The view from our porch changes almost constantly. As we sit anchored here in The Pool, we are constantly entertained and amused by the antics of humans and wildlife.

The Pool is a small oval area at the far south-east end of Baie Fine which is a fjord-like bay running east and west, at the north side of Frazer Bay. Frazer Bay is at the west entrance to Killarney and to the north.

Anchored - right- in The Pool We left Killarney Monday about 11:30 or so, much to the chagrin of the fellow who was docked in behind us and who had to leave before we could. Three boats travelling together came into the dock not too long after we arrived here. Phil guessed that they were all in new boats and they were more impressed at their own boats than they were at getting along with anyone else on the dock. Anyhow, we had informed the dockmaster that we were departing sometime about noon and that we would need a PIPO at the main dock; in other words, move from our overnight dock to the gas dock before leaving. Dockmaster says “No problem” and asks the fellow behind us when he is planning on leaving. All he (the fellow behind us) said was “I’m not ready yet.” and the poor dockmaster couldn’t get anything else out of him. Boat owner looks over at Phil, who is slowing working back at the transom at getting ready to leave, and tells Phil “You’re rushing me!” at which Phil says that we’re not in any particular hurry so take your time. Then he gets at least three of the dock jocks to help him roll up water and electrical hoses while all the time nattering away to himself. Meantime the other two boats in their party are also getting ready to leave and this fellow is yelling orders at them. Must have been the Commander In Chief. Anyhow, he up and left and we moved to the gas dock for our PIPO (gas was $1.32L). Just before “Don’t Rush Me” (as Phil is now calling him) left, he got on his radio to his two buds and announced that they would all meet at Covered Portage Cove for the night.

Cloudy Day in The PoolThis is a cute little cove where you can get in maybe a half dozen boats. One side has a huge rock face on it with what is supposed to be an Indian face. Unfortunately, part of the rock fell off a few years back so it really doesn’t look like that anymore. Phil and I had thought we might go there for a night just to check it out but as soon as we heard their radio message we looked at each other, shook our heads and decided on moving on to one of several other anchorages we had circled on the charts. So much for Covered Portage.

We passed up on a couple of these alternate anchorages, in part because Phil read the chart as Depths in Metres when it was really feet (one of the charts that hasn’t been upgraded since we moved to metric about 20 years ago) so that meant that the ones marked 2 weren’t quite deep enough. And then we passed up on the ones on the north side of Badgeley Island as the wind was from the wrong direction so that left The Pool.

Getting to the Pool is quite simple really, west at Killarney to the end of the islands and the lighthouse, carry on about ½ mile, then due north to the markers and right along the north shore of Frazer Bay to Baie Fine. However, somehow or other Phil forgot to mark the waypoints in the GPS for the turn north and for the turn east along the shore. Phil hadn’t continued far enough west after the light for me to find a set of markers at the cement company wharf at the north end of the Bay a couple of miles hence. So the alternate is to go between the rocks which the markers mark and the group of islands farther east, and there is supposed to be a channel marker there. Not so; probably out with that missing picnic table. So we slither around for a bit deciding where the last island is and head north to shore. And safely along to the Baie.

Approach to Baie Fine
“The” big industry here is rock used to make cement. There is a boat in Killarney called “Ready Mix”. Wonder what company he works for? The cement wharf is where the big freighters come in to load up the ore to take to other plants for processing. There is also a silicon mine on one of the islands; the silicon being used to further Phil’s commie plot re computers.

As you approach Beaverstone Bay from the east, one of the first things you see are the white LaCloche Mountains. And heading down Baie Fine, you are right in the midst of them. Now I know our friends from out west will not think these mountains very high - the highest is about 750 ft - but from water level, straight up the sides, it is very impressive. The white rocks are quartzite, which I understand isn’t the correct name for the type of rock but I can’t remember what is. It takes years for enough soil to accumulate in the crevices for trees to grow so most of the tops of these mountains are bare with only a few trees. On the north side of the Baie is quartzite and on the south side is mostly granite. The LaCloche got their name from the sound of the rocks on LaCloche Island, not far from here. When struck, the rocks sound like bells, hence La Cloche.

Leaving Killarney Channel, you start to notice that the water is changing colour from deep blue and grey to almost a Caribbean greenish tinge. I suspect it is because of the type of rock and the depth. There is one point in Baie Fine that is 120 ft deep but the channel itself is only about 200 ft across.

We have spent our time relaxing, watching the boats come in and out for a few days or just for lunch. We have been out in the dinghy just enjoying the scenery and the coolness off the water. Although the water is quite warm in The Pool, swimming is not advisable because of the weed and the beavers. You can get quite a bad rash for several weeks if you swim in beaver water so that is a definite no-no.

Anyhow, our first two days here were overcast but nice. Wednesday the sun came out and the temperature soared to over 30C and Thursday was even higher, so it is a good place to tuck into. We are anchored about 50 feet from shore with a stern rope out as well. It was quite a sight watching Phil drag the Danforth anchor ashore in the dinghy, haul it about 25 feet up into the rock and fling it around a tree. At least he didn’t get it up in the tree. Although I didn’t hear them, I am sure there were a few interesting words.

And then we settled back to watch everyone else. One of the skills that most boaters are not very good at is anchoring in weed. Drop the anchor, reverse the boat, cut the weeds with the anchor, and start all over again. You have to drop lots of rode - in our case about 50 ft of chain - then let the anchor settle for a minute or two and then pull back to see if she is caught. We watched boats try the same technique in half a dozen different spots. What’s that definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over and expect different results? I’m not saying that we are perfect. We have had our jollies anchoring but the more we watch other’s errors, the more we learn to improve our own technique.

(When we first bought the boat we had what is known as a Danforth Anchor which is the least expensive of the various anchors available and probably OK for anchoring for a couple of hours in a sandy bottom but after our first experience at weeds in a place called Hawes Bay in 2002, on the Rideau Canal System, we converted to a “Bruce” which we have found to be effective in anchoring situations that we have encountered so far. I replaced the 100' of rode with125' of 3/8" anchor chain which adds to the ease of anchoring and adds a bit of weight to the bow of the boat, requiring less bow trim when at cruising speed. I keep 300' of anchor rode for stern tying or “spidering” when the need arises.)

The first night here there were about 8 boats, the second night 15, including “Don’t Rush Me” and the gang who came in on Tuesday. Now there was an anchoring show that we should have filmed. One dropped his anchor about 200 ft from shore, put out about 50 ft of rode, then tied on a stern line that wouldn’t reach the shore. And it was all the wife’s fault, at least the way he was yelling at her, one would think so. Another tied his stern line to a tree about 6 ft high and 3 inches around which wouldn’t hold his dinghy in a storm. Anyhow, suffice it to say it was an interesting several days watching all this. We saw lovely sailboats, 40-45 feet, a couple of 40 ft trawlers and even one in the 50 ft range. And then several smaller boats like ours. About half of the boats we have seen are from the US.

Phil firmly believes that things come in threes, mostly boating groups. While in Mill Lake we were also mixed in with a group of three boats from Ohio who buzzed back and forth in their dinghies all day long when they could have just rafted off each other if they wanted to be that close. Maybe two of the boats didn’t like the fact that the skipper and wife of the biggest one sunbathed up top in the nude. Oh my!

Back to The Pool. At night we were entertained by a beaver playing in the centre of the pool; one time he didn’t really like it when a zodiac came too close and we saw him lift his entire body in a graceful curve and slap his tail hard on the water as he dove. We hear woodpeckers, chipmunks, bull frogs, and all kinds of birds except we haven’t seen any raptors in this area. I did spend about a half hour on Wed. trying to identify a red bird that was bobbing around on the trunk of a tree behind the boat. Finally got a really good look at a red leaf.

We have spent much time reading and swatting bugs. We have a net screen that totally surrounds the back of the boat and velcroes onto the vinyl screens and we rig a net over the front as well. But every night we have been here, everyone races below at about 9 pm as those pesky little mosquitoes come out. They hover over the hatch screens and their droning drives us nuts until they quit about 11 pm.

We will probably leave here on Thursday or Friday to head into Little Current, (the start of what is known as the North Channel) to re-stock the food and water and then head up into the Bay of Islands towards Whitefish Falls, which will be new territory for us. Hoping to get this segment on the wires at Little Current. After that, the timing of our epistles will very much depend on where we can pick up service in the North Channel or roaming service from the US.

Thanks to all who have been sending us encouraging notes. We enjoy hearing from you even though we may not be able to respond quickly.

At 2:00 pm Thursday it was 42C on the deck and 35C under the canopy. Supposed to continue all weekend.

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