With the repairs all finished, and fresh provisions, “it’s good to be back on the boat”, said Maddie.
Thank you, one and all, at Queen’s Cove Marina in Victoria Harbour, Ontario for the exceptional service. We were very excited to see Exhale gently lowered back into the water! Without a doubt, Robin and her team are beyond compare. Thanks, Robin, for the amazing lesson on the navigational routes along the Georgian Bay. We now have an exciting route mapped out for the northern channel – subject to weather, of course.
Penetanguishene with Houlegan, again.
It was a pleasure to begin our Georgian Bay travels with our good friends, Ray Houle and Caryl Moulder, Houlegan, again. Our first stop is known locally as “P’tang” (cuz Penetanguishene is waaay too hard to say). Caught in very heavy rains, we found refuge at the historic Discovery Harbour. Fun times!
Discovery Harbour
When it rains, find a museum, or a pub, or both. We opted for Discovery Harbour. We got drenched by the rain, but it was in the midst of good company.
Discovery Harbour traces its roots back to the original British naval and military base in Penetanguishene, built to safeguard access to Upper Canada after the War of 1812. To learn more click here.
While Houlegan, again is on a brief solo expedition via the southern route of Georgian Bay (those guys are rebels, you know), we moved on to the northern route.
Henry’s Fish Camp
A popular spot in Georgian Bay, we found over a dozen looper boats at Henry’s.
At Henry’s Fish Camp we docked again with Gypsy. Fellow loopers Miss Norma, Viridian, Gypsy Spirit and Dash Away joined us for picnic table ‘tails.
Parry Sound
The Georgian Bay is absolutely spectacular! Bucket List Item in Progress.
In Parry Sound we docked with Viridian, Gypsy Spirit and Dash Away.
Canada Model A’s on Tour
What a treat to see twenty-six Model A’s parked at our dock!
Anchored out in Tiny
Traveling with Gypsy, we anchored out in Hopewell Bay (did we mention, Jim Merritt took a very brief break in Queen’s Cove for a root canal – oooowwww)
Small Craft Advisory
When the weather gets rough – stop, stop, stop. Thanks to Captain Rick and Jim, they did not hesitate to find a safe little cove for us to take refuge when the water got really choppy. With a little help from the Nebo app, we found more loopers in the cove (hello again Viridian and Dash Away). A spontaneous dinner aboard Gypsy was an unexpected bonus.
Hang Dog – Alexander Bay
Another “first experience”. In a small protected cove, Exhale dropped her anchor, then Gypsy rafted off (tied herself to Exhale). The stern of the boat was snuggly secured to a tree about 150 feet away. With zero risk of swinging towards the rocks, we all enjoyed a VERY peaceful evening!
Signs along the way – “Safe Passage”, or, “Rum found here”
Brilliant advertising for the local pub at the next port? You decide.
A MESSAGE TO OUR FAITHFUL READERS: We are sorry the blog postings have been rather irregular. Unfortunately, (or perhaps we mean fortunately), cellular service and wi-fi connections continue to be hit or miss on this great boat trip. Although a tremendous inconvenience and source of frustration when we need to meet a deadline for WORK, most of the time we are just forced to Exhale 🙂
Next Stop:
Enjoying Georgian Bay, with no pre-scheduled stops.
Where Have We Been So Far? Thanks for asking 🙂
Total Locks completed = 126, includes:
- Florida – Lake Okeechobee area: 7
- Virginia – Great Dismal Swamp: 2
- New York – Troy & Champlain Canal: 12
- CANADA – Chambly Canal/Quebec: 9
- CANADA – Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway: 5
- CANADA – Rideau Canal/Ontario: 47
- CANADA – Trent-Severn Waterway: 44
States and Provinces traversed on the water, commencing March 1, 2018:
U.S. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Vermont. Canada: Quebec, Ontario.
Side trips (via land or air):
Los Angeles (MS [2 – April and May], Rick [3 – May, June and July] & Maddie [May], Cleveland (RMG, MS & Maddie [2- April and July], Craig [April])
Exhale on the Water 
Congratulations we hope no mire unplanned stops.⚓😎
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
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