7/26/14 Byng Inlet to Killarney

 

Finally the winds have died down.  We decided upon an early departure (0630) because we anticipated a very long day (64 miles).  This route took us into some open water on Georgian Bay as well as through small, narrow channels with minimal depth.  Adagio took the lead since we have a draft of 3’8” while Charis has a draft of 4.5’.  As we lead through the narrow channels and I called out the depth to Ken on the radio, he quickly realized that our depth sounder was not accurate.  On one of our gauges, we actually had 6’ less that the reading.  YIKES!  And we were in the lead!!  We came through unscathed, thank God.   For about 7 miles, we had beamy seas with 2 second intervals, so we were bobbing back and forth.  Duke  (and I) don’t like rocking back and forth.

 

The waterway has changed again and we are seeing some cliffs on the sides as well as low mountains in the distance.

Ken and Ann started calling Killarney marinas early in the morning, but were told that none of the marinas had any openings.  In addition to a beer fest/ fish fry/dance at the community center, a number of Viking boats were meeting for a rendezvous.  As we approached the Killarney channel, we both tried to get a slip and were told no.  As we approached the gas dock at Sportsman’s Inn, I was told over the phone that there were absolutely no slips for tonight.  At exactly the same time, Ken was on the radio with one of the dock hands and he said, “No problem, go to dock 24 across the river”.  We were very happy to have a slip because a front was approaching with winds and storms.  Apparently, boaters had made reservations, but were no shows, so they were beginning to fill those slips. 

 

Sportsman's Inn



Sportsman's Inn Spa across the river
($120.00 for a 1-1/2 hour massage)
We didn't have massages!

 

The nice part of being across the inlet from the Sportsman’s Inn is the boat shuttle ride back and forth.  They start the shuttles at 0830 and don’t end until 2 a.m.  You just ring a bell on the dock and they come to get you. 

At 3:20p.m. we registered in the marina office and asked about a Catholic Church.  The girl working there told us there was only one service -at 4:00 p.m. today, so we headed across the street a few minutes before 4:00.  This church has a priest who is Polish.  We believe he rotates through local parishes on Saturdays and Sundays.

 

We ate dinner at the pub at the Inn and the food was good.