We departed lock 45 at Port Severn, our last lock on the Trent Severn waterway when it opened on Saturday, June 21st. It was a narrow swift moving section leaving the lock and entering Georgian Bay that proved to be a little more exitement than we wanted that early in the morining but we made it through without hitting anything.
We decide to take the small craft route through the 30,000 islands. Wow, what a lot of granite and it kept getting bigger!
Indian Harbour - Saturday, June 21. As we expected, there was quite a bit of boat traffic on the weekend, particularly around Honey Harbour. We skipped the park at Beausoliel Island thinking it would be crowded and headed for an anchorage at Indian Harbour. From all the chatter on the radio it was a good decision. We found a decent spot at Indian Harbour with a few other boats. Went kayaking and explored the area enjoying a beautiful day. Several cottages in the area so no going ashore. Folks stack rocks to mark various locations, this was figure that was a little more "artsy" than others we saw around Indian Harbour.
Echo Bay - Sunday, June 22. We left Indian Harbour around 7:30 am and cruised to Echo Bay. A fantastic well protected anchorage that is surrounded by public land. Just the kind of spot we like. We met some very nice folks enjoying the end of their weekend that passed on some local knowledge and helped us get a stern line on one of the steel pins embedded in the rock around the small bay. Went swimming and visited with the neighbors before they left. We considered staying another day but thought we should put some more miles on.
Anchored in Echo Bay
Regatta Bay - Monday, June 23. We left Echo Bay and stopped to pickup a few groceries and grab lunch at Killbear Marina on our way to Regatta Bay. It was a quiet Monday and early in the season so the store and resturant weren't open. While we were mulling around, the lady that runs the store had a delivery come in so she opened up so we could stock up on a few necessities, like hot dogs and ice cream. It was a short jaunt over to Regatta Bay off Franklin Island where we anchored with a couple of other boats. We found a pin to tie the stern to and kayaked around and explored the park a little. Rain is in the forecast and this should be a good place to stay and get wet. Today's route went through the Canoe Channel, a very narrow section not recommended for vessels over 45 ft. We heeded the advice and bypassed around it. There are plenty of opportunities to run into rock in the wide sections that we don't need to push our luck.
Hopewell Bay - Tuesday, June 24. The weather forecast was right, it rained. No severe weather, just a good rain. It tapered off by mid morning and the wind wasn't blowing much so we thought we'd move on and get a little further along the route. Traveled in the drizzle and stopped at Hopewell Bay. Not our ideal with several cottages and a trawler already in the spot we were hoping to get. We went to another cove and made it work with the wind that came up that evening.
Henvey Inlet - Wednesday, June 25. Off the beaten path we found a wonderful anchorage in a nice cove. We didn't see another boat or cottage. It was very pretty going in the inlet with taller granite cliffs than we'd seen so far. Jim had a little more success with fishing at this spot but so far the fishing has been disappointing. We hate leaving spots like Henvey Inlet when we know the anchorage is good and it's so quiet and peaceful. We never know if the next spot will be as good but we'll never get home if we don't keep going.
Channel at Henvey Inlet
Hey I wanted to go!
Bad River - Thursday, June 26 through Friday, June 27. Our concerns with the next anchorage not being as nice as Henvey were unfounded. The entry into the Bad River anchorage was a little more difficult but there was more water than the chart indicated so we didn't have any trouble. There was a lot of water going over Devil Door Rapids and there were many places to explore with the kayaks. Not a sole in sight. We intially anchored and tied the stern to a rock but the wind kept switching. We thought we had it in a pretty good position and took off kayaking. Jim caught a Nothern but didn't get it landed. When we came back around an island and looked back, the stern line had come undone and the boat was swinging on the hook. Nothing was damaged but don't trust Jennifer when she says the line is secure around the rock. Just as we were pulling up the anchor to reset a sailboat came into the bay. We decided to go a little further down a finger cove and found a tall granite wall that we could get right up to. While tieing off to a tree, Jennifer spotted a pin and we ended up tieing off nicely to the granite wall enabling the dogs to get to shore easily. The forecast was for the wind to pick up so we felt very secure with our new site. Stayed two days, treated the bimini top with waterproofing, cleaned the boat a little and kayaked and fished - no fish were harmed at this location.
Shooting the rapids (With a camera not a kayak. It looked more menacing in real life)
Tied to the granite at Bad River
Sunset at Bad River
Mill Lake - Saturday, June 28. The wind didn't come up as predicted and we had a few miles of open water in our next section so we decided to push onto Mill Lake. Left a little after 6 am. It was an easy short trip with good weather. Then the plague of flies arrived. Where do they come from out in the middle of open water with no land around? We spent the next hour swatting and hosing off flies. Finally when we changed headings the breeze helped blow them away. The carnage in the wheelhouse looked like a fly spray testing center. Found a good spot in Mill Lake and spent a pleasant day.
Collins Inlet leading to Mill Lake.
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