North Chanel

Saturday 13^th July 2019

By 6pm Friday evening the forecast for Saturday had changed and they were calling 25 knot winds by midday so we had to rethink our plans we decided to get up early and head over to Killarny we couldn’t be so close and not have a look around we figured it was about a 20 minute ride across and if we left to come back about 10.30am we should be fine.  The dingy ride was across open water and we didn’t want to be fighting our way back to the boat.  It’s a pretty little town very touristy but it looked lively and fun.  

A funny thing happened we stopped at a little bakery café attached to the lodge and Craig ordered a small double shot latte Take away, the service was quite slow and I had a look around the boutique next door, Craig was just being handed his latte when I got back, he was given a large cup, he questioned if it was his and the young girls said yes “we put the doubles in a large cup so the ratio of coffee to milk is the same”  was I rude in explaining that if someone orders a small double shot they want their coffee to be strong ? 

We had a quick look around, but the famous Fish and Chip shop and the famous Ice Cream shop didn’t open until 11am.  

wild iris 

From the dingy going through Killarney

As it turned out the forecast winds didn’t amount to much and we could have stayed all day but we were happy to sit back on Adrianna and watch the passing parade of motorboats head in and out of the cove, there were some real strange crafts one looked like a Melbourne tram, this area is a favourite destination for Canadian and American boaters Michigan is not too far away about 9 hours drive by car.

Sunday 14^th July 2019

We saw a bear

We were up reasonably early we have a routine going where we are up and dressed pull up the anchor and head off then have breakfast and tidy up on the way.  We decided to head over to Baie Fine  a deep fjord cut out of quartzite by ice billions of years ago it was 16 nm and we managed to sail most of the way only switching on the engine a couple of times for 5 minute spurts, we were in no hurry and smooched along sometimes as slow as 2 knots but we did pick up to around 5 at one stage.  

The scenery is amazing everywhere but this fjord is supposed to be up there with the best, and it is.  We motor sailed into the entrance for the first nautical mile or so as we had to follow the chart plotter very carefully. The entrance is extremely narrow - as narrow as 2 boat widths at its narrowest but then it opened up and we could sail straight down the centre for 6.5 nm.  

We were travelling through a deep fjord enclosed by white quartzite mountains with trees clinging to their steep sides. At the end of the fjord there is a place called the pond and you can hike to an inland lake called Topaz Lake.  We anchored just outside of the entrance to the pond as we had been told that there are lots of rocks and to be very careful, we figured we could take the dingy in there tomorrow and make it a full day trip.  After we set the anchor and had showers Craig lowered the dingy and went for a run down the last 2.5nm into the Pool, the very end of the fjord.  He was gone about an hour, stopping and chatting to an American couple who laughed and said getting in was no problem and gave us the local info on manoeuvring into this most reverend spot in the North Chanel. After a cold beer and a dinner of curry from the freezer, we escaped below in fear of the mosquitoes. The setting sun was making the cabin glow inside so we popped our heads out to witness the stunning sunset as I turned to look back at the land we saw a bear walk along the shoreline, climb over a rock and disappear I sat with the binoculars focused on the shoreline for another 10 minutes or so and saw either the same bear or new bear run on the opposite end of the flat area Infront of us.  I have since spoken to the American couple (Anne and Jim) and Anne tells me she still hasn’t seen a bear in the 7 years they have been spending their summer holiday here in the North Chanel.

Monday 15^th July 2019

Into our usual routine -  we were up and heading off into the depths of Baie Fine we motored the 2.5 nm into what is called the pool, it is another stunning protected anchorage.  I can see why it is one of the most popular destinations up here.  We dropped the anchor in our little patch of paradise.  The water temperature is now 24c its like a bath !! we jumped in for a cool down and  then gathered what we would need for our walk to look at Topaz Lake, the main item being mosquito repellent. It was a 20-minute hike mostly uphill, we saw a small striped snake, numerous frogs and chipmunks. 

The drop into the lake was over quartz rocks and was very steep. We didn’t go for a swim but picked blueberries instead, I kept close to the track as Craig kept going further and further away always finding a bigger patch in his quest to find the mother load that hadn’t been eaten by local wildlife or the weekend visitors. We had spent abut 3 hours there so headed back to Adrianna for a swim.  Our neighbours Anne and Jim came over for a glass of wine or 2, Craig had whipped up a hummus and a sweet potato dip to share. Our first cruising visitors on Adrianna tuned out to be very entertaining. They serenaded us with their music when they returned to their boat Anne plays the cello and Jim plays finger picking style on an acoustic, they travel with their instruments and love to play a few original compositions in the evenings.

Tuesday 16^th July 2019

We couldn’t decide whether to stay or move on, so we stayed and made blueberry muffins. We had a bit of a lazy day relaxing in the sunshine and after lunch (sweetcorn covered in butter and sweet chili sauce done on the BBQ) we went for a little motor around the pool. Our destination was Artist lake another inland lake this one is covered in waterlilies.  This lake and Topaz Lake were portrayed to the world in the 1930’s by a group of famous artists called the Group of Seven.  

We dropped off a couple of muffins to Anne and Jim as really we don’t need to eat them all and before we could hand over our gift we were gifted one of Jim's CDs.  consisting of  music composed and played by themselves inspired by their time spent on the lakes and is a tribute to their daughter.  It is beautiful music and we really appreciate the gift.  The other boaters had said to watch out for Snappy the snapping turtle and yay he came for a visit , he is huge with big harp claws the turtles snap as they grab their food.  After our dingy ride we were hot and sweaty and covered in insect repellent so it was with great trepidation we jumped in for a swim.

Wednesday 17^th July

Headed out of Baye Fine, such a beautiful place, we managed to sail the whole way out of the fjord.  Anne and Jim left at the same time and at one stage we were sailing parallel.  Our destination was Heywood Island on our way to Little Current,  we have had to get familiar with a whole new set of names but bit by bit the names are becoming easier and the location of the main islands that we have been told are the best ones to visit are beginning to become clear, now we are exploring The North Chanel. 

Upon our arrival at Haywood Island we had a problem dropping the anchor.  The anchor winch stopped turning, apiece of it had come off and it was jammed. We had to idle with me keeping the boat facing the right direction while Craig worked on freeing the winch. He did manage to free it and drop it.

Craig managed to undo the jammed bit on the winch and over the kitchen gas burner, he heated up the plastic part that was the problem and bent it with plyers. He also discovered all the screws were loose and when he took it apart it was void of any lubricant. , Again it was a case of Craig making a temporary work space in the kitchen.

It was still early afternoon and we were tossing up whether to just go to Little Current (which is a little town with 2 supermarkets and a few other shops) when a couple came past to tell us they had just seen a huge bear, they were out in their dingy with their Golden Retriever and I think they were just heading up to the shore to let the dog out for a run and the bear was there just in front of them, they said it looked about 200kg the biggest they have ever seen, I think they got a fright.  They are from Drummond Island USA where they regularly see bears but not as big as this one.  So we dropped the dingy to go and have a look, but with no luck.  Heywood Island was famous last year because there was a large bear getting on to people’s boats, it was a very dry year with not so many blueberries and the bears were all hungry and looking for food.  After we had had a scout around in the dingy it was too late to move on.

Thursday 18^th July

Little Current has a Supermarket not far from the town docks and we had run out of a couple of things and we were looking forward to going for a walk.  The town gets its name from the Currents that run through the channel that runs past the town the town sits on Manitoulin Island. This is where the main highway connects the Island to the mainland.  There is a 100 year old swing bridge that we had to wait until it swung open for us to pass through.  The bridge was originally built for trains, but cars use it now.  The bridge swings on the hour, every hour and boats have about 10 minutes to get through each time. 

We sailed from Haywood on a light wind that got us there just in time for the 10am bridge  opening, we had to idle for a few minutes carefully watching other boats do circles in front of us.  After all our stressing, was a pretty easy thing to do.  Little Current is another town set up for boaters, there is a town dock with showers and a laundromat, a LCBO and 2 supermarkets about half a km away. There are 3 marinas but as we don’t need a marina we motored straight through to the other side of town to a marked anchorage (the anchor winch is fixed now)  we dropped the anchor in a big bay with houses on the shore and the town park just opposite us.  

When we motor this heats up our water so once we were settled, we had quick showers and dinghied into town.  I wanted to upload my blog so after a quick look though a few gift and clothing shops we headed for The Anchor Inn.  The Anchor Inn is an institution up here in the North Channel.  At 9am every day during the Summer season Roy broadcast on the marine radio on channel 70 everyone who is out cruising listens in.  Roy gives world news, then Canadian news, then a detailed weather report, he asks if anyone out there needs assistance, he does  a “this day in history” and then all the boaters “check in” They give their boat name, their location and where they are heading.  We checked in too, what this does is gives all the boaters, yachts and motorboats a way to keep in touch, pass on information and see where their friends are  – the man who told us about the bear at Heywood he called in to let other boaters know that it was there. It was kinda cool to be a part of it.  Anyway we called in there to have a look, id also heard they had a book exchange so I did remember to take a couple with me to exchange.  We ordered a beer and I sat down with the laptop.  The pictures I put on the blog always take ages to upload, Craig got bored, so he went for a walk to the Supermarket. The internet was quite slow !! we ended up staying at the Anchor Inn and had a burger for dinner as the heavens had opened with torrential rain, it had been forecast and we had felt it building all day. It was heavy when it hit, so we decided to stay and eat. We had to pump a couple of inches of water out of the dingy before we could jump in and head back to Adriana.  It cost us $24 for 3 beers and $35 inc tip for our meal that’s almost $60 and tbh the burger was not that nice we were a bit angry at ourselves wasting our kitty money, we spent more at the Anchor Inn that we did at the Supermarket.  Our anchorage was a bit open and we swung around a lot that night which doesnt allow a very restful sleep.