Killarney

This blog will chronicle our (Pat and Patty Anderson's)

cruising adventures on the Great Loop!

DAY 111 - July 20, 2017

We slept until 7:30 a.m. this morning - the stress of yesterday must have taken its toll on us! The first thing we noticed was that the water at our Dead Island anchorage was dead flat - no breeze and not even a ripple on the water! So we decided that we would leave just as soon as I had taken Baxter to shore and we would have breakfast underway. We had one cup of coffee (we do not MOVE without that first cup of coffee!), I took Baxter in, put the kayak back on top, and we were underway!

We had a choice of threading the needle inside, or just heading directly outside for the shortest distance. We chose the latter! When we got outside, Georgian Bay was as calm this morning as it had been lumpy yesterday! There were a few ripples, but no waves or big swells. This does not affect our cruising speed (a blazing 6.67 staute miles per hour, or 5.6 knots), only our comfort. We could run faster, but economy is cut in half to get an extra mile per hour or two, so not really worth it. We decided it would be better to go back inside at the last opportunity, since if it got rough, it would be a LONG way on the outside with no way to get back inside until we arrived in Killarney. This turned out to be the correct decision! It was really calm inside, and the last little bit, Collins Inlet, is about as pretty a passage as you will ever see anywhere. But when we came out of Collins Inlet, we had four to five miles to go outside on Georgian Bay before we reached Killarney Channel, and by this time, Georgian Bay on the outside had turned pretty snotty. We had no choice but to slog through it, and it was pretty uncomfortable. This will be our final memory of Georgian Bay, along with the rocks from yesterday! We just lucked out going outside for the longer run fairly early in the morning today! 

Here is today's track from Dead Island to Killarney, you can easily see where we are inside or outside! The first long run outside was in nearly flat water, the last run just before Killarney Channel was rough! There is actually a channel where it looks like we are going over land!

Track from Dead Island to Killarney

Screenshot of Killarney Anchorage
behind Pine Island

We thought we might stay at Killarney Mountain Lodge and Marina, so I called as we were cruising, but they were fully booked. There are other marinas, but one that had room (it was in fact nearly empty, as we saw) was Sportsman's Inn, which had no showers. We would just as soon not shower at anchor as not shower in a marina!  Actually, bathing is not really a problem as long as we are on a fresh water body!

Killarney runs along a channel, with most stuff on the north side. We were planning on two stops, the LCBO and Herbert Fisheries for fresh fish for the freezer and take-out fish and chips for supper. As it happens, the LCBO and Herbert's are right next to each other and share a dock! The lady at the LCBO gave us a map showing us an anchorage in the little channel behind Pine Island and told us it was a very protected anchorage and not nearly so busy as Covered Portage, which is the most popular anchorage in the area. We are in a dandy little spot, and it is very pleasant here. We will hang here tomorrow to relax and recuperate by taking a day off from cruising before tackling the North Channel.

Daydream anchored behind Pine Island in Killarney

Pat in Sea Eagle kayak

Baxter has been to shore and I took a recreational paddle in the kayak. Patty took a complete bath and hair washing on the swim step since we are totally secluded here. I will probably go swimming tomorrow, with my shampoo, Dial and washcloth, since it is pretty warm here.  We have yet to use the Helio shower, since we either shower in a marina or bath in the fresh water!

Killarney is the end of the Georgian Bay, which we entered back at Port Severn where we finished the Trent-Severn Canal.  Next we need to transit the North Channel down to Drummond Island, where we re-enter the U.S. We need to study up on the North Channel, so we will look at Skipper Bob and Active Captain tomorrow - we never did get around to buying the Ports Guide, and now that we have only 100 miles to go to Drummond Island, we are pretty sure we can manage without it!

As of today, we have cruised 2,644 miles. I checked the distances remaining, and according to Captain John, we have only 2,350 more miles to go to cross our wake at River Forest Yacht Center on the Okeechobee Waterway! Still don't know where we will be on September 1st for our 50th anniversary, but pretty sure now we will be past Chicago!