Killarney, ON - Day 306

July 16, 2016
Day 306

Saturday dawned as predicted with light winds and small waves on Georgian Bay.  We wound our way out of Snug Harbour between the rocks and islands until we finally turned toward Killarney on the open waters of Georgian Bay.  The farther we traveled the lower the waves became and the trip went well as we had hoped.

Leaving Snug Harbour on a beautiful morning.

Approaching Killarney we could see the pink granite cliffs with the white quartz mountains above.

An otter was playing in the channel across from our marina.

I have to admit, this is the first time I have ever seen a sign with the following message.

We were docked by 2:00 pm, which is good since we were able to attend the 3:00 pm Saturday Mass.  This is the one and only Mass each week at the only Catholic Church in town, St. Bonaventure.  There were 22 people in attendance.

After Mass, we had a fish and chips dinner at the "world famous" Herbert's.  We have now had Great Lakes fish and chip dinners at world famous "Henry's", "Gilly's", and "Herbert's".  At Henry's and Gilly's we had "pickerel", better known as walleye to those of us from the USA, and at Herbert's we had whitefish which was delicious, but I'm still partial to walleye.

Our marina was the Sportsman's Inn and Marina.  They were so happy to see us that they decided to show a movie on the big screen across from where we were docked.  They call it a "boat-in" movie, and you tune in the sound on your FM radio.  Of course since it doesn't get dark here in the summertime until 10:00 PM we decided not to stay up for the whole movie, no matter how nice the gesture.

Gilly's Snug Harbour - Day 303-305

July 13-15, 2016
Day 303-305

We finally left Midland after two weeks of boat repairs and decided to make a long offshore run to Killarney at the top of Georgian Bay and the beginning of the North Channel.  Winds were predicted to be 10 knots and 1/2 meter waves subsiding throughout the day.  That did not turn out to be the case.  If anything the winds built, as did the waves and after about 3 hours of steadily worsening conditions I turned toward a refuge at Snug Harbour.  Getting off of the Georgian Bay can be a challenge since as you approach the shore the waters are riddled with rocks, islands, and shallow places.  Luckily I had plotted a course to several "bail out" locations should we need them, and Snug Harbour was one of them.

There is a large lighthouse at the entrance of Snug Harbour, and all around the harbor and on almost every rock are cottages, the Canadian equivalent of beach houses.

Tucked up into the very end of the harbor is Gilly's Restaurant and marina.  Gilly's is a family run restaurant that has gained almost a cult following.  Specializing in Great Lakes fish dinners, Terry "Gilly" Gilbert is the cook, his wife Sarah runs the bar and is the business manager, and each of their five boys plays some role in the functioning of the restaurant, the marina, and the store.  Conveniently, they live next door.  We ate there twice for dinner and it was very good.  They are only open for lunch and dinner and the first day we were there we saw a steady stream of traffic into the parking lot and the crowd never subsided until they closed at 9:00 pm.  Gilly told me they served 305 meals that day.  Pretty good for a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.

We wound up spending 3 nights here until the winds subsided on the Georgian Bay and we could continue to Killarney.

While at Gilly's we did find out the answer to an age-old question that has plagued mankind for eons.  The answer is YES . . . . . Yes, he does!  (The closest we've come so far on this trip to seeing and actual bear.)

Port Engine Problems and Boat Repairs - Day 295-302

July 5-12, 2016
Day 295-302

We have been experiencing a problem with our port engine that has gotten progressively worse as we have traveled.  The engine will run fine all day long, but as soon as we throttle down to maneuver into a marina or a lock the port engine will shut down and often will not restart.  We have been brainstorming with other PDQ owners for a couple of weeks as to what the cause may be and possible solutions.  Almost everyone believes it is a fuel delivery problem since all a diesel engine needs to run is air and fuel.  We have changed fuel filters a number of times and finally decided to change our the entire port fuel line since air seemed to be getting in from somewhere.

On Tuesday we took the boat over to James Power's house for him to change out the fuel line.  He pulled the pickup tube from the tank to check it for leaks, replaced a number of fittings in the fuel line, replaced the entire fuel line from the tank to the filters, and bypassed a boost pump that had been installed by a previous owner but never used.

We stayed at James' dock that night and in the morning ran the boat back to the marina in Midland to see if the problem had been solved.  When pulling into the marina the port engine died and would not restart, so apparently, the fuel line was not the problem.

The diesel mechanics at The Bayport Yachting Centre in Midland had previously examined the boat and recommended rebuilding the fuel injector pump and governor, but we wanted to try the simpler and less expensive approach first.  Since that did not work we had the mechanics come aboard and removed the fuel injector pump and sent it out for rebuilding.

While James was in the engine room evaluating the shutdown condition he had found that the port shaft seal was leaking, thus explaining the persistent small amount of water that was constantly in the port bilge.  I ordered new shaft seals and scheduled with the marina to haul the boat when they arrived to change out both sides.  Meanwhile, James put Rescue Tape on the leaking port shaft seal bellows to stop the leak until it could be replaced.

Monday the injector pump came back, and the rebuild shop did find several obvious problems with it.  Two mechanics reinstalled the pump and then I took it out for a test run, and everything seemed fine.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

We were in Midland for two weeks between the PDQ flotilla pig roast and the boat repairs.  We toured the town and admired the paintings on the side of buildings depicting various aspects of the town history.  We toured the Martyr's Shrine and the recreation of the 1600's Jesuit Mission to the Huron Indians in the area.  Sharon practiced her golf cart driving skills, and one day we saw a float plane land on the bay by our marina.  One day we went to a local deli called "Dino's" and I had a corned beef sandwich that had to have a pound of meat on it.  People were taking pictures of the sandwiches there, but I didn't take one of mine.  Midland was a pretty place to be stranded, and they had all of the serviced that we needed, but after two weeks we were ready to move on.

Tuesday the boat was hauled out and the new shaft seals were installed.  We stayed at a local hotel Monday night so we would have somewhere to be comfortable while the boat was out of the water.  By the time the seals were done, the boat back in, and the rental car returned it was mid afternoon so we decided to wait until Wednesday to leave.

Happy Canada Day - Day 291-292

July 1-2, 2016
Day 291-292

Due to advice from our Canadian friends, we had decided not to travel on Canada Day weekend due to anticipated huge numbers of amateur boaters plying the local waters.  We spent Canada Day in Midland, ON touring the Martyrs' Shrine near Midland.  The Martyrs’ Shrine is a Roman Catholic church which is consecrated to the memory of the Canadian Martyrs, six Jesuit Martyrs and two lay persons from the mission of Sainte-Marie among the Hurons.  That evening we watched fireworks from our boat.

The next day we toured the mission of Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, a reconstruction of the 1600's mission on the actual site.  From their website:

"Ontario’s first European Community, Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was the headquarters for the French Jesuit Mission to the Huron Wendat people. In 1639, the Jesuits, along with French lay workers, began construction of a fenced community that included barracks, a church, workshops, residences, and a sheltered area for Native visitors.

By 1648, Sainte-Marie was a wilderness home to 66 French men, representing one-fifth of the entire population of New France. Sainte-Marie's brief history ended in 1649, when members of the mission community were forced to abandon and burn their home of nearly ten years.

After extensive archaeological and historical research, Sainte-Marie among the Hurons is now recreated on its original site, where the mission’s compelling story is brought to life."

PDQ Pig Roast - Day 290

June 30, 2016
Day 290

All of the PDQ owners participating in the Georgian Bay Flotilla gathered at James and Jackie Power's house near Midland, ON for a pig roast.  Many of the boats were anchored out or at the dock behind the Power's home, others were docked at local marinas.  James Power  worked at PDQ as the warranty and commissioning manager and now runs his own business servicing PDQs.  He is considered the premier expert on the construction and functioning of these boats.  We were able to meet some new friends and catch up with other friends at the pig roast.  Sharon and I thought it was awfully nice of the group to have thrown the pig roast on our wedding anniversary!