Gore Bay, Manitoulin Island, North Channel 7-25-11

We arrived here on Wednesday, 7/20 surrounded by heat and humidity that just would not let go, so we decided to take the weekly rate option of $7.60 per foot. As attractive as the island anchorages are to us, it is more important right now to have electricity to blow 3 fans around to catch a breeze. The marina was recently refurbished with wide floating docks and a spacious bathhouse and HE laundry facility so we settled in quite nicely.

Gore Bay is a great town to visit with so much going on. There’s the Farmers’ Market on Friday and the weekend was filled with events (fish fry, rock concert) for the Mackinac-Manitoulin (MacMan) sailboat race. We attended a first rate production by the Gore Bay Summer Theatre of the Norm Foster play, Looking, which kept us laughing for days. We love going for long walks and here is a picture of the Gore Bay harbor from the East Bluff Overlook. You can also bike or walk about 2 miles on Lighthouse Road to the Janet Head Lighthouse. Jan Fletcher will regale you with tales about the keepers and how the whole Fletcher family adopted this lighthouse and has kept it going for 3 generations. The Gore Bay Museum is also worth a visit and don’t miss the air-conditioned art gallery. There was an Ecumenical service on Sunday which featured “ol’ time religion” music and camaraderie with a potluck lunch. I just love the hospitality of small towns in Canada. Even Mollie found a friend—here she is doing her puppy moves with Spike, an absolutely incredible German Shepherd/Husky mix who allowed Mollie to climb all over him.

We proudly fly our GLCC and Looper burgees and have met so many boaters though this. All are eager to share information about their favorite anchorages and tricky passages. This is a great place to reprovision at the ValuMart grocery store, the hardware store, 2 drug stores and pick up your needed charts at CYC Charters.

We would recommend Café on the Bay for lunch, but don’t even try to go to Gordon’s Lodge even though it is recommended in the Ports book and GLCC Harbor Reports. We walked over there with other boaters to inquire about dinner that evening and were met by a screaming, hysterical woman owner who demanded that we leave the property or she would call the police. Her demand was accented by a guy behind her, swinging a cane. Jack Nicholson in The Shining gave a warmer reception than we received here, and apparently the problems started when new owners took over the restaurant and resort. Just avoid Gordon’s and your visit to Gore Bay will be absolutely wonderful.

Meldrum Bay, North Channel, Lake Huron, Canada 7-19-11

We left DeTour Village on Tuesday, 7/19 on a very easy 40 mile cruise to Canada and phone customs check-in at Meldrum Bay on Manitoulin Island. We subsequently learned that you can apply for a Can Pass for Remote Area Border Crossing at www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca but there is a fee.

We are now in the western edge of the North Channel, which is framed by large Manitoulin Island on the south and the mainland of Ontario Province on the south with hundreds of islands sandwiched between. Meldrum Bay is the tiniest little hamlet with a newly constructed breakwater and a marina office and showers downstairs and comfortable boaters lounge upstairs. The docks are scheduled for an overhaul late this year, but until then, the harbormaster, Peggy, and her crew will get you securely tied-up to the old long pier docks.

Have lunch or dinner at the Meldrum Bay Inn where you will see this doll house garden. The Grover family also operates the General Store and if you’re lucky, fresh croissants may be available.