Hopewell Bay, Shawanaga Island 8-13-10

We continue to slowpoke along Georgian Bay and today took a 20 mile cruise to Shawanaga Island. We avoided the shoals and narrows of the Canoe Channel by taking the well-marked alternate channel past the Spruce Island shoals, the Pancakes and Squaw Island and rejoined the small boat channel at Jane Island and continued to Shawanaga Inlet. Bob and I have wondered about the lack of lighthouses in Georgian Bay, but today were greeted by the Snug Harbour Light. This area seems to have more light markers and this one was occupied by an osprey.

We were anchored with sailboaters last night, and when I saw them leave this morning to take advantage of the 15-18 south winds on open Georgian Bay, I had serious thoughts about going back to sailing. I can still feel it in my bones but realized when the open water forecast changed to 4 foot seas and 25 knot winds that I really don’t want to be out there. We instead had a perfect powerboat day of cruising the protected beautiful waters of the small boat channel, negotiating its challenges, enjoying breath-taking scenery, all with comfortable temps and humidity, and great company.

We are the only boat anchored here in Hopewell Bay on Shawanaga Island. It is another very protected, 3 sided anchorage, does have a few cottages on shore, but there is some public land to the west. We took the dinghy there to explore for the afternoon.

We have been meeting a lot of boaters from Lake Eire who remark that their Great Lake is great (like our Lake Superior) but lacks protected anchorages and a small boat channel, noting always, “when you’re out there, you’re out there and it can get really mean fast.” Truth be told, I always slept with one ear open at anchor in the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior expecting the winds to shift and have to change anchorages at 2 am. Here I sleep really well, and we now have a Canadian low-powered anchor light—a $7.00 solar-powered garden light which really saves the main boat battery.

Killbear Provincial Park 8-12-10

The park name caught our attention, too. Legend has it that maybe a bear killed a logger or a logger killed a bear in the 1800’s, but the First Nation stories say that the name commemorates the seasonal water journey bears take between the islands here or that the land was first frequented by the Bear Clan and the name was mistranslated. Not sure which is accurate, but today the name was almost a reality when a car hit a juvenile bear in the park but it scampered away luckily unscathed.

This land-based park is located on a peninsula just 10 miles west of Parry Sound and offers anchorage protection in Kilcoursie Bay behind Scott Island. Be prepared to put out a lot of rode as depths here range 20+ feet but you will be anchoring in clear blue water with a sandy bottom. This is not an isolated quiet anchorage in August as Canadians are here in the 800 site campground and launching their watercrafts in the bay. But, if you get up early in the morning, you get a beautiful site, can have a quiet walk for miles on its sandy shores and then settle back with your favorite book.

When jet skis and runabouts start waking the anchorage in the afternoon, we just took the dinghy to shore and walked for hours on the hiking and bike trails. Lookout Point Trail was our favorite for the view. As we walked back to the dinghy through the campground, we were a little disorientated about what adventure trip we were taking as it was so familiar. This spring we started RVing and we would definitely come here by land as well. The park quiets down again at night for a beautiful sunset and a billion stars.

Parry Sound 8-10-10

We did not expect to be here for the third day at Big Sound Marina but here we are. Nothing wrong, no breakdowns, we’ve just found Parry Sound a great place to get boat things done as well as have some fun. We arrived here on an all day pouring rain Sunday, but my philosophy is you might as well get wet and do 4 loads of laundry. I have met some of the most interesting boaters doing this as we spend the afternoon sharing machines, coins and stories and have a take-home to show for our efforts.

We have pared down our refrigerator supplies with the purpose of doing the dreaded defrosting job—not my favorite. With 2 inches of ice on the outside of our small 7x10x12 inch freezer section inhibiting opening the darn thing as well as a funky smell in the fridge, this task has forced its way to the top of the list. Armed with a hairdryer and hot water, we attacked the arctic ice and then lobbed our refrigerator icebergs into the bay which I swear lowered the water temperature.

With everything clean, it was time to do a massive reprovision so I took the courtesy van to Soobys grocery store in Parry Sound Mall. Prices are noticeably higher here in Canada but this store has great variety and selection. I am also a fan of M&M meat store as they have frozen vacuum-sealed selections which are just perfect for restocking a freezer. Canadian Tire (like Home Depot) is also in the Mall so take the van for this also. Luckily, at the end of the day, other boaters revived me with some liquid refreshment and were taking bets on how many miles I had logged in my flip-flops today (Monday).

We have definitely earned a day of fun for Tuesday. We started with the 4 mile Rotary Fitness Trail along the bay shoreline and watched young sailboaters learning to race. There are fitness components on the trail and here’s Bob catching his breath going up the bow-shaped staircase. Follow the trail even further and it becomes the North Shore Rugged Hiking Trail which will have you leap-frogging over some amazing rocks. After lunch at Christina’s on the Bay (food ok but needs more spice), we took the other end of the trail by the railroad tracks over to the Museum on Tower Hill. This small museum is very well done, has interesting presentations on the First Peoples tale of Nanibush hitting the stone beaver which then dissolved and created the Georgian Bay islands as well as how logging, Great Lakes shipping and the meager farming here led to young Canada branching out to the west and sowing the seeds of nationhood. There is a lookout tower on Tower Hill so here’s a picture of Parry Sound from the top.

We’ll have a dinner of fresh trout tonight and attend a free Bands on the Bay outside concert at the Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts which will round out our 3 days here. Now that we’re cleaned-up, pumped-out, topped-off, tossed-out and loaded-up, we’re ready for some anchoring in Killbear Provincial Park.

Massasauga Provincial Park 8-8-10

Henry’s is the perfect jumping-off point for a trip into Massasauga Provincial Park in the Moon River area. It is a boat-based park covering hundreds of islands, some with their own inland lake. This is great gunkholing territory with lots of secluded, protected anchorages tucked into its many coves and bays. This is any boater’s dream, especially if you are a sailboater as you can go to the outside waters of Georgian Bay for an exciting 15 knot sail and then duck back into the park for a peaceful wilderness experience. Everywhere you look you will see dramatic landscapes of windswept pines clinging to smooth, color-etched granite and you soon become engulfed in its beauty and stillness.

With so many options, you cannot go wrong. We chose Port Rawson Bay and found some markers along the way to help us in the channel. We tied on to a mooring ball and here’s our view from the bow. I love the self-sufficiency of anchoring—you have what you have and you make do. It’s a time to daydream and my favorite time of day is sunrise which holds so much promise. We used the dinghy to explore the shoreline and also to say hello to fellow boaters, especially those flying a Looper or Great Lakes Cruising Club (GLCC) burgee. There are only 3 developed trails (Baker, Wreck Island and Moon Island) in the whole park and we tried to bushwhack a few more but it is pretty solid forest. Bob even found time to recondition our old water pump so now we have a spare.

We find that our anchoring time is limited by the 30 gallon capacity of our holding tank so after 4-5 days its time to head back to town and pump-out, do laundry, stock up on provisions and head out again. We’re going to Parry Sound for this, and then out again to explore Killbear Provincial Park.

Happy Birthday at Henry’s (Fryingpan Island) 8-4-10

We only spent one night at Bone Island not really because of the snake, maybe a little bit, but more so because Birthday Boy Bob wanted more of an adventure. He is all about navigating and being a Captain so wanted to back cruising again, testing his skills on the small boat channel topped off with a birthday dinner at Henry’s Fish Restaurant.

Although the day was dim and overcast, our 4 hour ride was a very interesting mix of well-buoyed narrow rocky shoal sections (Kerr and Allen rocks, Peacock Island, O’Donnell Point) and wide open areas from Milepost 20-29 where we did get rocked a bit by 1 foot chop from Georgian Bay and powerboats passing us. We tied-up at Henry’s just as the sun was peaking through, the lunch crowd was leaving and Chris, the expert dock master, was there to help us tie-off only 2 feet away from rocks that we had been trying to avoid all day. Bob even found a propeller “cemetery” on shore.

There is a 1 mile walking trail marked by a toupee cairn rock over to LeBlanc’s Sans Souci Marina. It’s a fun place to visit, meet cottagers who come here for provisions and ice cream at the general store and they even had a copy of The Guide to Massasauga Provincial Park Facilities which will be our next stop.

Henry’s is all about service both on the dock and the restaurant. It is easy to see why they won a place on Saveur magazine’s 100 favorite places to eat with their Great Lakes fish dinners. The fish is fresh and tasty and served with Elliot family recipe cole slaw and baked beans. All of this plus a fabulous view of the harbor so we could watch the training sailors climb up the mast of Playfair to do rigging work or watch seaplanes landing passengers for the fly/dine experience. A pretty special birthday for a very special Captain.

Bone Island (Georgian Bay Islands National Park) 8-3-10

We loved our anchoring experience at Beausoleil Island but it was time to push-off and explore other areas. Bone Island is just 13 miles away but is off the small boat (buoyed) channel so you are on your own, weaving through islands, hopefully avoiding unmarked rocks and shoals, but with me on the bow as look-out and Bob studying charts, we did just fine. Sometimes local boaters mark rock shoals with white Clorox bottles and this always gets our attention. We have the PORTS Cruising Guide for Georgian Bay, North Channel and Lake Huron and we recommend it as it gives aerial shots of the islands, anchorages, what to look out for as well as what to see.

The south side anchorage of Bone Island is a smaller basin than Chimney Bay on Beausoleil but it also has a dock for 10-12 boats. We always like to hike and there was just a rudimentary trail here, but here’s a picture of Bob looking at the clear water. You will notice that he is carrying his blue “Buzz-Off” shirt which he uses as a Harry Potter invisibility cloak against mosquitoes. No matter how hard he tries, they always find his sweet blood.

I am not sure what type of pheromones he is emitting but he is now attracting more snakes. We were putting up our rear cockpit bimini and I was looking for a bungee to secure it. I reached in the corner for a black bungee and it moved. Yes, it was another snake that had crawled through our rear cockpit drain. I expected snakes on the Tenn-Tom Waterway down south and someone told me they come down your stern line tied to a tree at Bashi Creek but no snakes there. Here we are in clear cold Canadian water and we have snakes—go figure.

We know the drill now—get the boat pole, get the snake to dance onto it and heave it overboard. I have a question for all you boaters, and this is something that keeps me up at night—can snakes crawl up through any thru-hull—will we find them in the sink or, god forbid-- toilet???? This is our second snake and I desperately need an answer. Please email me at peggy8301@hotmail.com with all of your suggestions. Help!

Loons, Rattlers and Bears…Oh My (Georgian Bay Island National Park) 8-2-10

After six weeks on 3+Canadian canals and over 100 locks, we left the protected and predictable canal waters at Lock 45 at Port Severn after a 2 ½ hour delay to drop 14 feet to Lake Huron on 7-26. You have to start navigating right away, remember that the red buoys are to starboard, and negotiate the shallow, unforgiving, rock-filled Potato Channel with a mixture of buoys that has claimed many a propeller.

After a 14 mile trip across Severn Sound to Penetang and the Looper rendezvous for 3 days, we were eager to explore Georgian Bay Island National Park on Beausoleil Island, a mere 11 miles away but a chance for a more wilderness experience. Although Georgian Bay has 30,000 islands, there is little public land along the shoreline south of Twelve Mile Bay.

Beausoleil Island has 5 well-protected anchorages, hiking trails, beaches and our Park Canada pass covers the expense. We spent 5 days here really relaxing, reading a book per day and gently swaying at anchor in Chimney Bay as well as exploring the other bays by dinghy and by hiking—a perfect day for me. Reprovisioning at Honey Harbour is a 2 ½ mile dinghy ride away at Honey Harbour Centre and make sure to have breakfast or lunch at Honey Harbour Café.

You want excitement—we had that too. A loon couple frequents Chimney Bay. Their love song would often start at 5:30am and I could not get back to sleep until the other answered. Beausoleil Island is the last refuge for the protected eastern Massasauga venomous rattlesnake. Although it is usually timid, local boaters reported that they have seen it on trails and rocks on the hiking trails. It’s amazing how many tree roots look like rattlers when you’re on the lookout but Bob is ready.

We are familiar with black bear in our home cruising area of the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior. I even have a bear whistle—actually it’s from my kids’ Snoopy lifejacket in the 1980’s but it has scared a few bear in its time. They have a renegade black bear here on Beausoleil similar to our famous MacArthur “I will return” bear. This one has been moved but keeps coming back, probably motivated by love and food—doesn’t that motivate most of us?

Oh, Oh, I hear a scream from the campground on shore—he’s back!!!

AGLCA Rendezvous at Bay Moorings Marina in Penetanguishene 7-28-10

Bob and I have never been to an AGLCA rendezvous as we were never in the right place at the right time but here we are now in Georgian Bay with Bay Moorings Marina hosting a get-together. This marina is all about service and making sure you have a good time. Amanda and Linda organized an amazing array of activities starting with a wine and cheese reception on Monday, a pre-race lunch on Tuesday before the fun cardboard boat race, and a barbeque on Wednesday with a Georgian Bay/North Channel chart presentation by Ken MacDonald. The van was available for provisioning trips to town as well as excursions to Discovery Bay and local shrines. The pool was just the right temperature for relaxing and all of this could be had for the very reasonable price of $1.50 per foot which included a free pumpout. We vote Bay Moorings Marina our #1 marina on the entire Loop!

We had a fun time building our cardboard boat with brand new Loopers, Dave and Brenda on The Old Grouch, a Nordic Tug 37, and veteran Loopers, Mark and Linda on Lolligag, a 32 foot Nordic Tug. We knew our cardboard boat would not last long and thought of it more as a dunk tank for Dave but don’t let him know that. It was great to see John on Emery El from the Looper class of 08-09 and he sends his regards. Our paths have intertwined with Lolligag along the way and since our boats are both 32 feet, we have a lot in common in living LARGE in a small area. We’ve traveled the canals with a few mid-Loopers and here is a picture of Jim and Linda from Selah (far right next to Bob) as well as Brenda and Dave (far left) and Mark and Linda rounding out the middle.

Most Loopers will be going through this area for 2 weeks as they head down to Chicago for 9/1 but we have the luxury of time and will explore the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay/North Channel for the next 4-5 weeks. It is so much like our homeport of the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior times 100 with the addition of 3 sided anchorage protection. We may have found another home.

Ready…Set…Go on the Chute 7-26-10

This is the big one…the lock of legends. We decided to wait until Monday to do the Chute justice and let the weekend traffic of 120 boats go ahead of us. We had a great night at Swift Falls Lock and journeyed down the narrow Mc Donald’s Cut with power boats that were not waking us for a change. We entered the Chute basin and circled around for 10 minutes and took our place on the blue line. Boaters here are eager for the ride, everybody is helpful moving boats up and we finally moved up to the front of the line for our turn on the Chute.

Here we are entering the marine railway on the Chute, being cradled securely with slings for a 7 minute ride of a tenth of a mile across the road and down a roller coaster track to the other side and splashing down and free into the water. We were so excited with Bob taking a movie and me taking a picture of him. Here’s the track that we traveled—pretty amazing low tech solution to forge the distance and try to keep the lamprey and zebra mussels out of the Trent. We can sense the difference as we get closer to Lake Huron—clear skies, less humidity and clear water is ahead. We are coming home…