August 1 -Gordons Bay, Ontario

As you were able to read in our July 31 blog, we ran into a granite ledge near Henry's Fish Restaurant and Marina, located on Frying Pan Island in the Sans Souchi area on the coast of the Georgian Bay. 

We had planned our routing well and all went as planned until 30 ft. from the channel leading up to the restaurant that was just 15 minutes away. When we hit the ledge, it was our impression that our prop would need to be replaced and that we could then continue our trip. This proved to be very wrong. The day after having been towed to Moose Deer Point Marina, the boat was hauled out of the water. We could immediately see that the prop had to be replaced. When we could inspect it up close, we also saw that the drive shaft and rudder shaft were bent and the strut was off center. While inspecting the engine room, we noticed that the metal transmission case behind the engine had a large crack and the rear rubber engine footings took a major beating. During the collision, Thressa and I were seated above in the flybridge. We felt the shock, but it did not at all feel severe. Thus we were very surprised to see the damage that was caused. Since the marina first has to locate the various parts required to fix the damage, it might take some time before they can start putting Marco Polo back into proper running condition. It is our hope that this can be done in three to four weeks, That will then give us time to still bring the boat back to Michigan. If not, we may need to store the boat in Canada for the coming winter. We are happy to report that the insurance will take care of everything, with the exception of a $1,000 deductible. 

Since it made no sense for us to stick around, we rented a car in Perry Sound, loaded up our clothes, perishable foods, etc and left the marina at 4:30 p.m. We spent the night in London, Ontario and continued to Ada, Michigan on the following day. We have been home a few days and it was great to see friends and family, especially the children and grandchildren. The next blog will be sent when we have resumed our trip. 

Hopefully the boat will be repaired soon so that we can continue our trip.