July 10, 2024: Oops! More North Channel

I just noticed that 3/4 of my last blog got deleted. I'm redoing it here. 

I flew from Burlington, VT to Toronto to meet with the Rahns. I was pleased to find that the Customs process was very easy and fast. Karen informed me that they wanted to stop at an art museum on the way out of Toronto. She had previously told me about the Group of Seven Canadian Artists known for their northern Ontario art work. Much of their work is displayed there as well as other Canadian art.

The name of the museum is the McMichael Art Museum. I took this picture which I found interesting. You should be able to read the narrative  if you enlarge it. 

The museum is wonderful with art work both inside and on the grounds. I'd like to go back some time when we have more time. This site includes a lot. McMichael Museum

This site gives the history of the Group of Seven. Group of Seven

This link shows many of the Group of Seven paintings. Group of Seven paintings

We hated to leave the museum but needed to get to Gore Bay and pick up our boat. We had made arrangements to stay on the boat, the night before our ten day charter started.

This map shows where the North Channel is located.

Here is a link to a map for locating locations in the North Channel. You can zoom in and out. We picked the boat up at Gore Bay. By zooming in and out you can see our route. Gore Bay north to South Benjamin, East to Croker, East to Little Current, East to Baie Fin and the Pool, East to Killarney. Then we returned to Gore Bay. North Channel interactive map

Our boating friends, Gary and Karen Holtze, keep their boat at Spider Bay Marina in Little Current. We made plans to cruise with them on our trip. They have a great deal of local knowledge which is very helpful. We stopped for provisions at Espanola on the way to Gore Bay. 

Maxum 41 foot with Dinghy

We arrived Saturday evening, unloaded all our stuff, and settled in for the night. The plan was to meet the Holtzes at the Benjamins Sunday mid day. However, after checking the weather we talked with the Holtzes and decided to wait until Monday to head out. The Holtzes drove over Sunday, we caught up on our boating stories and went to the local fish and chips restaurant for a nice dinner. The extra day to relax worked just fine.

We were pleased with the boat. Here are some pictures.

Comfortable dinette

Karen in the galley.
Large comfortable living space

My v-berth

Fully enclosed aft deck

Flybridge

The flybridge is very spacious and provided a good view, 360 degrees. The plastic enclosures were very helpful when it rained or was chilly.

Sunny day to start

Monday was a beautiful morning. We needed to stop at the fuel dock to get the boat pumped out and fill the fuel tanks. Craig decided he and Karen would get the lines. Nice for me! I quickly discovered the boat handled like a dream. Twin screws, a bow thruster and stern thruster.

The Benjamins are my favorite location in the North Channel. They are made of pink granite and South Benjamin rises about 250 feet above the water. Gary led Karen Craig and I on a dinghy tour around the island. We couldn't stop taking pictures! It is a beautiful place.

The next morning Craig, Gary and I dinghied to the island so we could hike to the top. We walked up from the north side of the island and across the top to the south side. The south side has cliffs 100-200 feet high offering a spectacular view.

South Benjamin anchorage

View looking north. Our boats are the white specks in the picture. 

Gary and Pepper at the summit. 

View looking south

Our next anchorage was at Crocker. Craig did an efficient job handling the anchor. Being able to see him from the fly bridge helped.

Again, it was a beautiful day for another dinghy ride. 

Croker

Our next destination was Baie Fine and The Pool. That required going through Little Current so we decided to spend the night there. It was very hot and it was nice to be plugged in to air conditioning. The Hotlzes drove us to Elliott's for dinner. The food was different and wonderful. I got cauliflower lasagna and a wild mushroom soup. Both were very good.

We headed out to Baie Fine with overcast skies. The weather had cooled significantly and it was nice to have the plastic enclosure. Baie Fine is reminiscent of a fjord. It is a long channel with quartz mountains on both sides. The white quartz highlights the green pine trees and blue water, especially when the sun is shining. Unfortunately, it was cloudy all the way in to The Pool anchorage. But still very majestic and peaceful.

On the way in we spotted a black bear. Karen Rahn was able to get a picture. It was far away but very clearly a young black bear.

The Pool at the end of Baie Fine

Our anchorage was very protected which was good since wind and rain were forecast overnight. 

After anchoring the sun started to come out. Craig, Gary and I decided to hike up to Topaz Lake. It's close to the top of the mountain ridge. Gary and Pepper had done it before and Gary said it was a rigorous climb. Gary was correct! The trail was relatively flat when we started but it became increasingly rough as we went along.

Topaz Lake

We came to the end of the so called trail and could see Topaz Lake. Fortunately, the sun came out a little bit and we could see the colors.

Then Gary said if we climb to the top we could see our boats anchored in The Pool. There was no trail, just rock climbing. Gary said he'd scout it out for us. He returned 15 minutes later and said. "We can do it."

Craig and I were getting worn out. Craig said he would just wait for us if I wanted to go. I suggested we rest for a while. Then I decided, "Since I came this far I might as well go all the way." Craig decided to join us.

Quite strenuous

The climb to the top

We made it to the top. If you look closely you will see Gary's boat far below. The view was spectacular.

Then we headed down. Hmmmm, no trail. We think it's this way. After a while, Hmmmm, this isn't it. Finally settled on a direction. Came to a cliff. Had to climb back up. We eventually found our way to the path and headed down. No shortage of mosquitoes in the wooded part but we had bug spray. Made it back to the dinghy and headed to our boats.

When we got close to our boats we noticed they were much closer together. Both Karens were on the decks trying to keep them from rubbing. We quickly went aboard our boat, fired up the engine and reset the anchor. Karen Rahn said she was sitting inside, looked up through the window and Gary's boat was right there!

Rain and increasing winds were forecast for Friday so we planned to leave early and head to Killarney Mountain Lodge. The bad weather was supposed to last thru Saturday so we made reservations for 2 nights. Killarney is a nice little town with a well known Fish and Chips place. Linda and I went to the place several times many years ago when it was housed in an old school bus that was painted red. Take out only. 

Our boat and Slo M Ocean, Holtzes' trawler

I was surprised at the improvements to the Killarney Mountain Lodge. It has been turned into a very nice resort and small convention venue. Our dock was right in front of the pastry cafe!

Killarney Mountain Lodge

The lodge is very nice with wonderful Native American art. Here are some pictures.

Note the chair fabric

This canoe paddle was quite impressive. The plaque explains what it is doing here.

We walked to dinner in the rain. The pickerel was excellent! We did our laundry and spent time in the comfortable Lodge. We planned to leave Monday morning and go to Little Current for the night. We wanted to be closer to Gore Bay to drop off the boat Tuesday in case the winds picked up.

We cruised in a light rain Monday but the winds were low. The visibility wasn't great but the only boat around was Slo M Ocean in front of us.

Slo M Ocean

We had another night in Little Current so Karen and Gary drove us to a local artist trading post. Once again we some some beautiful art including sculptures. We learned they use porcupine quills to make baskets, jewelry, dolls and art. The items in the picture are made mostly with porcupine quills.

Bridal Veil Falls

A favorite tourist place is the Bridal Veil Falls. It was too far for us to reach it by boat. But the Holtzes drove us to see it. There was also a great little chocolate shop and a very unique nautical church.

Nautical church

We said good bye to the Holtze's the next morning and returned to Gore Bay. It was a great trip.

North Channel Pictures North Channel Pics