Tobermory

We shook out Dolphin's stay sail and main yesterday and found all to be in good order, left the genoa for another time. We cruised through a small portion of what the area is quite famous for; Fathom Five National park. Apparently the diving and snorkeling are world class, with the colour of the water being a gorgeous green. But a Great lakes kind of green. Anyone needing a summer camping experience must consider this place! You can even learn to dive with a pro for around 75 bucks, Google Diver's Den here in Tobermory and check it out.

She did 2kn to windward in less than 10kn of wind! Wowie! This changes everything!!!

I could not resist this shot. The light at Big Tub is the last structure on the mainland, pointed North towards Manitoulin Island. We anchored just around the corner you see on the left. The geology is fascinating, trees clinging to rocks, overhangs, grottos, columns of rock, castles...

Ya can't stay in a town for long without experiencing a local Do. The event was The Great Cardboard Box Boat race, and these entrants are carrying their hunk of duct-tape enshrouded cardboard to the starting line. Yes, they are wearing wetsuits. The boat you see in the foreground had it's 15 minutes...and sunk. Very entertaining.

As much as we're looking forward to getting home to our own lake, this spot has been great to get this job done. We met some very helpful and resourceful people, Mike, Kelly, all the Jeffs, Toby for letting us use her dock for ship-to-shore dingy rides, Lynn and Mark for letting us use their cottage, Hugh and Maryanne for sharing their table with us (twice!) and making us feel welcome and Jeff 2 for making sure we joined the Tobermory Yacht Club for their weekly potluck. We met a pile of Bahama-bound cruisers we look forward to meeting up with this winter. I will miss this place!

Thanks, Tobermory, it was great! And indeed, thanks for all the fish.

Post-Launch

Here we are at last! At home, at anchor...at ease.
We have taken Dolphin out motoring a couple of times, just a few miles, and all is going well. The area is quite pretty, all studded with pine covered islands. It is a diving hotspot too, with all sorts of wrecks and caves to explore.
 Jim has been working away at upgrading systems for offshore sailing, his plans include  replacing the water pump and thermostat on the engine and, well...all sorts of things!  I have been smartening things up with more paint and making minor repairs with my trusty caulking gun, also re-learning about helming. Apparently we have a left handed propeller, so Dolphin swings to port when in reverse. Makes for interesting docking, so planning for it is essential.
We are now slowly moving the sails and such on board, discovering exactly what we have here. Dolphin is a cutter rig, so there is quite a selection of sails. I am just glad that the boom clears the nice bimini we found second-hand.
She seems to be continuing to tighten up, but we are still concerned with the rate at which the bilge pump comes on; we has a small scare last night when it suddenly started coming on every three minutes. My first thought was that we had blown another seam, but nothing so dramatic happened. Jim rowed ashore next morning and  found Super-Micheal ready for action in his Super-Cape and scuba tank, he was all set to go for a pleasure dive with his sweetie, but like all super heroes...duty called. Once again, we got out the cotton and the irons and he hammered away. Whatever was bothering poor Dolphin was a little harder to find this time, as a three minute leak is not as dramatic as a seam opening right up, but he tapped away for a good hour, then experimented with the roof patch to seal the seams he worked on. The tar worked for a minute or two before the tube got all soggy and burst, but he got all the big spots. Now, with the pump coming on every 12-20 minutes, we decided to find a smaller pump and give the big guy a rest. A smaller pump will remove just as much water, but will allow for a longer time for the small amount to accumulate before it pumps.

Tobermory is an interesting place. It is at the other end of the Niagara Escarpment, so it has some very interesting geology, above and below the water. It is home to Fathom Five National Park and more island-hopping Cruise Boats than anywhere I've seen, all fitted with glass bottoms for easy viewing of all below. There are three wrecks near to where we are anchored , so these boats pass by on their way out to Flower Pot Island, known for two huge sandstone formations that remind me of hoodoos, but much bigger. Lots of divers here, lots of boaters and lots and lots of tourists. The flora and fauna seem to be completely different from Prince Edward County, the closing photo shows some wild orchids called yellow Ladies' Slippers.

 Speaking of wildlife, on mast-raising day, a whole pile of Jefferies showed up, here are two of the greater Jeffs. We could not have done it all without their help, and the help of Graham (sorry Gramy, the pic of your backside wasn't publishable!), Pete and Hugh for all the running around he did for us.

Until I see you next, smooth sailing to you too!