And so the summer begins…

And so the summer begins…

On Monday Brooke sets off for Penetang on her 250 Honda Rebel that we like to call Bikini (that’s pronounced By-keen-ee and references a comparison between her Rebel and my old 1200 Kawasaki). The plan is to move the bike up north, not only for additional transportation but also because she plans to take her final road test in Owen Sound where conditions better favour a successful attempt. And so, off she goes. I must confess that I worry somewhat for her because this is her first highway ride and she’s going it alone. It’s a small bike and even though she’s taking the back roads, it’s still a bit of a haul. Of course, she makes it, but only after a few hours of battling 30 k headwinds. Ouch.

Brooke, ready to set up north aboard Bykeenee

I will complete the bug-out from the apartment the next day and with a packed truck and two cats, I lock the door and hoping for the best, head north.

The cats are perfect, very few complaints, and within a couple of hours I am wheeling them in a dock cart to the boat which waits in its slip. Mister Huxley is meowing loudly as we approach the boat and I am thinking that this is just her way of saying ‘let me out already’. It isn’t until we try to get her out that I realize that her claw is caught in the sheep’s wool liner of her cat case and she is in pain., Brooke, now happily aboard, rescues her.

Misters Huxley & Hattie... 'We're going where now?"

Then the weather sets in. It’s cloudy, rainy and unseasonably cold. Still, it’s boat and how bad can that be really? Brooke tells me that a woman named Karen that we met at the marina in Orillia has dropped by to say hello. Her family owns the Dutchman’s Cove marina on the other side of the Penetang bay and her husband, Brandon, has a 42 foot Grand Banks that he is renovating bit by bit. We might end up wintering there, depending on how the summer develops. Later, Brandon visits the boat and tells us about his work with his GB and I am deeply jealous of his ability to work on her when he wants to with a shop and equipment and such. Wouldn’t that be nice? (Karen admits to being a fan of this blog, so when you read this Karen… howdy.)

A couple of days pass and the winds are 20 k gusting to 40, so we’re not going anywhere. We thought about anchoring up the way at Discovery Harbour or a little further at Awenda Park area, but it’s just too dull and windy to consider. We have to vacate Hindson Marina for the weekend as they have a big ‘in-water boat show’ happening and they need our slip. Given the conditions I can’t see a lot of boat sales occurring but we have decided to cross the bay and stay at the Penetang Town Harbour slips.

We motor over and dock just behind the restored sailing gun-boat, the H.M.S. Badger. There isn’t much boat activity here except they are having some sort of civic regatta this weekend that doesn’t really involve boats but the mayors of the surrounding area get together at the town pier and go through some ceremony or other. We will probably leave on Sunday (which is meant to be the only sunny day for a while) and do that anchoring that I mentioned above.

Mary Mary and H.M.S. Badger

A while ago some kids caught a fair-sized bass off the dock and couldn’t quite handle it so I helped out getting it off the hook and once it was determined that the young  boys were going to keep it and eat it, I bashed it’s brains in with a  ‘Fish Billy’. One of its eyes kind of bugged out, almost exploding, and this brought squeals of revulsion from the young crowd as the bass shivered in its final throes. Probably these kids will remember me for the rest of their lives as the ‘guy who showed us how to kill.” I like to think that I have had a good influence on their lives. My reasoning was simple… if you’re not going to throw it back, kill it quickly. This reasoning might also be suitably applied to politics.

Billy and Cappie just before the bashing

For the last while (except for the couple of years that we laid up in Toronto) our boating has usually been uni-directional and we always have had a destination. The decision to just motor around the Bruce Peninsula this year, is taking some getting used to.

Things will probably look more promising when good weather eventually arrives. I have come up with a word describing the nature of weather that won’t turn the corner to nice… Shunshine. Feel free to use this expression. Just remember who gave it to you.