Georgian Bay advice

[play dough]

I'm finally retired and am planning a month to six weeks traversing the North Channel and at least the northern portion of Georgian Bay. We'll depart our slip in Mackinaw City, pass Detour and venture east. We've cruised the North Channel in the past as far east as Baie Finn and the pool. This cruise is planned to include some of our past favorites of the North Channel but then continue through to Killarney, the Collins Inlet and then ???

I'm looking for recommendations regarding stops/anchorages to make and any other things that someone experienced with that area might share. We are cruising a 30' Sundancer and have a 10' inflatable. I doubt we would get south of Parry Sound but I do have an interest in the Trent Severn although will likely save that for a later time. Remembering our first North Channel cruise experience, I may not even get out of that area in six weeks. It was a phenomenal trip and at 10 days, much too brief.

 

[1956olds]

Didnt a guy from St clair just pass away that had a blog about this.It was a good read but i am no good at searching this site.There was a link to the blog on the thread about loosing a good buddy?

 

[RollerCoastr]

Yep. Tim's blog is a must-read for North Channel visitors. Please enjoy - it keeps his memories alive.

www.timandgina.net

 

[1956olds]

Rollercoaster,if you see Gina thank her for trying to keep up the site.This trip is on my bucket list also and will be hoping to do it in the next two years,this year is not good for me but hopefully next year will work out much better.Glen

 

[boltman]

Play dough no no no you can't go to the Georgian Bay it's not safe up there , might be sharks in the water , bad enough now you're retired and I'm not , I'm so freakin jealous
Differently a buck list trip, that is going to happen .


Boltman

 

[play dough]

Um...Robert, you're running around in a 48' sedan and playing the jealous card? That kind of hardware only exists in my dreams.

Coastr,

Thanks for the North Channel blog link. That's a nice read. Hopefully, there will be some more posting regarding the Georgian Bay coast.

 

[Jackie J V]

Congrats Play Dough. It'll be great to have six weeks to enjoy fully exploring. If you've already gone as far east as Baie Fine, I won't go into details on The Pool, The Benjamins, Little Current and surrounding areas. All must do's. One item to definitely check out if you're back in Baie Fine though, is the hike up to Lake Topaz just outside the Pool. If you need more info on it, let me know.

Here are a few recommendations.
1. Plan to spend a day or two in Killarney docked at the Sportsman's Inn. Hike Royal Island.
2. One of my most favourite anchorages is The Bad River, on the north shore of G Bay about an hour or so east of Killarney. About the best place to explore by dingy. Just spectacular. I'd allocate there or four days to anchor there. Need to be a little flexible on time, as if the winds whip up out of the South, the approaches can be rough.
3. Across from The Bad River are the Bustard Islands. Another place to spend a few days on the hook.

Unless you're willing to commit to spending some time further south, I'd probably consider this the furthest point of your trip. There are a few anchorages and what not, but really you'd be heading down to Parry Sound to find anything more than is available to you in the north.

4. I'd recommend carving out a little time to cross over to Tobermorey. It's got a great town dock, right in downtown. Touristy and a good place to get out and stretch your legs on the norther stretches of The Bruce Peninsula.
5. Depending on your route path, you could head over to The Wingfield Basin at Cabot Head. A great anchorage with the wreck of The Gargantuan and a lighthouse to explore.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Cheers!
Paul

 

[Jackie J V]

To further whet your appetite, here's a thread of pics I had posted on a trip from a couple of years ago.
http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/22890-Lake-Huron-Vacation?highlight=

...and another from a trip in 2010. This one's got some great pics of the Bad River area.
http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/40575-Georgian-Bay-and-the-North-Channel-2010?highlight=

Enjoy!
Paul

 

[play dough]

Thanks Paul. Those photos get the juices flowing. We covered the North Channel north coast from Blind River to Baie Fine quite extensively in our last trip and yes, did take the hike to Topaz Lake...sans mosquito repellent. Ouch. We've not done anything on Manitoulin other than a provisioning stop at Little Current and look forward to hitting a couple of the island ports as well as the waters east of Little Current.

Again, thanks for posting.

 

[Jackie J V]

Play dough,
Another port on Manitoulin worth checking out is Gore Bay. The marina is nice. A good spot for reprovisioning prior to shooting over to The Benjamins.

Paul

 

[boltman]

Him ihm play dough .... I'm running around delivering nuts and bolts everyday and you're retired and salmon fishing..... Smooth sailing on that Georgian Bay trip!!!! I'm envious
Paul those are some outstanding pics what do you think a min of two weeks needed maybe three, our problem is the time it takes to get the boat up there , we've thought about leaving the boat up there , I've thought about starting a limo service to limo couples back to their homes when leaving their boats in vacation mode. Call it yacht services , what do you think Playdough??

Boltman

 

[play dough]

I think you'll have a very small market.

We've considered being a seasonal transient and move from port to port all year. The logistics of moving the car is one of the issues with that unless one of us cruises and the other drives which isn't the best solution to us. Slip cost goes up as well. I wish the state would offer a seasonal pass to the state marinas. One price, any state port for maybe some maximum consecutive stay at any one port. Grant in aid marinas could also opt in on the program to promote usage.

 

[Jackie J V]

I think the seasonal dockage would be tough for the reasons outlined. How about moving season to season? If I were retired now, I'd consider moving my boat up the north channel for a season to fully explore. Depends on how much boating you want to do really.

Boltman - I'm not sure how long it would take you to get there, but I'd have to say two weeks would be good, three better. The trip we did in one of those threads was 650 miles or so, covered in two weeks under less than favourable sea conditions.

Paul

 

[boltman]

Yes , I feel two weeks in the north channel isn't enough time, three weeks is good and I don't have that kind of time , someday maybe but not now. Gods willing maybe someday we will . And we will still will have an issue with the car , yes it will be a limited market , that's why I'm not doing it , thanks Jim for your feed back .


Boltman

 

[Jackie J V]

If you're just cruising and have no need to return home mid trip, you have no need of a car in the North Channel and surrounding area. The towns are all geared to boaters and the critical amenities - groceries and booze - are all within walking distance of the docks. In many circumstances, local businesses supply transportation if there's anything outside walking distance, or if you're lugging groceries. Just ask.

Paul

 

[play dough]

Yeah, I'm not concerned about a car during the summer cruise. My comment about cars was in regards to being a season long transient and dealing with a car that needed to follow me. Just returned to Michigan from a hot 90° Florida. Spent all winter in the south trying to decide which is worse, too hot or too cold. Being a resident of the north, I think the too hot bothers me more...and that surprised me.

 

[northern]

No idea about cell phone service in your area. You might want to install a 3 Watt booster on your boat. We have one and it really works. We are able to connected where others can not. We have one with antenna that connects to booster to antenna in boat that allows you to use several cell phones. We also use cell phone as hot spot so we can use internet.
Looks like a nice area.