Parry Sound to Byng Inlet

We finally left Parry Sound after four long, cold, and windy nights at the Big Sound Marina. The town certainly offered a lot of amenities but the marina was not a jewel. It's a city run marina and they really need some adults as part of the staff. Our trip up to Byng was about 55 miles and mostly inside protected from the open bay. At Point Au Baril we headed out into the bay and although it was a bit rough it was only 15 miles before we were back in still waters. The alternative route was sort of inside but very rocky, tight, and wind blown and we were advised not to try it in our boat without perfect conditions. Byng Inlet is one of those long, straight cracks in the earth so typical in this area that has become a natural protected canal like harbor well of the open waters. Tonight we had dinner at the famous Britt Inn in the town of Britt, ON. We have many notes from fellow travelers about who to see at the Inn and that we should tell them they said hello. At this restaurant the owner actually drove his Mercedes and picked us up at the marina. The food was great and the service was impeccable. Below you will find a picture of Sheri with Jim and his Mercedes.

As we departed Parry Sound I decided to go through the Hole In the Wall which is shown in the following video (when I can get it to upload to this post). I am also attaching some pictures of our trip up.

It's Monday and we are still not moving

Today marks our fourth day in Parry Sound. The good news is that the fifth day is free. The weather forecast indicates that the winds will be lessening tomorrow through late Wednesday but my faith in a prediction for more than a day is limited. The wind came up last night and blew continuously and is still blowing at least 20 knots on Monday AM. I guess a visit to the Bobby Orr hall of fame is a sure thing today. This video below shows what we've been staring at for three days.

We're 1/3 of the way up and we haven't hit anything yet!!

We departed Honey Harbor bright and early on Wednesday and continued north up the small craft passage up the eastern shore of Georgian Bay. After an overnight at Henry's (famous fish restaurant accessible only by boat or plane) on Frying Pan Island (Sans Souci area), we anchored in Ruddy Bay about six miles from Henry’s in the Moon River area of Ontario’s Massasauga Provincial Park. It is a beautiful area with only a few cabins and many hiking trails. We had a quiet anchorage and although some strong winds were predicted, they never showed up. There were many other beautiful anchorages in this area which we explored in our dingy and we were sorry we could not have stayed at more. The plaque in the photo below which is on a cross on next to Henry's honors Samuel de Champlain who was the first European to pass through this area almost 400 years ago. Over the weekend we will be staying at the port of Parry Sound which is a major metropolis compared to other places we have been. They even have a McDonald's, Home Depot, WalMart, Subway and a Little Caesar's pizza but it's still just another small town in Canada. Storms and high winds came through on Friday night so we were glad we were at a dock. For you hockey fans this was the hometown of Bobby Orr where they have a museum in his honor just up from the marina.

The passage along the small craft route, except for a few legs where you must go “outside” on the open waters of Georgian Bay, is very well protected and well marked for navigation. Most all of the passage is natural except for a few spots that had to be blasted to a depth of six feet to make them navigable by most boats. Those areas were evident when the name contained the word “narrows” or “cut” and barely had room for two larger boats to pass. It’s a common practice to send a “Security” (pronounced SAY-CURE-IT-TAY) notice on the radio warning boats approaching the other entrance when you are coming through and how big you are. The small craft passage was mapped out in the 1950’s by a boating enthusiast who wanted a safe route along the treacherous east side of Georgian Bay.

Our trip up to this point has been interesting in that it was nothing like we imagined this passage would look like. Unlike most of the Great Lakes routes we've experienced this place looks like any medium to large lake just about anywhere in the east. It's a myriad of fingers, bays, and coves and you rarely get a glimpse of the open water of Georgian Bay. I understand that will change a bit as we get farther north but it's still fairly protected nonetheless. Sheri has done a great job reading our charts and letting me know what color (red or green) and where the next bouy or shore marker is located. The bouys we pass are rarely more than a 1/4 mile apart so it's a busy job just keeping up. We are also glad to have the very detailed strip charts for this area so that we follow the route exactly. Going the direction we are traveling the "red right returning" rule is in effect for which side to pass the bouys on which makes following the route much less confusing. As you can see from the one picture on this post there are many a damaged prop in thia area. The two videos below show just how tight things are.

Rocks to our left, right, and everywhere

We have finally arrived at the beginning of the small craft route up the east side of Georgian Bay and is the part of our voyage we've really been looking forward to. It will be an exercise in precise navigation with no room for error and should be successful if we follow our charts and guides without exception. I will post more information as the trip progresses. The weather still is unseasonalbly cold (not cool) with unfavorable west winds (the norm). It's Al's first day wearing long pants on the trip and we have the heat on in the boat.

Since our last post we anchored twice but only stayed overnight at the last spot. Our intended anchorage on Beckwith Island just wasn't very nice and was not as well protected as we would have liked with the predicted winds. Our trip up from Thornbury was very lumpy and we even had to tack like a sailboat to avoid the dreaded beam seas in order to have a tolerable ride. After an hour of bouncing around at anchor we hauled it in and moved on to Penetang Bay which is only two miles from Midland, ON (largest city in the area) and closer to our next destination in Honey Harbor. As we rounded Asylum Point (yes, named for the asylum on the hill overlooking the point) we entered Penetang Bay. The bay is long and narrow, well protected, and has many marinas and one cool anchorage next to an old 18th century naval base that has been restored. There are even a pair of replica schooners tied up to the dock and only about 200 feet from where we anchored (see photos). After a cool and rainy night we headed out about 10AM.

Tonight we are staying at the South Bay Cove marina in a very popular spot named Honey Harbor. There are many marinas in the area but none as nice as this one. It has Internet, TV, a very friendly staff, and a nice restuarant which we will try out tonight. This area is littered with cabins and is where metropolitan Ontario and many Americans hang out recreationally. Tomorrow we plan tp head to the Frying Pan/Sans Souci Island marina in order to move up the coast a bit in preparation for some upcoming weather. The weather, unfortunately, is not predicted to be very favorable for the next few days so distance may be our plan versus destinations. Our plan is to be finished with this section of the trip and back in Little Current by 7/22 at the latest.

Happy 5th, 6th, and 7th of July

It will probably be July 7th before we are back in contact as Internet access is sparse in these parts. We decided to forgo Lion's Head and proceed directly our original destination at the bottom of Georgian Bay which turned out to be Thornbury. It's a very cute town and is apparently a big winter destination with a number of ski areas nearby. We had a fabulous meal out and will head out tomorrow morning for an anchorage at one of the islands just east of here. Just for reference, it's our southernmost destination on this side and is only a two hour drive from here to Toronto which should give you a good idea of just how far we've traveled. We also passed the 500 mile mark on the trip log today. After that we should be in Honey Harbor on July 7th if all goes as planned. Today was a long but easy day with near flat water conditions.

Below you will find some shots of Cabot Head and lighthouse as well as downtown Thornbury. The other shots were from our anchorage on 7/4.

See you then.

Happy 4th of July!!!

There's not too much of a celebration going on up here in the Great North but we're celebrating nonetheless. We're finally out Of Tobermory this morning after three enjoyable days in this scenic spot. Tonight we will be just a short distance down the shoreline for an anchorage and then we'll be off to Lion's Head for Sunday's destination.

As a final parting activity Sheri and I went on the scenic glass bottom boat ride around the islands that lie offshore. I think that Silver Springs and Tobermory may have the only glass bottom boats. You may ask why did you spend money going on a boat ride when you have a boat at the same place you just paid money for a boat ride. The answer is simple, Sheri wanted to do it. I'm attaching a couple of shots of the scenery.

Oh Canada!! Please turn up the heat

We left Killarney on Canada Day (7/1) and headed 45 miles due south to the port of Tobermory. I may have mentioned this in an earlier post but this town lies at the norther tip of the Bruce Peninsula which forms the western barrier of Georgian Bay to Lake Huron. It's a quaint town and has a lot of shops and restaurants for boaters and tourist alike. It is also the southern terminus of the Chi Cheemaun ferry that will get you from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island which is where we just came from. It is a modern looking vessel versus the SS Badger we saw in Ludington, Michigan.

In any case, our trip down started OK but ended up very rough with the dreaded beam seas from the west. For you landlubbers, a beam sea is one that approaches from the side of the vessel and causes a very uncomfortable rocking back and forth. Anything that was not secured in the cabin quickly found its way to the cabin floor where it remained until we were docked. It was a real mess but nothing was broken. The weather report did not indicate anything that drastic but we survived nonetheless. We elected to remain in Tobermory for a few days and will depart on Saturday when things are predicted to settle down. Our first stop will be an anchorage about 18 miles from here and then on to Lion's Head which lies a farther south down the peninsula. We'll probably find one more stop south of that and then start heading east.

Tobermory is famous as a diving destination because of the extremely clear water and many wrecks. Like everywhere else out here it's also famous for VERY cold water. Well, not wanting to miss an opportunity to freeze to death I signed up for a two tank wreck dive on Thursday morning. On a sunny day it might be 50 degrees on the surface and 40 at the bottom and the conditions today confirmed that. Because I have more temperate dive attire (wet suit, etc.) I needed a full outfitting from head to toe. The stuff they use here is 7 mil versus the 3 mil I have. Believe me, the extra 4 mil is worth every bit of neoprene. I can say that I never really got cold but felt completely consumed by all I was wearing. I must have weighed 375 pounds when I finally got in the water. In spite of all the encumbrances it was exciting but will probably not be repeated by me again. There's a short video at the bottom of what it looked like.

As I conclude this post it's about 55 degrees, drizzly, and windy outside. Adios.