This week has been a dream come true for Hervey, and a lot of new experiences for Kitty along the way. Georgian Bay has been described as the best boating outside of the Greek Isles and it has proven to be amazing and challenging and beautiful. Our trip began at Wye Heritage Marina in Midland, Ontario at the southern end of Georgian Bay (the eastern part of Lake Huron, behind the Bruce Peninsula at the southeast and Manitoulin Island to the northwest). We are now tied up in a wilderness mooring (tied to rock) at the north end of Georgian Bay, gathering ourselves for Killarney Provincial Park and the North Channel, which will lead us back to the US.

We stayed two days at the Wye Heritage Marina in Midland. We took the opportunity to erect the tower on our bridge for the stabilizers and to inflate the dinghy that had been on our aft deck for the past 2,000 miles. Our dinghy motor, a 9.9 hp MerCruiser outboard, turned out to be toast so we replaced it with a 20 hp MerCruiser. It’s like having a sports car attached to our fleet. We decided to name the dinghy “Mockingbird” in recognition of its colors.

We watch the weather constantly out of habit. On the afternoon of the second day here, Hervey noticed a system developing to the west and coming our way. It signaled a significant change in the temperature from the 90’s back to the 70’s and looked dangerous. We took down the canvas aboard and put out extra lines as if for a hurricane — and hunkered down. From the safety of our boat in harbor, we could enjoy nature at her most muscular. It was a little frightening and certainly thrilling. And it was all over in about 40 minutes. We were glad to not be caught out in it.

We made a short trip today to Honey Harbor and South Bay Marina. We stayed here for two nights also, to get the dinghy fuel lines working and to enjoy the cluster of Canadians who were on the docks and planning their trips further north. It was the busy time for vacationers and we passed lots of pontoon boats filled to the brim and kids swimming and playing in the water. We took our dinghy to the grocery store and everything worked as it should.

Making our way north to Sans Souci Island and Henry’s Fish and Chips, we took the “small boat channel” which is well marked on the maps, on the chart plotters, and with bouys and markers in the water. Nonetheless, it required close attention to avoid the rocks and shelves all around the passage. The marinas were full of stories and examples of boats who had lost propellers or otherwise run afoul of the unforgiving rocks of Georgian Bay. Skirting the big water as we did, we were lucky to have had calm weather and a mostly clear sky. The haze from the fires in Western Canada dominated the sky and the evening stars were mostly obscured.

Arriving at Henry’s Fish and Chips was easy and, thanks to our early start, we were able to have lunch AND dinner there. The walleye was fresh and delicious! Boats and sea planes were coming and going all day and the ice cream was a great finale to the day. We had dinner with fellow boaters, Chris and Judy Guard aboard “Ohm Sweet Ohm”, a Greenline GL 40 hybrid boat driven by electric motors and powered by batteries that were fed by solar panels and a Volvo diesel generator.

It was a short run on Monday to Perry Sound and Big Sound Marina. Kitty had some obligations this Monday, so was on the phone and a Zoom call for much of the trip. It was a narrow, inside passage to a bridge that had to open to let us into the harbor. The timing was close, since they only opened every two hours. “Heron” was there and we all made our way to the last significant town in the upper part of Georgian Bay. This is the home of Bobby Orr and his image and influence were everywhere. A walk into town took us to a butcher (Orr’s Butchers) and a jerk chicken barbecue that was run by some folks from Grenada in the Caribbean. We stayed for two nights, to get more refrigerant into our AC system and to prepare ourselves for wilderness experience between here and Killarney Provincial Park at the beginning of the North Channel.

It was a 50 mile run to Byng Inlet and the little town of Britt, Ontario. The day started at 8:00 am and we ran until about 3:00 pm, going carefully through these narrow and winding passages. We had left “cottage country” behind: these homes were real outposts of civilization and would be subject to intense weather and cold for at least six months, from November through April. Wright’s Marina was a very comfortable stay for a couple of days and we used the dinghy to run to the grocery store for some things we had forgotten. We also rigged the dinghy for towing. Hervey had a fascinating conversation with the former head trade negotiator for Canada who was on his way to his island home from Ottawa. We did some planning and expected to spend the next week off the grid.

We chose to go to Rogers Island, a recognized anchorage that also had a rock mooring with enough draft for our boat (4.5 feet) and steel stakes in the rock to tie to. It was not a long trip, but we were headed into the unknown (again!) and were planning a week of this before we got to Killarney. We were nervous about our windlass and our anchoring skills are not well-developed. We were towing the dinghy for the first time and made our way gingerly to the mooring. All of a sudden, we heard a noise from the stern and Hervey shut down the starboard engine immediately: we had picked up the towing rope from the dinghy in our starboard prop!

We released the anchor (so much for our anxiety about that!) and Hervey let himself down the ladder into the water next to the dinghy and the starboard engine at the stern. With a very sharp knife from Kitty, he began to cut away at the binding fouled lines, cutting the back of his left hand in the process. A quick retreat to the first aid kit aboard and he was back in the water to clear it away. Nervous about the security of the anchor (needlessly), we motored out into deeper water on the port engine to collect our thoughts and calm down.

Soon, we realized that we should return to the rock mooring, complete that operation on the single engine, and wait to remove the last of the fouled line and get something to eat. As we settled down, the generator would not start (which would have made our next 7 days uncomfortable), but recognizing our own unsettled state but the settled nature of our mooring, we took a nap for an hour. After a time, Hervey woke up and remembered a trick from our mechanic friend with whom we had worked on the generator. With a few attempts, the generator started right up (and is running still!) and we settled into relaxing, getting something warm to eat, and re-dressing the wound to Hervey’s hand. This all took about two hours and they were most stimulating!

So here we are. Tied to a rock at N 45° 50.354′ / W 080° 44.581′ (just north of the latitude of St. Paul, MN and about 10 degrees (about 600 miles) east of there. The land feels familiar to us from our Boundary Waters trips in Northern Minnesota. The area feels very far north; flat and sere, with pockets of greenery and wilderness all around us. There is a cabin on an island about a mile from us, and windmills galore on the eastern shore, but no other evidence of humanity.

With all of the drama of the first day behind us, we relaxed into our mooring and tried fishing (with no luck on the first attempt). Duke has enjoyed the freedom of limitless (and leash-less) exploration and we are cooking nourishing meals and sleeping late (no AC needed!) We’ll stay here for a few days and then move up towards Killarney (imagine white quartz mountains and azure clear lakes). Hervey was here on a canoeing expedition fifteen years ago and has fond memories of the place.

We are past the half-way point on this journey. We have passed the highest point (Balsam Lake at 850 feet above sea level) and will soon pass our northernmost point at Blind River, Ontario. We are delighted that you have been following our journey and hope you (and we) will enjoy the next sections as we move back into the US and down the inland rivers to the Gulf of Mexico.