Day 66 2nd year July 26. On to Collins Inlet. Miles 29. Total miles 3623

Drizzled on us as we weighed anchor, but then it stopped as we were traveling out of the harbor. Yeah!! We continued out into the Bad River channel and out into Georgian Bay.

We have a long run outside today, about 9.5 miles to get to Beaverstone Bay- thus we left early to get ahead of the weather and wind which will pick up this afternoon.

Our course took us 1.5 mile offshore past Fort Channel and Voyager Channel, where there is a large tract of Indian Reservation land. Then we passed The Chickens - a collection of over 300 islands and rocks just off shore. As it was cloudy my pictures did not turn out. Sorry!

We then turned north to enter the channel to Beaverstone Bay, past its low rock islands and then its forested islands and into the bay proper. And the sun came out so I have pictures!

We will travel Beaverstone Bay its entire length of 4 miles. The bay has about 25 islands in the middle of the bay and we skirt between the islands on the east side and the mainland as we travel north.

Here is the chart of Beaverstone Bay and the beginning of Collins Inlet.

As Beaverstone Bay ends, the navigational marks turn us into Collins Inlet which is a narrow rocky gorge with walls up to 30 feet tall and depths of 12-30 feet of water.

After 2.5 miles Collins Inlet opens up to Mill Lake, which we cross to reenter the continuation of Collins Inlet. On this portion of Collins Inlet the granite is more pink. Think the color is due to the pink gneiss in these rocks.

We also past a few hunting and fishing lodges along the channel.

And a few beavers lodges, but no beavers, yet. I have high hopes to find some!!

We anchored behind Key Hole Island just off the Collins Inlet with No Agenda, who traveled with us today.

After lunch, we launched the dinghy and joined Jody and Mike exploring the area. We climbed up several rocky areas and even conquered a mountain!?!

This was a view of Collins Inlet from one of the rock climbs.

Upon returning we shared some delicious appetizers with Jody and Mike aboard No Agenda.

Thanks for the great food and conversation and the free medical advice!!!

Side trip to the Bahamas- Preparations

As we prepare for our Bahamian Adventure, we are making lists upon lists of things to do and provisions to buy for our upcoming trip to the Bahamas. Bill has spent much time readying the boat for the cruise, checking engines, batteries and all the systems on the boat - electrical, plumbing, navigation, refrigeration and air conditioning. Sure kept Bill busy!!! We took the boat out to check all the systems and to get fuel. We had to re-remember all the navigation and auto pilot workings and surprisingly we did remember!! We have spent the last two days loading the boat with provisions- water, food, tools, clothes, toiletries and cleaning supplies, and our pantry and cabinets are full. We are sitting a bit heavier in the water now that we are fully loaded. Also Bill has finally gotten his TO DO list down to the few remaining items so he sees the light at the end of the tunnel!! We have researched the charts and guide books and have a tentative pla...

On to Allan's-Pensacola Cay. Day 12. April 3. Mile 35.2. Total mile

Day 12 We left our anchorage at sunrise to head out of Great Sale Cay Harbor. Turning west and then north, we will cruise around Great Sale Cay toward Abaco's barrier islands, eventually reaching the eastern edge of the Little Bahama Bank today. As we turn Northeast, we get some spray. Crustacean is quite salty now! Winds are out of the east 10-15 knots with waves at one foot. We cruise past Little Sale Cay we see a steady stream of sailboats going both east and west. I counted 15 total. Nice wind for sailing. Halfway through our trip, you begin to see the outer barrier islands on the horizon to the north. Five miles later you can see Little Abaco Island to our south. Here is a chart of the area we traveled from Great Sale to Allan's-Pensacola Cay today. The further we travel east, the Little Bahama Bank narrows, The winds pick up and seas run 1-2 feet. Crustacean got even saltier! As we approached Allan's-Pensacola the wind and sea...

Day 24-25 April 15-16 On to Hopetown and Lay day in Hopetown. Miles 12.6. Total 460.6

Day 24 We had a change of plans. Our friends who we met cruising the Loop, Trisha and Mike, are traveling north through the Bahamas and are close, so we will join then in Hope Town. We will then back track a bit to visit Man-o-War Cay and Marsh Harbor after visiting with them. It is a bright sunny day with light winds as we weigh anchor to leave Great Guana. There is lots of freight and commercial traffic today- tugs and barges, large freighters and flat bed delivery boats. It takes all these to handle the shipping needs and construction on the islands. We trip today took along the north east side of Great Guana and then past Scotland Cay, which is all privately owned. Next we passed Fowl Cay which is a nature preserve known for its diving. Following Fowl Cay is Man-o-War Channel with its deep water access to the Atlantic and Man-o-War Cay, known for its ship building and maintenance. Sorry, pictures of the passes and islands did not turn out too well...

Crustacean Travels

Search This Blog