Day 23 - Fenelon Falls Lay-over

Monday, July 23

Having spent a restless night at anchor on Cameron Lake, we reluctantly head over to the Fenelon Falls Marina where the boat will remain while we return to Toronto for much of August. Brooke's show, Trudeau Stories, will run in Blyth, Ontario and I, Cappie, will stage manage. (Not too many shows can boast a sea-captain as stage crew, I imagine.) Then Brooke continues on to PEI for a three week run, while I try to get back on schedule with my voice work in Toronto. I have several shows that I work on, all of which need me to make up for the lost time in July.

We motor in slowly to the marina and are greeted by a crowd of helpful boaters who make the small marina their home. Mary Mary glides smoothly into the outer pier and ropes are made fast along with some flattering oohs and ahhs regarding our little ship and our solid approach.

See those power stanchions? Taken or broken

The Fenelon Falls Marina is in a good location, but hard times seem to have fallen on it and we are regaled with warnings of how the marina may not live up to certain 'standards' as advertised. For instance, we are immediately made aware that the only power stanchions that operate and are not being used are at the shore end of the dock, where depths are too low for us to berth. A friendly sort by the name of Jimmy fills us in on the many shaky aspects of the marina while he lets us plug in temporarily to the 15 amp outlet on his boat.

Among the shortcomings of the marina... The pump-out station is in 3 feet of water, so no pump-out for us. Although the huge sign that can be seen for miles advertises 'GAS' a smaller sign, barely visible by the old pumps, reads 'Sorry, no fuel'.

Wrong

We go and check in with the office and later, when I tell them of the power inadequacy I am told that the service technician they employ will be in on Wednesday next. Returning to the dock I am met with raucous laughter when I tell the other boaters of the promise to fix the power hook-up. "Next Wednesday, right?" one man laughs. I realize now what we're dealing with. Still, there isn't much choice really because we have to get back tomorrow, so we spend the day prepping the boat for an extended lay-over. The boater, Jimmy, has agreed to let us stay plugged into his boat to ensure the bilge pump is powered and I give him my phone number in case anything happens. He says he'll keep an eye on things but we are still nervous. We spend extra time tying the boat down tight as apparently the water can get pretty rough at this end of the lake.

The marina at sunset, every thing looks better then.

We decide to have dinner at the Boathouse Restaurant on the marina property as they advertise authentic Caribbean cuisine. When we arrive into the nearly empty restaurant that looks like its been decorated for tea with the queen, we ask for one of the tables by the window but are told, no, that's a table for four which we obviously are not. We take a less desirable table (but at least one that has a view of the open doors and our boat on the dock.) A few minutes later another couple walks in and sits at the table for four we were chased away from. We await the admonition that will surely be laid upon them when the waitress/hostess returns. Fools to believe they can sit there and leave two chairs empty! But no, she comes in, glances at them and says nothing while bringing them some water. Brooke notices a group at another table who had witnessed our rejection earlier. They just smile and shake their heads. We decide not to make a fuss and are prepared to order the Boathouse Salad (their specialty), the jerk chicken and the roti... The waitress comes over, pen and pad in hand, to take our order but sadly shakes her head. Sorry, we don't have any of those things. But these are the only Caribbean dishes on the menu, I say. Sorry... no more, all gone, we used it all up yesterday. And you didn't make anymore today? No. Sigh... So, we eat BBQ chicken.  Later, we go back to boat, sit on the bridge and are melancholy.

We have left the boat in questionable situations before, marina-wise, and its worked out well. We can only hope that it will be the case this time.

See you later, boaty...