North Channel







Entrance to Killarney Harbour

 

 

Killarney is the gateway to the North Channel.  However, we had to wait awhile before getting to experience that waterway as high wind warnings kept us at the Sportsman’s Inn and Marina for four days!!!  One of those days the west winds were so strong that the docks which run perpendicular to the shore all shifted and the boats along the docks were pushed precariously close together.  Captains scrambled to readjust fenders and lines hoping to prevent any damage.  Other captains and dockhands gave it their all in an attempt to reposition the dock where Lazy W was moored.  Their combined efforts paid off and the dock stopped drifting much to the relief of the boats on the adjacent dock that had been getting squeezed ever closer together.

 

Trouble at the docks at the Sportsman's Inn!

Despite all the commotion, we still managed to enjoy the first three days in Killarney.  Blueberry pancakes, the breakfast specialty at Killarney Mountain Lodge, proved to be a great way to start a day and were just as good as we remembered them to be.  The ice cream store is a short jaunt from the dock as is Pitfield’s General Store, Herbert’s World Famous Fisheries, and the ever-important LCBO.  That is about the extent of ‘downtown’ Killarney. A short dinghy ride to nearby Covered Portage Cove kept us occupied for a few hours - we chatted with Hard Dock Café at anchor there.

Returning to Killarney from Covered Portage Cove

Several other looper boats were also stranded in Killarney (Moni Jean, Pearl Two, Miss my Money, Gracie, Cutty’s Ark) and we all gathered for docktails near the porch of the Sportsman’s Inn.  The manager did not approve of the location we selected and ferried us across the water to George Island where the rowdy loopers would not alienate the other paying guests.

The first calm day at the Sportsman's Inn

Looking back at Georgian Bay somewhere along the Lighthouse Trail



After the hike

Day four dawned with calm winds and we began to second guess our decision to stay at the dock.  The weather radio continued to broadcast high wind warnings but it looked so calm and inviting out there.  Being the fair weather boaters that we are, we stayed and so did all the other loopers.  Frank and I had used up all of Killarney and had really wanted to get underway. We convinced ourselves that we must be in a protected area and the northwest winds were just not roaring through Killarney Harbour.  We shook off our disappointment and took off on an early morning hike to the lighthouse on the east end of the harbor.  After swatting a path through the mosquitos, gnats and other hungry flies, we ditched the hike idea as soon as the far-off lighthouse came into view. “Okay, we saw it now let’s get out of the woods.” When we returned there was only a gentle breeze blowing.

On the way to Baie Fine

Day five dawned and we were raring to go.  By 7:15 we were leaving Killarney behind and on our way to Baie Fine just thirteen miles away across Frazer Bay.  Baie Fine, a must see on every looper‘s places-to- go list, is a narrow fiord-like bay bordered by white quartzite mountains covered with closely–packed pine trees.  At the eastern end of Baie Fine is ‘the pool,’ a must see on every looper’s places-to-anchor list.  Remembering its parking lot like character from our visit fourteen years ago, we chose to find a quieter, more secluded anchorage.  We set the hook just past Mary Ann Cove, had lunch and launched Cassiopeia, the dinghy, for a six mile ride to check out ‘the pool’ and hike the trail to Topaz Lake. 

Topaz Lake

 

Hiking to Topaz Lake entails an uphill climb along a rocky creek bed.  The trail is marked with little blue plastic circles tacked to the tree trunks.  The hikers we passed coming down told us to just keep following the trail to the left.  Well, it would have been even more helpful if these same hikers would have pointed out that after a while the trail to the left is marked with little yellow plastic circles.  We kept going on the blue trail since we were not even looking for the yellow one.  After some time we realized that the trail we were on was not really going left and we backtracked twice before realizing that we wanted the yellow trail.  So much for a forty minute hike to Topaz Lake…

By the time we returned to Cassiopeia, ‘the pool’ was home to about two dozen boats of all sizes med moored around the perimeter.  We were glad to be heading back to our little hideaway – now home to an additional four sailboats!

On to Little Current, the largest town on Manitoulin Island, the largest fresh water island in the world. Between Manitoulin Island and Goat Island, the water of the North Channel funnels its way to the Georgian Bay. Crossing this channel of water is a single lane swing bridge which is the only roadway linking Manitoulin Island to mainland Ontario.  The bridge opens on the hour for a short 15 minutes.  Miss the opening and you will find yourself hovering in the channel, fighting the current, until the next opening.  Not wanting to do that, the Captain pushed Lazy W’s cruising speed all the way up to 9 knots!  Success!  We made it through the 11AM opening with minutes to spare.

Bridge at Little Current

Little Current has not one, but two grocery stores – boater heaven!  Reprovisioning was a breeze and chores were done in no time.  Plenty of loopers stop here and we were able to reconnect with many of them that we had not seen since before Killarney. 

Anchor Inn Hotel

Roy Eaton, a former high school principal on Manitoulin Island, provides a unique service to boaters on the North Channel.  Every morning in July and August at 9AM on VHF Channel 71, Roy broadcasts the LCYC Cruisers’ Net from the Anchor Inn Hotel and visiting boaters are invited to sit in with him. We did. The first part of the broadcast is dedicated to a recap of the local weather, news of the world, sports scores, business reports, and happenings in the area.  Then the lines are open for all the listening boaters to call in with their locations.  Two visiting boaters are recruited to take note of all these boats.  This information comes in handy in case of an emergency since cell phone coverage is sparse to non-existent in many areas of the North Channel.  On more than one occasion the Coast Guard and Air Search & Rescue have called upon Roy for help in locating a boat.  In 2015, close to 900 individual boats had called into this morning broadcast.

Roy broadcasting from Anchor Inn Hotel 

 

Roy was kind enough to broadcast our request to acquire the necessary charts for a cruise through the locks of Sault Ste. Marie.  An immediate response came from Anne aboard Gentle Lady docked in the nearby Spider Bay Marina – she would lend us her charts!  After the broadcast Roy drove us over to retrieve the charts and get Anne’s address in DeTour Village for returning them to her at a later date.  Thank you, Anne!

Anchorage at Croker Island

 

Another must-see in the North Channel is a group of islands known as The Benjamins.  These islands are unique in this in that they are composed of pink granite, unlike the surrounding white quartzite mountains and low-lying limestone islands.  We sought out an anchorage in the crook of Croker Island.  By cocktail time, the anchorage was also home to our two dock mates from windy Killarney – Rick and Monica from Moni Jean and Ross and Charlotte from Munising, Michigan aboard their sailboat KoraLynn.  We all convened on Lazy W for cocktails.

Sunset at Croker Island anchorage

The following morning, after a dinghy ride to explore the other popular anchorages of The Benjamins, we set our sights on Beardrop Harbour.  With a name like that, who wouldn’t want to stop!  We cleared the menacing rocks with docile names, Sow and Pigs, and headed for McBean Channel. 

Approaching Little Detroit Strait

After transiting Little Detroit Strait connecting McBean Channel and Whalesback Channel, we encountered Dan and Linda on Shoal Survivor heading back to their home port in Midland.  We had the pleasure of meeting them when we spent a few days in Bay Port Marina.  Dan discouraged us from tackling Beardrop Harbour because of the west winds that had just chased him out of there.  He suggested we try Bear’s Bottom Cove instead.
We took his advice, picked our way carefully behind Lett and Nelles Islands and found a charming anchorage there.  Monica and Rick from Moni Jean dinghied by that afternoon on a mission to catch some fresh fish.

The Whalesback

 

Approaching Blind River with the wood chip processing facility to the left

 

After another nice cruising day we found ourselves in Blind River Marine Park.  Once home to one of the largest sawmills in North America, Blind River is, sadly, well past its boom time. However, it is a convenient stopover on the north shore of the North Channel for those cruisers heading to Sault Ste. Marie.  And on Thursday nights in the nearby town park, there is live music.  We hopped a cab (yes, there is cab service in Blind River and we used it since it looked like rain might dampen the evening) and caught the last half hour of River Country, a local band that was billed as country and classic rock.  Their music set consisted of very old, pre-Glen Campbell country with no classic rock!  Oh well, we headed over to the Iron Horse Inn for an early night cap before heading back to the marina.

It was August 11^th and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower was set to streak across the sky.  Alas, the skies over Blind River were dark and stormy. L  Ever since arriving in Canada in early July, the night sky had been clear as a bell with wonderful star-viewing conditions.  Murphy’s Law!?!?  We did not complain too loudly as Ontario has been extremely dry all summer and the locals were glad to see some rainfall overnight.

 

Wind and rain kept us at Blind River for two days.  By the third day we were more than ready to leave.  More strong wind was forecast to blow but things looked relatively calm so by noon we decided to make a run for Thessalon, 28 miles to the west.  It was a lumpy ride at first but after a short distance things smoothed out.  By the time we made Thessalon there was barely a breeze blowing and docking was easy.

Thessalon is another town with origins in the lumber boom whose fortunes have eroded despite three working lumber mills.  Downtown is just two blocks away from the marina.  The short Main Street was marred by out-of-business stores, a barber shop, pharmacy, hair salon and restaurants.  Those few surviving businesses were mostly closed for the day – at 4:30 on Saturday – but the LCBO and grocery store were busy.  We hoped we would not have to spend another day here…

Sunday morning, August 14^th, was a beautiful calm day and we made an early exit from Thessalon for the forty mile trip to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.  The St. Joseph Channel was picturesque and we were mighty glad we were on our way to a bigger port of call.

Picture Island along the St. Joseph Channel

Twyning Island Bridge connecting Humbug Point on St. Joseph Island with mainland Ontario

We knew we were nearing Sault Ste. Marie when we passed Lee A Tregurtha of the Interlake Steamship Company! This company also operates the Paul R Tregurtha, the largest vessel on the Great Lakes at 1,013.5 feet in length.  90% of the world's iron ore passes through the Soo Locks on vessels like this.

We were no the only vessel docked at Roberta Bandar Marina in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.  El Galeon was visiting from Spain.

Everyone is welcome along the Sault Ste. Marie waterfront!

 

The St. Mary’s River is the only connection between Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes.  This area of North America has long been a gathering and trading place.  Today the two cities of Sault Ste. Marie, ON and Sault Ste. Marie, MI straddle either side of the river.  On the Michigan side, four American locks operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, handle the commercial traffic – over 7,000 vessels hauling 86 million tons of cargo a year!  On the Canadian side, one smaller single lock handles the recreational vessels.  Upstream of the locks there is a low-clearance railroad bridge.  It is out of commission right now over the Canadian lock and Lazy W is too high to pass beneath it.  L  We had wanted to stick her bow into Lake Superior and turn back but unless we are willing to wait our turn amongst the big boys transiting the American locks, it will not be happening this trip.  It makes for a good excuse to return here next season. J

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario is a vibrant city of 75,000 people.  The city is extremely proud to be the birthplace of Roberta Bondar whose name was given to the marina, the surrounding park and pavilion, and the adjacent office park.  Dr. Bondar, Canada’s first female astronaut, flew aboard the U.S. space shuttle Discovery in January of 1992.

Train trip!

 

A highlight of our stay in Sault Ste. Marie had nothing to do with boat travel.  We took a train trip aboard the Agawa Canyon Tour Train!  This northern rail tour winds through the forests of the rugged Canadian Shield, over towering trestles, along the shores of numerous small lakes arriving 114 miles later at Agawa Canyon Park.  Commentary along the way explained some of the rich history of the Ojibway, fur traders, entrepreneurs, and artists who explored the wilderness of Algoma.

 

Atop Lookout Trail

We hiked the Lookout Trail and had this sweeping view of the canyon below.  The train is hidden in the trees along the Agawa River.

 

Another hike along the Talus Trail lead to Black Beaver Falls.  Dry weather provided low water flow.

A funny story was told during the train trip.  When the Algoma Railway first started running the train to Agawa Canyon (accessible only by train), the train horn attracted bull moose during the rutting season to the tracks where the moose would defiantly block the train.  There were pictures to prove this! Several different horn sounds were tried before one was found that was not an attraction to the moose.  No moose were spotted during our excursion.

Our stopover at Agawa Canyon was less than two hours and before we knew it we were boarding the train for the journey back to Sault Ste. Marie.  We had worked up an appetite so off to the dining car we went.  Lunch was much tastier than we expected.  I had my first taste of wine in a pop-top can and Frank enjoyed a local microbrew beer.  When the bill came, I was quite surprised to see that my can of wine cost a whopping $14CA!!!  I always say that life is too short to drink cheap wine…

Sunset over the Canadian arch of the International Bridge linking Sault Ste. Marie, ON with Sault Ste. Marie, MI

 

At nightfall the American arches of the International Bridge are lit in red, white and blue.  The Canadian arch is lit in red, white and red.