We took some nice walks around the small community of Britt, visiting the local grocery store a couple times. The larger grocery store that was listed in guide books was permanently closed. Not much fresh veggie or fruit selection...well let me clarify, at least from a product quality standpoint. We were able to find some bananas, cauliflower, onions and a barely OK pepper. But they did have some frozen vegetables that will do for now. There was an ice cream store along the way though!
We also met Ted and Sally (Intrigue) who were readying their Grand Banks for launch and travel to the rendezvous. Their boat was bought new in 1998 and has been in the family since it was new. We also met Gene and Deb (Satisfaction) who had just purchased their Grand Banks and retired a short time ago. It will be fun getting to know them all a bit more at the gathering.
We left Britt around 11 AM on Saturday as we were sort of waiting for the fog to clear. As we arrived out in the Bay we called ahead to Gene and Deb (Satisfaction) for a fog report as they had left earlier in the morning while we were taking a walk. By the way, they will be attending the rendezvous as well. They reported spotty, very thick at times fog and went "outside" instead of taking the small craft route as their radar was not working. We decided we could see pretty well and fortunately also have working radar. There were times with less than a hundred yards visibility, but others with pretty good visibility.
We only had one anxious moment where the rock lined channel was extremely narrow and we had to negotiate a quick 110 degree turn to stay in the channel. It was extremely foggy, we were moving very slowly (idle speed) and electronics do not respond very quickly to direction changes at the slow speed. I got a little confused as to what exact direction I was heading as we could not visibly see the next set of markers. So I stopped the boat, backed up toward the red/green narrow channel we had just come through and regained our bearings before proceeding. I should have taken a screen shot of the chart plotter showing the shallow rocks lining the outside of the twisting channel here. We believe it was the grace of God that we did not strike one of these! So, the lesson learned was to look at compass heading just before negotiating a turn, estimate the angle of the turn on the chart and watch the compass heading to gauge the direction change as the turn is made (not the electronic chart). This procedure worked great at the next couple of foggy weather turns. We continue to learn....
We stopped at the Rogers Island anchorage recommended by Vickie and Tom (Grand Baron). A very nice spot indeed. We dropped the bow anchor and tied the stern to shore.
I was able to swim to the rocks and even jump off the rock wall....water was nice and warm and we could hear the waves breaking on the other side of the island as the Georgian Bay did have some wave action. It always amazes me that it can be quite windy and still foggy...reminds us of Lake Michigan for sure.
The Bustards Islands was our next destination, but we looked at the available anchorages and decided to press on to Bad River/French River based on many Canadian’s as well as Tom and Vicki's recommendations.
It did not disappoint! It was a very cool spot to anchor for a couple days. We spent two days here exploring in the dinghy and just generally relaxing aboard. There are even rapids that one runs your dinghy through! I think you could spend a week here easily.
This area was a major thoroughfare of ancient aboriginal peoples as well as the fur traders of the 1700s and early 1800s. I think this was part of Devil's Rapids.
We departed bound for an anchorage on Mill Lake or possibly one even closer to Killarney. Another nice day on the Bay.
Zoom in on these photos and it looks like snow capped mountains. It is white quartzite on top of pink granite of the LaCloche Mountains. But how beautiful....pictures do not do it justice.
Colin’s Inlet was very scenic along the way.
When we arrived at Mill Lake, there were a couple boats in the anchorage and a few cottages around as well. Given there are so many choices for anchorages, we pressed on. We chose (well OK I admit, I chose) Thomas Bay. Hmm, why? Well it really was not the name, it was the Active Captain review which said it was beautiful and one could dinghy a mile or so and have some great hiking in the Killarney Provincial Park. So, we carefully entered the anchorage negotiating a couple large rocks on the way in (this is when the flybridge is so useful for good underwater vision) but what a beautiful spot! Crystal clear 12 foot water to drop the hook in with only one sailboat to share it with.
We got organized and launched the dinghy to explore the park. What a nice trail through the rocks and landscape. Very nice vistas from a couple of the observation points along the way.
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Before we left Thomas Bay...calm morning.
Our next stop was Covered Portage Cove through the Killarney
Channel. We knew that if we did not go
here now, we would not get a chance to visit as after the Great Lakes Grand
Banks Rendezvous we were planning to join the post rendezvous activity, a trip to Baie Fine (pronounced Bay Fin) and an opportunity to stay at the Okeechobee
Lodge, a private facility just as one enters the area. Here we are passing through the Killarney Channel.
It was a very nice anchorage with room for a number of boats. It too included a short hike up the hillside to the top of the stone cliff surrounding the anchorage. A nice hike and great view too.
It was a very nice anchorage with room for a number of boats. It too included a short hike up the hillside to the top of the stone cliff surrounding the anchorage. A nice hike and great view too.
When we arrived, we noted a familiar boat in the
anchorage. Mark and Judy (Serenity) were
anchored nearby. We met them in Great
Kills Yacht Club back in May and have seen the boat (but not them) a couple times
since. We invited them over for a
cocktail in the evening, got to know each other a bit and learned they had just
signed up for the Rendezvous too. We will get to know them a little more there as
well.
Thursday we departed for Killarney (back tracked a few
miles) and signed in at the Killarney Mountain Lodge marina, a very nice
facility with floating docks and a wonderful land based facility. 26 boats were signed up for the Rendezvous
and most did make it to Killarney. We
were able to meet old friends and make new ones over the three day event. 
There was ample time for exploring Killarney as well. Here we are at Sunset Rock, a property owned by a local artist Pierre A.J. Sabourin who was mentored by one of the famous landscape artists of Canada, one of the “Group of Seven” landscape artists that are quite famous. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Seven_(artists).
He has also been in some National Geographic documentaries on the Georgian Bay area, has artwork on exhibit in multiple places around the world, teaches/mentors aspiring landscape artists, he gave a little talk on the area to our group and invited all to explore his property. What a great spot overlooking Killarney Bay.
We also visited his gallery in the old 1800’s jailhouse and
bought a few beautiful cards with reproductions of his landscape paintings.
Julie and I were asked to give a 45 minute overview of our
cruising lifestyle including some time for questions and answers at the Rendezvous. We put together a few Power Point slides with
lots of photos to tell the story. We enjoyed giving the talk, answering questions and I think our
presentation was well liked based on all the comments we received.
Sunday we departed for the Okeechobee Lodge, a storied
facility right at the entrance to Baie Fine. I think Julie's Google feed would have stated moderate traffic in your are today....look at all the AIS images awaiting help at the docks!
It was very windy upon arrival and the docks had very short finger piers with no pilings to tie to so it was a challenge getting some of the larger boats (including ours) properly secured. We cross tied the larger boats in two slip widths to be able to secure them from the 25 knot gusts we were getting. A special thanks to the club “trail bosses” who organized the event and who were on the docks to catch lines. Team work...we would not have been able to dock in those winds without this dockside assistance. Check out the size of the incoming waves...these were wind waves!
We met the owner of the Lodge, Glenn, and we were treated to
a guided tour of the facility. It was
originally built in 1947 as a vacation lodge and the old check in desk and such
still exist. There were wonderful old
photos throughout the facility. One wall
hanging was a reproduction of a famous Casson painting ( Group of seven artist) which is said to have
helped save Baie Fine from being mined.
And the views of the sunset must be fantastic (cloudy rainy day for us
though).
Our group stayed here for free due to the wonderful
hospitality of the owner who had a connection of some sort with one of our club
members. In fact on the tour we learned what it was. It seems that the lodge donated some docks to Gore Bay and Robbie, one of our trail bosses helped pilot the tugs that towed them there. Here is a wall hanging depicting this effort.
We had restrooms/showers, a warm and cozy indoor waterside gathering area (important with all the wind and rain we were getting) and floating docks. Hanging our Great Lakes Grand Banks Association burgee in the clubhouse on a blustery evening.
The games room where we kept warm and dry.
Thank you so much for the warm Canadian hospitality Glenn!
We had restrooms/showers, a warm and cozy indoor waterside gathering area (important with all the wind and rain we were getting) and floating docks. Hanging our Great Lakes Grand Banks Association burgee in the clubhouse on a blustery evening.
The games room where we kept warm and dry.
Thank you so much for the warm Canadian hospitality Glenn!
Monday we joined the group to go to the Pool at the end of Baie Fine to hike up to Topaz Lake. A number of people got on two Grand Banks for the 10 mile trip.
We and two others took our fast dinghies so we left about a half hour after the boats and got there at the same time. We then used the dinghies to shuttle people to shore for the hike. Here are some photos of Topaz Lake. Too bad it was not a little sunnier because we understand the topaz color is even more brilliant in bright sun.
A couple shots of the Lodge from the dinghy on our return trip.
In the evening we had another pot luck at the deck by the docks. It was a perfect evening with little wind, no bugs (till sunset) and great company. Thanks again to all the organizers of these events, especially Robbie, Stacy, Bill and Carolyn for all the hard work!
Tuesday morning we left around 7:30 in order to make the Little Current swing bridge's 9 AM opening and beat the forecasted rain. We arrived 10 minutes before opening, cleared the bridge and proceeded to the city marina. We were tied up by 9:25 or so and it began to rain about 10...love it when a plan works out. After the rain ended we walked up to the grocery stores to re-provision a bit. We actually made two trips (one the next morning) and are now well stocked for anchoring out in this beautiful area.
We chatted with fellow Loopers Jeanne and Art (Magic Jeanne) and Mark and Judy (Serenity) who were also at the docks.
In the afternoon we saw some people swimming in the marina and as many of you know, Julie and I witnessed at ESD (electric shock drowning) in the Traverse City marina a few years ago. We are always compelled to talk to folks swimming in fresh water marinas to see if they are aware of the risk. So I walked over and the 40's something gentleman told me he was well aware and it would take an arc of electricity and him touching bottom to be electrocuted. I encouraged him to do a little more research but he basically said I was full of sh*t. Sobeit, hopefully he will do a little more research as very few stray milliamps in fresh water will stop your heart as you are a better conductor than the fresh water. No ground contact or "arc" of electricity is needed as he believes. I also made sure the marina was aware of the issue and they did say swimming was prohibited for that reason but it is tough to enforce. I pray their system and all boats coming into the marina are fault free as the clear fresh water is very inviting on a hot Summer day.
We left Little Current on Wednesday, with a destination of Croker Island or South Benjamin depending on how crowded each was. Croker was packed with boats, so we went to the larger South Benjamin anchorage and found a nice spot. Nancy and Stacy (Annie Rose and Prince Arthur, respectively) who we had met at the rendezvous, stopped by in a dinghy to say hello. They were headed back to Gore Bay later in the afternoon and probably had a bit of a rough ride doing so with the west wind. We just chilled out a bit hiding from the strong West winds. We hoped the waves subside a bit in the AM for our trip to Spanish. We awoke to a rainbow in the anchorage!
Spanish Marina from the observation deck.
The remains of a Canadian Resident school along our walk to the grocery store. These schools had children leave home and reside there. It was a "failed" experiment that only lasted from 1903-1914 according to the picture in the boater's lounge.
Publishing from Long Point Cove anchorage over Bell Canada cell tower as we have not had good wi-fi in so long we decided not to wait and just pay for some extra data usage. Our time in Canada is drawing short now. More soon.....
We and two others took our fast dinghies so we left about a half hour after the boats and got there at the same time. We then used the dinghies to shuttle people to shore for the hike. Here are some photos of Topaz Lake. Too bad it was not a little sunnier because we understand the topaz color is even more brilliant in bright sun.
A couple shots of the Lodge from the dinghy on our return trip.
In the evening we had another pot luck at the deck by the docks. It was a perfect evening with little wind, no bugs (till sunset) and great company. Thanks again to all the organizers of these events, especially Robbie, Stacy, Bill and Carolyn for all the hard work!
Tuesday morning we left around 7:30 in order to make the Little Current swing bridge's 9 AM opening and beat the forecasted rain. We arrived 10 minutes before opening, cleared the bridge and proceeded to the city marina. We were tied up by 9:25 or so and it began to rain about 10...love it when a plan works out. After the rain ended we walked up to the grocery stores to re-provision a bit. We actually made two trips (one the next morning) and are now well stocked for anchoring out in this beautiful area.
We chatted with fellow Loopers Jeanne and Art (Magic Jeanne) and Mark and Judy (Serenity) who were also at the docks.
In the afternoon we saw some people swimming in the marina and as many of you know, Julie and I witnessed at ESD (electric shock drowning) in the Traverse City marina a few years ago. We are always compelled to talk to folks swimming in fresh water marinas to see if they are aware of the risk. So I walked over and the 40's something gentleman told me he was well aware and it would take an arc of electricity and him touching bottom to be electrocuted. I encouraged him to do a little more research but he basically said I was full of sh*t. Sobeit, hopefully he will do a little more research as very few stray milliamps in fresh water will stop your heart as you are a better conductor than the fresh water. No ground contact or "arc" of electricity is needed as he believes. I also made sure the marina was aware of the issue and they did say swimming was prohibited for that reason but it is tough to enforce. I pray their system and all boats coming into the marina are fault free as the clear fresh water is very inviting on a hot Summer day.
We left Little Current on Wednesday, with a destination of Croker Island or South Benjamin depending on how crowded each was. Croker was packed with boats, so we went to the larger South Benjamin anchorage and found a nice spot. Nancy and Stacy (Annie Rose and Prince Arthur, respectively) who we had met at the rendezvous, stopped by in a dinghy to say hello. They were headed back to Gore Bay later in the afternoon and probably had a bit of a rough ride doing so with the west wind. We just chilled out a bit hiding from the strong West winds. We hoped the waves subside a bit in the AM for our trip to Spanish. We awoke to a rainbow in the anchorage!
As the sun was rising in the East.
Spanish Marina from the observation deck.
The remains of a Canadian Resident school along our walk to the grocery store. These schools had children leave home and reside there. It was a "failed" experiment that only lasted from 1903-1914 according to the picture in the boater's lounge.
Publishing from Long Point Cove anchorage over Bell Canada cell tower as we have not had good wi-fi in so long we decided not to wait and just pay for some extra data usage. Our time in Canada is drawing short now. More soon.....
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