WEEK 18 - Midland, Ontario to Killbear, Ontario

After three days at the marina in Midland and with the help of our guest crew Christi, we got the boat all prepped and re-provisioned for Georgian Bay. Both engines got their oil and filters changed, fresh Racor fuel filters and clean sea strainers. We scrubbed the boat from stem to stern and did countless loads of laundry. Having fun is hard work! Our stops as we explored the 33,000 Islands area of the eastern shore of Georgian Bay were Bone Island (free dock), 12 mile Bay (anchor), Wreck Island (anchor), Port Rawson Bay (anchor), and Killbear Marina (marina).

The Bay Port Marina in Midland was the perfect jumping off point to Georgian Bay. We were able to provision, take in a little sightseeing, meet up with looper friends we had not seen in a while, and most importantly get some local knowledge about secluded and picturesque anchorages during this stopover.

Touring the S/S Keewatin, 5 years older than the Titanic

Midland farmer's market for lots of local goodies

Dino's Deli

Mile high house made corned beef on rye. YUM!!

Ken MacDonald conducting seminar on Georgian Bay

Dinner at the Boathouse with Gregg and Sonia from Golden Daze

The trip to Bone Island was a short 12 miles or so from bustling Midland, but it was a whole different world. Just a couple of miles off the small boat channel was a little secluded bay with a provincial park dock that we had all to ourselves. The only catch was that the shore end of the dock stopped 15 feet before it hit land (due to high water damage I guess) so we still had to launch the dinghy to get ashore. We all had a nice swim in the fairly warm water and took dogs ashore. There wasn’t a trail or anything, and we did some bushwhacking, but the deer flies were pretty bad and we soon gave up. In the early evening we spotted a beaver foraging for dinner behind our stern and we had a beautiful clear cool night with the milky way on full display.

Leaving Bay Port marina for Bone Island

Hiking on Bone Island

Bella cooling of with a refreshing swim and of course a stick 

Jonathan & Bella on shore leave

Stillness of the morning at Bone Island

The next morning was only 10 miles or so to 12 mile bay, where we shared an anchorage with a dozen or so other boats, including some great loopers on the big brother to our boat, an Endeavour 44 named 9 lives. We did some serious hunting for wild blueberries on the shorelines around the anchorage and were rewarded with enough for a batch of blueberry pancakes in the morning. After the hot buggy berry hunt it was time for (what else) a swim, and then cocktail hour on the 9 Lives.

Exploring nooks and crannies in the dinghy

Bilberries!

Dinghy cut in the anchorage with 9 Lives to the far right

The next day was even shorter, maybe all of 5 miles to Wreck Island, named for a hundred-year-old ship that was driven on shore here. Here there was a day use dock and a nice nature trail. After a long walk and another swim, we moved off the day use dock and around the back side of the island to a well protected little anchorage we shared with a couple of Canadian sailboats. We added to our stash of blueberries on the evening dog walk and had plenty for another round of blueberry pancakes.

Hiking Wreck Island

Rocks are part of the ancient Canadian Shield and have been worn smooth by glaciation during the Ice Age

More beautiful rock formations at Wreck Island

The water is so clear

DeeO'Gee on the hike

Our last night we were very near Frying Pan Island and the famous Henry’s fish restaurant, so we delayed our departure to be there in time for their famous fresh pickerel fish and chips. We got there early, and as opening time approached people started streaming in by boat, jet ski, and even a couple of float planes. I’d been reading blogs for years where people gush over a Henry’s lunch, and it definitely lived up to the hype. After lunch we headed up well off the beaten track to Port Rawson Bay where we had sort of planned to hole up for a couple days to avoid the crowds on the big Canadian holiday weekend. Most of Port Rawson Bay is inconveniently deep for anchoring, so the park service installed a bunch of steel pins in the shoreline rock so you could anchor the bow in maybe 20 feet and pull the stern right up to shore and tie it off. It took us a couple of tries to get it right.

Henry's is very quiet upon our arrival

Lunch at Henry's with The Lower Place and Nomadic Spirit

Henry's is a popular place for float planes

Port Rawson Bay (Photo Credit, Christine Ambrose)

Can't get enough of these fresh blueberry (bilberry) pancakes!

Secured with a stern line to the shoreline in Port Rawson

Sunrise at Port Rawson Bay (Photo Credit, Christine Ambrose)

The next morning we reconsidered our plans. We needed to pump the holding tank and fill the water tank, which we could not do in the back country where we were, so we decided to brave the holiday boat traffic after all and head to Killbear Marina. It turned out to be a pretty good call. Killbear is a nice low key little place near a big provincial park and after we pumped out and filled up, I asked if they had any dock space for the night. I was surprised that they did (with no notice on a holiday weekend) so we jumped on it. The girls launched the bikes and trekked over to the nearby park and beach while I did a few boat chores, including replacing our LED anchor light bulb with a new one from the marina’s well stocked ships store.

The threatened Massassagua Rattler in captivity at the Killbear Provincial Park Visitor Center

Killbear Provincial Park campground beach on Kilcoursie Bay

 After checking the weather, we determined that tomorrow would be a good day to jump over to Tobermory on the other side of Georgian Bay, a 70 mile open water run right across the middle of the Bay. Stay tuned for next weeks blog for that adventure!

WEEK 17 - Peterborough, Ontario to Midland, Ontario

We are very excited this week to be right on the doorstep of what for most loopers is the highpoint of the whole trip – Georgian Bay and the North Channel. This last week we finished up the Tent-Severn Waterway, including the lift locks at Peterborough and Kirkfield and the famous Big Chute marine railway. All told we got up to 840 feet above sea level before dropping down to the 609-foot elevation of Lake Huron at Port Severn. Our stops along the way this week were Young’s Point Lock (free dock), Bobcaygeon (free dock), Fenelon Falls (free dock), Thorah Lock (free dock), Couchiching Lock (free dock), and finally a night anchored out in Gloucester Pool before navigating the final lock of the Trent and entering Georgian Bay. The lock walls along all the Canadian canals have been great places to stay along the way – sometimes right in the middle of towns, sometimes out in the wilderness, but always convenient and best of all FREE (with your Parks Canada mooring pass, which we bought in advance before we left).

Leaving Peterborough, the big treat of the day was the Peterborough Lift Lock, which lifts a load of boats 65 feet straight up in a giant pan of water which is counterbalanced by a second slightly heavier pan, like a giant see-saw. Peterborough is the largest such lock in the world and is still considered an engineering marvel. After going through a closely spaced group of five more locks, we were ready to quit for the day at Young’s Point lock. So for the day we went just under 10 miles with 7 locks in 8 hours. Above Young’s Point Lock, we are entering “cottage country”, a group of beautiful little lakes with hundreds of tree covered islands, many of which have summer cottages built on them. The water is clear and surprisingly warm, so swimming is on the docket every day.

Preparing to enter Peterborough Lift Lock

Close quarters maneuvering

Secured in the cavern of the lock prior to being lifted 

Going up!

Top of the lock

The next day was 35 miles and four locks to Bobcaygeon, a very busy little tourist town where watching boats go through the lock is a major attraction. People were fascinated that we came all the way from Florida, and we explained a couple dozen times how we got there and where we were going next.

Passing through lake country on the way to Bobcaygeon.

Bella waiting for her walk

The following day was a short one, two locks and about 20 miles to Fenelon Falls, where we scored a coveted wall spot with electric and water. If you want one of those spots, it helps to arrive before noon, when the boats from the last night have left and before a fleet of new boats arrive. The early arrival gave us plenty of time to have a lunch in town and also get some laundry done and some other mundane housekeeping chores that are still necessary even in paradise.

BellaGatto on the wall at Fenelon Falls

Downtown Fenelon Falls

Amazing used book store and cafe adjacent to the laundry 

When we got underway in the morning, we transited the Rosedale Lock, which brought us up to the summit of the waterway at 840 feet above sea level. Still cruising through cottage country, we passed through some VERY narrow and shallow canal cuts. There is not enough room for two large boats to safely pass in these canals, so you need to make a Securitay call on the radio before entering. Now heading down, we went through second lift lock on the system (the Kirkfield Lift Lock) which drops us 49 feet down. Continuing through more shallow and narrow spots, including the Hole in the Wall Bridge, which doesn’t look big enough to pass a dinghy, we dropped through 4 more locks and spent the night on a lock wall at Thorah.

Securitay, Securitay!

Hello muskrat

Top of the Kirkfield lift lock

Leaving the Kirkfield lift lock

How does your garden grow? Beaver lodge.

Pretty as it is, we are starting to get lock fatigue and are about ready for this stage to come to an end. But today is also a big treat….the Big Chute Marine Railway! Not really a lock, it’s a giant railroad car that takes boats in slings on a big platform that runs on rails across a road and down a 58 foot slope. The reason for the Big Chute is that there is a giant granite ridge located there, and it was easier to go over it than to blast through it to build a lock. It’s a real thrill ride. That night we spent at anchor rafted up with Nomadic Spirit behind a little island in Gloucester Pool where we could dinghy the dogs ashore. A family of loons provided entertainment with protecting and teaching their young one.

Buddy boat Nomadic Spirit in the sling of the Big Chute

BellaGatto getting secured in the sling

Here we go!

The view looking back as we exit the Big Chute

A feeding Loon

This Loon was all puffed up trying to scare a kayaker away from his family

BellaGatto & Nomadic Spirit rafted up

A few more easy miles in the morning and we were at the last lock in the system (yea!) at Port Severn. A few miles of twisty channel later, we are out into Georgian Bay. Our destination for the next few days is Bay Pointe Marina, a nice facility in Midland where we will meet our next guest crew, Christi. It’s also time to do some major refueling and re-provisioning before launching into the wilderness, and this is a good spot for that. We will do some maintenance here as well, changing engine oil and fuel filters and cleaning sea strainers, etc. There is a Yanmar shop here at the marina, so we are going to get a tech to look at a couple of nagging little issues with the port engine.

The last lock on the Trent Severn. YAY!!!!

Next stop, Georgian Bay!