HAPPY NAUTICAL WANDERING !!

AHOY ALL!!
We have been technically challenged/deprived since I last wrote. Haven’t had much in the way of computer or telephone signal over the past 2 or 3 months, and computer itself has been broken. There now, I have my excuses out of the way! I’ll try to catch you all up on our adventures since I last wrote.
We left Australia and arrived here in Canada in mid-May, and went first to see Tanya and Jamie in Kitchener (Cristina and Puica were in Romania). Then Tanya took us to Kingston to visit the family and left us there for a few extra days extended visit before we decamped to Georgian Bay. We let the marina know we’d be arriving on the Thursday, whether or not the boat was in the water, and as we drove in, our boat/home was just being lowered into the water for us. Just so you understand how much pressure the marinas were under, the ice did not go out at Honey Harbour, on Georgian Bay until May 3!! It didn’t fully disappear from all of the Great Lakes until June 12th!! They had a shocker of a winter!! So all the marinas were 5-8 weeks behind in their spring launchings.
We spent most of May and June in two different marinas in Honey Harbour, getting organized on the boat; we had a list of modifications and additions we wanted on the boat to make it more manageable and more comfortable, particularly for Anne and I when we’re on our own. We had wanted them done over the winter, but that was perhaps naive. We had also hoped to start travelling by end of June; that was also wildly optimistic!! In any case, we found a local welder/magician, Phil, who, along with his wife Diane, managed to get everything in order and made it possible for us to set off finally on July  19. While we were still in Georgian Bay, we managed several day trips, and anchored out with friends and on our own a few times, so we did get to see a bit of the area. Although Georgian Bay is not houseboat-friendly, with all its shoals and inconsistent weather, it is strikingly beautiful and diverse. I grew up in Ontario, but had no idea that there were over 30,000 islands up here!!! It is an amazing area!!, but daunting for a houseboat with a top speed of 11km., crewed by only two of us with just a rudimentary grasp of navigation. We had already been on the rocks once (not our fault) and lost once (our fault) before we were even ready to start our trek!!We also made a start on learning to drive the big beastie, but that’s a whole other saga on its own!! Suffice it to say, Phil almost took up involuntary water skiing at one point. Thanks guys!!
We met a number of people in the marinas, in Honey Harbour itself, and along the way, who  made us so welcome and who’ve gone well beyond helpful! Hopefully we’ll be able to stay in touch with many of them as we move on. One group of them all came on the houseboat with us and helped us up the first lock at Port Severn, reputed to be the hardest.We’ll see them all again in Sept. at Bobcaygeon. Thanks Jeff especially and all the rest; we couldn’t have done it without you.. Others, Deb and Rob, the previous owners of the boat, came to Big Chute to take the photos of us in the lift. and have since brought us from the boat to their home for a great visit, meal (and laundry)We’ve also met many fascinating folk, both in Georgian Bay, and since then on the Trent Severn system. Among very many, there was John Guider, who is doing the Great Circle loop all round eastern Canada and USA in a 14ft sailboat with oars; he travels 2 months of the year then home to Tennessee. This year he’s doing Trenton, up and through Georgian Bay and down to Chicago!! Check him out on www.theriverinside.com  . We also enjoyed Roy and Diane ( www.RoyDesignedThat.com ) who had made their own dear little houseboat/more like a gypsy wagon on water, which can go almost anywhere, drawing only inches of water! And so many more!!
Although we’re a distance from the family, we’ve had really nice visits from various ones, and thanks to sister Maureen and Don, got in some land touring up on the Bruce Peninsula. They had done a paddling tour up the Trent Severn with a group of friends and then stayed with us briefly before we all headed out for a few days. We also had lovely visits from cousin Les and Geri, friends Michele and Rhonda from France and Australia, and brother Paul, Mary Ellen and Alex. Also shorter visits from and to various other friends.
Now the Aussies, our neighbours and friends from home, Wanda and John, and Anne and Paul, are with us. (since I started this, they’ve all moved on, and our cocktail levels are getting dangerously low, Paul) We waited for them below the Big Chute, so they could share that experience with us. The Big Chute is one of only two still working in the world, apparently; you drive your boat into a semi-submerged open ‘car’, with a number of other boats, depending on their sizes, then get driven on a railway track up out of the water, over a hill, past a two storey building, across a road, stopping traffic, and down a smaller hill into another lake! Quite amazing, and considering it was only the second lift of our trip, not nearly as terrifying as I’d expected!!
We’ve been dawdling along, and took 12 days to get to Orillia, about 45 minutes by car from where we started in Honey Harbour!!! That was the less populated, more  scenic ‘wilderness’ part of the canal system, with little or no road access in places. The  staff at one lock come to work by boat, and we saw quite a few cottages with seaplanes. We stayed at locks, a marina, and anchored out in a couple of isolated little bays. We’ve swum, boated in the little dinghy and shivered; summer so far has been underwhelming, although we’ve had some warm days.We’ve had a wedged anchor that took us 3 hours to release, and have stalled in a swift channel  and been rescued/towed by  locals in a small motorboat, and through it all have been having a great trip, with lots of laughs and lots of eating and cocktails!! We were ready for a town, amenities, shopping, etc. etc. by the time we made Orillia, so we stayed there 4 nights, on the town dock, right in the heart of town. We were able to get the electric bike off the boat so Anne and I had wheels for the visit. We got to check out the area, get to restaurants and one evening live theatre, and did I mention shopping??!!
After leaving Orillia and an uneventful crossing of Lake Simcoe, the largest lake on the system, and one with quite a reputation for volatile weather and rough wave patterns, we hit more populated areas and considerably more boat traffic. Most of the locks are similar to the ones we knew on the Rideau, but the Kirkfield one is a lift lock, with basically two big counterbalanced ‘bathtubs’. Our engine was playing up again/still, so we limped straight through to Fenelon Falls where a marine mechanic met us and sorted it out. That meant we sailed by Coboconk, ‘Coby’ to the locals, at the watershed of the system, and the highest point in the world from which you can circumnavigate the globe by boat. Shame we missed it! Not that we have any aspirations in that direction, but it’s neat!

Somewhere along the way we heard from home that wee Aiden had had an accident and badly burnt his hands, especially one! The parents were devastated, but the worst seems to be over and he’s healing now.
Our Aussie friends disembarked in Fenelon Falls, thanks to their friend Denise, who picked them up and put them on the next legs of their separate trips. That was  9 days ago and we’re still here!! It’s a lovely little town with all the amenities and we’re moored right in the middle of it! We were able to get the bike off and do all our laundry, shopping, (and not just for food!) ice, propane, etc. –stuff you take for granted and do easily with a car.
Daughter Tanya, with family, Cristina and Jamie, joined us for two nights. We couldn’t travel on with them, as they of course had a car, so we stayed here in town one night, then doubled back to the previous lock for a quieter more isolated spot the second night. They hit lucky with beautiful weather!! Got in some swimming at one of the town beaches and Cristina and Tanya took the dinghy out for a bit of fishing. Jamie is into pirates right now, so the timing was ideal. We also had a ‘pretend birthday’ for Jamie as we won’t get to his actual one; the cake seemed to go over well!!
Since then, the weather has totally socked in with high winds and rain, and temperatures the same as those in Australian winter! The up side is that although we have well and truly outstayed the time our pass allows at one lock, they won’t move us on in bad weather, so we’re ‘stuck’ here in the middle of a lovely town, with power, water and internet, and did I mention shopping? Looking at the forecast and the chart, our next stop will likely be Lindsay, on Monday, Caroline.
    More later
    Much love to all
    Captain and First Mate