Inverhuron to Bayfield
Lake Huron
Tuesday, May 31
Day six. This turned out to be a fortune-changing day for Roland, although he does not yet know it. Bright, beautiful, and with favorable winds, Roland was able to make significant progress south along the eastern shore of Lake Huron. It was now only a day away from my departure from Ottawa, on a trip that will end in a rendez-vous with Simply Blue, wherever it happens to end up. Roland and I conversed back and forth over e-mail and on the phone, trying to understand the best location for a meetup. Our most optimistic scenario saw us meeting up in the city of Sarnia, at the very southern tip of Lake Huron. I purchased a one-way train ticket to Sarnia, departing early the following day.
courtesy RHanel
courtesy RHanel
For just over ten hours, Roland sailed down Lake Huron's eastern shoreline, achieving nearly 90 kilometres of effective distance . The waters were fairly choppy and there were no good anchorage locations along the fairly straight coastline, so Roland's only option was to dock at one of the piers of the many little towns that dot the so-called Bluewater region along Lake Huron. He chose the pier at the town of Bayfield. The problem was now this: docking a large sailing craft alone is rather tricky, and Roland was worried:
"Excellent progress today, but not enough to make Sarnia. Will have to stop in Bayfield. Very worried about docking there given the wind and tricky mooring options (piles)."
Roland carefully spent time in the choppy waters offshore, preparing fenders and mooring lines, rigging them and laying them out in advance so that he can quickly jump out and tie up
Simply Blue, hopefully without incurring any damage. After setting everything up, he cautiously began to approach the pier under engine power. Unbeknownst to him, the boat's heaving has caused one of his mooring lines to slip off into the water. This particular mooring line has been hastily constructed from two separate segments, and it is longer than normal. Long enough, in fact, to reach all the way back to the stern, and that's exactly what happens as Roland slowly motored towards the pier. Suddenly, Roland heard a loud bang, and simultaneously his engine cut out.
courtesy RHanel
Bayfield Anchorage
Roland had not witnessed the mooring line slip into the water. He had no idea what happened, and he can't afford to spend to much time figuring out why. With sails down and no engine power, he was simply drifting forward under inertia, and it was unclear whether he'll be able to dock at all.
Fortunately, when Roland attempted to restart the engine, it fired right back up. A bit freaked, he abandoned tentativeness and caution and quickly whipped the boat around and up to the pier, managing to pull off a perfectly-timed solo docking. At this point, he discovered that his mooring line has fallen into the water - and that it is not quite as long as it used to be...
With the stress of mooring for the night out of the way, Roland turned his attention to make sense of the incident. Clearly the mooring line had snaked its way back to the stern, and was long enough to get tangled up in the spinning propeller shaft. When it pulled fully taut, it restricted the propeller's rotation, causing an instantaneous buildup in force on the propeller shaft and the strut which holds it into place. The forces were clearly high enough to completely shear the mooring line - and enough to stop the propeller's rotation (and the propshaft, thereby causing the engine to stall). This shearing of the mooring line and the sudden torque on the shaft and strut caused the loud bang.
courtesy RHanel
Checking for damage
Roland feared most about the boat's drivetrain, and he soon was moving floorboards aside to examine the rear of the engine and the transmission. Everything was still in one piece, and there was no sign of water leakage. He did see what looked to be bronze-colored shavings below the inboard section of the propeller shaft, and was uncertain if that was new or not. The whole incident was unnerving and had created a cloud of uncertainty in Roland's mind. Nothing further, however, to be done for the night. The next morning, he resolved to have someone at the Bayfield Marina look at it.
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Inverhuron to Bayfield - click map to view
May 31 - Inverhuron to Bayfield
Start Time:
8:29a.m.
End Time:
7:08p.m.
Duration:
10h38m
Distance:
91.13 km
(56.63 mi)
Average Speed:
8.6 km/hr
(5.3 mph)
Start Elevation:
636ft
(194m)
*
Max Elevation:
636ft
(194m)
*
Min Elevation:
584ft
(178m)
*
End Elevation:
608ft
(185m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
153ft
(47m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
155ft
(47m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
Trip Interrupt
Wednesday, June 1
While Roland was having a fitful night's sleep aboard Simply Blue, back in Ottawa I was up pre-dawn. I was headed to a nearby train station to catch a one-way ride to Sarnia, Ontario. Although I knew about Roland's incident, my impression was that Simply Blue was still seaworthy.
Barrhaven Station
It had been a long time since I'd taken the train in Canada, and I was rather looking forward to the experience. We so quickly turn to air travel in North America that we forget that there is a certain charm (and convenience) to taking the train.
Comfortable Countryside Travel
Leaving Barrhaven station around 6 a.m., my train headed southwest on the main line towards Toronto. The car I was in was only about 25% full, and the legroom was very generous (by airline economy standards). The ride was smooth and surprisingly fast, often reaching speeds of 150 km/hr. This is pretty fast by North American standards.
Although the train did stop in a few major centers, it still only took about 4 hours to reach downtown Toronto. This is arguably faster than what one could do on a car ride from Ottawa to downtown Toronto. Pretty nice experience.
courtesy RHanel
Meanwhile, back in Bayfield, Roland had managed to find someone to tow him and Simply Blue over to the main dock at Harbour Lights Marina, one of the principle marinas in Bayfield. He also managed to reach and consult with the main mechanic at Bayfield Marine Services. Together, they agreed that a closer inspection was required, and the marina's mobile carrier was used to haul Simply Blue out of the water.
courtesy RHanel
Haulout
Lifted out of the harbour, and with the water still dripping off Simply Blue's hull, they bent underneath to have a look.
The far end of the mooring line was still wrapped around the end of the propeller shaft. At one end, the rope was frayed into long filaments, some of which were embedded within the cutlass bearing of the strut that held the shaft. Where the strut met the bottom of the hull, a distinct crack could be seen. Yes, indeed - the force that caused that bang the previous night had been substantial.
courtesy RHanel
courtesy RHanel
Further discussions with the mechanic ensued. The cutlass bearing - stuffed with bits of rope fibers - needed to be replaced. It was possible, the mechanic thought, that the propeller shaft itself may have been slightly bent. Or, the engine may have been moved slightly out of alignment. Furthermore, the damage to the strut/hull interface needed to be examined more closely to see its extent.
Roland phoned me as I had started my second leg on the train, from Toronto to London, ON. He explained the situation, and the fact that it was looking increasingly likely that Simply Blue would be needing more than a few hours of quick repair. One thing was for certain - he was not going to make Sarnia today.
That meant that there was no point in me traveling all the way to my intended destination. Instead, I got off in London and secured myself a rental car, and drove for about an hour north directly to Bayfield. If in fact Roland's trip was going to be interrupted, then the least I could do was help him get back home to Ottawa.
courtesy RHanel
Another view of strut and shaft
By the time I pulled up to the marina in Bayfield, Simply Blue had been placed into a permanent stand. A tall aluminum ladder was propped up against the side, permitting access. Roland was aboard, tidying and cleaning up.
The mechanic had recently come by, Roland said, and had hacked away some of the hull near the propeller strut to get a better look at its internal structure. It was an ugly-looking gash now, but despite the look of it, there was some good news. There was no breach of the hull, and the primary structure of the strut had not been compromised. Still, a fair bit needed to be done: a removal and inspection of the propeller and propeller shaft; a re-alignment of the engine; replacement of both the cutlass bearing and a removal / re-installation of the shaft's stuffing box. These were not things that could be done on a moment's notice, and furthermore the marine mechanic had many other jobs before he could attend to this one. Simply put, Simply Blue was going to be here for an extended stay, on the order of weeks.
So, that was it - no more sailing for a while. Simply Blue's homeward journey was on hold. We spent the rest of the day organizing the interior of the boat for departure, tidying up, covering up, packing up. We slept overnight on Simply Blue, and as a result I got a small taste of its spacious, well-appointed interior. Very nice.
The next morning we were up early, consulted one final time with the mechanic, then headed off on our somewhat complicated journey back to Ottawa. I first ferried Roland back to Penetanguishene, so he could pick up his car. We then drove in tandem all the way back down to London, so I could drop off the rental car. We then traveled together in Roland's car back to Ottawa. All in all, a rather tiring day consisting of approximately 14 hours of driving.
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Bayfield Marina - click map to view
