Summer 2023

The summer went by so quickly and I realize that I did not post a single entry.  Most of our blog entries are describing time spent on Her Diamond.  I generally take a hiatus during the summer when we are back in Cleveland and gardening at home and taking care of the Hebrew Cultural Garden fill most of my time.  But this summer has been a bit different.

Yes that is bob on the boat on the phone.

First Bob did a delivery of a boat from the Connecticut River to Lakeside Yacht Club in Cleveland.  This was a 10- day trip on a Formula 45.  The owner, his wife and a friend went along for the trip.  It started slowly with some repairs that had to be done, but then they were off.  I am going to let Bob add some detail here:

The boat and crew were amazing. The boat “It’ll Do” is a luxurious motor yacht driven by 800 HP of Volvo diesel power and steered by pods and a joy stick system. The weather was perfect and we covered the Connecticut River, Long Island Sound, East River, New York Harbor, Hudson River, Erie Canal and Lake Erie in 9 days under way. It was wonderful to be back in those waters, which we had not traveled since 2017 when we brought Her Diamond south.

The group, Bob, Sheila, Sue and Lawrie Yearsley, Judi McKay and David Proctor

Then, the last week of August we drove from Cleveland to Buffalo NY, visited with cousins Randy and Ruth and then drove on to Tobermory, Ontario, Canada.  We were meeting friends from Florida and chartering a Hanse 44 for a week in the North Channel of Georgian Bay.  Bob and I had wanted to visit Georgian Bay prior to our trip south, but had run out of time commissioning Her Diamond.  Things always take much longer than you think they will.  When our friend Captain David Proctor asked if we wanted to join him on a charter – we jumped at the chance to see this part of the country by boat.

Captain David

David is a charter captain and had sailed in the area multiple times and assured us that we would love the area.  Unfortunately, the weather was much cooler than we expected and the winds were not favorable so most of the trip was done by diesel, not sail.  But he was right that the area is beautiful.  I will just note the highlights. 

1.       Met up with the rest of the group in Tobermory. (David, Lawrie, Sue and Judi) Shipwreck Lee’s is a must for lunch on the patio. 

Bob and David on the Ferry

2.      Took the ferry, with a rental van, to Gore Bay where we drove about an hour and a half and met Ken who oriented us to the boat.  We had a delicious dinner at Water’s Edge where we laughed our heads off when the waitress wouldn’t let David tear the receipt off the credit card machine.  “I’ll do the ripping” became the joke of the trip.

Our charter boat at Little Current dockside

3.      Picked up some beer at Red Roof – don’t do it, too expensive.

4.      Motored to Little Current where we docked along a wall and walked into town to have dinner at Anchors Inn.  Bob and I walked to this park near by and then in town met Mrs. Turner whose husband is friends with the Evenrude family.  She encouraged us to go to Baie Fin, which was actually our next destination.

5.      We motored into a beautiful anchorage at the end of Baie Fin and hiked up to Topaz Lake. 

` Rock formation at the pool at Baie Fin

Judi and Sheila making the long climb. Can you find David in the background of Judi's picture? WE get to Topaz Lake - beautiful clear water.

Met some nice people along the hike who helped us find the correct path and find Sue who had taken a wrong turn.  The mountain lake was beautiful, but cold and I stuck my toes in the water but we weren’t prepared to go swimming.

After the hike, we dinghied around the anchorage and the Evenrude house.

6.       Motored to Killarney Mountain Lodge.  Docked next to Greg and Carol Charron and their dog Bella.  The lodge was beautiful, made from logs that were from the area.  The patio looked out on Georgian Bay. 

Killarney Lodge, see how large the logs are?

Beautiful church in Killarney

We walked into town to have world famous fish and chips and then heard Duncan Cameron play multiple instruments and sing in the bar  A delightful day.

7.      We sailed to the Benjamins, dinghied ashore and walked on the beautiful volcanic rocks that give you an amazing view of the surrounding area.

Bob, David and Lawrie secure the dinghy so we can climb the rocks to see the view.

All in all a delightful trip. We played Five Kings and Mexican Train in the evenings and  even though Lawrie got sick (Bob caught his cold and was sick for two weeks after we got home) and the weather was not ideal, we are so glad we went!