June-July 2004 return from Georgian Bay…the long route.
Four weeks took us from Penetanguishene on Georgian Bay up into the North Channel, back down to Tobermory, down Lake Huron, through the St Clair/Detroit Rivers, Lake Erie and back through the Welland Canal to Lake Ontario, and our new base at Cobourg Marina.
Departure June 5th. Final duties fill-up, pump-out and pay our bill for the year.
With 33nm to go we motor out the channel past Giant’s Tomb, Christian, Beckwith and Hope Islands, sail across Nottawasaga Bay and motor into a flat calm Macgregor Harbour. At the beginning of this trip we’re wearing long underwear, fleece hats and full gloves.
June 6th, a powerful sail up the Bruce mostly under spinnaker, ’til the wind gets over 12 knots, we struggle to get the spinnaker down and then go straight into Club Island anchorage.
We’re the only boat a consistent pattern for most of the trip. The dock at the Sportsman’s Inn in Kilarney is vacant…in July they’ll be rafted and the American mega yachts appear.
Nature comes in small packages like this Ladies Slipper, and large…encountered a bear just outside of Kilarney.
Had our first dip June 9 at Covered Portage. We’ve rigged a small thermometer so we can verify that the water is cold, maybe 60 degrees. The only boat in The Pool we shared the anchorage with loons, mergansers and a moose. Hiking is difficult because of the mozzies and black flies but we’ve traded fleece for sun block.
Back out Baie Fine we motor much of the way to Little Current and are now officially in the North Channel. We are one of two boats at the town dock.
Depart noon July 13 for a beautiful sail north through Waubuno Channel, past Clapperton Island where we see the dive boat from Tobermory we’ve encountered a couple of times anchored off the north shore with a dive in progress. We anchor in a protected bay at Croker Island with Mild Steel from Toronto. People come at this time of year to avoid the crowds and our greetings are barely acknowledged. We note though that they are carrying a hummingbird feeder suspended between the split back-stay. A couple of the little fellows come right into our cockpit and go to anything brightly coloured in hopes of food.
These Benjamin Islands form a rough semi-circle of beautiful pink granite in contrast to the white quartz of Killarney and the La Cloche Mountains. The Sow and Piglets seem a perfect place for some fishing but not a bite and nothing in sight.
South Benjamin Island is particularly dramatic and we paint and make photos. We wished we had more time to spend exploring the whole Benjamin group but June 16 we weigh anchor that is very well buried and head over to Clapperton. Forecast SE 10 veering to west 15 and the log registers boat speed from 0-6.5kn.
We anchor behind Harbour Island on the west side by a long abandoned resort. Buildings are collapsing, windows gone, doors hanging on hinges and a wild array of abandoned machinery and the property overgrown with LOTS of Poison Ivy makes for great photo opp’s.
It’s a direct route from Clapperton Harbour to Kagawong, Manitoulin Island. Fishing seems to be a primary activity here and Bridal Veil Falls the main tourist attraction.
June 18 to Browning Cove, Heywood Island then back down into Georgian Bay.
Next day forecast is 25-30kn NW giving us a broad reach til we clear the protection of Manitoulin then it’s a beat to Tobermory. Most of the day we have 2 reefs and stay sail but see 8.3kn.
In Tobermory we meet up again with Mike’s dad Peter Evans for the return to Lake Ontario and spend a couple of days relaxing and reprovisioning, our first major (except for beer) since leaving.
This past winter we made a vegetable locker by drilling vents in the forward port locker at the cabin sole level. We use a plastic bin to help air circulation and being below water level keeps apples, oranges, potatoes, cabbage etc.
Depart Tobermory in fog and light winds and using radar find our way to channel for Lyall Is. anchorage. Barometer reading 991 so next few days likely to be stormy. June 23 forecast is sw 10-15 backing to s20 then veering west. At 7:30 it is already 20kn as we thread our way back out from behind Lyall Is. and begin a long day of beating hopefully to Goderich. By late afternoon we have gone 44m to cover 24. First time we’ve had the rail in the water even well reefed. We tuck into Southampton and tie at the fish dock that required jumping off onto tires.
The port “captain” is helpful and friendly and services are fine and inexpensive. The array of boats is interesting; the Emerald L from Sault St Marie is having a total refit. June 24 more of the same but we spend time tuning up the monitor and find it can steer better than any of us and relentlessly, and it seems the stronger the wind the better!
Judging by the channel it’s just as well we didn’t try anchoring at Chantry Island (left). The lighthouse is an historic site that we had hoped to visit sometime. With this second day of 20kn winds the waves are steadily building and we find best progress is often with the 100% jib and both reefs in the main instead of the stay sail, we lay off the wind a bit more. Entering Kincardine in a strong westerly requires a good bit of power to maintain control in the surge and 6 ft waves in the channel.
Kincardine must have the best boardwalk for watching the sunsets Lake Huron is famous for. Next stop Bayfield and then Sarnia. Weather has moderated and we approach Sarnia under spinnaker as the Mackinac boats are leaving.
Now really moving with the current we see 10kn over the ground as we retrace our up bound route in reverse: St Clair River, Lake St Clair, Windsor, Detroit River.
Our trip has taken us from moose to heavy machinery, beautiful in its Victorian grotesqueness. An overnight stop at Pelee Island June 28 to prepare for the long trip up Erie. June 29 10kn sw under spinnaker.
Thunder storm threatens at 2040 so we drop the spinnaker and watch the storms progress on radar then continue motor-sailing til dawn and Erie PA. Erie and Presqu’ile are two of the best stops on the whole of Lake Erie.
July 1 finds us back at Port Colbourne unable to restock our beer supply and it looks like it will be a hot and dry passage through the Welland Canal. Down bound is much easier. The boat is easy to maintain off the wall although there are more waits due to commercial traffic.
Making the transit with us is Peter Tees’ Gezundheit, the Niagara 35 on the Voyager wind vane site, Peter is the designer and builder of the Voyager. With neon gloves Mike’s dad fends us off in the lock.
July 3 we arrive in Cobourg our new sailing home base with over 2,200 miles on the log.