August 22, 2004 -
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We were taking pictures off the camera and noticed a number
that you might be interested in and maybe a little bit more
about the North Channel. We anchored out most nights but we
did stay in Killarney, Ontario as we mast the passage from the
Georgian Bay to the North Channel. Our cruise to Killarney
took us from the Georgian Bay thru the Collins Inlet. This is
a beautiful passage that my camera could not do justice. The
expanse of shear rock dropping to the water was glorious. They
were boats traveling behind us but as we moved thru the inlet
it felt like we were alone in the world. We did not see any
wildlife but several other fellow boaters reported eagle, deer
and bears.
The town of Killarney is definitely a product of the cruising
industry. It is a narrow passage from the Collins Inlet to the
North Channel. The first road to Killarney was built in 1962.
Prior to that all good arrived by boat. There are a number of
marinas along the waterway but the two that can handle our
boat size are Mountain Lodge and Sportsman’s Inn.
There are a number of pictures of Killarney from our boat. In
this case a picture tells more than text. That place is hoppin’!
Boats are pulled in at least two to a pier depending on your
size. It doesn’t matter if you’re staying one night or 4 you
and your pier mate work out the details on departure if you’re
the inside boat.
On our first night there were 2 Carver pilothouse boats tied
next to us. The shore side boat was 53’, the channel side was
57’. I forgot to mention the piers width is like a double well
slip. Sharing the well with them was a 45’ motor sail and a
50’ Sea Ray Sundancer. Get the picture. Beginning about noon
the waterway was a giant boat ballet. Boats were lined up
along the waterway idling waiting for slip assignments and
space just to move. (For those of you who watched the Eddy
Creek ballet on July 4th at the gas dock you will have a
slight idea of the activity.)
Sportsman’s has slips on both sides of the channel and the
services are connected by a pontoon boat called “Tinkerbelle”
to ferry people across the river to the restaurants, laundry,
ice and grocery. I will say the sunset at Killarney was the
most beautiful of the trip so far.
We decided to leave a day earlier than planned and escape to
the solitude of the North Channel. The day was overcast and
windy but the ride was peaceful. We were passing the town of
Little Current and tried to call our friends Old Grumpy to see
if they were in the neighborhood. We didn’t raise Old Grumpy
but Gary from Sabrina IV (one of the 3 Canadian couples we had
met on the Trent Severn.) We quickly changed our course and
meet them at Coker Island in the Benjamin’s group.
It was fun seeing them again and catching up on their sailing
stories. We anchored with them that evening. They were fixing
fish chowder for dinner and invited us to join them for dinner
onshore. The breeze was blowing hard enough to keep the black
flies away but too hard to light the campfire.
We left then the next morning to move on. They were planning
to stay awhile and sail.
Our next stop was Gore Bay. We stayed in the marina there and
found Old Grumpy and Hippocampus tied up there too. What a
nice reunion. They directed us to the grocery and a few other
attractions in town. The next day we traveled to Meldrum Bay
and spent the night in a very small marina but we needed fuel
for the cross to Mackinac. We also wanted to check out the
Canadian Yacht Charter boats just in case we decide to cruise
these waters again but don’t want to bring our own boat. Nice
clean boats and really nice people. The lighthouse is on the
end of Meldrum Bay as we made our way out of the Bay to
Mackinac. |
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