Gore Bay July 13, 2016

It was just another perfect morning in the anchorage. Having coffee on the top deck in the morning in a beautiful anchorage is as good as cruising gets for me. And Kerry joined me today since we planned to leave early for Gore Bay. Our loon friends were back, and I got a better picture of this guy today.

We left Hotham at 9:00 for the 18.9 mile trip to Gore Bay. The straight line distance is much shorter but we had to go about 2 miles out of our way to clear islands and reefs. We arrived at 11:30. We had to wait about 15 minutes to get to the gas dock to top off and pump out, so I must guess at our average speed, probably about 7.5 knots while moving. We followed Brillig through the islands, but then motored ahead in open water. This will be our last cruise with Brillig on this trip.

The trip was mostly upwind with 1-2’ seas that gradually built. Annie likes going into waves much better than beam seas, so it was a pleasant trip. It is quite warm today, and promises to get breezy as Environment Canada has issued a high wind warning. 

The fuel dock lady, Hannah, charged us $769 dollars for what should have been about $150 for dockage and fuel. I did not catch it until I walked to the boat so had to make a couple of long walks back to the harbor master to get it straightened out.

Gore Bay Marina

New break wall guarding harbor from north winds.

I need to figure out where we are going after we leave here. We have 3 nights before we plan to be in De Tour Village. I am thinking of staying on the North side of Manitoulin Island, and anchoring all three nights in the Bay of Bayfield, Vidal Harbor and finally Harbor Island. It will depend on what the weather is and what new information I can learn from fellow boaters.

We keep bumping into boaters we have met before, which is really fun. We are now next to David and Sandy who we meet in Little Current, and are near some sailors we met way back in Bayfield at the start of our trip.

Today is Peter’s and Marianna’s anniversary, 31^st I think. We are having margaritas on Annie to start the celebration, then a huge fancy dinner on Brillig. Kerry baked brownies for dessert.

Kerry and Marianna got their laundry done today, at least most of it. It can be very stressful for the sailing ladies as all of  them try to do laundry with only 2 washers and dryers. Somehow I was off my game and ended up waiting for the dryers to be done (Kerry had them both!). One lady told me this was not a place for men. I agreed!

Our Anniversary celebration dinner started at 5:30 on Annie with margaritas. I made 2 pitchers and we have some left in the freezer which will be enjoyed at anchor somewhere. It was an Indian theme dinner so Marianna brought delicious Samosas with thai chili sauce. 

Then we moved to Brillig for the main course, which was a curried chicken and brown rice dish with hot mango chutney with lots of home made spices, along with an Indian dish called Naan. Freshly baked brownies with lots of whipped cream finished our dinner. Sipping liquors finished the evening, at 10:00 PM. It was a great evening and anniversary celebration.