Day 12 - September 18

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Temagami Houseboat Trip - 2018


Little Island to Cross Bay 

(Morning Windy, Cloudy, and Cold. Wind Moderated Late Morning, Calm by Evening)

Leg 8 - Day 12
(About 6 miles) (Click to enlarge)

The last thought before nodding off last night was hope for a restful night of sleep.  The anticipation was positive, but it just didn’t happen!  Storm rains went through about midnight and the wind switched, as I hoped it wouldn't!  I didn’t catch it right away, but soon the boat was pounding incessantly on the rocks, so I got up to check conditions.  Sure enough, the night was black as pitch and now the guy line desperately needed to be moved to the port side with a strong wind blowing from the north. 

I didn’t really have any idea why the boat was pounding.  I had difficulty figuring that out in the dark of the night, since I assumed I would be fairly well protected from north winds and waves?  It seemed like I must be getting some reflection of the waves off the shore of the mainland pushing the boat onto the rocks off the boat's bow causing it to pound away, the sound echoing through the hulls. It did not appear to be damaging anything, but it shook the whole boat, making me very uneasy!

I got the guy changed to the other side and checked all the other lines and re-tied each one to make sure they were tight.  I was concerned about the port bow line since it was chafing against a rock. Movement seemed minor so I decided to leave that line alone for now.

I tried to go back to sleep, but it was to no avail!  The pounding shook the boat and seemed worse than it actually was since it echoed badly through the hulls.  At 4:30 am I just couldn’t take the sound and motion anymore, so I got dressed and went out to check all the lines again. All seemed okay except the line that was chafing.  So I dug out my Gorilla Duct Tape and went to work making a chafing sleeve wrapping the line in the place it was chafing on the rocks.  A bit of a challenge since the boat was moving and I did not want to get my hand pinched between the line and the rock.  I used several short chunks of tape to wrap it.  I think it will hold until daylight when I can see what is going on. 

Not much I can do right now!  It has started to drizzle, which will make departure interesting between the wind and the rain! 

Made some hot chocolate accompanied by chocolate covered almonds to warm me up and lift my spirits.  It was too early for coffee and cookies!  I didn’t want to use the lights too much since I draw on the battery a lot when recharging equipment batteries, so I cranked up my Coleman lantern.  Outside temps have dropped so I turned the heat on to warm things up a bit and take the chill out of the air.  

The pounding did not make for the normal relaxing morning study time, nevertheless, I had nothing else to do but wait the storm out!  I warmed up some coffee cake, baked the other day, and had coffee with that. Half way through the study it was light enough for me to evaluate my situation a little better.  I may be stuck here all day with these strong winds (25+ mph)!

I decided that two things may help the movement and noise.  The guy line is three strand poly and has too much elasticity, which makes it act like a rubber band.  When the boat is tensioned by the wind or waves, the guy springs the boat back, causing it to impact the rocks resulting in the hull noise and further chaffing of the bow lines.

Secondarily, I felt if I let out some line and adjusted the line angles a bit I could perhaps back the boat off the rocks further but still get back aboard.  The combination worked measurably better!  I may actually be able to rest later today, if stuck here! I got almost no sleep last night.

After my study, I made breakfast, toast, peanut butter, and cereal.  Cleaned up and did some more tweaking of the lines trying to get the boat to be even quieter.  I succeeded and observed improvement.  The bows still hit the rocks from time to time but less often and I didn’t have the sling shot affect any more!

The other lines are also three strand but heavier (1/2”) and could be a combination of materials, since they don’t appear to be all poly, perhaps a combination of nylon and poly.  If the wind drops I will still move, but for now, I am just twiddling my thumbs trying to stay warm.  Hard to believe I was swimming yesterday. The heat is on today!  

10:45 AM but still a pretty strong wind, yet it seems to be weakening a bit.  We’ll see what happens?

Sat in my chair and read my novel to pass the time hoping the wind would go down. I would read a chapter and then go up on the top of the island to check to see if conditions had changed.  The wind appears to be dropping, but slowly, so I’ll read another chapter and check again.

Sure enough, the wind is down enough I should be able to make progress against the wind.  I will be going directly into it!  It is more NE than North.  

I finally got off around 11 am and headed initially to my old site on the south end of Portage Bay, but changed my mind after looking at my remaining schedule and the plan to hike High Rock Trail tomorrow.

East Cross Bay - A Cloudy And Cool Fall Day
(Click to enlarge)

Arrived at the site on the east end of Cross Bay and was secured by 1 PM.  I made a quick lunch of crackers, cheese, apples, and nuts with wine to hold me until dinner.  I then moved the kayak ashore where it would be easier to dump the rain water it collected during the storm.  I thought I might go kayaking later in the eve and wanted to dry it out.

I went back to the boat, closed up the shades, and hit the sack!  Slept soundly for about 1.5 hours!  Got up and felt much better.  Still cloudy and cold.  Boat is buttoned up tight, but no heat on.  Began to work on dinner: pulled pork, baked beans, coleslaw, and a beer in a frozen mug.  Brought my own beer mug along to stick in the freezer.  It gives it that little extra chill!  

I decided that with the current cool weather, clouds in the sky, and some breeze I would not use kayak, so I put the cockpit cover on, because there is a chance of rain again over the next couple of days.  

Then I took a hot shower.  It took surprisingly long to get the water to warm with the colder water in the bucket and the colder air temperature! Felt good after such a rough night!

Quiet Evening But Chill In The Air!
(Click to enlarge)

After I cleaned up I sat in my chair inside, listened to music, and had my evening desert.  I was just going to stay inside and read, but then decided I would go out and set by the fire ring on the fore deck for awhile and listen to music, which I did.  However, it got chilly very fast and with the gray sky and limited view I decided to go back inside and finish this log for the day. 

I hit the sack early and will try to get an earlier start tomorrow, since I want to hike High Rock and still get to my last boat site for the final sprint.  I will go a day early to ensure I get the boat site I want this time around!  It was occupied on the outbound leg.  (Idea was great, but it proved to not work out!)  

Looking west, the sun is trying to peek through the clouds but the sky is a generally gray and temperatures are typical of a cool fall day!  Will close this log out and the day soon after!