when we heard Wayne Van Norden say "Where are you guys going?" and spent the evening with him and Joyce talking and watching the sunset. Wayne is a dynamo at 67. He was the one from Norden Passage who at Sault Sainte Marie locks was at a marina and tried to help a women out of the water and was thrown, when the powerboat she fell off of blasted its engines, off the dock and injured his knuckles and knee. This may limit his ski instructing at Mont Saint Anne north of Quebec City this winter. His knee is getting better, but he will need surgery on his hand. It was great to see him and her, and earlier today Merit and Radar! We have had such a great trip and met so many nice people, mostly Canadian, but Americans too.
Route from Kincardine to Bayfield
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