Saturday, August 1, 2020

Kira Bay to Covered Portage



Today was a travel day so we pulled anchor at 5:45 am and set sail for Little Current, 47 miles to the east. The lake was nearly void of boats so I set the auto-pilot and cracked open the laptop to do some writing. It hasn’t been easy finding time to write during this trip - the days seem to start very early and are full of activity. You would think traveling by slow sailboat would provide many hours of quiet time for solitary pursuits, but there is always a lot to do. Planning out your course, setting up waypoints, trimming the sails, scanning the seascape for boats, monitoring your course, looking for floating water hazards, eating snacks, cleaning the boat, preparing meals, monitoring the VHF radio, fixing things that inevitably break, and the list goes on. But today, I made the time to write.



We arrived in Little Current, got pumped and dumped, then tied up at the free public dock to fill our water tanks, plug into shore power to charge phones, and allow us time for a quick grocery shop. While there, a couple walked by and asked Ana about the boat, and when she mentioned it was for sale they were interested so we told them all about Bella Blue and took them onboard for a tour. We don’t know if they are seriously interested, but it was nice to show the boat nonetheless. When a person makes an unannounced visit, leaving no time for the owners to “fluff” the boat, I think they get a much better indication of what the boat is really like to sail and live on, with all its flaws and imperfections, but also the many features. I will be sad to see her go if she sells, as this boat has taken us to so many incredible places, so many times, and provided several lifetimes worth of memories. Plus a lot of scars on my hands, feet and legs.



From here we pushed on an additional 20 miles to meet up with HQ2 in the Covered Portage anchorage, just west of Killarney, arriving around 7pm, making for a long sailing day. We were really happy to see them again and to be back with our trusty cruising partners. They were already anchored in a great spot so we tied up with them and cracked a beer for happy hour. This anchorage is stunning; you first reach the outer bay then enter through a narrow channel then it opens up into a small inner bay completely surrounded by tree-covered hills and steep rock cliffs, giving it a “covered” feel. It is probably the second most popular anchorage in the North Channel so there were at least 25 boats anchored in the inner and outer bays.

Ana, Stella and I went for a slow dinghy ride around the anchorage then as mosquito hour was really winding up, we retired into the boat for refuge, played a game of Kaiser, then collapsed into sweet sleep.

1 comment: