Saturday, July 21, 2012

The Port Severn Lock 45 opens at 8:30 AM.  At 9:00 AM we got in line behind five other boats waiting to lock through our last lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway.  Lock 45 is also the smallest lock, only 80 feet long.  Boats were coming and going in both directions so it was slow going.  While waiting on the blue line, two Customs Officers stopped by to chat.  They weren’t interested in any documentation or in boarding us, just asked where we were headed and where we had been and our overall comments about being in Canada.  At 11:30 we entered the lock with three other boats and a jet ski and exited at 11:40 AM.  We thoroughly enjoyed our experience on the Trent-Severn, especially The Big Chute!

We headed northwest and are now in The Thirty Thousand Islands area of the Georgian Bay.  It’s very rocky and often the passages are shallow and shoal. Also the buoy navigation system changes here – red to starboard, green to port – the opposite of the system in the Trent-Severn.  We passed by Picnic Island Resort Grocery and tied up on their transient dock.  I ran in for bread and fresh produce which I found to be  reasonably priced.  Once again, I found blueberries from Hammonton – but here, they were $7.99 a quart.  I bought pears and bananas instead.

We went through areas with quirky names like Potato Channel and Pudding Island,most areas are very shallow and studded with rocks.  There has been a shortage of rain here just like in the US and the lack of water affects these channels and canals.  We arrived at Frying Pan Bay, part of Beausoliel Island, the largest island in the Georgian Bay.

Frying Pan Bay is a small anchorage with boats anchored around the inside perimeter, each  having a stern anchor or a stern line tied to a rock or tree on the shore in addition to the bow anchor.  There was plenty of room in the middle of the “frying pan” with only a few boats anchored there, but Ralph was concerned that we might swing differently in here overnight and we could possibly swing into another anchored boat.   We opted for the fore and aft anchoring arrangement, securing our aft line to a large tree on shore.

We dug out a 200’ line we had stored in the lazarette locker and with Jay’s help in the dinghy, tied it to our stern and then to a tree on shore.  Ralph commented “Well, when in Denmark, do as the Danes do.”   I think he means “When in Rome...” but I digress..

Locking through Port Severn, the last lock in the Trent-Severn Waterway

The Canadians drop their anchors, then put out a long line tied to a tree or rock when anchoring in Frying Pan Bay.  Jay is taking Ralph's stern line to the shore to tie to a tree in this photo.

Frying Pan Bay, The Thirty Thousand Islands area in Georgian Bay

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We dinghied ashore and Striper took a swim and enjoyed fetching a stick.  It’s been a beautiful comfortable day and the anchorage is peaceful.  We’re looking forward to a good night’s sleep.