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.)
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