Kagawong, Gore Bay

We left Little Current around 8:30 and headed to Kagawong, ON. It was a hot day but it was a beautiful cruise into Mudge Bay. Kagawong is a very unique place in as much as the marina is up against a sandy beach. There were children and adults jumping into the water from the break walls and decks all day, right up to 10pm. The water was cold and very deep but these kids just kept jumping in and out. There was even one young boy who would ride his bike off the 10' high wall right into the water!

We hiked up to Bridal Falls. There were many people swimming in and under the falls. It was hot- but beautiful!

Dave wishing he would have worn his suit! I think the little guy on his daddy's back photo bombed our picture

Sharing the same dock with the marina was a beautiful Anglican Church. I had read the story about a young family and their friends who were out in the North Channel off Mudge Bay when the wind and the waves caused their boat to break apart. The young mother and her two daughters strapped themselves together and because of hypothermia they perished. The husband of their friends also died in the accident. The father and friend's wife survived. The boat was salvaged and the bow restored and now serves as the pulpit in this beautiful church. There are nautical items throughout the church- but my favorite were the fenders on each pew that stood for your protection from God. I just wish we would have been there on a weekend to attend their service. I just wanted to stay and enjoy the peace that I felt there but it was over 95 degrees inside. 

 Things are a little different up here. The young kids are generally swimming un-supervised. The ones in this picture are on a platform 100 yards off the beach.

 FRYEDAZE at the marina from the beach.

 We left the next morning at 7:15 for Gore Bay trying to get ahead of the predicted 20-25 knot winds.The winds were predicted to get stronger as the day went on- and boy was that forecast correct! They were manageable until around 9:30 when they really picked up (15-20 knots). The waves soon followed and we felt like we were back in the Chesapeake Bay off the Potomac River! It was manageable though and other than a few things rearranging themselves in the galley it really wasn't that bad. The 6 foot seas did come up over the bridge glass but we both smiled at that as it isn't salt water and we didn't have to worry about scrubbing the boat back down! After checking into the marina, we decided to walk over to the Buoy Restaurant which is beside the marina. We had a wonderful lunch outside, and a couple and an older woman sat down beside us. I recognized them from Kagawong. After we finished eating, I asked them if they had been in the water at Kagawong Beach the previous evening and they said that they had. I told them how impressed I was because after the rain that evening it went down to 65 degrees and they still went swimming. We talked about different parts of the area and Beatrice's grandson asked if we would be interested in going for a car ride around the Gore Bay area to see the sights. We agreed and spent a very enjoyable afternoon listening to Miss B tell us about the place where she grew up and where her friends now live. She recently lost her husband to heart transplant failure and has since moved into an apartment near the beach in Kagawong. We really appreciated the drive as it would have been impossible to hike up to the overlook where they took us.

This is the jetty that is being built beside the Gore Bay Marina. Dave has been fascinated and I think he wants to take this big excavator up to the Bering Sea to look for gold!

 Can you find Fryedaze? 4th from the left

Two shots of our marina from the overlook.

This morning we had a quick cup of coffee and a "sweet" with the locals at the gazebo outside the marina. We then went to the Farmer's Market at the marina and bought beautiful produce and fresh whitefish. We rode our bikes into town to get a few things to cook with our whitefish and went to the local hardware store (we seem to hit them in every little town we visit!) Dave got some more fishing tackle and a tackle box. He is now convinced that he will have great fishing success because the fish could sense that he was not a professional without the proper gear! It just tickles me all the different things he buys for fishing!  After our morning ride and some protein shakes, we got back on the bikes and started riding north of town. We saw a sign for the lighthouse that we saw the way into Gore Bay. The road provided a safe ride! 

The lighthouse was not open for visitors until later in the afternoon. It is occupied and maintained by a local family who has lived there since 1967. We saw it when we rounded the corner from the North Channel.

It amazed me that we rode our bikes out way faster than our boat was able to the day before. Even though it was still windy- it was nothing compared to the day before. Hard to see in this picture but beyond this point there were still lots of white caps on the channel.

After our ride we went to the local brewery- the Split Rail Brewing Company. We tasted and really liked the Hawberry Ale. On Manitoulin Island in Canada, some red-fruited species are called hawberries. They are common there thanks to the island's alkaline soil. During the pioneer days, white settlers ate these fruits during the winter as the only remaining food supply. People born on the island are now called "haweaters".These were our rewards at the end of our ride! Tomorrow we leave for Beardrop Harbor an anchorage in the Whaleback Channel.

Killarney, Baie Fine Pool, Little Current

Well... we had to leave Killarney because we only had a one night reservation. The big Killarney Fish Fry was that weekend and the Sportsman Inn was booked up so we had to move on.

The forecast for the morning was rainy and overcast. We headed out just in front of Knot Home who we blocked in at the slip in Killarney. They were headed for Little Current. It rained off and on during the trip up the Baie Fine Fjord. It was an amazing 8 miles to the Pool where we would eventually anchor. We arrived early and there were only 7 boats in the Pool. Before the sun went down we had about 20 friends anchored in all different ways in the big area known as the Pool. Its 10 p.m. as I write and a loon is calling across the sound, she is the only sound you can hear, how cool is that! We were warned not to anchor in the Pool. The grass here is very thick. During the day the anchor chain cut loose grass as the boat swung in the breeze and it piled up on the anchor. At one time there must have been 50 lbs of grass on the chain in front of the boat. The cool thing was there is a large flock of Canadian geese that love the grass. NO BEN, WE CANT USE THE “IF IT FLIES IT DIES” mantra. The geese come in groups of 5-6 and gobble up as much as they can, from the anchored chains. Pulling the anchor was a chore but it was worth it.

The “Pool” was so cool that we decided to stay two days. We watched boats come and go and at a peak 20 boats were anchored. We ran into farmers from Wisconsin and Illinois. The folks from Illinois had a tug from the 1930s that was redone into a very cool trawler. On day two we decided to take a hike to Topaz Lake. It is a sterile lake in the mountains that has a deep blue color and nothing lives in it. The hike was a challenge but we were up to it. The path was on a washed out stream bed that carried water from the spring thaw. It was some gnarly hiking over rocks as we worked our way up the mountain. The work was worth it when we got to the summit. Topaz Lake was a pristine site to behold. We just sat on the rock ledges above the lake and enjoyed the view foe an hour. The hike down the mountain was tougher than up the trail. We passed a father and son who were portaging a 16’ canoe and all their gear up the same steep path that we just ascended. GOD BLESS THEM! We continued our “stretch the limits” day by both of us jumping in for a swim in the mid 60s water. It took Bets a while but she finally took the plunge. It was GREAT! Once in the water is refreshing and you don't want to get out.  We still are fishing and not catching. We can’t wait to report our first fish.

Well…. Morning arrived and it was time to head for Little Current. We had been warned about the grass in The Pool when anchoring. We cleared a lot of the grass off when we went swimming the day before. The grasses wrapped around the chain and anchor as they came up. We used the boat hook to remove them. The effort took about 15-20 minutes but it was worth it to stay in such a wonderful place.

The trip to Little Current was uneventful. We kept looking for bears as we traveled down the Baie Fine Fjord but never saw one. The trip was timed so we could hit the Little Current bridge opening on the hour. It opens for 15 minutes each hour and if you miss it you wait!

FRYEDAZE on anchor in The Pool, Baie Fine

Canada Geese feasting in the dark

Topaz Lake- was actually very proud that I made it up! Incredible experience

Just how do trees grow in rock?

1939 Tug- Albin and Company from Illinois

The boat ran right up next to this shelf of rocks in the fjord

One of the many balls of grass Dave had to remove

Swing bridge into Little Current. Amazes me that there seems to be more boat traffic in the North Channel than the Chesapeake Bay in the summer!

Proudly flying our MTOA burgee in Canada!

FRYEDAZE in Little Current with our neighbor The Independence from the states

Okeechobee Lodge is a privately owned lodge for guests- primarily Americans who come up for the summer. It was beautiful and the boats were huge at it's docks!

This is one of two tall ship sailing vessels that are out of Toronto. Kids man these ships and learn to team with other kids. This is comparable to our Outward Bound Program

Sunset in Little Current.

Bad River to Killarney dlf

Well mother nature kept us in Parry Sound for three days. The winds were blowing 15-20 with gust to 30 so we stayed put. It gave us the opportunity to explore Parry sound and take a cruise through the small craft channel on a 135 foot excursion boat. It made me think I whined a little to much about how small the channel was. The captain took this 135' boat with at least a 40 foot beam through the places our little 42' boat just went through a few days earlier. We had a blast watching the sunset and listening to a live New Orleans jazz group.
Thursday came and the forecast was better. The winds were predicted at 10-15 so we got up early and headed out. On our way out Parry Sound we passed a 250 passenger cruise ship headed into the sound. It was from Chicago and eventually heading for Montreal. the trip was calm and we anchored in Bad River before the winds picked up. Bad River was amazing! There were about seven other boats in the anchorage. The basin was lined with pink granite walls with lots of room for everyone. The wind picked up to 20 out of the west and we were very happy that the anchor held tight and we didn't move a bit.
Later in the afternoon we took a dinghy ride to check out this awesome place. The anchorage is at the head of many granite lined gorges that have small rapids dumping down into the basin. The rapids are only 20-30 foot wide and make for an interesting dinghy ride. The reviews say you need at least a 9 hp engine to handle all the rapids. Fryedaze only has a 6 hp dinghy engine. We carefully picked the rapids we attempted. At times the dinghy only inched forward at wide open throttle but she eventually made it through. It was worth it for the ride going back down. BTW these rapids are very deep. Both Bets and I did some fishing in the evening..., but no catching.
The next morning we left for Killarney. Our trip would take us through about 10 miles of the narrow Collins Channel. It is a breathtaking areal of granite walls in a fiord like setting. We arrived in Killarney and had plans to just pump out and go to and anchorage farther ahead. Luckily Bets put us on a waiting list and a fellow looper on Knott Home prompted the staff to put us behind them on the dock.
Killarney is pretty cool. Home to only 300 residents, but when we were there we saw at least 150 boats tied up at the various docks. The water is clear and a blue color that reminds us of the Caribbean.
Tomorrow is Baie Fine anchorage and the famous "pool" and Topaz lake.
We are now out of the Georgian Bay and heading into the North Channel.

 Devils Cut rapids

 Morning in Bad River

 Rapids our little 6hp could not get up.

 Morning sun on the pink granite shores of Bad River.

 Cabin construction in progress.

 Fryedaze in Bad River anchorage.

 Coast Guard station just prior to entering the Georgian Bay

 Lacloche range, the moutains look like they have snow on them but it is white lime stone.

 Killarney church

 Killarney sunset

 Killarney wildlife