Here is a copy of what we sent out to friends and family outlining our plans so far...
Northern Whisper
North Channel Adventure 2012
Ahoy There!
Here is a quick look at our trip for this summer…as usual,
all stops are weather dependant and subject to the whims of the skipper and
crew! We are planning to update our blog www.northernwhisper.blogspot.com
as we move along, dependant on connections, etc. so follow us there!
Emergency Contact Information
Boat: Catalina 28 sailboat “Northern Whisper”
Registration: ON546207
Description: Sloop w/ white with blue & grey stripe
Cell Phones: 613 793-4982
613 793-4984
Leg 1 - St Lawrence - Lake Ontario – Bay of Quinte –
Trenton
This is familiar territory for us, we plan leaving Sunday
June 18th and taking three days to get us to Trenton, with stops at
Collins Bay Marina in Kingston, an anchorage in Hay Bay on the bay of Quinte
and finally to CFB Trenton Yacht Club in Trenton. That’s where the real journey begins, we will
be changing over from a sailboat to a powerboat since we have to lower the mast
and lay it across the deck to clear the bridges in the Trent Severn Waterway. The TYC has a special crane facility to
accomplish this and we built a frame thingamajig to support the mast on our way
up the canal.
Links:
Village Quay Marina: http://www.villagequay.com/
Collins Bay Marina: http://www.collinsbaymarina.com/
CFB Trenton Yacht Club: http://www.cfbtrentonyc.com/
Leg 2 – Trent Severn
Waterway – Trenton – Port Severn - Midland
As mentioned earlier, here is where it becomes new for
us. The Trent-Severn Waterway is made up
of 386 kilometres (210 miles) of interconnected lakes and rivers with 44 Lock
Stations and 39 Swing Bridges. We plan
on lollygagging through the system, mixing overnight stays at the locks, marinas
and anchorages. We will also be chcking
in on friends and family in the area.
Total transit time is estimated at 2 weeks. Here’s a list of where we plan on heading,
check the links for the details on the locks and locations!
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Trenton - Percy Lock
(Lock 8)
Percy Lock - Healey Falls (Lock 17)
Healey Falls – Hastings Village Marina
Hastings – Peterborough Marina
Peterborough - Young’s Point (Lock 27)
Young’s Point – Buckhorn (Lock 31)
Buckhorn - Gordon Yacht Harbour Marina (Bobcaygeon)
Bobcaygeon - Fells Bay (Anchorage)
Fells Bay - Kirkfield Lock (Lock 36)
Kirkfield Lock - Gamebridge Lock (Lock 41)
Gamebridge Lock - Ojibway Bay Marina (Orillia)
Orillia - Big Chute (Lock 44)
Big Chute - Wye Heritage Marina (Midland)
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Links:
Trent–Severn Waterway: http://www.trentsevern.com/newsite/
Hastings Village Marina: http://www.hastingsvillage.ca/marina.html
Peterborough Marina: http://www.peterboroughmarina.ca/home_page.htm
Ojibway Bay Marina: http://www.ojibwaybaymarina.ca/
Wye Heritage Marina: http://www.wyeheritage.ca/
Leg 3 – Midland - Georgian
Bay - Killarney
Finally! This is
where we transform Northern Whisper back into her natural (sailing) state and point
her in the direction of the North Channel.
This part of the voyage took the most planning, since the further north
you go; it’s just, well…further north!
Apologies to our southern friends, but you northerners know what I meanJ!
For the trip to Killarney, we will be more or less following
the western shore of Georgian Bay leaving Midland for an anchorage south of
Parry Sound called Big Wahneen, then to Kilcoursie Bay in Killbear Provincial
Park, Pointe-au Baril, then we will turn west to Champlain Island and finally
to Killarney for some well-earned Fish and Chips at Herbert’s. Our course is a combination of offshore and
small-craft channel navigating and will take about 5-6 days. In preparation for this part of the trip, we
joined the Great Lakes Cruising Club.
They host a members-only website with just a tonne of information on
anchorages, routes and local knowledge.
Looking forward to this leg!
Links:
Great Lakes Cruising Club: http://www.glcclub.com/
Georgian Bay (Wikipedia): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_Bay
Killbear Provincial Park: http://www.friendsofkillbear.com/
Pointe-au-Baril: http://www.pointe-au-baril.com/home
Herbert’s: http://wildonfood.com/story.asp?id=9
Leg 4 – Lake Huron’s
North Channel
Fact is, it isn’t really a “Leg”, but a destination, one we
have both been planning for since we stepped on our first sailboat over 30
years ago. Growing up in Espanola, we
both have memories of the rides to Little Current on Manitoulin Island to get
an ice cream at Farquhar’s and then walking the dock to “look at the boats”. The plan gets a little fuzzy here, but I have
some very special well-used charts (thanks Michael), more articles and websites
that you could imagine to help us over the weeks we plan to spend here. Home base will be Little Current, Gore Bay,
Kagawong and Spragge, but the magic will be in the many anchorages and
gunkholes that make this place what it is.
Links: Too many to list, but this will give you a flavour
So that’s it for now folks, thanks to all of our friends,
neighbours and relatives who have volunteered to keep the home fires burning
while we are off like a prom dress chasing our dream. Stay tuned!
Eric and Cindy
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