Snug Harbor - No Vacancy Covered Portage Cove - No Vacancy Pine Island - Vacancy then Tidal Waves. Let's Go To Killarney!

Well after pulling up all the lines, which entailed Bernie keeping Meridian in the middle of the channel while Phil dinghyed to shore, removed the lines from the trees, dinghyed back to Meridian, lifted the dinghy and tied it off, we set off for the dangerous and treacherous, narrow and winding, shoal-strewn LANSDOWNE CHANNEL (cue the scary music!) which would lead us to a safe anchorage such as Covered Portage or Pine Island. (HAH!)


At the beginning is Hole-in-the-Wall. At its narrowest, Hole in the Wall is an 8 foot wide boat passage. Most local boaters take their out-of-town visitors through the Hole for thrills and excitement. We're not quite ready for that kind of manuevering (hey, we're from the southern edge of Lake Michigan, to us, the Chicago River is narrow and winding!) This is not Hole in The Wall. Bernie doesn't always identify the landmarks correctly. But it does give you an idea about th shoals and upcoming landscape.


Once in the channel itself, the high cliffs of white granite, quartzite, and pine trees, are picturesque and indescribable to behold.











Beautiful, that is, once you get passed all the shoals that you have to dodge. Always remember that the first rule of boating is "Don't boat where the birds walk." The Canadian Coast Guard has to put buoys all down the channel, though, because they can't trust the darn cormorants and seagulls to stand on the shoals all day and night as a warning to all boaters.



The channel is well marked with buoys but the first time through was a little nerve-wracking. Plus, of course, the wind was starting to pick up. Although there are a couple of fully protected anchorages off Lansdowne Channel, we didn't know how full they'd be. Passing Snug Harbor, the boats looked snugly fit in there. Covered Portage Cove, next on the list, was so full that the boats were spilling out into the outer edge of the outer harbor. THAT wasn't promising. The last one on our list was Pine Island. There was only boat in there and it looked like a pretty little spot, although not as protected from the winds. So we set about putting down two anchors and getting further stabilized by tying to a tree. Having honed our tie-to-tree skills at Heywood, we were able to get that done in less than a half hour this time. We'd have some pictures of this but the North Channel Tropical Storm winds were moving in to Hurricane wind territory and it was too hard to get a steady picture.

As usual, the one direction that Pine Island doesn't really protect you from, west/northwest, is the one direction that the wind decided to blow from. The wind funneled down the little inlet opening (where have we experienced THAT before ... Port Sheldon, Fox Harbour, Hotham, etc. etc, etc.) and threw some rolling waves. We started to ask ourselves if this was REALLY where we wanted to wait out the never-ending series of tidal waves that was taking over this little inlet. About that time, the other boat in the harbor weighed anchor and headed off. We took the hint, pulled out the charts and set a course for Killarney.

We were going to Killarney anyway, so we just adjusted our schedule. Undoing the shore lines and the two anchors in the wind conditions was a thrill. Good thing we didn't go through Hole-In-The-Wall -- too many thrills in one day would be way too taxing. It only took a few minutes to undo all this. It's amazing how a little wide-eyed terror improves your boating skills. But Meridian was in agreement with our decision to leave so she cooperated.

Although Pine Island was pretty and looked like there were some good kayaking opportunities, it is not the place to be in any kind of westerly winds, especially if they are strong enough that the surfers start gathering. Here is the tree we temporarily tied to.


The Killarney West Light marks the entrance to the Killarney Channel. Of course, this picture doesn't show the tidal waves themselves, more the backsplash from the waves.


Approaching Killarney, we radioed the Sportsman's Inn Marina on VHF 68 and were told we could have the last available slip on the gas dock. We snapped that up! It worked out well because boats our size usually get put on the other side of the channel and dinghy or use their Tinkerbell Ferry to cross the channel. Those docks are a little old but are to be redone soon. The fuel dock is nice and sturdy and would allow us to gas up and pump out when we left without having to move (oh how lazy we are!)

We were one of only three boats that came in without reservations. The marina was almost full. Immediately, we had a good feeling about Killarney. There is a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere about the whole town and especially Sportsman's. (We later learned that Sportsman's is under new management and the new owners have worked to restore the main building. The showers are really big for a marina and well maintained. The Sportsman's Inn Marina restaurant recently re-opened for breakfast and lunch. They aren't serving dinner yet. The bar does serve bar food (nachos, wings, burgers) including the most economical pizza we think we've ever had. For $16, you gat a very large medium crust cheese and pepperoni pizza. It's $1.50 per extra topping, as long as the topping meets the approval of the chef. We ordered a pizza with mushroom and brocolli. The poor bartender had to come back and tell us that the chef couldn't do brocolli because he would have to blanch the brocolli first and that would add extra time (Chefs can be sooooooooooo persnickety.) We changed it to mushroom and green pepper, which apparently got the chef's OK. It was a very good pizza!

Killarney is one of our favorite towns. At first glance, it looks like the town is entirely marinas. But, upon closer inspection you find that each marina is more than a marina. As mentioned previously, Sportsman's is also an inn and restaurant.

Gateway Marina is also a bakery and restaurant. They open at 6:30am and have amazing fresh-baked Cinnamon Rolls, Butter Tarts, Granny Cakes (sugar, spices, pineapple), muffins, and breads.

Channel Marina is also the ice cream shop, which opens at 11:00am.

The other interesting part about Killarney is that all the businesses have docks for customers to tie up to. This goes back to the days before 1962 when there were no roads to Killarney. The only access was the channel. The businesses developed along the river and the docks enabled customers and supplies to get to the businesses. Pitfield's General Store has docks for customers to tie up to when they are shopping or doing laundry ($1.50/wash; $0.25/ 7 minutes and 50 seconds of dryer time. All washes are cold because they "are saving the planet one load at a time.")


Even the LCBO (liquor store) has a courtesy dock. We noticed that theirs seemed to be the sturdiest.


Herbert Fisheries was the "must stop" place. Whether it is for fish and chips from the bus or for fresh-off-the-boat white fish (filleted while you wait), we've never tasted better fish. Ever! Anywhere!


The Quarterdeck is a nice little shop for artisan crafts and souvenirs. They also have interpretive maps of two of the hiking trails accessible from downtown Killarney: The Lighthouse Trail and the George Island Wilderness Trail. We took the Lighthouse Trail, saving the Wilderness Trail for next time.

The Lighthouse trail is a 2.5km hike to the Killarney East Lighthouse. It is well-marked and rugged (hiking boots strongly suggested). The trail winds through forests, marshes, and the shores of Killarney Bay. It is all part of the Killarney Provincial Park. It is supposed to be a 2 hour hike, but ours lasted 3 hours because we took some side trips and stopped, periodically to eat BLUEBERRIES.



We hated to leave Killarney, but wanted to stick our bow into Georgian Bay before starting the return trip -- a circuitous route we haven't quite decided on yet.

Browning Cove on Heywood Island

After going through the Swing Bridge, we headed toward a little anchorage called Browning Cove on Heywood Island. It is supposed to be a little-used anchorage between the Little Current and Killarney areas.


On the way, we passed Strawberry Island Lighthouse.

The Browning Cove entrance was reminiscent of our arrival to Long Point Cove. That is, we almost missed it. Funny how an opening can blend in to the far shore and not look passable ... until you pass it, look back and say "Oh THERE it is - er - was."

Browning Cove has a large bay and an eastward channel that most boats anchor in. This is where the GLCC information really paid off. We had very good depth and bottom information about a little finger cove by Stanley Point that enabled us to confidently cruise in pretty far, drop anchor and begin a tie-to-shore maneuver that we hoped would work this time. The cove was very well protected from the wind -and there weren't many other boats around to watch - so we thought we'd practice again.

Two and a half hours later, here we are, successfully tied to shore for the first time! For that reason alone, we decided to stay at least two nights. But Browning Cove is worth and extended stay. There is great kayaking, and some land-based exploring to be done. On one of our kayak trips, we found the legendary Browning Cove Totem. We returned to the totem the next morning and made miniature inuksuits of Phil, Bernie and Meridian. We even found a blue rock to represent the Kayak and a grey rock to represent the Dinghy. We also made our first call-in to CruisersNet (9:00am daily, July and August, VHF 71) from the island. That's why the VHF Radio gets included in this picture.


In the cove where we anchored there was a beaver den (home? lair? condominium?). Shortly after we arrived and finished anchoring, two beavers came out of the den. They make an interesting noise -- somewhere between a purr and a growl. We suspect they were saying "There goes the neighborhood!" as they swam toward our anchor line. We thought they would try to dissuade us from staying by gnawing through our anchor line. But, then they pulled out some measuring tape and we got the feeling they were eyeing Meridian as the centerpiece of their new Beaver Dam.

Although Browning Cove is written up as a little-used anchorage, it was quite busy while we were there (July 28-30). At one point there were almost 20 boats (primarily sailboats) in the bay and a few more in the channel. Though most leave by 10:00am, it starts to fill up again in the mid-afternoon. Boats come in small groups on the hour-- kind of like the schedule that the Little Current Swing Bridge has.

Oh, by the way, it looks like Phil is finally "there"!


On Wednesday morning, we debated staying a third night. It was very tempting and if we had heard about the tidal wave forecast for the North Channel, we would have stayed. However, we pulled up anchors and shore lines (if you think it's complicated tying TO shore, wait until you try untying FROM shore! Sheesh!). We headed off east with several potential anchorages outlined on the charts and programmed into the GPS.

Little Current

We had considered a second night in West Hotham -- if you discount the 60 kilometer winds, it was really a nice little anchorage and we were re-assured that our anchor would hold when it was set. We decided that we'd visit Hotham again on the way back and went over to Little Current to do some errands (laundry, provisions, boat cleaning).

Entering Little Current requires paying very close attention to the buoys that mark a narrow channel to the town. The channel runs close to the shore, so watch the buoys carefully. The name "Little Current" is something of an understatement. The current that runs under the slips in the marina is not little at all. Between the current and the wind, the dock hands had their hands full helping us in. They say that this current can change at a moment's notice but the only current we experienced was the raging current from the west that seemed intent on pushing Meridian into the next marina.

Little Current is the "big town" in the North Channel. It is a bustling, provisioning stop that was made a little more bustling this particular weekend (July 26-27) because the Mackinac to Manitoulin ("MacMan") race had just ended. There were a large number of "racer sailors" (not to be confused with "cruiser sailors") running around in matching boat-logo shirts. They were on missions, dispatched by their captains to carry out specific tasks. So focused are they on fulfilling the captain's orders, that they don't have time to smile or say hello to people who aren't wearing shirts that match theirs. If you don't match their shirt, are you "the enemy"? It didn't quite have that welcoming feel that other towns have. Plus we were at a slip that was a little short for us and at the end of the dock where it was the windiest (Future reference: if you can get in on the wall, there is better protection and you're closer to everything. For all these reasons, we decided to stay just one night and forego the boat cleaning. We quickly did laundry ($2.25C/wash; $0.25/5 drying minutes) and provisioned as best we could (fruits and vegetables are not key items carried in grocery stores near marinas).

The laundromat was a little scary. The guy that Bernie got change from had mentioned he'd heard "Horror stories" about doing laundry there. But it wasn't bad at all. Aside from one dryer that didn't dry, it was acceptable. And the people doing the laundry there were obviously cruisers (since the shirts they were washing were all different colors ... and besides, don't racer sailors just pack 10 sets of underwear, 5 pairs of shorts, and 50 matching boat logo shirts?) because they told you which machines would give you hot water, which ones only had cold, and which dryer to avoid.

There are a couple of notable businesses in Little Current.

The Anchor Inn serves a good dinner (whitefish - yum!), has internet available, and also plays host to "Cruiser Net", a daily morning show for cruisers at 9:00am in July and August on VHF 71. They give a news and business summary, weather forecast, and a brief summary about an anchorage, town, or notable site. Cruisers then call in with their boat name and location. We finally started to remember to listen in (Bernie set her phone's alarm -- alarms, time, and some internet are the only things that work on our phones up here. Which is odd because the internet doesn't work with the aircard.) In the five years they've been doing Cruiser Net, they've gone from 414 call-ins in 2005 (they didn't keep stats in 2004) to over almost 3,000. They expect to get to 4,000 in a few weeks.

LocoBeanz Coffee Shop

Turners carries books, art, souvenirs, boating supplies, and a little bit of everything else.

There's a Farquhar's Ice Cream stand by the Town Docks, where we stayed. They give VERY LARGE Ice Cream servings.

Hayden's Meats & Confectionery further up the street has local smoked trout, housemade sausages, local dairy cheese, and other specialty food items.

Valumart and G&G are the grocery stores. There is also a post office, medical office, two banks, two other restaurants, and two sports clothing stores (running attire, t-shirts) on the main street.

Town Docks (officially Port of Little Current) has wifi so we were able to post several blogs to keep everyone up to date. Now that Bernie's PC is getting WiFi again, Phil's has begun to act up. Technology is a wonderful thing -- when it all works. ;)

To leave Little Current to go further east, you have to go through a swing bridge that opens every hour on the hour for 15 minutes but does begin to close after 8 minutes. We caught the 11:00am bridge opening on Monday July 28 and headed off to Browning Cove on Heywood Island.