Rovinj the Great Lakes

Later in the day the sun came out so it didn't feel as cold. The temperature probably wasn't 60 with close to 30 MPH steady wind, it wasn't warm.  Waves crashing into each other. In the cove the waves came from different directions. Big waves just before crashing into the wall. Beach grass with the break wall with a big spray. We ate at a place called Queens. I had another excellent whitefish dinner. It was pan fried in lemon butter. When we got back to the marina, the band Anything Always Flying was playing in a gazebo at the beach. They were a six piece band. They did a very good job of playing popular rock covers. The wind was still high so the waves were still crashing. It made for some nice sunset pictures.

As predicted today had super high winds, so again we had to stay. It looked like a hurricane. There was no way we could have sailed today. The boat was rocking quite a bit, even in the protected harbor. All day we listened to the creaking of the dock lines being stretched as the boat was being pushed by the wind. Waves crashing into the breakwall. The beach is to the left, Lake Huron to the right.

We slept in today due to the long sail yesterday and predicted thunderstorms. As it turned out, the day was not so bad and we could have sailed. It was a bit windy but not beyond our comfortable maximum. We called the next marina on the Canadian side to see if they had a slip but the person who answered said they'd call back. They didn't so we did not want to venture out late not knowing if we had somewhere to go. I took a stroll down the beach and to this photo back toward the marina. There were four nice volleyball courts at the public bath house but no one was playing. It was quite windy. Staying and nice enough weather to walk gave us the opportunity to visit Three Sheets Brewing Co. Their Best Coast Pale Ale is very good; much like a milder IPA. Road Closure is a red ale that was also good. The Slo Pitch pilsner is not bad as pilsners outside of Europe go. We had dinner at the Wismer restaurant, which is where Three Sheets originated before opening a separate brewery. The

Today was an unplanned long day on the boat. We discovered that our next stop didn't exist when we tried to call for a slip reservation and none of the phone numbers worked. So we had to go to our next stop since there were no other marinas in between. It was a 55 mile trip. The day started with moderate winds but pretty high waves. The worst thing was the direction of the wind was straight from where we wanted to go. We didn't want to tack since that would make the trip longer. We tried to power sail but the sails were no help with the wind directly over the bow. We took the sails down and just powered straight to our destination. Because of the waves coming straight at us like the wind, the motor could not make a fast enough speed. We had thoughts of turning back, but where would that leave us? We had to make this leg and we couldn't wait for perfect conditions. Also, storms were predicted for tomorrow so it would have been two days lost. We had to compromise and do a ver

We decided to skip the anchorage about half way between Killarney and Tobermory and just go to Tobermory. It turned into a long day but because we left early, our arrival time was good. This makes up for the lost day earlier. We also were not sure how to anchor on a rocky bottom as opposed to sand, so skipping the anchorage eliminates that problem. The anchorage is one that is used frequently. There was a sailboat there when we sailed by but it was noontime, so we didn't want to stop. The dock area from our dock. There are several tour boats that run out of here to the islands. The ferry that takes cars from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island, essentially the top of Georgian Bay to the island that separates it from the North Channel. A view of the marina facing to Georgian Bay. Our boat is center right. you can just see that back of it. We had light winds to start the day, enough to go fast enough to reach our goal. Then about midday the winds died and we had to go to motor power. We m

We had good light winds leaving Little Current. We hadn't expected to sail due to narrow channels but favorable winds and enough width between land masses that we sailed for about two hours. Then the winds died so it didn't matter how much space between islands, we had to motor. We only had one near miss where we got too close to an island and into 12 feet of water and could see the rocks below. We quickly turned to deeper water. You have to be very diligent for rocks in the water here. When the lake is calm, like it was today, you can see the rocks barely above the water like alligators waiting to eat your keel. When it's wavy it's even worse. They look like waves. You have to look long enough to see that the waves move and the rocks don/t. The rocks can be found all over. We were in a channel between two islands that had to be more than a mile wide and 80 feet deep and there was a small rock island in the middle. Imagine an 80 foot hill in the middle or worse yet 79 f

We launched early and beat the start of the bad weather that was expected. There were very calm winds and no waves as we left. It didn't take long for the wind to pick up. We had anticipated the high wind and reefed the mainsail before we left. Wind climbed to the limit of comfortable sailing with small sails so it was pleasurable sailing at good speed for an hour. The experience was enhanced by the lack of waves despite the higher wind. This is likely due to all of the islands. Then the rain started and the pleasure ended. Wind conditions stayed the same so progress was still good just uncomfortable. After a while of sailing in the rain, we saw what initially appeared as waves but when the didn't move, we know they were rocks. We were headed right for them. We made a course correction to avoid them but there were rocks below the surface near what we could see. The depth of the rocks below the surface was too high and and we ran aground. None of the rocks were marked on the cha

We had a beautiful pleasure sail today. There was no wind in the marina when we left the dock so launching was easy. The sky was sunny and blue with a nice cool breeze over the beam and later broad reach. It was cool enough to need a fleece to be comfortable but I'll take that any day over the sweltering heat back home.  A lighthouse near the opening to Gore Bay. You can another Island on the horizon. View of the marina from land. Another view of the marina. There is a brewery near the marina called Split Rail Brewery where we stopped for a snack and beer after arriving. The beers were on the lighter side. IPA was like a European pils, not super bitter, and the stout was like a porter. Though not real strong the flavors were good. The lightness make them good summer beers. Their ales were good and flavorful though.  The Purvis fishing boat that catches the char, whitefish and pickerel sold at their restaurant. We ate dinner at a restaurant next to the marina called Purvis Fish and

It had rained all night and was raining and very windy in the morning. There was a very strong wind pushing the boat away from the dock. It was so strong that the boat was heeling a little with no sail up. It was also a deep dock and we had pulled deep into the dock to more easily reach shore power. Backing out of the slip would have been difficult as the wind would have pushed us into the neighboring boat or dock. Not to mention that I would have on line in my hand and have to jump on the boat as it was being pulled away from the dock. I'd almost certainly have fallen into the water. As luck would have it, the captain of the neighboring boat offered to help us get out. First we move the boat to the end of the dock one cleat at a time, then he held one line and I another as I jumped onto the boat. It was a very smooth launch that could have been a disaster. The high winds died down almost as soon as we were out of the marina. We had set a double reef to shrink the mainsail to it

Had no thoughts of sailing today. Initially there were too many obstacles to avoid and turns to make around islands. When we did get a bit of wind in open water the wind was straight over the bow which would require us to tack, essentially doubling the amount of time it would take to get to Thessalon. It wasn't that we didn't have the time but it rained the entire day pretty much nonstop. Getting off the water and dry was a priority. There are no pictures of Thessalon yet as it was raining too hard and too foggy to take anything worthwhile as we approached or after we arrived. Maybe I'll get one tomorrow before we leave. Thessalon is in the North Channel at the top of Lake Huron. We crossed the St. Mary's River which comes from the Sault St. Mary locks and Lake Superior. This is as close as we'll get to Lake Superior. The bow of a ship that seems to have been dragged on land. A grounded ship we saw along the way. If you zoom you can see the prop. A channel marker to

Well it happened again. Virtually no wind. We started out motoring and noticed that there was some wind mid-morning so we set the sails. That lasted an hour and the wind was gone for the rest of the day. This is what the day looked like. No wind, no waves, cloudy, foggy and cool. Lighthouse marking the channel to De Tour. A mine on an island across from De Tour. The ferry to the island across from De Tour. De Tour (as opposed to detour) is French for "the corner". It is right at the St. Mary's river that comes from Lake Superior. It is in a remote area about 45 minutes east by car from the Mackinac Bridge. We ate at the Mainsail Restaurant that was two tenths of a mile from the marina. I had a fried Whitefish dinner that was quite good. They had a very limited beer menu, so we went with Bell's Oberon, a very good wheat beer. After that we stopped at the De Tour Village Inn for a beer. They had Bell's Two Hearted IPA, which is very good as well, and an Atwater Brew