Homecoming – Part 4

Early in the morning, on June 24, 2015 we backed out of our slip at Goderich, turned right on Lake Huron and we were on our way to Port Elgin (pronounced with a hard G, as in “gun”). With little to no wind, and small waves we motored north. It was sunny, but a bit cold with wind finally kicking up just as we wanted to dock (why does it do this?).

Docked at Port Elgin
Docked at Port Elgin

As we negotiated the channel and breakwater into Port Elgin Harbour, people on the dock were shouting and pointing in three different directions which caused some confusion. We bumped the fuel dock slightly due to bad directions and somewhat unfamiliar controls, but eventually made it into our slip for the night. Lessons learned, pay no attention to the bystanders, and when in doubt go back out. You can always approach again once you have things sorted. With nowhere nearby to go, we relaxed and got ready for the next day’s trip to Tobermory.

Drizzley cruise to Tobermory
Drizzley cruise to Tobermory

Fog, drizzle and very cool temperatures marked our trip to Tobermory. We didn’t see another boat out all day and at times felt like we were the only people on Earth. We motored along fog shrouded islands, feeling our way forward. We were very thankful for our full cockpit enclosure which kept us dry and relatively comfortable.

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Docked at Tobermory

Finally, rounding Bonnet Island we could see Tobermory Harbour. As we got closer it seemed more and more like a 19th century fishing village. The staff was helpful and professional in getting us squared away. Once we were settled we explored the town a bit. If you want fish or fudge, this is your town. We did a bit of shopping and had an excellent whitefish dinner. This was one of our favorite stops, and we both wanted to stay longer because there was so much to see, but with limited time, as Kristi said, “If the weather is good, we have to move.”

We went to bed knowing that the next morning we were off to Killarney.

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