WEEK 20 - Covered Portage Cove, Ontario to Beardrop Harbor, Ontario

This week we are in the heart of the North Channel cruising grounds, an area that most loopers consider the highpoint of the whole trip. The weather has been for the most part outstanding, with maybe one rainy/windy day each week. Our stops this week were at Baie Fine (anchor 2 nights), Rous Island (anchor), The Benjamin Islands (anchor), Hotham Island (anchor), Kagawong (free dock), Gore Bay (marina), and finally Beardrop Harbor (anchor).

From Covered Portage it is just about 20 miles up long, narrow Baie Fine to another famous anchorage known as The Pool. This is where the Evinrude family had (and still does have) a summer cottage and where the family yacht, the Chanticleer, used to spend the summer. A highlight of this spot is a hiking trail leading up to Topaz Lake. The lake is clear and almost cobalt blue and makes for a refreshing swim after a steep hike up from the pool. Add some plentiful blueberry picking and you have the perfect spot, so we stayed two days.

Hiking trail that leads to Topaz Lake

Topaz Lake

Some loopers are gathering on the shore of the anchorage for docktails

Lots of loopers sharing stories, drink, and food at this gathering

The next major landmark in the North Channel route is the town of Little Current, where the channel pinches down to just a hundred yards across and is spanned by a swing bridge that opens for 15 minutes every hour. Even with the high water, we were able to squeeze under the bridge and stop at the town dock for a couple of hours for lunch, pumpout, and provisioning. Rather than stay in town we went a few miles west to Rous Island for the night. Not too spectacular here, but well protected from the prevailing wind and good holding and a place to land the dog, which is really all I ask for in an anchorage.

Lighthouse on the Point

A low swing bridge along the way to Little Current

Coming under the bridge at Little Current

                                                   

The next days anchorage was spectacular, or I should say SPECTACULAR! The Benjamin Islands are a North Channel icon, beautiful pink granite boulders in an archipelago that forms hundreds of cozy coves. Many boats tie up to trees on the shorelines, but we swung on a single hook out in the middle. You could explore around for a year here. There were a couple of other loopers here, and we had cocktail hour aboard Apres Sail and enjoyed yet another awesome sunset. With the red rays of the setting sun hitting the pink granite, the effect is almost psychedelic.

Christie at the helm watching carefully for rocks

Hiking on some of the rock formations that look over the anchorage

Anchorage views

Bella enjoying the hike

The water is cool and clear

Buddy boats BellaGatto and Nomadic Spirit rafted up at anchorange

The Benjamin Island rock formations

The next afternoon we went up to the northern shore of the North Channel to Hotham Island, along with Apres Sail and Nomadic Spirit. In this little cove there was a very nice cottage on shore and before too long the owner came out in her kayak to invite us up for sunset cocktails on her deck. In most places, there is some tension and sometimes hostility between cottagers and cruisers, and that made the invitation even more gracious and welcome.

BellaGatto at Hothom Island anchorage

The owners of this cottage invited everyone in the anchorage to join them for docktails

Sunset at anchor

Spectacular full moon

 

 Although it involved a lot of backtracking, we wanted to see Bridal Veil Falls on Manitoulin Island, so the next day we headed back to the south shore to the town of Kagawong where we tied up at the town dock. There was a nice ½ mile hike up to the falls along a trail lined with sculpture and other artworks to the falls, which you can walk around behind and swim in front of. We then had a late lunch up by the top of the falls before hiking back home. The town docks were empty, and the dockmaster offered us a cut rate deal if we wanted to stay the night, 20 bucks including electric. Yes, Please!

The trail to Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

   

Kagawong church

The alter in this church is the bow of a boat

The Post Office museum

Exhibit from the Kagawong museum

Leaving the marina at Kagawong

It was now getting time for a full re-provisioning day, so we headed about 15 miles west to the town of Gore Bay where they have a nice city marina and lots of services. In a whirlwind day we went to a farmer’s market, grocery, did four loads of laundry, filled water tanks, filled propane tanks, emptied holding tanks, and still found time for a really nice dinner out.

Approaching Gore Bay marina

Off to dinner to the 1890 restaurant

Sunset view at Gore Bay

It's nice to have a fancy dinner out once in a while

Artfully arranged dinner of shrimp and seafood

Night view of the marina as the nearly full moon rises

The next morning, we said goodbye for now to our traveling buddy boat Nomadic Spirit and headed yet again to the north shore to Whalesback Channel and Beardrop Harbor, where we will spend two days waiting out some weather before heading out again. By the end of next week, we will be back in the good old USA after two great months in Canada.

WEEK 19 - Killbear, Ontario to Covered Portage Cove, Ontario

This week we broke away from the pack of other loopers a bit and struck out on our own over to the west side of Georgian Bay. Our stops this week were two nights in Tobermory (marina), Club Island (anchor) Killarney (marina) and two nights at Covered Portage Cove (anchor).

We had an early morning departure from Killbear for the long trip over to Tobermory. The weather was great, a 10 knot wind from the east that set up a gentle following sea for us the whole way. After being in the tight quarters and crowded waters of the canals and the 30,000 islands, it felt great to be out of sight of land with no boats on the horizon for a couple of hours. Tobermory is at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula and is home to two different Canadian National Parks, the Bruce Peninsula National Park and the Fathom Five Marine Park. The water here is clear Mediterranean blue and rocky cliffs and steep sided islands rise vertically from very deep water. When we pulled in to the municipal marina, the town was packed to the gills with tourists from Toronto there to hike on the Bruce Trail or to ride the glass-bottom boats to see historic shipwrecks and tour the unique geological formations of Flowerpot Island. We stayed two days to take it all in – the girls took the ferry over to Flowerpot Island, and I did some snorkeling on the wrecks in Big Tub Harbor.

Heading out to Georgian Bay from Killbear

Beautiful morning for a crossing

Ahhhh the open water again

Bella keeping a watchful eye for dolphins

Flower Pot Island shot from BellaGatto. See the old man's profile?

Flower Pot Island

Big Flower Pot shot while visiting Flower Pot Island

Hiking the Bruce Trail

Overlook from the Bruce Trail

Bruce Peninsula Provincial Park visitor center

 By the next day we could see the weather was fixing to close in a couple of days with 25-30 knot winds and some rain, so it was time to git while the gittin’ was good for the North Channel. It is about 50 miles from Tobermory to Killarney and about half way there is an anchorage at Club Island where we headed for the night. The bay at Club Island is roomy and well protected from every direction but the east. The holding is a bit iffy with a gravel bottom with muddy patches, but we managed to get a good bite in time to do some exploring before dinner. In one corner of the cove we found an old wood shipwreck and did a bit more snorkeling. The only good landing spot on the island is the remains of an old gravel mining operation, mostly just rock piles and poison ivy, but good enough for a landing spot for Bella.

Christy and Jonathan returning from snorkeling the wreck

Chicken Marsala on the hook

Mining spoils

The next day we had fair skies and light winds for the 30 miles to Killarney, the gateway between Georgian Bay and the North Channel. We were still pretty well provisioned up and pumped out from our stay in Tobermory, but we got a slip for the night anyway at the Sportsman’s Inn Marina, had a great fish and chips lunch at Herbert’s Fish Market, and got tucked in to our slip for the coming rain squalls and wind tonight.

Killarney General Store

Just a float plane cruising by

Touring Killarney

The next morning the rain let up around 9:00 and the wind was not forecast to really start blowing again until the afternoon, so we got squared away and beat feet a whopping three miles over to Covered Portage Cove (CPC). CPC always ranks in the top ten when some cruising magazine ranks the best anchorages in the world, so we didn’t want to miss it – and with good holding and 360 degree protection it is also a great place to ride out the next couple of windy days. CPC is indeed SPECTACULAR….surrounded by towering white quartz cliffs and pine trees. The wind is howling, and all we get is a little gust now and then. There are some hiking trails that go up the cliffs for sweeping vistas and blueberry picking, and Bella is in dog heaven. I think this is the first anchorage where we have ever spent more than one night on the trip, and I could stay forever.

Bella approved anchorage

Top of the world selfie

BellaGatto at anchor

Hiking at Covered Portage

Simply beautiful

Next week we will hit a couple other must see spots in Baie Fine, and probably finish up in the town of Little Current for the next round of pumpout and re-provision.