John Harbour

John Harbour is a well protected anchorage on the Whalesback Channel portion of the North Channel (N46 08.130' and W082 37.117'). It is real wilderness, no cottages just rock, trees and water. The RCMP boat was cruising around here yesterday and seemed quite interested in all the Americans from Michigan not sure why. One couple was out kayaking and fishing so they were not around to let them board both times that the RCMP went to their boat.  They finally gave up.
Jerry caught an other small bass yesterday to add to the larder, way to go Captain. The water is a little cooler here at 72 degrees, it was so hot that it makes for a refreshing swim.
We gathered wood and had a lovely campfire with our Michigan neighbours, it is always nice to have some company. We had a noisy thunderstorm and downpour overnight but we are safe in this little harbour so we watched and enjoyed it.
Today is a lazy day in the Harbour, we will stay put and do what ever we want. I will be reading and I imagine Jerry will be off fishing for that elusive pickerel.

Tied stern to shore at John Harbour

Just a little fellow

Campfire on the rocks at John Harbour

Sunset at John Harbour

Spanish

Spanish is a small community on the Whalesback Channel that was a logging town but is now mainly catering to boaters. The Municipal Marina has a stone break wall and a good low dock for transient boaters to tie up to during the day to reprovision. There is a walkway of steps where you can climb up to a windmill and see a panoramic view of Whalesback Channel. They have a nature trail and a really nice club house. The club house has a gym, a sitting lounge, a good laundry facility, a conference type room and lots of clean showers and washrooms.  The complex is air conditioned.  A memorable day it was for the crew of the North Star because we had our first hot shower since June 23!!!
The Town has one grocery store that was well stocked and the beer and liquor store combination was easily accessible. There is even a Rona hardware store. It is a 20 minute walk from the dock but we have our bikes so we made three trips to get everything we needed. The terrain is fairly flat so no big deal, it was good exercise.
We left at 6:00 to go anchor at Green Island for the night (N46 09.677' and W082 23.071'). The water in the Whalesback is brownish, not clear water we have been spoiled with. The temperature is still in the mid to high 70 degrees.
 The North Channel is more rugged and less populated than Georgian Bay so we can usually walk on shore and explore. The mosquitoes are thick at dusk but otherwise we are fine during the day.  It appears that when the anchorage is on a larger body of water as opposed to a cove, we get these small fast moving biting flies and deer flies. The water is quite deep so you are usually anchored in 20 feet of water so this requires a fair amount of rode. The bottom is often a layer of clay over rocks and provides good solid holding.
Today we are off to John's Harbour west of John Island to anchor for the night.

Spanish Marina walkway

North Star at Spanish Marina

Spanish Municipal Marina

Panoramic view of the Whaesback Channel

The Benjamin Islands

The Benjamins are certainly the most spectacular anchorages we have stayed in to date. Smooth pink granite rocks with lots of trees and even a sandy beach.  South Benjamin is the preferred anchorage but it was too crowded for our liking so we are anchored at North Benjamin near our own sandy beach (N46 05.448' and W082 15.075'). There are few cottages in the North Channel so walking ashore is permitted.  I even found enough blueberries for pancakes.  We gathered wood and had a nice campfire again last night.

The crew of North Star will not go hungry, the captain caught two large mouth bass within 15 minutes.  He had his fishing line in the water with a hook and worm and luckily we were aboard when the pole started dancing in the holder. I even caught the fight on camera.
Enough of this peaceful wilderness, today we have to go to Spanish to reprovision.

The fight

The happy Captain

Sandy beach on North Benjamin

North Benjamin Island

Crocker Island

North Star at Crocker Island

Walking in this wonderful wilderness

Fish dinner on the rocks

View from the top..no cottages

Things keep getting better and better.  We left Louisa and headed west to the Benjamin Island under sunny skies and a perfectly flat sea. A welcome relief after two days of high winds. The Benjamin chain consist of four islands that have flat pink granite rocks for walking on.  The view is spectacular as you climb up the steep cliffs on Crocker Island (N46 04.541' and W082 12.885').  There are blueberries in abundance but they are small due to the hot dry season. We are tied stern to shore with a bow anchor as is the custom here.  There are at least 40 boats in these two well protected bays with the majority being sailboats.
This would have been just an other beautiful anchorage if it were not for the comradery of our fellow boaters.  A couple from Ottawa invited us to join them for a cook out on the rocks. They roasted an Arctic char and everyone brought something to add to the dinner. We were four couples and a fine time was had by all. Thank you John and Lise for organising the dinner.
Today we will sail two miles to the South Benjamin Island as we hear it is the prettiest of the group.

Louisa Island

Louisa Island

The Beach at Louisa Island

Louisa Island Anchorage

The winds did not subside in the afternoon as predicted but instead they increased.  We had to leave Bell Cove because it got too uncomfortable.  We crossed the Bay of Islands and anchored at Louisa Island (N46 04.778' and W082 00.401') which is a more protected spot. There are 11 boats here and many stopped to chat.  We even had an invitation to come for drinks on Step Aside, a 30 foot Hunter sailboat. It is the Newfoundland flag that attracts new friends.
Louisa anchorage comes complete with a sandy beach, a place to build a campfire and nice smooth rocks to walk around the island.  We met a nice French lady who was out picking blueberries. You can walk across the point and get a view of the Bay of Islands on the other side of Louisa.
Today we are going to Crocker Island which the first Island in the Benjamin Islands chain.  It is a mere 10 miles away.

Bell Cove in the Bay of Islands

We are in the Bay of Islands anchored in Bell Cove (N46 02.676' and W081 55.396').  We spent the day exploring the shoreline trail, trolling in the dinghy and swimming.  We had a nice campfire last night complete with a lightning show over the La Cloche Mountains to the North of the cove. There are 4 of us anchored here but the protection from the North West wind is not favourable and of course that is what is blowing now. We are staying until this afternoon when the wind should subside.
We met some folks from Port Dover in Little Current so we missed the cruisers pot luck dinner. We stayed at the town dock all evening chatting with all the boaters, it was a pleasant evening. little Current is a quaint little town and has all the amenities that boaters are looking for not too far from the town dock.  It is quite busy after the swing bridge opens, every hour on the hour, but it calms down in the evening.
We will go back to get more provisionsin Little Current before we head towards the Benjamin Islands. The internet access is not good here so I will post pictures when we go to Little Current.

Town Dock in Little Current

Trolling in Bell Cove

Campfire in Bell Cove

The Pool to Little Current

We are tied at the town dock in Little Current, sitting at Anchor Inn Hotel using the Internet and having a cold one. We were anchored in The Pool at the end of Baie Fine for the last two nights and we had no cell phone or Internet access.
The Pool is 9 miles at the end of Baie Fine and used to be a popular anchorage (N46 02.653' and W081 28.698').  The first night there were 3 of us anchored and we had the pool to ourselves last night.  The water is warm but there are a lot of weeds so boats that take external water don't like that.  It was a chore getting the anchor back on board with all the weeds on the rode.  It was worth it for all the activities available here.  There a myriad of walking trails that lead to various lakes.  One trail follows a creek bed and winds up to aptly named lake Topaz. The water in Topaz lake is a topaz colour and the water is 80 degrees with no weeds, fish or algae. A short climb further past lake Topaz you are standing on the quartz cliffs with a spectacular view of the Pool below. All trails are part of Killarney Provincial Park and are used by the really fit canoeist who can climb and carry large loads for a long portage.  Too strenuous for we old folks.
Jerry caught several small fish for a good feed but the big one got away.  Perhaps the Captain was distracted by the folks who came to chat by dinghy and when they were leaving the dinghy got away from them and the man went flying backwards in the water.  The wife managed to get it under control and came back to pick him up.  No pictures just a good laugh.
We had a huge turtle spend the afternoon at our boat which discouraged me from swimming too much.   Jerry was quite taken with it and fed it and christened it George.
Some Americans told us about a cruisers net that broadcast on VHF radio channel 71 out of Little Current. They give you the weather and some news before they ask the cruisers to call in with their boat name and location.  I called in the last two mornings.  It is kind of neat to hear where everybody is.
We learned about a cruisers pot luck dinner tonight here at the dock so we will try to attend before we go out to anchor.  We will probably stay around Little Current for the next 2 days.

Topaz Lake

Threenarrows Lake..a long walk up

View of the Pool from the top

Quartz Cliffs

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The Pool

Relaxing in Covered Portage Cove

We did not leave this little haven yesterday. The weather called for strong winds so we stayed put and busied ourselves with boat chores. We spent a lot of time in the water scrubbing the waterline clean and cooling off on such a hot day.
We dinghyed ashore to explore the other side of the cove. There are miles of ski doo trails that branch off in all direction through thick woods and quartz rocky cliffs.  We saw a deer but we did not have our camera with us. We were out walking for 2 hours and still were not able to cover all the trails. The terrain is quite steep so we got lots of exercise.
We dinghyed around and chatted with some of the boaters and had an all around pleasant day.
Today we are touring the North Channel. We are going for a 19 mile steam to Baie Fine and will anchor at The Pool for the night.  This place also has walking trails that we will explore.

Doing boat chores

Exploring the trails at Covered Portage Cove

White quartz cliffs

Killarney

We left Killarney Provincial Park anchorage in fog but the sun soon came out.  We only had 6 miles to go to Killarney to reprovision. The town of Killarney is quite small with only one grocery store and a marina that sells a few provisions. The liquor store/beer store has a dock that transient boaters can use for 30 minutes.  We got there before the store opened and it was not a busy day so they let us stay several hours. We walked the town and went to Herbie's Fish Market to buy fresh fish.  The ladies clean it right there and package it for you. We found the prices quite high for food and propane but the last large grocery store was back in Parry Sound so we had little choice but to shop here. The town has a special transient garbage and recycling area which is nice for those of us who only anchor.
Herbie's has a bus type fish restaurant that everyone raved about. We were not that impressed. They serve white fish and we found it tasteless with a grainy consistency, perhaps it was overcooked. I hope so because we bought some fresh fish from them, I will see how the Captain improves the flavour when he cooks it today.
We are 3 miles past the town of Killarney at Covered Portage Cove which is an exceptionally good anchorage (N45 59.987' and W081 32.825'). The cove is surrounded by high rocky cliffs and a coniferous forest and there are no cottages.  We were able to dinghy ashore and walk a trail that leads to the top.  What a spectacular view from the top.  One must remember to take some mosquito repellent.  There are lots of blueberries to pick as well. The water temperature is still in the mid seventies so we are really pleased with that because swimming is a must in this heat. We have some beavers entertaining us and we have been snorkeling but not much to see with a rock bottom with a clay covering.
Today we are not moving, the Captain needs to fiddle with the water filter and hot water tank and I am happy for the break, I might clean windows which should kill half an hour.
Basically we usually get up at 7 get our tea and coffee ready, pull up anchor and motor until noon and pull into a town to get provisions then go find an anchor for the rest of the day. We usually eat breakfast while in transit and eat dinner at around 7 at night.  It's a tough life but the Captain and I think we can manage it.

Herbie's Fishs Market...they clean it while you wait

Nice seating on the water at Herbie's Fish Restaurant

Covered Portage Cove

Quite a steep climb to the top



LCBO dock in Killarney



North Star in Covered Portage Cove

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Not Newfoundland it's Killarney

The end of Georgian Bay

Collins Inlet

Trees growing out of the cliffs in Collins Inlet

Killarny Provincial Park Anchorage

Mama Bear

We made the 18 mile crossing of open water in very favourable weather. The rest of our travel yesterday was on Collins Inlet which is a long narrow waterway that winds its way through cliffs and forest.  The rock is becoming pinkish in colour with trees growing right out of the cliffs. 
We saw a mother bear with two cubs this time. There is a lot of deer flies (stouts) and horse flies around and of course the mosquitoes are thick at dusk.
We anchored just off Killarny Provincial Park (N45 59.519' and W081 22.754') and swam ashore to explore the rocky shore. There are lots of blueberries but they are not quite ready.
Today we will go 6 miles into Killarny to reprovision and to stay at the many anchorages around.  This concludes our leg of Georgian Bay as Killarny is the beginning of the North Channel.

Bustard Islands

What a beautiful day we had yesterday.  The weather was perfect but we still opted for the more scenic small craft route that winds through the rock and trees. We had some more hairpin turns that look too small for our boat but we made it.  We saw a mother bear and her cub but they were a little too far off for a picture.  There are less cottages now and we only saw a few little fishing boats.  We thought we were the only people out here until we reached the Bustard Islands. This is evidently a favourite anchorage for many folks.  There are 38 power boats anchored in the bay next to us and we are with the 4 sailors (N45 53.775' and W080 54.300').  One couple who came to chat caught a good size pike but Jerry had no luck.
We have seen many loons, some cormorants, gulls, osprey and terns and the odd beaver.  I was expecting more wild life and birds.
Today we are leaving early to do a 2 hour open water crossing.  The wind is light out of the south east so we are good to go. We are headed to Collins Inlet so to morrow will be inland water again.

We need a smaller boat for this turn

Everyone anchors and explores the Bustard Islands by dinghy

Sunset at the Bustards

Turns out we were not alone on the water

Going fishing