August 4, 2015
We are still in our anchorage in Snug Harbour due to rain and high winds. We are tucked into a cove and although we can hear the wind howling, the boat is not rocking at all. Last night, around 2:00 am Dave woke me to show me the sky. It looked like something was burning on one of the nearby islands. There was smoke and a red glow in the sky. This morning, we learned that one of the cottages had burned to the ground. What a shame! In the afternoon, we are joined by a sailboat, "Adamant 1". We meet its owners, Pete and Lynn. They are Canadians who live in Midland. They have done the loop once already and are planning to do it again next summer. We might even meet up with them in the North Channel when we return next year. Pete designed and built his boat. It is a beautiful sailboat with lots of room and storage. We have cocktails aboard their boat and then head back to ours. It has been another great day even though the weather was gray and rainy.
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| "Adamant 1" in Snug Harbour Anchorage |
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| Snug Harbour Anchorage |
August 5, 2015
We wake to a beautiful sunrise, and around 9:30 we leave Snug Harbour. We are going to follow Pete and Lynn to an anchorage which is not sounded on the chart. They assure us that there is plenty of water. We are positioning ourselves so that tomorrow we will be able to make the run up to the Bustards, a group of islands that is considered to be one of the most beautiful anchorages in the 30,000 islands on Georgian Bay. As we are traveling along, we are joined by a catamaran, "Sweet Sensations". This boat is from Trinidad and Pete invites them to join us in the anchorage behind Stairs Island. It is a beautiful spot, very scenic and quiet.
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Anchorage behind Stairs Island
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| View from Anchorage |
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| "Sweet Sensations" |
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| "Adamant 1" |
After anchoring and getting settled, Dave and I and the crew from Sweet Sensations join Lynn and Pete on "Adamant 1". Chris, Kevin, and Graham are very entertaining. We enjoy a pleasant evening sharing stories and our plans for travels. Around 7:00, Dave and I head back to "At Last" for dinner and then bed. We are all going to head out early in the morning. "Adamant 1" and "Sweet Sensations" are both planning to go to Killarney, while Dave and I are headed to the Bustards.
August 6, 2015
We all haul anchor at first light and follow "Adamant 1" to the open water past the Pointe au Baril lighthouse. Pointe au Baril is a resort area which derives its name from the days when fishermen placed a barrel on shore with a lantern on top to guide them into the harbor. Hence the name, "Point at the Barrel."
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| Pointe au Baril's pittoresque 1889 lighthouse |
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| Traveling to the Bustards |
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| Traveling to the Bustards |
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| Entrance to the anchorage in the Bustards |
The other two boats head off to the left and Dave and I bear to the right. The water is a bit choppy and it is windy, but the ride is pleasant. We arrive around noon and anchor between Strawberry and Tie Islands. The anchorage is busy, but there is still plenty of room. As we are anchoring we see a sea plane taxi into the anchorage and tie up to one of the sailboats. Later we watch the plane taxi out and take off. Dave is definitely impressed……what's better than having a dinghy and a float plane tied to the back of your boat?
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| Seaplane arriving at sailboat for lunch |
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| Seaplane taxiing to take off after lunch |
After settling in, we take a dinghy ride to the other side of the anchorage and discover even more picturesque spots for anchoring. We meet several people during our ride…a couple on a Ranger Tug from Michigan who are heading to Little Current for a rendez-vous this weekend, Randy, a Canadian on an American Tug, Tom, from "Grand Baron", a 46' Great Banks who tells us he and his wife have seen us many times in the last 1500 miles, and two young couples on dinghies who give us really good information about where to go and what to see when we get to Baie Fine. We have dinner and then head off to bed so we can get an early start in the morning.
August 7, 2015
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| Sunrise in Bustard Islands |
We haul our anchor at 7:00 and start out for Killarney. Killarney is a water-oriented community which only became accessible by land in 1962 when a road was cut through. It was first settled in 1820 as a fur trading post. It was originally called Shebahonaning, which means "safe passage"and was a much-welcomed sheltering spot for voyagers. Once a quiet fishing village, it is now a major tourist destination. Killarney is also the end of our journey in Georgian Bay and will be the beginning of our travels in the North Channel.
Traveling to Killarney
We travel to this town via Beaverstone Bay, Collins Inlet and Mill Lake. The transit through this area is stunning. Collins Inlet is a splendid, spectacular gorge with varied rock formations and pristine waters. It is one of our favorite passages of the trip to date and our pictures cannot do it justice.
The Collins Inlet and Mill Lake
We continue into Killarney where we stop at the Killarney Mountain Lodge to pump out and get water and hope to get a slip for the night, but they do not have space for us.
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| Entering Killarney |
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| Killarney Lighthouse |
We decide to stay a short distance away at the Sportsman's Inn. We are given a slip next to a 90 ft. Berger, the "Blue Star"and we learn that this ship is also on the Great Loop. We look a bit dwarfed docked next to it.
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| "At Last" and "Blue Star" |
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| Sportsman's Inn |
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| Docks across the channel |
"Always Home" is docked across the waterway from us and we meet Wayne and Donadee for a late lunch to catch up on our respective journeys. After lunch I do a couple of loads of laundry while Dave naps. We spend a quiet evening and make plans for the next day.
August 8, 2015
We have taken a slip at the Sportsman's Inn for two days in order to catch up on our chores. Today, after breakfast at the Pines Inn, we clean the boat inside and out. I scrub the head and wash the floors in the entire boat while Dave cleans and scrubs the outside of "At Last". The bugs over the last few days have been brutal and we need to get rid of all the webs and nests. Dave also soaks all of our lines since many of the spider webs are hidden in them. As we are walking to the general store for a few supplies, I think I see "Gud-Nuff" dock in front of the LCBO. We have not seen Ralph and Janet since we anchored together in Brown Cove. It is their boat, and when they finish their shopping, they also take a slip at the Sportsman, right behind us.
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| "At Last" and "Gud-Nuff" |
Dave and I return to the boat to finish cleaning. I do more laundry and change the bed. Next it is shower time and then as we are relaxing on the stern of our boat, Tom and Vicky from "Grand Baron" pull up in their dinghy. They come aboard for a cocktail and we hear all about their experiences thus far on the Great Loop. After they leave, Dave and I go out for a quick dinner. We have made plans for later to meet Ralph and Janet. There are two bands in the village tonight and we are going to go out for a while to enjoy them. We are going to really live it up tonight and do a "pub crawl". We start at the pub at the Sportsman's Inn where Chicks with Picks is playing. It is a 2 girl band and they are very good. We share a table with a Canadian family and have a great time chatting with them. A couple of hours later, we go across the street to the Pine Inn where Snowtown Revival is playing. They are a good dancing band and we take to the dance floor before heading back to the boat……..at 12:30 am believe it or not…..very late for us. As we are leaving, one of the 20 something guys says to Dave that he wishes he could dance like us. I guess we've still got it!!!!! We have enjoyed another excellent day on the water.
August 9 and August 10, 2015
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| Baie Fine |
Today we are going to go to Baie Fine. Janet and Ralph are also going so we head out together a little after 9:00. We make a little detour to see the anchorage at Covered Portage Cove and then we start towards Baie Fine.
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| "Grand Baron" in Covered Portage Cove |
We are now officially in the North Channel which is considered to be a more remote, wilder version of Georgian Bay. The Channel is 100 miles long and almost 20 miles across at its widest point so high winds and large waves can develop in the right conditions. We will need to pay attention to the weather. It is also here where we might see a moose or a bear at the water's edge…..at least I hope to see one or the other. We continue to Baie Fine, passing by Okeechobee Lodge (no we are not in Florida) which was a popular tourist resort over 30 years ago. It is now a private facility for owners of the cottages on the property.
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| Okeechobee Lodge (enlarge to see flag) |
Baie Fine is one of the few fjords in North America. It has exceptional scenery on the 8-mile passage to the Pool located at its eastern end.
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| In Baie Fine |
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| Entrance to The Pool |
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| Evinrude Cottage in The Pool Anchorage |
The Pool is a stunning anchorage with steep rock-lined shores and forested hills. When we arrive in the pool, we recognize several other Looper boats…"Dream Girl", "Sweet Sensations", and "Aunt Aggie". "Grand Baron" arrives shortly after we set our anchor.
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| Boats on anchor in The Pool |
About 3:00, we dinghy over to the north shore of the Pool to hike up to Topaz Lake. This is a stunning swimming spot with crystalline turquoise water. It is a healthy hike up to the ridge, about a 25 minute walk. However, Dave and I (mostly me) miss the sign to Topaz Lake and continue to hike for another 20 minutes over rocky, steep terrain. Eventually, we turn back, disappointed that we did not get to see the lake. As we are headed down the trail, we see a group of hikers who point out the sign to the Lake….Dave saw it on our way up…..but I continued along the path without turning….oops!
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| Trail to Topaz Lake (looks easy in the beginning) |
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| Trail becomes more rocky and much steeper |
We make the turn and climb to the ridge. It is a challenging climb and by the time we reach the ridge, we are done and do not hike down to the beach to swim….unfortunately. The view from the ridge with its deep blue crystal clear water, white limestone rocks, and evergreens, however, is definitely worth the climb.
Topaz Lake
We climb down to the dock and head back to the boat "to recover". Dave goes for a swim and I soak my feet in the soothing cold water after taking two Aleve. Later we join "Gud-Nuff" on "Grand Baron" for a pleasant evening.
"At Last" on anchor in The Pool
On Monday morning, we awake to rain. The weather does not improve for much of the day so we spend the day downloading photos from the camera and setting up slide shows in iPhoto to watch on our television. After lunch, I take this "down day" opportunity to defrost the refrigerator. Around 4:00, the weather clears. Ralph and Janet and Tom and Vicky come to "At Last" to discuss plans for our future travels.
August 11 and 12, 2015
We prepare to leave the anchorage around 9:00. The weather has cleared. We are going to Little Current, "Grand Baron" is headed to Heywood Island, and "Good-Nuff" is going to hike up to Topaz Lake before leaving the anchorage. However, pulling our anchor this morning provides a challenge. The Pool is known for its very weedy bottom. When we haul our anchor, there is a beard of weeds and mud stuck to the anchor. It takes both Dave and me to get the "mess" off the anchor. It is quite comical, but we are successfully underway within 15 minutes.
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| Hauling the anchor |
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| The process continues |
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| The Beard of Weeds |
We leave The Pool behind us and continue towards Little Current. This town has a population of 1500 and is Manitoulin Island's largest center. We are having our mail sent here, but are not sure when it will arrive so we will be spending a few days in the area. We pass by the beautiful lighthouse on Strawberry Island and enter the channel that leads to Little Current.
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| Strawberry Island Lighthouse |
There is a swing bridge that only opens on the hour. Unfortunately, we arrive too late for the noon opening so Dave throws the anchor and we wait for about 45 minutes for the next opening.
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| Swing Bridge |
We go to the Wally's Service Dock for a pump out, water, and to buy some charts. We take a spot on the wall for the night. Once again we see boats that we recognize, "Aunt Aggie"….."Sweet Sensations"…."Dream Girl"…..we are all headed in the same direction.
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| The Wall in Little Current |
After settling in, we have a late lunch and then explore the docks. The Ranger Tug Rendez-vous that we heard about in the Bustards is just winding down. Many of the boats are still here, but their meetings and seminars are over. We return to the boat, nap, and watch the evening news and weather. "Good-Nuff" arrived in the late afternoon, so after dinner Janet and Ralph stop by and we are all treated to a beautiful rainbow over the water.
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| After the rainstorm |
On Wednesday morning, I walk to the grocery store and Dave does some errands. He gets another haircut……really short again. The grocery store offers delivery service so after shopping, I get a ride back to the boat…a real pleasant surprise for me since I didn't know how I was going to manage to get all my groceries back to the boat….it was a bit of a walk. We spend time chatting with people passing by. Around 11:00, "Great Baron" arrives at the service dock. They are going to stay in Little Current for the night. At about noon, "At Last", "Gud-Nuff", "Grand Baron", and "Chimera III", a Canadian couple who just started the Loop in June, all meet at the Anchor Inn for lunch.
Lunch at the Anchor Inn
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| "Chimera II" Gwen and Jim |
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| "Gud-Nuff" Ralph and Janet |
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| "At Last" Dave and Gail |
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"Grand Baron" Tom and Vicky
(at Topaz Lake) |
It is a pleasant time. After lunch, Dave and I check out the stores and then return to the boat. Ralph and Janet are leaving, but we decide to stay for another night. We are told by the dock boys that because a cruise ship is coming in tonight, we will have to leave the wall and take a slip. We move the boat and dock stern to stern with "Grand Baron". After dinner, Tom and Vicky stop by for awhile. I spend the rest of the evening finishing the blog and Dave heads to bed. Tomorrow we are going to go to Luisa Island which is supposed to be an excellent anchorage with a post card perfect sandy beach. It is about 10 miles away. We will be returning to Little Current, however, since our mail has still not arrived.
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| "Gud-Nuff" departing Little Current |
Once again, we are headed further into the North Channel where WiFi and connectivity are almost non-existent so I am not sure when I will be posting again.
