Cruising Georgian Bay

cmount1

cmount1

Member
Feb 14, 2011
212
Lake St. Clair, Michigan
Boat Info
1979 300 Express
Engines
Twin Chrysler 330's (440ci or 7.2L)
Our summer plans are to cruise the Georgina Bay area over the Fourth of July for 14 days. So I’ve started to plan it out, I bought a Richardsons’ chart book and cruising guide to study up on the area. There in lays my question(s). There are so many places to visit its overwhelming, so I would appreciate suggestions and cautions from anyone’s previous experiences that can help me narrow down a cruising plan. I’ve read several threads on the subject here on CSR and others. I’m hoping to see as much as I can, though I don’t want to spend the entire time cruising, I need to balance that with time spent on the hook or at a port along the route.
The initial plan is to start from my home port of course and run to Kincardine for one night, then up to Tobermory for a night, then over to Baie Fine for a couple of nights and finally onto Killarny. From that point I was thinking about following the Small Craft route shown on the charts south from there to ???. Considering the first part of the plan is kind of set, at least to Tobermory anyways. That leaves me with 8 days to continue exploring the area while holding the 2 days it takes to get back home. That ASSumes I don’t lose anytime to the weather. I can extend the trip a couple of days if needed but, that eats away at the last of my allowed vacation days.
I have read through the customs requirements regarding restrictions on goods I can bring into the country and the documentation needed but, anything regarding customs, even if it’s repeated several times would be great. I would hate for any oversights on my part to take away from the trip.
Also what is the current cost of fuel in the area and the average transient dockage rate?
I’ll stop there and see where it goes from here.

Carl
 
Several years go we visited that area and it was spectacular. On our third day we were in Tobermory. From theren we headed north east about 60 miles to Bad River. It is marked on the charts but recommend putting someone on the bow looking for rocks. Once in the anchorage area, there are many great areas to explore by dinghy. Beautiful and serene.

From there we headed west to Beaverstone Bay (only 12 miles). Again, the enterance is well marked but follow the charts carefully. There are many nice anchorages in the lake. We then exited the lake on the northern end and entered Collins Inlet, a narrow but deep water passage. Another beautiful ride. That enters Mill Lake which offers several more beautiful anchorage areas.

We then resumed the journey west in Collins Inlet (it exits the NW tip of Mill Lake). After heading west about 10 miles you reenter Georgian Bay about 5 miles east of Kilarney. From there it is an easy day trip to Baie Fine and the Pool.

After a few days in Kilarney, we continued west to Litttle Current, Gore Bay, through the Mississauga Cut to Presque Isle and home. This was all easily accomplished in 2 weeks.

Have a great time. Let me know if you have any questions.

For some great video, Google " tick tock north channel". Our friends created this log of the trip with video and comments each day.

Jim
 
Thanks Jim, there's a lot of good detail from your friends on the Tick Tock.

Thanks as well Dquint, I'll look into the GLCC.

Carl
 
Places to check out if you can:

Bustard Islands
Parry Sound area Port Rawson (San Souci)
If you make it down the South end, check out the Midland Area, Georgian Bay Islands National Park (Beausoleil Island)
Anywhere between Killarney and Midland on the East coast of the bay there are TONS of great anchorages. Be sure to check out Active Captain.

Be aware, follow the channels and markers religiously. There are LOTS of rock just waiting for you.

That is the time of year we typically head towards Killarney from Midland ourselves. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the Bay. Maybe we could meet up at one of the great places to drop the hook.
 
Carl

You will have a great time. The water and the scenery are amazing up there. We made the trip in 2012 and are considering another this year. We hit Kincardine, Tobermory, Kilarny, Covered Portage, Mary Ann Cove, Little Current and the Benjamin Islands. Dockage and fuel was a little more than Michigan but it's well worth it. I have read Tick Tocks logs many times and still notice something new every time I read them. We have not been south into Georgian Bay but would love to tie it in with a loop thru the Trent Severn Waterway. Boogaboo has some great video on Youtube of the waterway and Georgian Bay. Plan several versions your trip that you can fall back to if the weather is up or you just feel like going a different direction. Customs was easy both ways. Bring as much supplies as you can fit. Little Current is a nice place to restock. Are you planning on coming down to Sandusky for the CSR rendezvous this summer? Good luck and enjoy the planning!

Bill G
 
Thanks again everyone.

Molson - we should touch base closer to cruise time and if it works out it would be nice to meet somewhere.

Bill - I would like to come to Sandusky but, the budget won't allow it.
 
grayzone said:
The Benjamin Island's are about 8 miles from our home marina.

http://www.townofspanish.com/spanish-municipal-marina/

You could spend a lot of time poking around a 5 miles radius of them.

Fox,Eagle,Hotham or Croker etc
Click to expand...

We stopped at your marina in Spanish for the first time last summer. Very nice place. We got fuel, did laundry, and even got a short ride into town to replenish groceries, before anchoring at several spots in the Whalesback Channel. Must be nice to have some of the best Great Lakes Cruising so close to your home port.
 
Carl,
There are so many choices, you could fill up a whole lot more than 14 days! You need to factor in buffer time for weather, as you will most probably encounter a few days where you won't want to travel. Tobermorey, in particular, is an area where you can get socked-in with wind and waves. Being in a choke point between two large bodies of water, it's like a mini Cape Horn (very mini mind-you). It's the site of Canada's first underwater National Park (Five Fathoms National Park) for a reason (lots of ship wrecks). Having said that, Tobermorey itself is a great little port. You dock right in downtown and there's lots of little shops and restaurants to take in. One of my favourite spots to visit. Not far away are the Flower Pot Islands (must see) and the Wingfield Basin at Cabot Head (on the north-east tip of the Bruce Peninsula) which is a great, well-sheltered anchorage if you're headed in that direction.

First choice - do you want to do Georgian Bay or The North Channel? I think you'd have to choose one to be realistic and to actually have the time to enjoy. Both are spectacular.

My marina is in southern G. Bay and I spend an awful lot of my time between Penetanguishene (right at the bottom) and Parry Sound (about half way up the bay on the east side). Lot's to see and do through the 30,000 Islands archipelago where there are over 100,000 documented islands larger than a hectare. Could spend a life time spelunking and still not explore it all. South of Parry Sound is busy, and it really starts to thin out (a good thing) as you get north of Parry Sound and Killbear Provincial Park. In the northern reaches are the Bustard Islands (North East corner) and The Bad River (western estuary of the French River). I love both. You won't find better dingy exploration territory than The Bad. Multiple fingers of glacial carved, fluvial rivers to explore.

Having said all that, if you haven't been to the North Channel (the waters north of Manitoulin Island), that's where I'd be spending my time. From Tobermorey, you could head north to Killarney, which is a nice little town to visit for a night or two. The Sportsman's Inn is the place to be in town. From there, cut over to Baie Fine - which is a spectacular land-locked fjord, lined with white quartz cliffs. Wind your way to the bottom and spend some time in or outside The Pool, where you can jump off to hike the trails of Killarney Provincial Park and take a dip in Topaz Lake, a crystal clear "bottomless" pond at the top of the cliffs where you can clearly see down to a depth of 25' or so... After you're done with Baie Fine, head over to Little Current, which would be your base of operations for the next week or so. Depending on how much time you like to spend on the hook, you could do a couple of days in The Benjamins (my favourite anchorage and the best Island anchorage in North America according to Soundings Magazine's review a couple of years ago). There are tons of other island anchorages in the area which you could also pick up from the reference sources mentioned in previous posts on this thread. I'll be heading back up to the North Channel for the first two weeks of August!

Either way, you can't go wrong. Once you make the principal choice, let us all know and we can zero you in further. There are a bunch of G Bay boaters on CSR.

Cheers!
Paul
 
Last edited:
Hey Carl. We've changed our trip plans to head towards Tobermory this year. We plan on leaving Saturday (12th) and head towards Cape Croker @ MacGregor harbour for a night. Sunday we'll head to Wingfield Basin at Cabot Head for a night, or two. The on to Tobermory for provisions and fuel, and also to explore the area. We may try to head up to Club Island if the weather cooperates. If you're out and about next week, let me know. PM me and we can share contact info.
 
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