Wed Aug 9: Wright’s Marina to Beaverstone Bay/Burnt Island anchorage

We were kinda hesitant to leave Wright’s.  They were so kind, and it seemed a safe and comforting place.  Kind of like when you leave the hospital with a new baby, and you don’t really want to go - the world is a stormy place and maybe it’s best to stay where you are, with the experts.

But we did cast off and headed through some winding outer channels. We did our usual serpentine slalom through the reds and greens.

 

 

Sometime it's just like driving down a lighted landing strip - Rick calls this 'connect-the-dot' driving.

Like icebergs-the worst may be below the surface.

 

 

 

With this much infrastructure devoted to wind turbines it should perhaps not come as a surprise to us that it is so WINDY all the time.

 

 

We crossed the last bit of the route open to the Georgian Bay, and it did throw some waves at us, but we persevered and got safely to our first anchorage option, The Bustard Islands. This is a pretty popular pile of rocks and coves out a bit from land, and it was lovely but too rocky and crowded for our comfort level.  If our anchor is going to drag, which we must assume it will, it's better to drag with lots of room, and few boats, around us. We moved on for Beaverstone Bay - a longer day then planned, but it seemed prudent to get the open water section completed in good weather.

The Bustard Islands' Lighthouses

 

The bay was empty except for a pair of adorable tug-type boats tied up closer to shore, and some distance from us.  We considered and discarded several anchoring locations, since we now treat every possible anchorage in Georgian Bay as though it is a cobra just waiting to bite us.  We finally settled in - and there was time for fishing and reading!

 

At one point Rick said 'what are we going to do for the rest of our evening' and it was just about then that the weather began to look sketchy. Seriously??!  Didn’t we JUST have to deal with a squall line EXACTLY LIKE THIS ONE… And us with no cell service.  It’s one thing to think fondly of disconnecting from your phone-it’s another thing to need a weather forecast URGENTLY in real time.  🤬

It’s was clear this ugly beast wasn’t going to miss us. Rick thinks it looks like a hand reaching down.  It came so fast - it was like it swooped down on us.

We’d learned from last time.  We got all the instruments on, and the engine ready. We were anchored pretty far off shore, away from most rocks, and far from the 2 tugs. We had a plan for where to hold the boat if need be.  And there was a need.  Of course there was…

There was such a wind (and hail in other parts, we learned later) that all of us eventually began to drag.  Honestly, no one would choose to anchor out in 35-40 mph winds, because dragging would be inevitable. It was just an unexpected storm. The 2 tugs you can see in the pic above (we couldn't even see the shore for a bit during the storm) were anchored to the far left of this hill.  At one point it seemed certain they were going to end up on those rocks.

There was no way to bring up the anchor during the storm - it needs to be rinsed off or the winch gets jammed from grit - so Rick held us away from shore/rocks and we tried to stay focused and calm.  Eventually things settled down, so we picked up anchor and put it down in the same place.  Trusting, or stupid ? Please discuss amongst yourselves...

The rest of the evening was lovely - even the 2 tugs were fine.  We tried to have a positive attitude: We would have been in much more trouble out at The Bustard Islands - how lucky we didn't stay there. Both times this has happened to us there has been enough daylight to solve the problem easily - it would be so scary in the dark. We practiced what we learned and were prepared, and not near rocks or boats.  

So...... all's well that ends well, as Laura Ingalls Wilder's Pa used to say...