Aug 7
We had a good night at anchor. The med mooring system worked fine in our
protected anchorage with little to no wind.
Despite the large number of boats everyone was very civil with no
generators running all night and no late night parties or loud music. When it
was time to go there was no wind tugging against the boat so removing the stern
line from shore was a simple process.
Just dingy to shore, untie the line, have Martha pull it all on board
and then row back and secure the dingy to the swim platform.
While todays weather was picture perfect, the
forecast calls for rain and wind moving in on Thursday with winds up to 25 mph
possibly continuing for a few more days. So, most all the loopers, including
us, headed to the town of Parry Sound and Big Sound Marina. Everyone had been anchoring for multiple days and this is one of the few places along
the Georgian Bay route to stop for provisions, water and a pumpout before
heading out again. The cruise to here
was another scenic journey. Lots of
islands, a twisty sometimes very narrow passage between them, but always well
marked with plenty of deep water.
We
timed our departure from the anchorage to arrive at a swing bridge located just
before Parry Sound at noon. It was a 2
hour cruise and we timed it about perfect arriving 10 minutes early. This bridge opens on the hour and has a very
short opening before closing again. You
must be there and waiting and then it opens precisely on the hour. They will not hold the bridge open for late
comers – you’ll wait an hour until the next opening.
Once through we had no problems securing our
slip at the marina. Unusual for us but
we assigned the slip at the end of a T head.
These spots are usually reserved for wider boats like catamarans that
are too wide for normal slips. Easy to park,
just slide in against the dock. Drawback
is we are a little more exposed to wave action but mostly just glad to have a
secure place to tie up as this weather front approaches. The town of Parry Sound feels a bit rustic. It was a lumber town at the turn of the
century. Prosperous for a short period
of time and then that industry disappeared, and it became dependent on seasonal
tourism.
They have a new brewery here
called Trestle Brewery since it’s located under a very high trestle railroad
bridge. When built in 1914 it was the longest trestle bridge east of the Mississippi.
We hit the brewery up for a
late lunch and was excited about the prospect of trying of flight. Waitress informed us they were out of 3 of
the 4 beers I wanted to try. No more Red
Porter or Milk Stout. Wound up with a
pint of their basic lager which was, as expected - pretty basic. For you hockey fans, this is the home of
the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame!!
Med moored with stern this close to shore - still 5' under our 5' draft keel!
Just stay between the channel markers
Parry Sound swing bridge
The Chippewa III , one of several tour boats
Not to be outdone by Midland, Parry Sound has a mural depicting their lumbering history
Journey for Aug 7
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