Later we sailed to and through the Hole in the Wall channel, a 40' wide gap with 45-55' walls. Can't say I've done that before. We sailed on to Killbear provincial park where we anchored in 25' of water off sandy beaches.

7/18/05 - It's Monday and we're back in the maze today, following a usually narrow rock channel as it twists through the rock field that is the land of 30,000 islands. There are severe thunder and wind storm warnings on the radio so we are staying in about the middle of the islands as we track west. Water bodies vary from 20' to a quarter mile wide though smaller rocks (house size) usually constrain the usable water to 20-50' wide. Depths vary radically from 8' to 350'. Verryyy interesting! A couple of times we bordered Georgian Bay, finding it hard to pick out the channels in the surf. No room for a mistake here as shore is granite!

We anchored at 3pm; early because the next stretch is in the Bay and we were leery of the weather. We found a quiet cove with 8-10' of water. That's quite an accomplishment given that every lock bigger than a molar has a generator and a house on it. The amount of development up here is astonishing. We have go-fasts thundering by followed by packs of water lice (jet skis) along with a steady stream of cabin cruisers, trawlers and sailboats. The Canadian Coast Guard is kept busy with calls for groundings, propeller damage and boat fires. TowboatUS isn't needed here as salvage rigs are more appropriate.

7/19/05 - The forecast calls for 10-15 knot winds dead on the nose as we head for Killarney, eastern gate to the North Channel; so we leave at 7:30am. AA led the way out of the channel through the rocks awash to deep water. It still freaks me out when the water depth is greater than your distance from shore. Couple that with charts that are not always correct and you have room for a little excitement.

The winds built to 25 knots and the seas to 1 meter (6-7' trough to crest) as we motored, then motor sailed the 45 mile leg in 11 hours. Rough passage!

We passed through the Killarney Passage into Killarney Bay where we anchored in Covered Portage Cove - a narrow inlet populated by about a dozen sailboats. A sandy bottom offered tenuous holding... any attempt to set the anchor under power dragged it. I'll be sleeping light tonight!

High pink quartz hills surround the bay and the inlet. From a distance the foothills looked like they were snow covered. It was fitting as a cold front passed through today bringing daytime temperatures to the mid-60's, a relief after two weeks of mid-90's.

We're looking forward to going to the town of Killarney tomorrow to provision and try to get some of our communications problems resolved. In 1963 a highway was built ending the town's dependence on boats for access. I'm sure the last 42 years dramatically changed the town. We saw some evidence in the new cottages that dot the bay.

7/20/05 - We motored the 3 miles back to Killarney and took a slip in the Sportman's Inn Marina - basically because they had a WIFI connection to the internet. Thanks to our total loss of communication we've been going nuts. Today we caught up quite a bit. Bradd, Maeve, Ruth and I spent the day on the internet. I learned that I'd sold another article - whoopie!

We meet Bacchanalia and Take Five out of Sturgeon Bay, WI. We knew the Holtz's from back to Lake Winnebago days - it was great to run into them up here.

We got a good reminder of how isolated we really are today. In addition to no cell phone we witnessed a close call for another couple of sailors. The husband (pilot, skipper) fell back into the cabin when a wave hit. He ended up incapacitated on the floor. His wife didn't know where they were or how to get port. He was able to use the radio after she gave him the microphone. He called the Canadian Coast Guard. He could read their coordinates and the Coast Guard put out a call for assistance. A cruiser transferred crew to help her bring the boat in while another powerboat with a retire doctor aboard accompanied them and gave advice. The seas were too rough for the doctor to transfer to the sailboat. When they arrived 2 hours later in Killarney a local ambulance transferred him to a helio for medivac to a regional hospital. Sounds like he'll recover fully, the early diagnosis was several broken ribs.

Weather-wise it was a great day in the harbor, even if we spent most of it working. Can't think of nicer working conditions! Looks like showers this evening and tomorrow, then turning nice again.

We've learned that while we are surrounded by rock there is sediment on the bottom of the flooded crevasses.  The sand and or mud have provided good holding in the areas we've visited. Only once have we encountered smooth rock where an anchor wouldn't hold. That time we moved a few feet and found good holding.

What is surprising is the depths. We are regularly anchoring in 25-65' of water. Our powered anchor windlass is a blessing. I do wish I was carrying about 200' of chain on my primary anchor though.

A Beaver heads to lunch

Entering the Hole

Mapping the maze

Snow? and waves