Matheson Island and Crocker Island

While in Little Current we were sampling the food from the local bus, Buddy's by the Boardwalk.  Great whitefish tortillas wraps.

One of the great things about cruising is the people that you meet.  In Killarney, when we were circling while waiting for a pump out, a dinghy stopped and said hello as they were old QCYC members and recognized the burgee.  It turns out that Peter and Tracy Jones had told them to have a lookout for us so when they saw us they stopped to say hello.  After docking in Little Current, we finally we able to meet up and chat with the former QCYC'ers, Sue and Peter from White Rabbits.  Their son and his fiancee joined the club and are having their wedding reception at QCYC in August.

Peter gave us some recommendations are islands to visit.  One was Matheson Island and after some considerations we decided to take the advice and go to Matheson.  After a gruelling 15 mile sail and motor we dropped anchor in about 18' of water. Winds were supposed to be from the north so I thought that we would be well protected.  Most of the day, it blew from the east so we were a little exposed.

Shortly after we anchored, Sue and Peter arrived and anchored further into the bay.  They seemed to be much more sheltered by being only a few feet further in the bay. After a swim, we went over to white Rabbits for happy hour and found out that they had cruised with Wendy and Rick down south.  Peter had noted that we seem to be a bit exposed and that we should move closer into shore.  I thought that we would be OK, mostly because I did not want to move the boat.  The winds clocked north but we kept getting hit with the residual waves from the east which made it a little rocky.

In the morning, we went ashore and walked around a bit.  Great vistas.

We were trying to decide what to do.  Move the boat and stay another night or go to another island.  As we were deciding another boat arrived and went into the spot that we wanted. So we decided to haul anchor and go to Clapperton Island.  As we were headed out we changed our minds and decided to go to Crocker Island.  No particular reason.  We arrive at Crocker and there is a small sheltered anchorage where the boats are tied to shore and then the big bay.  The anchorage was pretty well full when we arrived so we checked out the bay.

The bay is 40' deep in the middle and stays deep right up to the edges, making anchoring and tying to shore difficult.  The winds are expected out of the north and we located a little nook that would be facing north over night.  We managed to get an anchor down in 20' of water and then run a stern line to shore to keep us from swinging in a west wind, which it did all afternoon at 10-15 kts.  The stern line keep us out far enough but we could swim to shore very easily. We were good for the night as the winds blew from the north all night.

In the morning, one of the boats, which was anchored in a spot that I thought was ideal, pulled anchor and left.  I rushed Belinda, disturbing her morning coffee, to get ready to move.  I pulled the stern line and we hauled anchored and moved over.  Our first drop put us too close to the shallow spot in the inner bay.  The second drop didn't hold as it was sliding on a rock face, but the third drop grabbed sharply and we were set. We dropped in about 10-12' of water and we put out about 40' of chain, not the ideal amount of scope but we did not have much room behind us to let out more.  The spot was between a sheer rock face and a small rock island, so if the wind was from the south we sat further out in the bay and if the wind blew from the north, we sat in the deep spot in front of the shallow bay.  The wind changed directions several times in the day and we glided back and forth without incident.  The winds were fairly strong so the anchor was well set in heavy clay so the scope should be fine.

Since I wanted to stay on the boat and watch how it moved in the winds, I worked on the port toe rail, sanding and then Cetol. After the first coat, we went for a dinghy ride, visited the inner basin, which by now was packed with boats tied up every 20' or so. No thanks. A bunch of boats were now anchored in the main bay in 35' of water.  It was starting to get crowded as the boats needed more swing room.  There is a reluctance on anchoring in deeper waters; several boats made several attempts at anchoring and trying to tie ashore.

Entertainment for the evenings is watching other boats anchor and watching the sunsets.  Apparently there is one every night.

We dinghied over to South Benjamin Island, which is about 2 miles from Crocker Island.  It is very popular with the power boats and boats with kids.  The island is formed on a huge granite rock so holding is not very secure as there is not much clay on top of the rock.  We walked up the rock and had a look out.  The views here were like walking through a Group of Seven painting.  Everywhere you look, its like an AY Jackson or Tom Thomson painting.

Looking out over North Benjamin Island.

Crocker Bay was pretty busy this evening.  A couple of boats that we saw at south Benjamin came over to anchor in the bay.  A power boat was trying to anchor in about 40' of water.  After several attempts, the skipper yells at his wife to let everything out; and she did.  She watched the bitter end zip out past the bow roller. The other boat graciously offered to let the power boat raft for the night. There did not seem to be any attempt to go and retrieve the lost anchor.

Another evening of sunset watching.

We had such a good anchorage spot that we decided to stay another night.  South west winds were expected all day and building at night so the bay at Crocker emptied out; a little exposed to the south west.  Our spot was secure so we had no worries.

The next day we climbed up the rock beside us. At the top Belinda can get cell coverage.

Great view of the North Channel.

Sansei at anchor with the ducklings.

Little Current, ON

We went to the Fish and Chip bus and the fish and chips were amazing.  The basic order is a 4 piece fish and small fries.  Order at one window and pick up at the next one.  They don't sell drinks but provide vending machines, which after a weekend's worth of business was largely empty. After pick up, we ate at the government docks beside the commercial fishing boats.

Killarney is a very interesting little town.  It was created as a port and did not have road access until the early 60's.  All the stores have their own docks, even the LCBO.

We left Killarney just as some massive power boats arrived.  A Hatteras was supposed to leave but had engine trouble so it still occupied a spot that had been reserved.  3 more Hatteras, greater than 53', and a Marquis 65 were arriving and had to be together. Go figure.

Our first stop is Covered Portage Cove.  A gruelling 3 mile passage.  Actually its only 1.5 miles as the crow flies but the sailboat passage to go around the rocks puts it at about 3 miles. There's and inner anchorage and an outer one.  The inner anchorage looked crowed as we approached so we decided to drop a hook in the outer cove in 15' of water.  We were probably a little close to a CS34 but they did not complain.  We could have tied a line to shore to prevent swing but was not necessary.

Covered Portage Cove

Sansei at anchor.

There's a rock at the entrance to Covered Portage Cove that has an outline of an Indian Head.

We stayed 2 nights here. Water temperature was about 23C so swimming was brisk, but very refreshing on a hot day.  Spent the day putting a couple of coats of Cetol on the starboard teak toerail.  I will do the other side on the next lazy day.

After 2 nights, we hauled anchor and headed out Killarney Bay across Frazer Bay, into Baie Fine, heading to the Pool.

We have talked to many cruisers along the way and many recommended against going into the Pool, but rather anchor in the channel going in and then dinghy in.  The Pool is very weedy so getting a good hold is tricky. We decided that we would go have a look and try to set if it was not too busy.  There were 4 boats anchored.  We managed to anchor and then tie a line to shore.

We walked the hills around the Pool in search of blueberries.  There were some but mostly picked out and the remaining ones were dried out.

After a great BBQ dinner, there's nothing to do but chill and watch the sunset.

The next day we decided to go for a hike.  There is a trail that leads up to Lake Topaz and up the rocks.

Blueberries were disappointing but the view was spectacular.

After a lazy afternoon of swimming, water temperature was 29C, cleaning the waterline, we were settling in for a relatively boring happy hour since there were only 2 boats left in the Pool.  No new boats had arrived so there was no sport in watching the anchoring in the weeds.  However, one of the local cottagers came zooming by looking at something so we got the binoculars out and spotted the plume of smoke coming from the area that we had hiked earlier.  The MNR had been called and they were sending out the water bombers.  After 16 drops of water, the helicopter landed and inspected the site. Fire out.

After dinner, I went for an evening swim, which was rudely interrupted as a school of fish came along and started nibbling on me.  I know they are not piranha but surprising and startling nonetheless.  After dinner, we had another visitor, an 18" snapping turtle, biggest one that I have ever seen in the wild.

Belinda's not getting back into that water.

After 4 nights at anchor, it was time to head back to civilization.  We pulled up anchor with all the weeds, which took extra time to clear. There have been solar flares which causes problems for  satellite signals, including GPS signals and accuracy. At the entrance to the Pool there is a spot on the chart that read 5', but the Ports Guide says that is is passable.  We got in so we can get out.  At one point, the depth sounder read 4.2' but no bumps and we cleared the channel.

We motored south to get to Little Current into a south breeze.  As we turned west we were able to put out some genoa and motor sail.  There is a swing bridge east of Little Current that opens on the hour for 15 minutes.  I did a quick calculation and came to the conclusion that we would not make the 1pm opening.  So we stopped the engine and sailed leisurely over to the bridge and wait.

After clearing the bridge, we stopped at Wally's for fuel and a pump out.  We tied up at the town docks, along the wall. The Town of Little Current has installed 4 spines and finger docks to increase capacity.  There is no longer a need to raft boats off the wall.

Little Current is across from Goat Island.  Belinda has done a lot of legal work on this island, but had never seen the place.

Note the silhouette of the goat.

Off to do some provisioning.

Killarney, ON

Well we finally made it north of Barrie. The trip up from Tobermory is about 45 miles but we stopped at Club Island which is about 20 miles north of Tobermory. Just outside of Tobermory there is Flowerpot Island.  It gets its name from the rock structures at the north end.

We had a great sail all the way from Tobermory to Club Island.  Yes a SAIL!.   We were headed north and the wind was from the west.  Nice broad reach. Sweet.  Club Island is a quiet anchorage with nothing on the island. We dropped the new anchor for the first time and it grabbed pretty quick. We were the only boat in the harbour until a small power boat came in.  After tidying up and a quick brisk swim, we went ashore for a little walk.  There are these 3 mounds of rocks adjacent the harbour entrance at Fisherman's Point.  Not sure why they are there as there is some rebar wire and a vent pipe.

I finally put on the BBQ mount on the rail.  Previous BBQ's have been onshore so tonight was out first night for a BBQ on the boat.

The last several evenings, the winds died down to nothings and normally an uneventful night.  However, tonight at about 2am the winds piped up and the rain started coming down. For the next 2 hours we had anchor watch and the winds turned north at 25kts. A C&C 35 had come in and anchored between us and the power boat.  In the middle of the night, when the wind is howling, I thought that he had anchored a little close.  The anchor held despite the wind direction changes.

In the morning, I made some perc'd coffee.  The other boats hauled anchored and were off early. We decided to haul anchor and head up to Killarney after carefully studying the Ports Guide.  We had decided that we would try George Islanders Marina.  Apparently a bad choice since they are no longer in business.  We motored half of the way and then the wind picked up and we had a second great day of sailing, close reaching at 7-7.5 kts.

We went to our second choice for dockage, the Killarney Mountain Lodge, beautiful place with a restaurant, bar and pool.   Pool was way warmer than Georgian Bay. After dinner, we walked into town; all of 5 minutes.  At the Sportsman Inn at the other end of town, we had a beer on the patio, which was great until the misquitos started carrying us away and the hurting cowboy C & W music started playing.  The Sportsman does have a Boat-In Theatre.

We headed back to the Lodge as they had a guy and his guitar playing there for his 13th season.  He was pretty good and he did a rendition of Sonny's Dream that was excellent.

Today, we went on the George Island trail, a 7km hike through the wilderness of the "western end of beautiful and historical George Island". Time 3.5 - 4 hours.  Belinda: "its only 7kms; it won't take 4 hours".  OK we took 3+ hours to complete the hike, over rocky terrain, around beaver dams, and along rocky shores.  Walking through the "mixed forest", I thought that I could never have enough OFF! on.  We saw a garter snake and a flock of pheasants.  I feel truly Canadian after that hike.

After the hike, we drove the dinghy up and down the Killarney Channel.  Typical Sunday afternoon, all the weekenders have left.  We are off to pool and then to the school bus for Killarney's famous fish and chips for dinner.

Tobermory, ON

Tobermory is about 65 miles north of Kincardine.  The route is straight across Lake Huron with no emergency stopping points.  This means that we have to pick a good weather window.  There is a small risk of late afternoon thunderstorms.  We decide to go.  3 power boats pass us early enroute north and later 1 sailboat passes us going south.  10 hours on the lake and that is all the traffic. There are light winds from the SW early and after a while we are able to unfurl the jib for a little extra speed.  A few hours later the wind strength has built enough to raise the main.  We are able to maintain 7.5 kts. With long passages, it is important to keep speed and heading so that we can arrive before dark, particularly when a rocky channel has to be navigated and enter an unknown port. The weather holds and winds shift as predicted, but we arrive and tie up by 6pm. We are almost in the North Channel.

Little Tub Harbour, reminiscent of some Newfoundland harbours. Long, narrow and a wharf at the end filled with commercial vessels.  Here the commercial vessels are dive boats and glass bottom tour boats. A couple of fishing boats are tied up. The water is crystal clear; can see right to the bottom of the harbour.

After a refreshing beverage and a shower, we walk around to the Grandview Restaurant.  The specialty around here is white fish, so that's what we order.  Great fish and another amazing sunset.

Did some boat maintenance today.  Washed the boat to get the flies off the deck.  Launched the dinghy for the first time since Put-In-Bay.  At the end of the dock, there is downtown Tobermory, which includes several pubs and ice cream stores, dive shops, the Foodland and a great breakfast place. After the wash, we went to the Foodland for some provisioning.  Hopefully we will anchor out tomorrow, but not sure where.

We did the the walk around town/harbour to shop.  Belinda wanted a pair of those strings to hold the sunglasses. Most of the shops were sold out but we finally found a store by the LCBO that still had some. As we were walking about, the ferry to Manitoulin Island came in. Kinda cool watching the cars get on and off.

We go for a dinghy ride to find some beach to go swimming. We motor over to Big Tub Harbour.  No place to land as the edge is mostly sheer rock.  Water is pretty cold so not today.

Off to dinner for some TFT's (Tobermory Fish Tacos) at the Fish and Chip Place.  (no really that's what it is called).  They did not take their trademark lawyer's advice on names. Great view from the patio though.

After some discussions with other cruisers, we are off to Club Island as a stop over to Killarney.  Club Island is about 20 miles and then another  25 to Killarney on Saturday. Don't want to stress out on another long passage.

Kincardine, ON

Kincardine is just a short trip north of Goderich.  We arrive at the Municipal Marina, operated by the Kincardine Yacht Club, and discover that there is a farmers' market at the park.  It finishes at 3pm so we hurry off up to the park.  Usual sort of vendors; a couple of vendors were also at Goderich for its farmers' market.

We find a patio with a view and have a few cold ones. Several boats anchored off. Pretty busy for a holiday Monday but by 10pm there's no one around and the marina is very quiet.

The beach here is amazing.    Long, sandy and they have provided cool beach chairs to watch the sunsets.  

Tuesday the weather forecast is filled with thunderstorm warnings in the afternoon.  We have decided to stay another day in Kincardine rather than head off to Tobermory, a 65 mile run.  

The laundromat is close by so we decide to do a load and I decide to get a haircut.  The barber opens at 6:30 in the morning but by the time I arrive, late in the morning, there is a lineup.  I am told that I should put my name on the board; I am fifth behind Lou.  As we are walking around town, we discover a second barber shop at the other end of town.  Not as busy and I can get a cut straight away.  I go back to the first place and take my name off the list.  I am still third on the wait list.

For dinner, we go back to the Bruce.  Yesterday we had drinks on the patio and watched incredible burgers going by.  Today Belinda was reading an old Toronto Life magazine and an article on the 10 best burgers in TO.  So we had no choice but to go back and try the burgers.  They have a regular burger and a junior burger.  Just before ordering I ask our server what is the difference.  The regular has a 1 pound patty, while the junior is a half pound patty.  I am glad that I asked.  A junior is plenty.  Belinda gets a salad in the biggest bowl ever.

At sundown every day during the summer, except Sunday nights because they play in the park, a piper plays from the lighthouse. Tonight's piper is much better than last night's. No squeaky notes.

If you look carefully at the lighthouse, just off to the left of the coaming, there is an outline of a piper.

We took a walk out the pier as the full moon was rising. This is our second full moon of this trip.

Goderich, ON

The trip from Sarnia to Goderich is flat with a very light SW wind. We have the mainsail up but it does very little.  Goderich has a main harbour where Sifto has its docks for loading salt onto bulk freighters like the Algoma Transfer and there's a recreational harbour next door behind a concrete wall.  So the the view from the visitors' slips is not so pretty.

Brian and Sandi (friends from QCYC) arrive from King City.  After some evening cocktails, we pack 4 into the Smart car and drive up the hill, taking the back streets to avoid police, to Goderich to West Street Willie's Eatery, a very popular eatery.  It had been damaged by the tornado last August and only recently re-opened.  Apparently the tornado lasted 12 seconds and did some incredible damage, most of which is still visible.  Buildings are being re-built but it will take years before the trees grow back.

There's a small bakery across the street from West Street Willie's.  There's a hand written sign on the door declaring that there will be doughnuts Saturday morning.  Brian is usually up early so he goes off in the morning to get some doughnuts.  The bakery opens at 8am and he is 64th in line. At 9am he finally arrives back at the boat with a dozen doughnuts. Pretty good; apparently the thing to do around theses parts.

I discover that there are stairs from the waterfront up the hill, leaving a short walk to the town square, rather than walking around along the road. There's a farmers' market along the town square (actually a circle). Usual stuff except for a guy with a BBQ in the shape of a locomotive that serves peameal bacon, pulled pork, chicken and roast beef sandwiches.  We watched him serve a peameal bacon sandwich, which is about an inch slab of bacon on a bun.  Brian and I go for the pulled pork, Sandi, roast beef and Belinda chicken. The pulled pork is good, not too goopy with BBQ sauce. Worth the walk to town.

We have to walk by the bakery again so that Brian could see if they sold out of doughnuts.  Not one in sight so Brian feels that he has done good.  We walk done to one of the walking trails, this one goes along an abandoned CPR line.  It goes to a bridge that goes over the Maitland River.

We then walked through the woods to get to the marina's private beach.

We should have launched the dinghy and motor around to the beach.  It was a good walk but it was hot out and we did not pack enough water.

We make it back to the boat.  Dinner tonight is a BBQ in the marina and trailer park.  Brian is now onto buying a trailer for QCYC road trips.  Why sail across Lake Ontario to sit at marina looking back towards Lake Ontario, when you could sit at a trailer park looking out onto Lake Huron?

At dusk we go out to the end of the marina to watch the fireworks.  Pretty good show over the Sifto Salt loading elevators.

Happy Canada Day!!

Brian and Sandi leave to head back to King City.  Belinda and I hop on the bikes to go into town and watch the Canada Day parade.  It was supposed to start at 2pm but we got there and the firetruck had already gone by, followed by the first band.  There was a very good display of classic and vintage cars, plus the usual Shriners and other service clubs.

The parade was quite long but the route was short so that the parade was finished before the last part started. It went from the harbour to the town square (which is a circle remember). We made our way to the to the town square to find a pub to watch the Euro Cup final. It was good to get out of the scorching heat, watch some football, have some wings and a few cold pints. All in all, a very Canadian Canada Day.