I SAW A BEAR IN THE WILD

It happened when we anchored in Wingfield Basin for 2 nights. 

A very happy captain, final refuel and pump out before leaving Wiarton

After we motored out of Wiarton Marina we hoisted the sails and set our course for Kidd Bay on White Cloud Island, we tacked up Colpoys Bay the wind was on the nose, but once we travelled out of the bay there was a good breeze so we decided to keep going because pulling into Kidd Bay would have been too easy !!.  We set our sights on Wingfield Basin the lovely little round anchorage we had stayed in the last time we were out, that’s where we saw the bear poo on the walking trail.  So off we headed, we sailed through a beautiful sunset and had leftover spaghetti bol for tea.  

Our zig zag tacks up the bay 

We passed Little Elgin Bay another anchorage we had stopped the first night out last time but no we kept going and going eventually we pulled in to Wingfield Basin at 6am the winds had dropped through the night and we had to tack back and forward to keep the wind in the sails to keep moving but we got there eventually.

We had done our first night sail, it was a bit stressful for me but once it was over I realised there was no one else out there and we would have seen them miles away in the distance and really we were quite safe in the dark in our floating home. 

Coming into Wingfield Basin it is a very narrow channel, but we had been in twice before and we had a track to follow on our Navionics App.  It is also very well marked with red buoys on one side and green buoys on the other, there are 2 reflective markers that you have to line up in your sights and that is what you aim for as you motor in.  The sun was coming up and the birds were staring to sing as we climbed into bed.

Monday 

The next day we had a real lazy one, up around 9am after breakfast we took the dingy for a row, we rowed rather than used the noisy motor, also the motor was attached to Adrianna not the dingy so too hard to get it down but rowing allows you to be still and quiet and to observe the birds and the wildlife.  We rowed the full circle of the basin past the sunken wreck of an old steam tug that is very well preserved in the fresh water and we could see fish swimming around i

t the water is so clear.  We saw a small snake swim past us and the vegetation is so lush and pretty.

I had a bit of a try rowing the dingy for the first time ever, I can’t remember ever rowing a dingy before, I’m not very co ordinated.

There was another couple doing the same slow row around the basin and we were sort of following them around, they had stepped on to shore at an open flat part and had a walk around.  As we were rowing into the pebbly part where we would pull up and get out Craig Yelps “There’s a bear” and sure enough a medium sized black bear was walking along the shoreline where the other couple had been on shore, my guess is he was there all along and came out to see if they had left any food behind.  Apparently, all the bears think about is food and everyone is warned not to feed them as this encourages their interaction with humans. We started to row closer then changed our minds bears can swim really well. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any photographs but it made my day.  We stopped and had a chat to the other couple then headed along the path towards the lighthouse, but the path is still blocked.  Later that afternoon I was scanning the horizon with the binoculars and I spotted a beaver sitting on a rock, so cute.  I now know what a beaver dam looks like and they are everywhere.  You just need to watch the water around it and eventually you will see one swimming along with just its head popping out.  After and early dinner of frozen meat pie mash and veg we had an early night.

Tuesday

The forecast was for favourable winds on Wednesday so we decided to spend Tuesday doing some chores I did some hand washing – as that’s all we can do now.  

We prepared a few meals for putting in the freezer and completed some other jobs on the list.  It was very still so a perfect day to run Craig up the mast using the bowman’s chair, lucky we have an electric winch.  Our new spinnaker needed a line (halyard) put up and dropped down through the mast and Craig wanted to check a few things on his way up.  I don’t think Craig quite trusted me somehow, but all went smoothly whew.

Craig stood in the dingy and scrubbed the spiders off the outside where the deck meets the hull, we enjoyed falafels, tzatziki and tabbouleh for lunch with plenty of leftovers for the next few days.

Early Wednesday morning we lifted the anchor and headed out, it was around 6.30am – straight up and dressed and on our way.  Our destination Beaverstone Bay 43 nautical miles in a NE direction, Craig set the course and I made breakfast, the wind was light but we were moving ok

Once we had eaten and had a cup of tea Craig unfurled the new spinnaker that had only just arrived prior to our leaving, The lines were set and I was given instructions to hoist the halyard, the line we had installed the day before when Craig went up the mast.  The spinnaker is in a long sleeve called a sock, Craig pulled up the control lines and the sock slid all the way to the top.  Once the sheet was adjusted “Poof” up she went it was huge and so very red.  Success on our first attempt. 

The big red kite helped to push us along almost to the entrance of Beaverstone Bay where we motored for the last half hour.  The entrance was dotted with huge granite boulders but very well marked with the green and red buoys.  Following the chart plotter we followed our set course watching as the most stunning scenery opened up before our eyes.  We made it to our planned anchorage by about 5.30pm and we dropped the anchor in about 4.5mt of water.  The scenery is quite different, huge granite rocks with all kinds of fir and spruce trees lining the waters edge.  We anchored just in front of a small fishing hut type thing it floats and has a motor, there is a chimney so it must have a fire inside, maybe for ice fishing ??

The Little Hut we were anchored next to

All the way from Wingfield Basin we had been attacked by flies, flies that bite, they look like house flies, but they actually take a chunk out of you a bit like aussie March flies (there were those too).  It was carnage the cockpit floor was covered in dead flies and the ones that had bitten us were full of blood, so the floor was covered in bits of flies and blood.  I had bought a can of household flyspray, we had decided not to use it as its full of nasties but at one stage Craig is walking around spraying like a mad man, they were really vicious. They mostly went for our legs Zena covered her legs Craig kept bare legs and used a fly swat and jumped and danced around all day.  

Carnage dead flies everywhere

its not marks on your screen its flies

SQUALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT !!

That night we were exhausted after being up so early and having our big sail but I think fighting the flies had really done us in.  We were in bed before it was even dark.

I woke up around midnight to intermittent flashing naïve me thought it was our mast light flashing.  Then the wind started to howl the sky was alight with lightning and torrential rain started beating down on us -  at the same time the anchor alarm went off.  We had gone to bed aware there was a squall warning coming over the Sarnia Coastal Radio Service but we did not realise that it was in the area that we were in !!

We jumped out of bed grabbed the headtorches, Craig started the engine in case we had moved.  Earlier in the day while we were on passage we had opened the front window cover on the dodger to see if the airflow would blow away the flies, and as we were not expecting rain we didn’t close it which meant there was torrential rain pouring in through the open window, and when we opened the hatch it went straight down the stairs inside the boat. The lightening was incredible, constantly lighting up the whole sky we could see the shoreline so clearly but when it stopped everything was pitch black with no light or sight reference to land.  We managed to close the front window cover then we decided we shouldn’t be standing in the wet cockpit with all this lightning, so we watched from inside the boat.  After about 20 minutes the rain stopped, the wind dropped, and we watched the lightning move off down Beaverstone Bay.  The anchor had not moved but we had certainly swung around a lot.

I learnt a few lessons from that night

1   1.  Listen more closely to weather reports

2   2. Keep Ipad fully charged at night, that was an issue as we keep track of our movements        using the Navionics App (GPS) and when we got up in the middle of the squall the ipad        was flat – oh yes I had been playing solitaire.

3   3. Always close front window of dodger

Thursday 11^th July 2019

The next day we jumped in the dingy to have a look around.  From Adriana we could see turtles sunning themselves on the rocks but even approaching as quietly as we could they would move off before we got too close.  

Blueberries grow wild up here,  it took us a while to spot them but once we did, we found them everywhere.  It’s a little bit early in the season and most of them are still unripe but we found a few to eat.  

The scenery is stunning.  

That evening we moved directly across the lake about 1 nautical mile as the wind was forecast to be gusting 25 – 30 knots and from where we were sitting the wind would push us into the shore/rocks if the anchor lost hold, so moving to the other side made more sense  Leeward to the wind Craig called it.

Dragonflies with toes for size comparison, they were huge

Friday 12^th July 2019

After an uneventful night we hoisted the anchor and set sail back down Beaverstone Bay headed for Killarney  16 nautical miles away, we had to navigate back out of the tight channel but once we were in the open we pulled up the sails and we were fortunate to have great winds all the way.  Killarney sits in a natural channel totally set up for boaters and tourists visiting the huge Killarney Mountain Lodge ..  

We motored through the channel with our heads on swivels checking it out,  The Lodge is huge and its  the first thing you pass, next is the general store then the LCBO (bottle shop) with its own jetty you can tie up to.  Next was the Sportsmans bar a huge modern pub with 2 dining areas, there were a few more shops and a marina all of them accessible by tying up at the waters edge.  

Pepperpot lighthouse at the entrance to Killarny 

we were too busy looking to take any photos

We motored through as we had heard we could anchor at Covered Portage Cove a scenic anchorage about 4 nautical miles away and that it was an easy dingy ride back to Killarny.  Once we were through the channel, we managed to sail most of the way and we anchored just out side the cove,it was a little busy/noisy in there.  After a quick bite to eat we decided to jump in the dingy and explore Covered Portage Cove and save Killarny for the next day when we would have more time.  

Adriana was anchored around the corner

Our little dingy ride was just stunning, we pulled up against some rocks and followed a marked path up through woodland to the top where there was a great view looking down at everyone anchored there, we couldn’t see Adrianna as she was just around the corner.

Looking down at Covered Portage Cove

The walk through bushland where we saw chipmunks

There were lots of blueberries we managed to pick a big bagful. We saw really tame chipmunks, bear poo and a huge turtle swimming in the shallows.  Back at our boat we followed the progress of a beaver swimming along the shoreline on his way somewhere.  In Canada they call their $1.00 coins Loonies, named after a bird, the loon the sound they make is like a lunatic laughing  -  google it its quite bizarre.