North Channel West

Our first anchorage in the North Channel was on Louisa, a small island on the western end of a place called the Bay of Islands, about 9 miles from Little Current.  There was a little cove on the western side that had a beach and a wonderful view of the La Cloche Mountains off of our stern.  The mountains are wonderful white quartz that almost look snow-covered, but the thirty degree weather we enjoyed there was certainly not conducive to any snowfalls!  We had a quiet night at anchor before heading out to the storied Benjamin Islands the next day.

The Benjamins

The Benjamins are some of the most popular islands in the North Channel. With their jumble of smooth granite boulders and a comfortable anchorage with protection from the prevailing winds it’s not hard to see how they’ve gained this reputation.  It was a twenty mile sail from Louisa on another ridiculously hot day.  We poked into Croker Island first, an anchorage just to the east but found it full, so we instead dropped the hook in the basin at the Benjies and did some exploring in the dinghy.

The plan was to spend 2 days here before spending a shore day in Gore Bay.  We plan on every third day as a marina stop to replenish our ice, supplies and ahem, dispense of certain fluids that accumulate when one is away from standard plumbing for a couple of days. Alas, bad planning forced us to pull anchor after our first night and set out for Gore Bay a day early.

Gore Bay is the home base for Canadian Yacht Charters, one of two places where you can charter the use of a power or sail boat for cruising the North Channel if you would rather skip the trip to get here.  We were surprised at the number of boats sitting at the dock.  A chat with the dockhands confirmed that indeed, business is down this year, chalked up to a slow U.S. economy and high Canadian dollar among other things.

We headed back north across the channel and picked up where we left at the Benjamins the next day and spent the next couple of days hiking on the granite, exploring in the dinghy, picking some blueberries and catching a breathtaking sunset to end the day.

North Benjamin in the Distance

Captain is Impressed

Benjamin Anchorage

Persistent Little Shrub 

I'm Lichen this Carpet

Next stop on the itinerary westward was an anchorage between Wilfrid and Laurier Islands, off of the McBean Channel on the way to meet my sister Sue and her husband Jim for a few days off the boat.  We arrived at the anchorage and were greeted by a large welcoming party of deer flies.  These things, if you are not familiar, look like house flies only they bite immediately on landing, generally in between your toes and sting like a bugger.  We didn’t have the anchor down for 5 minutes before I picked up my phone and begged Sue to come and rescue us a day early! 

We were leaving the boat in the Spanish Marina for three days while we were in Elliot Lake with family.  The marina had a very shallow entrance and we chewed a few finger nails going in, but our 3 foot 9 inch draft was good enough to get us in without touching bottom.  When we were packing up the boat to leave, we ran into Cindy’s cousin Cathy and her friend Wayne who keep Breezy, a Tanzer 7.5 sailboat (just like our old boat!) at the marina.

In Elliot Lake, we had a bonus visit with niece Angela her two, Doran and Stella and their cousin Maddie who were there visiting their Grandma and Poppa.  The three days off of the boat were fabulous, Jim and Sue took care of their vagabond company, feeding and watering us, letting us use their laundry and providing us with all the news we’ve been missing for the last month.  We even had a chance to see the Jays beat Boston!

We also had the chance to see the Algo Centre shopping centre that collapsed last month.  We learned of how the town is dealing with the aftermath, and the plans for the near-term as well as some speculation of what will happen in the long term.  I suggest that if you have a chance, read the article from Macleans magazine for the real insight on what went on during the rescue efforts.

After three days of being spoiled rotten, we left Spanish; and for the first time since leaving Ivy Lea thirty five days earlier we pointed Northern Whisper west, starting our slow journey home.  First stop was Hotham Island, a great anchorage about ten miles from Spanish where we were spared the deer fly scourge.  We soaked up the rays, caught another stupid fish (returned to the water for re-programming) and slept like babies on the water.  PERFECT!

Morning at Hawthom Island

We did some more exploring the next day on the boat.  Lacking wind, we motored fifteen or so miles to Clapperton Island, one of the more popular anchorages in the North Channel.  Well, that was what we read, but we got there and had the place to ourselves until almost dark.  We were anchored just off an abandoned lodge in clear warm water.  The swimming was excellent, the fishing was just like I like it (no bites), and the barbeque was to die for.

Listening to the weather the next morning was interesting to say the least.  They had the wind coming from every compass direction over the next 24 hours, with a thunderstorm thrown in for laughs.  We made the decision to haul anchor and head into Little Current and the relative safety of the docks to try and beat the storm.  The anchor hauling and Little Current heading went as planned; however the storm-beating was slightly off.  We were hit with some dandy winds as the storm moved just south of us, but the sailing was great and we got ourselves into the docks 3 hours later only a bit wet.

Tunderin' Jeepers

Little Current gets Busy Before a Storm

Some People Don't Need a Sailboat
Cruise Ship Yorktown in Little Current 

Little Current once again provided a chance for a family visit, this time from Cindy’s Aunt Cecile and Uncle Johnny.  We had a wonderful afternoon with them.  We particularly enjoyed their reminiscences of the Island. The one that caught my imagination was Aunt Cecile’s story of the time she bought her very first long gown.  She was invited to a dance at the Masonic Hall in Espanola and needed a fancy dress.  Since there was nothing of the sort in Espanola, she called Turners, a landmark in Little Current that is still in business, and asked the owner if he could help.  He sent her three to choose from on the train that ran between Little Current and Espanola and she told us that she chose a beautiful blue taffeta dress with a big bow and sent the other two back.  Her eyes were sparkling when she was telling us about how she was complimented at the dance.  She still has the dress!

Johnny and Cecile

Aunt Cecile and Niece Cindy!

Marc and Karen, old and dear friends from high school made the drive to the Island that evening to join us for supper at the Anchor Inn, another Little Current landmark.  We had a hoot catching up with them and are looking forward to getting them out on the boat soon!

This morning after joining Roy Eaton’s Cruiser’s net  broadcast, we provisioned Northern Whisper and left Little Current astern and are currently anchored in the rain (yes, rain – who knew?) in Browning Cove at Heywood Island and are planning the itinerary for the eastern North Channel, and the trip down the eastern side of Georgian Bay before re-entering the Trent Severn.  Stay tuned….

 

Skipper hates Swabbing