We’re running out of superlatives to describe Canada. As we transition from the Georgian Bay to the North Channel, Canada continues to amaze us. After six nights out on anchor in rather remote harbors (three at the Bustards, one each in Beaverstone Bay by Burnt Island, Mill Lake and Luis (Large Unnamed Island)), we were happy to arrive in Killarney. It felt great to take our time through the last islands of the Georgian Bay. We moved the boat about 15 – 20 miles in the morning and had plenty of time to enjoy our new anchorages. Unfortunately, the islands didn’t have much in terms of hiking so we had quick trips to shore with Millie and then back to the boat for swimming, paddle boarding, and boat chores. We were entertained watching many kayakers going from anchorage to anchorage, spending the night ashore, and then moving onto the next anchorage the following days.
Collins Inlet connects Beaverstone Bay and Killarney. It’s a narrow cut with steep slopes and plenty of depth.
Killarney has a rich history as an outpost for loggers, trappers, and fishermen. Until 1962 it was only accessible by water. It was a bit depressed until a local poured a bunch of money in after he hit it big with a startup. Now the Killarney Mountain Lodge is quite the wedding destination. For us, it served as a well-deserved dinner out. After 6 nights on anchor with relatively no exercise despite a few paddle board sessions and quick swims around the boat, Chrisy announced upon arrival to Killarney that she was going for a speed walk, all by herself. Halfway into her speed walk, in a residential area, a black bear cub dashed across the street in front of her about 40 yards. Chrisy’s deepest fears had been realized.
The Big Dipper – the world’s largest paddle - 110.5 feet long; 17 feet wide – was built by Canada’s most famous and ardent canoeist, Mike Ranta.
After two nights in Killarney, we headed for Baie Fine (Bay Fin). Baie Fine is another opportunity to heap lots of superlatives on Canada. Baie Fine has a narrow entrance that looks a bit intimidating on the chart, but in reality, it has plenty of water and after a quick zig-zag we were inside. After a 12-mile passage up the bay, we were confronted with another narrow zig-zag entrance into The Pool. The depths into The Pool were not as generous as the Baie Fine entrance but Egret had no issues. We heard lots of stories about needing to drop an anchor, back into the shore and tie off on a tree. Roger wasn’t particularly excited about the process, but we were ready with a two-hundred-foot line just in case. Fortunately, as we were arriving there were lots of boats leaving, so there was plenty of room to anchor smack in the middle.
After performing flawlessly for several weeks, the dinghy motor selected this moment to shut down. Fortunately, we were able to catch a ride to shore for an amazing hike up to Lake Topaz – thank you Salty Peacock and crew. We decided to extend the hike a bit by getting lost – no worries – we needed the exercise – all despite the fact that we had been given some instructions on how not to get lost. The reward was an amazing swim in Lake Topaz – a huge highlight of our time in Canada.
After a well-deserved swim in Lake Topaz
We returned to Egret to do battle with the dinghy motor. We got lots of advice, but the best advice came from our friends Kathy and Scott on Grace. “It’s probably flooded – open the throttle wide open and fire it up.” Sure enough – first pull it fired up. Roger knew this advice when he was sixteen years old, but it was long since forgotten. Millie certainly appreciated a dinghy engine that works and was glad Scott and Kathy had stopped by.
Other Loopers were headed to Little Current, but we decided to head to Heywood Island, a small well-protected anchorage with a reputation for spectacular sunsets. Unfortunately, it also had a reputation for bear sightings. Well – maybe more than just sightings. Allegedly, one climbed up the transom ladder of a sailboat and made quite a mess. The owner actually shot the bear with a flare gun. The bear pretty much said “whatever,” but the boat caught on fire. Needless to say, Chrisy found unlimited excuses to stay on board while Roger took Millie to shore. She did, however, canvas the area on her paddle board to try to find a good area to take Millie to shore…
As we approached the lighthouse at Little Current we saw a sailboat taking pictures of the lighthouse and reached them on the VHF if we could exchange pictures.
Where are we?
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