we were up early knowing we would have to make up some time after stopping early yesterday for repairs. This is one problem with making future reservation on the Loop. We have reservations in Mackinac Island for Labor Day and my brother will be meeting us so we are trying to stay on schedule. Our planned destination for the day was to stop at Kagawong Municipal Marina and visit the Bridal Veil Falls but mother nature decided to blow hard out of the north and it could trap us there for a few days so we made the decision to travel further in case we were stuck for a couple days. Our new destination would be Gore Bay approximately 30 NM from Little Current.
We headed west going around the northern shore of Clapperton Island then southwest into Gore Bay. The weather was bad with high winds and rain out of the north. When we arrived at Gore Bay Municipal Marina we were told we would not get assistance from the staff and to pick any slip on B dock. The wind was near 30 knots off the beam so my 1st attempt at sterning in didn’t work so it would be a bow in starboard tie. we were greeted by several Loopers that were on B dock who grabbed our lines and helped secure our boat.
After tying up and plugging in it was a good time for a cold beverage at the Split Rail Brewing Company and up and take a walk through the area. We met several Loopers for dinner at Codmothers then a few of the men headed to the Royal Canadian Legion Hall to shoot some pool. There was a small gathering for trivia so billiards would have to wait as the table was in the center of the bar. Once we had a few games behind us we got “The Call” from our wives that the expected storm finally arrived and our boats were getting mauled by the wind and extreme waves that were funneling into the bay. It was the worst weather we had witnessed so far on the loop while in a marina. That includes the week we got stuck in Cape May. The waves in the bay were at least 3 feet and the wind over 40 knots. With the stern to the bay it was a loud rocky night with the waves breaking on the swim platform. In the morning I surveyed the boat for damage and we were good to go. I did here from Gemini who was stuck in Little Current and the several boats broke off dock cleats with the storm.
Day two in Gore Bay was much more comfortable with an early evening of docktails then we took the 1st mates back to the Canadian Legion for a great night of billiards and shuffleboard.
It was a great time in Gore Bay even with the weather but it was time to hit the rack with definitely an early run to DeTour for our last run in Canadian Waters.
