On 7/22 we straggled out of South Bay Cove and headed back to the small craft channel. I say straggled because no two boats seemed to leave at the same time though all would end up at the same location including one welcomed addition.
The trip to Henry’s Fish Restaurant was a mandatory stop, at least if you wanted to say you had been through the 30,000 Islands. Everyone wants to eat at Henry’s and a few get to stay overnight. In order to be one of the few on a weekend you must be there first come first served. Let me explain a little later.
That last picture is a prop graveyard at Henry’s but here is an even better one. The people who sell props up here in this rock garden are in the right location.
Henry has about ten long floating docks plus a seaplane dock. Many of his customers fly in daily. The first boat on each side of a dock gets to stay overnight for a charge and have shore power such as it is. All other boats tie up behind in a line but must be gone when the restaurant closes. And the overnighters must be gone by 1100 each morning or they incur another day’s charge. So the way to get a space is to be there between 1000-1100 and sit and wait for someone to leave.
The staff is very efficient and walks each boat into shore with lines so as to get close enough for power but not too close so as to hit a rock. We were assigned to #8 south. The shore is like a sheer wall of rock and our bow pulpit was hanging over rock that then went straight down for 20 feet in crystal clear water. Most boaters with kids pull in and go swimming though it is a bit chilly in the water as we are halfway between the equator and the arctic circle now.
I said a welcomed addition showed up to join our growing fleet. Joe and Tara on Seabatical with Little Bit came in to dock. And then there were six: Cbay, Kismet, Seabatical, Brown Eyed Girl, Seabiscuit and Passport.
The afternoon was spent in planning and plotting our courses around the outdoor picnic tables as more boaters arrived and filled the docks. You see many of our fleet are nearing the end of their journey and the rest of us want to pick up all the knowledge they have of the last portion of our voyage. Passport and Brown Eyed Girl get off in Michigan. Kismet quits in Wisconsin. and Seabiscuit will leave us at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Only Seabatical will cross their wake with us on the Tennessee.
We all ate in The Tent. You see when Henry first got started he had no idea things would go so well. So each night dozens of people would sit outside on the rocks and grass waiting on a table inside. Henry saw this as bad for business and an opportunity to expand so he erected a tent next to the building and began serving customers on picnic tables under the tent. This was so popular that they eventually began to enclose the area with a more permanent structure but everyone still called it The Tent. So they painted a sign over the door. Fish is the primary menu item and plenty of it. Jan and I had “Georgian Bay Shrimp” for an appetizer. No silly, shrimp cannot survive in Georgian Bay. It is too cold and too fresh. But smelt are here by the millions. Tiny little minnows that are eaten bones and all. Remember I had them each night at Mama’s Greek Restaurant in Tarpon Springs, FL. They were called Marides there. But these are not as flavorful as Mama’s. For the main course we had fried pickerel and smoked trout. Too much, so we shared with all.
Earlier in the day I had a philosophical discussion with two ladies who shall remain nameless. The subject was child discipline and the welfare system. Let me tell you the problem in the world is not with the welfare recipients, it is with the bleeding hearts who help to pay for the system. As long as enough well meaning people are unwilling to let anyone suffer for one minute then we cannot stop this cancer that is eating us alive. And one of them was a school teacher so I know this stuff is being passed on to the next generation.
Granted they are big hearted and caring people but ultimately they are like the lady that found a baby squirrel in her backyard. It had fallen from a nest and she nurtured it with a baby bottle to give it a helping hand. It quickly grew into a fine young squirrel and graduated to solid food. She kept it in a cage and gave it anything it would eat. She did not want the little thing to have to work so hard at shelling nuts so she bought pecan halves at great expense and fed him those. Soon the little squirrel quit eating and died. Distraught she took it to the vet to find out what dread disease had taken it. After examination the vet said it had no disease. It’s front teeth, which continually grow and are naturally worn down by working on nutshells and pinecones, had not had any work to do and had grown down into it’s lower jaw preventing it from eating or drinking. You see you can do too much for others until they cannot do for themselves.
7/23- The newly formed fleet began to assemble out in the pass off Henry’s docks at 0800. That is all assembled but Seabiscuit. They have a more leisurely approach to life and always linger a bit in the morning. The more I see the more I believe they are correct in doing this. They always get where they are going and seem to enjoy it more.
It was a day of tight twists and turns. At one point Seabatical decided to turn off and take a slightly longer route outside in the bay rather than take a chance with the rocks inside the islands. But we all re-formed the line of sail further on and arrived at Killbear Marina. It is a nice place but the docks seemed built for ships and we have to climb up to get off the boat which you will see in the pictures. I am told we will be here for two nights. Not sure I like that but weather seems to dictate it as there will soon be 40 mph winds predicted out in Georgian Bay!
There is no WIFI and only one TV channel which shows educational children’s programming. I will likely go nuts by Wednesday and my readers will suffer with me I am sure.
7/24- Another day of boredom. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will be gone tomorrow. I never thought I would be wanting a project but I guess I should be thankful that all is repaired and ready.
We have plotted a course to Britt which is a small town on the Byng Sound. We will travel with Kismet. Yes the fleet has suddenly been reduced to two. Seabatical left at midday to go meet friends who they met in Florida and to anchor out. Seabiscuit departed early this morning to adventure on their own. BrownEyed Girl is leaving tomorrow but headed for home. They live off lake Huron somewhere. Passport left today for their home run also. See how things change from day to day?
At least we are told there will be WIFI in Britt and a chance to add pictures and send this blog out to catch up our readers. Because we should be hitting bigger towns for awhile there should be better opportunities to get on the net. Keep your fingers crossed. We will be in the North Channel by the weekend and getting closer to the good old USA.
Grand Prize Winner: We had several guesses on the squash plant that was featured in the Penetanguishene blog but only one winner. My first cousin, once removed, Amy Moon, said it was a Patty Pan Squash and she was right. As soon as we get her mailing address her prize will be mailed. By the way, the Admiral had told me it was a Turban Squash and I was about to throw out Amy’s answer. But she seemed so enthusiastic in her response that I put our crack research staff to work and Amy was right. A Turban Squash is orangish green. We will continue our contest with another question soon. If I had gotten a picture of that muskrat it would have been a good one.
The end.
