Before I begin to talk about this segment of our journey I need to fill you in on what's been happening since we arrived at Queens Cove Marina in Victoria Harbor, Georgian Bay. First, it was our intention to only spend 2 nights here. We came here to meet with the marina manager who had offered to sit with us and review the charts for Georgian Bay, to show us the places to see and the ones to avoid (ROCKS). However, once we arrived the captain was again disabled and barely able to walk. Seemed to be the same issue I had a few weeks earlier when we went home. When Lou Ann asked the marina manager, Robin, how we could get to the nearest medical center, she not only got directions but was offered the use of Robin's car and off to the hospital with me walking with a cane. The hospital really could not do anything because I already had a cortisone shot when I was home. Back to the boat still in pain. When Robin asked Lou Ann how I was doing she again stepped up and offered to make an appointment with a chiropractor who's husband owns the marina. She called and got me set up.
Once again she offered her car and this time said we could keep it until we where finished with the chiropractor. On the first visit the Dr. explained I did not have bursitis but rather sciatica . She made a back adjustment, told me to put an ice pack on my back ever 12 minutes 12 on - 12 off) and to do some stretching exercise. We started on Thursday and by the next Tuesday I was much better.
During this added stay, it happened to be another long weekend for Canadians, Civic Day. So on Monday, I was feeling a little better and we drove over to Port McNicoll to see the SS Keewatin Ship Museum. As long as I could sit every so often, I was ok.
S.S. Keewatin began her service in the Canadian Pacific Railroad Great Lakes Steamship fleet in 1907. Built in Glasgow, Scotland on the Clyde, by the same culture and Edwardian tradition as RMS Titanic (built in Belfast Northern Ireland) and five years older than the Titanic herself, Keewatin was designed with comfort, class and beauty in mind as she transported passengers and freight on a two and a half day journey across the Great Lakes from Port McNicoll to Fort William and Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay) Ontario.
So during our extended stay in Victoria Harbor we found that the leak in our boat was getting worse. The bilge pump was operating every 30-40 minutes. Time to haul the boat and see what the problem is. After taking the boat out and examining the bottom there was no signs of damage or where the water was getting in? Back in the water and the next day we head for Georgian Bay.
From the southern end of Georgian Bay, where we began, to the northern part is about 100 miles as a straight run. However, the best part of the Bay is cruising though the 30,000 islands that you can see and the other thousands of rocks you can't see. The best part of GB is anchoring out in some of the so many beautiful little coves and harbors along the way. In the 7 nights we spent in GB we only spent 1 night at a dock.
Our first anchorage would be Frying Pan Bay. I have been looking at this anchorage for years and just had to check it out. It's called Frying Pan Bay because the entrance is long and narrow like the handle on a frying pan and the anchorage is kind of round like that of a pan. So with Lou Ann manning the paper charts and I on the chart-plotter we make our, always slow, approach into Frying Pan Bay paying close attention to the depth-sounder. Once inside, there where only a few boats anchored and a few on the small dock, no power or water. We chose our spot and Lou Ann lowered the anchor (Delta all chain for the boaters) in about 12 feet of water. Set the anchor first time, let out a bit more chain to be sure and we where settled in for the afternoon and evening. Fact was, we liked Frying Pan so much we decided to stay another night. The next day we put our dinghy in the water and went exploring the area to see what was around. There are so many little channels that twist and turn around all these island one could easily get lost. I can't say we got lost but I did have to refer to the IPad just to be sure. We spent about 1 1/2 hours checking out all the homes and docks along the way, some small and other very stately. Anchoring out is just the best because there is no current and the anchorage is surrounded by trees or rock. The boat for the most part just sits on top of the anchor. The only not so good part of anchoring is we have to run our generator to keep the refrigerator cold, to us it sounds so loud and we do not want to disturb the anchorage. Rule of thumb in any anchorage is don't run the genny after 8 pm or before 8 am.
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| Part of our view while at anchor |
Boats that were tied to a small dock in the anchorage
Just one of the small islands we went by.
After 2 nights at Frying Pan it's time to move a bit further north. Keep in mind we cruise at about 5-6 knots because we have to always watch the channel and there is so much to see along the way. From Frying Pan to our next anchorage is only 5.8 miles and it takes us almost 2 hours. This anchorage is called Longuissa Bay. Longuissa Bay was recommended by another Looper. It sounded good so we had to try it. This anchorage was at the end of a rather long, some what narrow channel. We had to navigate close to shore but once we got to the actual anchorage it was beautiful. We picked our spot and dropped the hook and again stuck it the first time. We were one of only 4 boats so plenty of room to swing but after what little wind settles down in the evening we just hovered around the anchor chain.
This afternoon the captain thought it time to check out the water so I jumped in. Wow, was I ever surprised to find how warm and so clean the water is. Because there is no tide or current it seems the water just warms up. I would have to say the water temperature was 75 degrees. I easily spent a half hour in the water, always a good time to clean the waterline. Another interesting point about anchoring out is at night the sky is just filled with stars.We had already decide to spend 2 nights here so on the next day off in the dinghy to explore and look at the other anchorages in the area that would have been our plan B if Longuissa was crowed. Two great days of warm weather and lots of sunshine.
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| View of the anchorage from our dinghy |
Cruising Georgian Bay is so different than anything we have ever done. The marinas are few and far between and if you do go to a marina there are no little towns to visit and usually no restaurants. So most all of the boaters here will cruise and anchor out for the night or even a week. Our next stop is again further north to an island called Frying Pan. Here there is one of the very few restaurants in the GB called Henry's Fish . It is only accessible by boat or seaplane. Henry's offers dockage for the many that visit for lunch or dinner. We chose to spend the night and enjoyed their famous fish and chips. This place has been a landmark for years, not fancy but what you would expect from a seasonal restaurant. Must say I am not a fan of fish & chips but this was really good featuring only fresh fish with four different choices, white fish, pickerel, perch and trout.
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| Zoey's Adventure at the dock |
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| Waiting for our table |
Next day, sunny and warm as most of our trip has been, we are off heading north with only a thought of where we would anchor for the night. Oops, I forgot to tell you in Georgian Bay, no one ever cruises at night... NO ONE. Most of the navigational aids are not lit and there are so many twisting turning channels and ROCKS, so when the sun sets the boating traffic stops.
Back to our cruising. The anchorage we had selected was a bit to far so we decided to stop short and chose to pull into Snug Harbor. Snug Harbor was nice no other boats but two homes . Rule of thumb is don't anchor in-front of a home or cottage, so we moved on in search of an alternate anchorage. Soon we came upon another anchorage that looked good. As we made our approach into Burritt Point on Franklin Island, ever so slowly, we saw a few other boat already anchored and I was not comfortable with the channel we were in. I put Zoey's Adventure in reverse and spun her around and headed into an adjacent area where 2 other sailboats had anchored. This would be our home for the night. We set the anchor but the light wind pushed us back a bit too close to one of the sail boats so we lifted the anchor and moved a bit closer to shore giving us additional room. Once the wind settled down to nothing, it was another perfect night on the hook. Long about 5 pm, the couple on the sailboat, that was near us, cruised by in their dinghy to say hello. Turns out they spend all summer just living on their boat cruising Georgian Bay and North Channel. We kind of spied on them as they swam and kayaked most of the late afternoon and early evening.
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