Frying Pan and Hockey Stick

7-12-17 Frying Pan Bay

This bay is aptly named because of its shape.  This makes it a very protected and very popular bay.  We pulled in on Wednesday and there were only a few boats there.  By the end of the night there were quite a few more.  I can see why this is so popular.  It is beautiful with rocky banks, good depth and a dock to take your dinghy to get to the hiking trails.

Entrance to Frying Pan Bay
This is one pretty boat. The owners keep her spotless. She was anchored right next to us in Frying Pan Bay.
This is a big boat and this is a typical mooring  you will find up here called a Mediterranean Moor. Anchor out front and tied back to the land in the back. They win the contest for number of toys at this anchorage.

There are quite a few trails on Beausoleil Island. The weather was good so we immediately hit the trails.  We hiked all the way around Fairy Lake.  As we were on the trail, Scott said we should have brought our fishing poles because this lake is landlocked with no access I bet the fishing is good.  It’s good thing we didn’t because it is a preserve and there is no fishing allowed. There were no fishing signs every place you could get close to the water.  The trail was marked well which is a good thing seeing there were large expanses of rock which left  no evidence of a trail.  The wilderness was beautiful, the lake looked so peaceful and the weather held out.  It was warm and muggy, .  When we got back to the boat, the water was a blessing to cool us down.  We floated around and Scott even scrubbed the waterline on the boat.  Seeing the weather was holding, we thought we would go fishing.  I started out catching a decent but smaller bass, we threw it back.  We know there are much bigger ones out there.   We threw several panfish back.  About the time Scott caught a monster Bluegill, it started to rain. He threw it back and decided it wasn’t worth the mess to clean one fish in the pouring rain.  We love this anchorage and if it didn’t rain AGAIN we may have stayed and hiked different trails.

Ferns on the forest floor.
There were enormous pine trees in the forest.
My artistic shot.
Does anyone remember chewing on wintergreen leaves and eating the red berries when they were a kid. I sure do.
Us at Fairy Lake
You can see the marker on a post drilled into the rock marking the trail.
Scott heading to a drop off at Fairy Lake to check it out.
Such a pretty little lake. So pristine.
We found a friend on the trail.
This is obviously an old river bed. You can almost see the water the water shaped the rock like the river.
Selfie.
Love this lady’s spirit. She moved slow but enjoyed every step.
One of the other lakes on the trail
Pretty bay.

7-13-17 Bone Island a Bust!

There are so many spots to anchor we want to hit a bunch to see what they have.  The wind was supposed to be out of the east for the next day or so and this anchorage was good if it was out of the east.  It was a little tricky getting into the anchorage.  Something cool happened as we got to the entrance.  We were being hailed on the radio by someone from a cottage.  He is a Gold Looper and called to tell us about the white jug floating and how we should be between it and the island to avoid rocks. After that we were clear to get to Bone Island.  That was very nice that he did that.  Everything is unforgiving rock around there.  One mistake could be a costly one.  We got to the anchorage and realized the wind had already changed to out of the southeast which wasn’t great for us but not terrible either.  We saw a trail off the public docks, that we were looking forward to hiking.  Much to our dismay it only led a short way to the outhouse.  Booo!   We hopped around on the rock but couldn’t get very far in any direction. The deer flies were vicious so, we got back in the dinghy and went exploring to find a quiet (no wind) fishing spot. There really wasn’t one.  It was only noon so we bagged this anchorage and went on to Hockey Stick, yes named for its shape.  When we arrived, the anchorage was full and we were not comfortable to try to jam in there.  We anchored just around the corner which was still well protected.  As soon as we got anchored it started raining.  A steady heavy rain fell and it was cold.  Nothing we wanted to go fishing in.  It was likely to continue to the next day.  We have these beautiful anchorages and the weather stinks.  As Scott says, “It’s not all cold drinks and sunshine.” We did dinghy into the anchorage and on closer inspection we knew 3 of the boats in there.  What a small world.   Two are loopers and one is a local we met.

Rocks rocks everywhere! I think it would be a very interesting landscape if all the water drained out.
We are seeing lots of loons. Love to listen to their songs at night. They are really vocal when they are flying. I wonder why? Seems odd.

I talked to my Dad the other day after he read my blog and didn’t understand a few things.  1) A Pucker moment……blush that this when anxiety makes your sphincter muscles pucker. 2) Crossing your wake:  That is when you complete the loop.  You cross your wake making the circle complete. 3) Gold flag and Gold Loopers.  When you “Cross your wake,” you change your loop flag (also known as a Burgee that you fly on the bow of your boat identifying you as a Looper) from white to Gold.  A Gold Looper had completed the Loop once.   Here is how it goes. White: you are doing the loop currently. Gold: You have completed the Loop once. Platinum: You have completed the Loop two or more times.  Red: You are a sponsor of the AGLCA (American Great Loop Cruisers Association.) I hope that clears a few things up for others as well.  We get so used to talking like a Looper and a boater we forget everyone doesn’t know what we mean.  If I ever post something confusing to you, please send me a note so I can clarify.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day!

Karen and Scott

Unique Random Photo of the Day:

Why wouldn’t you put an airplane on a rock by the water.