When two is not two - Parry Sound to Bing Inlet

Saturday, a low over northern Ontario with a warm front was moving into the area.  This caused temperatures on Saturday to hit the 90s with high humidity.  Behind the warm front was a trailing cold front.  Additionally, a second cold front moving south over Lake Superior further added to the instability.  We had the perfect recipe for thunderstorms and high waves on the Georgian Bay.  Saturday night it rained hard.

Sunday we awoke to clear skies, cool 70 degree temperatures and 20 plus MPH winds from the west.  There were white caps on Parry Sound with 1 foot waves (5 miles across).  Waves on the Georgian Bay open waters according to our Sirius Satellite Weather system were 7 feet at the northern mid-lake buoy.

This made for an easy decision as we liked Parry Sound, the largest town on the eastern shore of the Georgian Bay.  We extended our stay.  The highlights of the day were a walk along Parry Sound, an exciting dingy ride to a Lodge across the bay to scope out their restaurant and a lovely dinner at the Wellington Pub.

Monday we awoke to  temperatures in the 70s with 10-15 MPH west winds.  Waves on the Georgian Bay had diminished to 1.3 feet at the north mid-lake buoy.  The only cautionary note was that winds were from the west, which means plenty of open water to raise wave heights.  By 11:00 AM waves at the mid-lake buoy had risen to 1.6 feet.   We decided that the possibility of two foot waves later in the day would be manageable and departed Big Sound Marina.

The first 37 miles of our 60 mile journey was in the Small Craft Channel’s protected waters.   The “highlight” of this segment was a passage through the Canoe Channel, aptly named because it was better designed for canoes rather than our 48 Sundancer’s 14’8” beam.  It was tight for 100 plus yards.  You could almost touch the trees on either side.  Good news, there was 9 feet of water under the boat.  That said, I would not want to try this in a high wind.

Canoe Channel as viewed from astern

At 3:30 we passed the charming lighthouse at Point au Baril and headed out toward open waters.  As we proceeded west into a head sea it became increasingly clear the further we went that the waves were greater than 2 feet.  It was also visually interesting as we watched the waves breaking over the rocks just a few hundred yards to starboard (our right).  We estimated the waves at three to five feet with occasional rouge six footers.  As we cleared the ledge we turned northwest, increased speed to 20 MPH to put Guided Discovery on plane and headed for the buoy at Modern Rock.

The next 45 minutes were a wet and moderately wild ride as we headed northwest with seas off the port beam.  Kodi was not happy and neither was Diana.

At 4:26 we turned due east at Magnetawana Ledges buoy putting the seas to stern (a following sea), increased speed to 29 MPH and surfed the waves to Byng Inlet’s South Channel as we watched the spray from the waves breaking over the ledge just to our right.  This short segment was definitely more fun.

Now in calm water we throttled back to trawler speed and enjoyed the 40 minute ride up Byng Inlet to St Armands Marina. We were greeted by our friends Richard and Kin from Precisely (410 Sundancer) and the marina crew who helped us dock. 

Dinner on Tuesday was at the Britt Inn where we joined by fellow Loopers Fred and Julaine from Boreas (Carver 405) who were also weeks away from crossing their wake (i.e., the looper language for completing the loop).

Here the puzzle.  Why were the waves as high as 6 feet when the data at the mid-lake buoy showed 2 feet?  The wind did not substantially increase during the 2 plus hours it took to reach the open waters at Point au Baril.  The answer is simple.  We were at least 50 miles east of the mid-lake buoy meaning that there was lots more open water for waves to build.  Basic principle, the higher the wind and the greater the distance over open water, the higher the waves.  My error was not to factor in that additional distance into my estimation of wave heights.  Live and learn.

In any case, Guided Discovery handled the seas and we are now safely in Byng Inlet waiting for the waves to subside.  According to the forecast, Wednesday looks good for the 46 mile run northwest to Killarny.

To put this in perspective. This was the second roughest crossing of the 5441 miles we've traveled thus far.  The Appalachicola to Tarpon Springs segent in December 2010 was both slightly rougher and the time in rough water was considerably longer (4 hours).  The only other rough segment was the first two hours of the Lake Ontario crossing on July 18th.  Other than that, we've been in smooth water.

Written by Les.