The North Channel-Our Wilderness

We knew we would be reaching civilization soon when we reached Killarney, so we wanted to keep looking for the "unusual" in the remainder of the Georgian Bay.  We read about the Georgian Bay Fishing Camp; it sounded different so we decided to find it.  The route was off the main channel but we still had the minor channel (dotted line vs. solid line on the charts) to follow so we knew we would be safe.  We followed that dotted line to Obstacle Island; we now know it is appropriately named.  The channel was well marked and brought us to a right angle turn into Parting Channel.  We had no trouble following the channel markers but wait, is that a huge rock sticking out in the middle of the channel?  Oh, yes, it is!  We couldn't believe what we were seeing!  Pete's expert steering got us through that narrow 20' channel.  We wish we had pictures to show you but I was on the bow looking for boulders and since there were boulders everywhere, I was jumping around pointing out the rocks that surrounded us.  Taking pictures was the last thing on my mind at that point.  Our pictures of that rock are very clear in our minds...we'll never forget that granite!

Georgian Bay Fishing Camp

Sportsman Inn in Killarney was our next stop and we greatly appreciated the new showers and laundry facilities- oh, for the little pleasures in life!  Killarney was once a quiet fishing village-it was not connected by road to the rest of Ontario until 1962-and is still quiet by our standards but tourists now come by boat and car.  Herbert's Fisheries Mr. Perch Restaurant works from its old school bus origins, making delicious fish and chips and nothing else.(The old take it or leave it philosophy!)  They also sold fresh-off-the-boat pickerel,whitefish and smoked fish-all delicious!

 Herbert's Fish and Chips

Killarney separates the Georgian Bay and the North Channel so as we left Killarney, we began the next leg of our journey.  The North Channel runs 100 miles long and about 20 miles wide.  We thought the Georgian Bay was remote but the North Channel is even more desolate-lost cell coverage here!  High winds cause high seas in Lake Huron so we left Killarney in a hurry since the winds were beginning to get into the 15-20 mile per hour range.  We made it to Baie Fine, one of the few fjords in North America-and we're glad we did-the place was breathtaking!  We made it to a cove off Baie Finn called Mary Ann Cove and anchored with about 14 other boats doing the same thing we were doing-it looked like our own private marina.  Everyone there anchors med style with a bow and stern anchor so Pete had to dinghy a stern anchor and secure it to a rock.
We were very safe and comfortable there so we stayed for two nights.  We took a "rugged" hike up Frazer Bay Hill and got an amazing view of Frazer Bay, Baie Fine and McGregor Bay-certainly worth the climb!  The views and colors were incredible (The Caribbean of the North)-nothing we've ever seen before!

Frazer Bay-Baie Fine-McGregor Bay

 Little Current (pop. 1500-a thriving metropolis) was next on our itinerary.  After passing Strawberry Island Lighthouse, we had to wait for the Little Current swing bridge to open-it opens for 15 minutes every hour on the hour-and when it opened it looked like I95 at rush hour!  Every tall boat had been putzing along in the bay waiting for that magic hour and no one wasted any time getting into Little Current!  Little Current is aptly named; it has a little current and sometimes a lot of current-unusual for this lake. We stayed at Spider Bay Marina, appropriately named.  We awoke to all the docks and boats covered with elaborate spider webs ala Charlotte style. The spiders kept us company  everywhere we went in the marina-like visiting with the Adams Family.  The Country Music Festival kept us entertained all day and night and the fireworks were outstanding.  The next day Pete changed Tony M's oil, something he's wanted to get done.

Strawberry Island Lighthouse

Acrophobians  Beware!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Current Quaintness

 Anchoring in these pristine coves has made exploring the North Channel even more special.After leaving Little Current, we found a beautiful cove inside Clapperton Island across from Harbor Island.This Harbor Island was a handy-man special deserted old resort that used to be THE place to go in the 50' and 60's-supposedly John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe used to frequent it often.  I hope they enjoyed that cove as much as we did!

Kagawong, our next stop, is a quaint little village.It boasts a communication museum, a unique  nautically-themed church and the Bridal Veil Falls, a waterfalls that is quite a tourist draw.  We hiked up the trail along the Kagawong River to get the falls, meeting about 20 people along the way.  When we got to the Falls, we couldn't believe the amount of people at the Falls-it helps that an Ontario highway passes by Bridal Veil Falls-what a "cool"way to spend some time!

              

We spent our last night in the North Channel anchored out  in a cove next to Turnbull Island.  It was peaceful,serene and the perfect end to this section of our journey.