Friday, July 7, 2023 Covered Portage

Another totally peaceful and quiet evening at Deadbolt Island. I laid in bed listening to WKSU until about 7:00 when I got up to post the blog and check the weather. The weather looks good for today and for the weekend. 

I gave Kerry a15 minute warning before she had to get up and prepare to pull anchor. She appreciated the extra 15 minutes. The anchor came up without event except for a bunch of mud that was like concrete on the anchor. No seaweed at all. I had to use a dock pole to pry the mud off as the hose would not touch it. No way Annie would have dragged anchor, even in a hurricane. We like Deadbolt Island, and would definitely stay there again. The mosquitos are big and mean so good screens needed.

The trip to Killarney was only 6 miles. The lighthouse marks the channel. It took us an hour and 1/2 to travel to Covered Portage, but we spent almost that much time at the fuel dock at the Sportsman's Inn. The Orro's were just about ready to order breakfast but came out to visit when they saw Annie. Marianna gave us half a loaf of bread and  a blueberry scone - Whoo Hoo!

On the way in the channel we passed the Killarney Mountain Lodge which has one of the world's largest paddles. You can see it on the right of this picture.

We got fuel, a pumpout and filled our water tanks. Unfortunately we forgot to empty the trash. They were having trouble with their diesel pump, so we only could get 7 liters, which is not a big problem as I have over 150 gallons left., They did give me a free pumpout though. Kerry and Marianna walked to the little grocery while Annie was being serviced. 

I always worry about getting a spot when coming into Covered Portage. It's one of the most popular anchorages up here, and getting a spot is not for certain. But when we got close enough I could see that there was room for many more boats - relief!. It should be packed for certain tomorrow when the locals use their boats. The scream Kerry gave out when this guy landed on my hand during lunch almost gave me a heart attack!

Covered Portage is a beautiful, well protected anchorage. It's like a horseshoe surrounded by tall granite walls around the anchorage, but the open end is narrow. You are able to climb the hills and walk on top of the granite walls. Peter and I usually do that. The boat in front of the granite wall, according to Google Lens, is a Grand Banks 46'Classic 3 cabin. To Kerry, it's a tug boat. 

I texted John Robertson to find out where he was. He said he was in Killarney. He had been on his way to Thomas Bay and had hit a rock, the first time in 21 trips up here he did that. He has arranged for repairs in Little Current on Monday, so he was relaxing at that point. He did meet up with the Orros who are spending the night in Killarney. I'm not sure how bad the damage is. No one must have been hurt though. Hopefully I can get more details from the Orros. 

We had happy hour on our front deck. A sailor came over and said he was doing a concert at 7:00 and was alerting fellow boaters to that. His name is Brad Jones, and he has a video on YouTube made here in Covered Portage, almost right where we are anchored. Brad Jones

We talked about pork chops, or hot dogs for dinner. When it came time to eat, we had Marianna's blueberry scone and her 1/2 loaf bread with butter, honey and jelly. We just ripped off chunks of bread. Hey, our kids aren't here to watch us, right?

Much to our surprise the Orros knocked on our window about 5:30. They had driven their dingy over from Killarney. It was great to see them and have a mini happy hour with them. Peter had offered to pick up a key the dock attendant left on Annie when we fueled this morning. And they were nice enough to haul our big bag of trash back to the dumpster for us. They scouted out possible spots to anchor in the morning. Hopefully they will get here early while spots are available. Marianna is planning on a 7:00 pumpout and then hitting the road, so to speak. Later two people from the marina boated over to pick up the key. We sent them back with an empty box to dispose of for us. 

At 7:00 we sat out to listen to Brad Jones. We set up our folding chairs and had a little pitcher of chocolate wine for the occasion. Unfortunately we were a little far back to hear all the music, but could catch enough of it so that our minds could fill in the blanks. 

Bed time was about 9:30 for us. The mosquito dance on our porthole window was very disappointing compared to that on Deadbolt Island. Fewer and much smaller mosquitos here.