OK, OK. I’ll admit it. I am woefully behind in posting our travels over the past week. We’re actually sitting now in Tobermory, but I’m going to write this post about our trip from Sarnia to Bayfield.
Day 1 (Sunday)
On Sunday morning in Sarnia, we woke to beautiful skies and calm waters. Knowing that we had a great cruise ahead, we bid farewell to our friends Ken and Melissa, who had to head back home. The rest of us (Lil R&R, Fixation, Mystery Lady, and Her Poison) proceeded out into Lake Huron on the 2 – 2 1/2 hour ride to Bayfield. The ride was glorious – calm seas, beautiful skies, so we made great headway to Bayfield, arriving around 1:30 in the afternoon. Dockage was on the starboard side of the river – the Bayfield Municipal docks, which is either good or bad (depending on your perspective) as it provides much faster access to the shopping districts than the Northern Lights Marina on the other side of the river.
So, several of the ladies proceeded immediately to the town, to ensure they didn’t miss out on any Sunday specials while the rest of us proceeded to set up camp for the next 3 days. While all this was going on, the boys on Her Poison (Clay and Colton) took the MnM dinghy for an exploratory of the area
After everyone returned from town (mostly empty handed – Yeah!), we all gathered And had a group dinner on the docks, anticipating the big moment – Fireworks on the beach!! Bayfield was so excited to have us there they arranged fireworks?!!? WOW!! (Might it have been a Canadian holiday?? Hmm……)
The fireworks were a blast, with the city doing some amazing things we’d never seen before, such as fireworks from the water and others shot out of a nozzle – looking like the water show at Bellagio in Las Vegas.
Day 2 (Monday)
On Monday morning we woke to another beautiful day. The group was so happy about the fireworks arranged for us that several of us decided to arrange a personal 6 mile parade and strolled through the city and the local region!! No one seemed to know about it however, so we pretty much walked unnoticed.
After our personal parade, Mel and I decided to take the dinghy out for a little ride on the lake. The wreck south of the entrance that used to be above water is now about 2 feet below the water due to the high water levels we are experiencing. We continued to cruise down the shoreline for about another mile, and found a very nice beach area where we stopped and floated around for a bit. I turned the dinghy around to head back, and started losing power after which the motor stalled out. What the heck! After fiddling with it for a bit, I was able to get it restarted, but eventually it gave up and stalled at the entrance to the harbor. I then decided to row us back to out boat (Mel thought it was a romantic gesture – I’ll let you decide).
So once back, I proceeded to try to get it restarted, doing several things to the motor, thinking it was bad fuel or something, since the motor would try to run, but would not idle. After fiddling for an hour or so, I decided it was “time to stop and think about it”. Thinking involved pulling a couple lawn chairs under a shade tree with Mel, and our friends Ken and Mary, and indulging on Mary’s delightful margaritas. My strategy was to return to the dinghy motor with some new ideas as soon as it was in the shade of a tree.
Well. The shade came and I was full of ideas – as were all of my bud’s that were on the trip. We ripped into the engine, taking the carburetor off, and disassembling it. Matt from Her Poison removed the idle speed jet from the fuel bowl, cleaned it using a mascara brush of Jess’s (don’t tell her). We reassembled it and – BAM – it started and ran perfectly!! Way to Go Matt!! Well. That called for more celebration, and once again we barbecued, and then went down to the beach to have a bonfire – including marshmallows and Smore’s. What a great night!!
Day 3 (Tuesday)
We woke to partially overcast skies on Tuesday after getting a nice downpour overnight.
Both Fixation and Her Poison had to leave this morning; Fixation due to some personal obligations back at home, Her Poison as they wanted to check out Grand Bend (another Canadian harbor south of Bayfield) before heading back home. We all bid them farewell and safe travels as they left Bayfield. Afterwards, Sheryl and I decided to do a quick walk, only to get stuck under a tree for a while while it rained again. After that, we waked a bit more, then returned to the dock.
Earlier that morning Steve, Jean, Rod and Sheryl had made a trip to the hardware store to find a replacement heating element for Steve’s water heater. He proceeded to install it, only to find that something else was going on with the Mystery Lady that was preventing Hot Water from happening. That resulted in Rod and I trying to troubleshoot what was going on to no avail. We all decided that it was better to leave it alone as Steve was contemplating heading home the next day anyway and could address it there. Good news – He was able to find the problem once back at our home port, so all is good.
After that, I wanted to check out the reliability of the dinghy motor and Mel and I took the dinghy for a ride up the river for part of the afternoon. All ran well, so we are in good order once again.
The remaining groups of six (Steve, Jean, Rod, Sheryl, Mike and Melodie) then went into town and had a great dinner at the Black Dog restaurant on their patio then had a nice walk back to the marina.
We have checked the marine forecast and have decided that we will head to our next destination on Wednesday instead of Thursday. Wednesday is forecasted to have flat seas, while Thursday will be kicking it up a bit.
Stay tuned! – More to come!!
MnM OnBoard 