How did we end up in Ireland?

                                                         Killarney 

No not the one in Ireland. In fact there is nothing Irish about the town at all.  if it were not for the famous Herberts Fisheries, the Mountain Lodge and Sportsman Inn there would be no Killarney.

The cruise there was 39 miles from Bad river but included a gorgeous section called Collins Inlet. These businesses rely on college students to staff a lot of the service positions.

Most of the college help stays for the summer in the staff housing due to the fact the place is so far from everywhere. To give you an idea, they have a Seaplane and Helo pad right in the center of things.

Not to mention these seaplanes use the narrow Killarney inlet as their active runway. To my pilot buddies, think trying to take off on a runway crowded canoes, dinghy’s, small boats, paddle boards crossing the active runway.

The Killarney Mountain lodge is vintage high end place with a fairly new massive log cabin conference center and high end steak restaurant called the Ranch. I was fortunate enough to be able to score a last minute reservation as I was told they do not take same day 

reservations and besides they were full.

I even threw in that it was my wife’s birthday. Funny how well dead US Presidents speak in Canada! Before dinner Sue was able to get some pool time in and I did a hike.

I also stopped by to talk to a Looper friend of mine, Bruce from Nova Scotia. Funny enough they have an accent just like the folks up on Vinalhaven. Not summer jerk Steve Shirley accent but the real locals on the island.  

While Bruce and I were talking there was a commercial fishing boat that pulled up to off load their catch of Walleye. PS, if you have not had Walleye you are missing out. We spoke to the young captain who told us about their official boat seagull, Buddy.

Buddy adopted the boat a month or so ago and has not left yet. He stays on the top deck and will not let another bird land. The crew of course feeds him. When they leave port Buddy comes over to the window on the pilot house and watches the captain as they head out to the fishing grounds in Georgian Bay. I thought, “Sure sounds like a BS story to me.” Well when I went past the next morning there was Buddy keeping post. Who Knows. 

We made our 6:30 dinner reservations late as some other Looper friends stopped by to wish Sue a Happy Birthday. We were able to hail the water taxi that took us to the dock near the restaurant. The view from the patio was awesome.

Our wonderful girls called in a bottle of wine for their mom to enjoy. We finished the evening near a fire and watched the orange Super Moon rise over the Georgian Bay. On the way back to the boat we heard some music playing and decided to check it out.

It was this 70+ year old guy playing guitar. Somebody made a request for him to sing Purple Rain. Well he did, and he brought the house down! What a night. 

The next morning August 12th the plan was to go to Baie Fine but we decided to check out a highly recommended anchorage just 3 miles from Killarney called Covered Portage. Spectacular, it was. The cove was deeply imbedded, nestled between towering white granite cliffs jumping over 200 feet above the water.

Once settled we jumped back on the dinghy and headed back to Killarney to do the Lighthouse hike. The hike takes you thru wooded Canadian Shield and then out onto the pink granite shoreline. The water is Caribbean blue and green where the rocks kiss the surface of the water. Visibility is at least 20 feet. Sue took a quick swim but found the 68 degree water a little too cool even for her. We hung out on the dock and had lunch and then headed back to the boat.  Back in Covered Portage we saw a couple of young kids making a shore campfire. We decided to join in and had great conversation. The one senior was interested in aeronautical engineering and new more about rocket propulsion than any 17 year old ought to know. His passion was infectious. 

A future rocket scientist in the makes. Their father was lamenting how much provisions three boys can consume. They sailed up from Michigan and did an overnight crossing. What an experience for these young kids. We found our way back to the boat in the pitch dark and were fast asleep. 

Older part of the lodge

Weird markings in the pink granite

Worlds Largest Paddle

Entrance to Collins Inlet

Devil’s Gate to Paradise?

                           Devils Gate in the Bad River

No Kidding where else would Devils Gate be located! Devils Gate is not the entrance to Hell but quite the opposite it is the gate to Dinghy paradise. We left the Bustards at 10:30 am on Wednesday July 10th for a long 6 mile cruise to the Bad river.

There is a big anchorage with reportedly good holding. Good holding means you drop the anchor back up and it grabs causing the bow to neatly bob down. You then know you will sleep well with both eye and ears shut off.

Well we tried in one location for about 45 minutes and no luck. We moved to a different spot and BINGO! The anchor dug in and held. It was pretty breezy in the anchorage as we had a stiff south west wind that was blowing right up the river from Georgian Bay.

Once we got settled we launched the dinghy and passed thru Devils Gate. I swear to you that upon passing thru when we laid our eyes on the landscape we heard the singing of angles and little cheribums playing their trumpets. It was remote. It was wild. It was uninhabited.

It was dinghy paradise. The gate is a small cut thru the rock that only small boats can pass. Not to mention there was water rushing out of the gate. First stop, shoot the rapids.

In one of the narrow little inlets there is some rapids that if your dinghy has enough ass and the captain is stupid enough wager the prop and or lower unit, you can go up this windy slot that might be 10’ wide. The good news is we covered both requirements so up we went. It was a blast. We got up to the upper basin where the waters were quiet and we looked at all the little waterfalls. We then turned around and shot back down them with prop and lower unit intact. We then went and explored the miles of little inlets, pools  and channels. The one you will see the most pictures of was our favorite and also most remote. 

At the top of this particular cut we were able to tie up the dinghy and then walk another mile or so deeper in. We picked wild blue berries and saw a pair of Sandhill Cranes fly by. If Heaven has an address on earth I almost certain this is it.

truly an exceptional example of God’s creation. 

Back at the boat Sue was busy in the galley and I was enjoying watching what I thought was a couple of dumb Canucks trying to reposition their anchor with their dinghy.

They worked at it for over an hour. When they were finished they headed our way and passed close by our stern. I could not resist I said, “Hey what have you guys been up to?”

They pulled up and said that they noticed that particular boat was slowly dragging anchor and was headed for the rocks. The owner was nowhere to be found. So they took it upon themselves to reposition the boat and reset the anchor. Well we had to do our part so we gave Dave and Jim a beer and proceeded to have a great conversation. This is the Canadian spirit we have come to know. We were rocked to sleep by the boat gently swinging back and forth in the winds. 

Anchoring Paradise

                     The Bastards or the Bustards?

I have heard from a few of you that I am using the words beautiful, amazing, spectacular, breathtaking, picturesque, well you get the idea. We have been told by the locals that traveling thru Georgian Bay is something that keeps getting better the farther north you go.

We have said at each point, “There is no way it can be more scenic than what we just saw.” Well they are right it just keeps getting better. The Bustards are a cluster of rock shields separated by a maze narrow fingers and basins.

The anchorage we were in affectionately called the Gun Barrel was something out of a sailing magazine. See I didn’t use one of those other words. In reality this section of the trip defies description by word or even photograph.

None of which come even vaguely close to capturing the essence of this region. We had a short 21 mile cruise thru some torturous channels where water was seemingly everywhere but so was granite ledge just below the surface patiently waiting to devour unsuspecting running gear.

Again for the non boating audience running gear is all that stuff on the bottom of the boat that makes it move thru the water. Things like props, struts, rudders shafts and alike. We made it to our anchorage for the night and dropped the hook. We had a fabulous hotdogs cooked on the grill. Yes you should be reading a certain level of sarcasm in that.

The Captain had a meeting with the procurement   department to address that issue. Shortly we were off to get lost in the hundreds of coves and inlets. We came across two Loons each with a juvenile and watched the parents fish. The youngsters would pull at the parents neck to get some of the catch. We were told by some locals that Loon comes from some Latin word Lam which means lame.

 

Turns out loons only nest within 1 meter of the shore because their feet are located so far back on their body. This makes them excellent divers and swimmers but lame when it comes to moving about shore. They are certainly incredible swimmers. As the water is so clear we could see them swimming after their catch. They are a striking looking bird, like a duck in a tuxedo.

In the winter they migrate out of the small lakes and coves and head to the open waters of the big lakes where it does not freeze over. The color of their plumage even changes. Their call is mesmerizing. Please take a minute look up loon calls on You Tube. 

 Anyhow we no sooner arrived back at the boat and we were waived over to another Looper boat that was having Boatails. So we obliged. We were serenaded to sleep by the calls of the Loons. We will not soon forget our magical anchorage in the Bustards. 

Sunset in the Gun Barrel

                                      Sunrise! Sad to leave

                                With a view like this even hot dogs taste good. 

Tonches and Byng Inlet

                        

              Tonches Islands and Britt

On Sunday morning we went ashore early for some exercising at Killbear Provincial Park. It was great running past all the camp sites to see how creative people were with making due with what they could afford but still have as much fun as the guy next to them that spent a couple hundred grand for a class A motor home.

I mean people had rented haul trailers, huge tarpaulin’s, make shift tables you name it but all walks were there all having a lot of fun in the great outdoors. We knew that there was rain on the way so we made our way to our anchorage for the night at the Tonches Islands, just 23 miles away.

Again we were hoping it would be remote but the area was dotted with cottages. That did not take away from the beauty of the area and in fact based on the scenery we understood why so many had cottages in the area. We got settled on the anchor and soon after the rain moved in.

It was a good thing as it gave us time to catch up on the blogs. That’s why they have been coming a little more regularly the past couple of days. 

The next morning was dry but a bit overcast with rain returning later in the afternoon.

So we weighed anchor and headed off to Byng Inlet where we had a marina for the night. Our UK friends were also coming so we were excited to see them again. The cruise was 29 miles long thru the stunning Canadian Shield. There were numerous tight channels with 90 degree turns in what seemed like endless water all around. The clarity of the water allows you to see just how close the running gear destroying granite rocks really are. We arrived at Wrights Marina and no sooner got settled in our slip and the rain started again. Sue went to work in the galley and made her famous Eggplant Meatball appetizer. We invited our UK friends over for Happy Hour and had great conversation. After dinner we took the marina golf cart for a cruise down the road just for fun as it had finally stopped raining. We were able to watch an episode of Peaky Blinders and off to sleep we went. 

Home of Canadian Icon Bobby Orr

 Perry Sound and Kill Bear Park

The cruise to Perry sound from Henry’s Fish Camp was only about 15 miles. By time we paid the bill and jockeyed boats around so we could get out it was about 1:15 pm. Remember that. The cruise was more great Georgian Bay scenery dotted with more cottages than one could count. The funny thing about Canadians is that they are a people that don’t seem to be as much about the excess.

Many of these cottages were as they were back in the 50’s and 60’s when many of them were built but well maintained. The typical Mac Mansion cottage is really the exception. Boats are the same way. Most of the boats we saw were at least 20+ years old or more. Many 80’s and 90’s boats on the water. They also have a lot of small, simple aluminum boats that the average guy can afford. Now being on fresh water certainly helps that tremendously.

I spoke to one mechanic who said they rarely change exhaust manifolds or exhaust elbows.  

So we made our way along at a good clip and arrived at the Perry Sound Swing bridge about 3:10 pm. The bridge only opens on the hour for 15 minutes. So I called the bridge and asked if they were opening. He said, “No we went out and looked for cruisers at 3pm but didn’t see any so we didn’t open”.

Well could you open for us? No! We will open at 5 pm. 5pm! What about 4 pm? Nope we don’t open at 4 pm, rush hour you know. Now Friday Happy Hour was in jeopardy. When you boat you have to be flexible or get out of the game. So we pulled into a pretty cove, dropped the anchor and went for a swim. We made it to Big Sound Marina, got secured and started Happy Hour a tad late. We were invited aboard a Gold Looper boat who was staying long term at the marina as they have family in town. Ken is a business developer in Honduras having just completed a Ferry Terminal. His wife, Cathy offered to take Sue to the store the next morning. We heard of a great restaurant back on the other side of that damn swing bridge so we launched the dinghy and made the 2 mile trip for dinner. The meal was excellent. The next morning Sue went off to the grocery and I walked the dock and had great conversations with other boaters. I stumbled across this other Looper, Jim who was very interesting.

We got on the subject of engines and I shared with him that I had a small leak in my injector pump. He asked what brand it was. When I told him it was a Delphi he said he was the engineer at the company that made them. Now that is not where this story goes. He asked if I remembered the rumor back in the late 70’s where technology had been developed to triple MPG in cars and that a petroleum company bought and buried the patient?

Well the story was true, the company was Shell and he was part of the team that developed what was the precursor to fuel injection for gasoline. You just can’t make this stuff up at least I can’t because I’m not smart enough. When Sue returned we rode bikes into the quaint town and even went into the Bobby Orr Museum. While we were riding around there was some great smelling smoke from a little shack. It was Jerk chicken! It wasn’t ready yet but would be soon. So while Sue readied the boat for departure I raced back to get us some of that finger lickin good jerk chicken . And good it was. 

Saturday was pretty hot for Geo Bay reaching 84 degrees. Our cruise was only 10 miles to Kill Bear Provincial Park where we would anchor for the night. The park has beaches, bike and hiking trails and camp sites. The place is huge. We saw campsite numbers over 1000 and very few were open. We took a great bike ride thru part of the park and then dinghied to a small island in the center of the bay for a swim. Later that evening we caught up with family on the phone and even watched a movie onboard with our new hotspot. In the morning we went ashore to run and exercise before we left for our next port of call. 

The plane above is a 1952 De’Havlin Otter. It is still revered as one of the best most reliable bush planes out there. This is where I remind Mike my birthday is next week and a tour over the Georgian Bay in a seaplane might be a memorable way to celebrate.  The next couple of days I have enjoyed the dinghy rides and pulling up to our private beaches…lots of rocks to scramble across. Clear water to float in and a chance to cool off.  Last night I watched folks cliff jumping into the lake.  Probably 25 people, staying at the camp ground, carefully making their way to the flat area to jump from.  I could hear the screams as they got up the courage to take the leap.  I was happy to be watching with binoculars sitting on Next Chapter.  This girl won’t be doing much cliff jumping in this “Next Chapter.”  Waxching through the binoculars was scary enough!!