Day 307, "on the loop", 8/12/2023

This week is ALL about GEORGIAN BAY! We are in awe of the beauty. This area reminds us of so many places we have visited in the past; such as: 1000 Islands, St. John's and The Bath's. There are a lot of rocks. The summer season here is only 3 months.

Georgian Bay was known by many names before its current incarnation, assigned in tribute to King George IV by early 1800's British surveyor Lieutenant Henry Bayfield. Today we know the Bay as a unique landscape with a rich, layered history.

I know this post will not do this area justice; but, I will do my best:

Friday & Saturday (8/4 & 8/5) - Anchored in a bay at the Island of Beausoleil.

Beausoleil Island; Île Beausoleil; is a 5.0 mi long island in the municipality of Georgian Bay, District Municipality of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada. The island is named after Louis Beausoleil, a Métis settler whose 1819 homestead stood at the island's southern tip.

The name has several meanings: "the land to appear floating afar" and “rocky place floating about the mouth of a river”

Located in the Thirty-Thousand Islands in Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, it is the largest island in Georgian Bay Islands National Park and is the only place in the park where camping is allowed. Beausoleil Island is also part of the Georgian Bay Littoral (also called the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve) UNESCO Biosphere reserve.

It's a long Canadian holiday weekend, so several boats were out. The bay was packed with many people taking advantage of the long weekend. We met a paddle boarder, Julia, who is moving to St. Louis to play ice hockey for a St. Louis college. We exchanged numbers and of course I invited her to our US Thanksgiving holiday and also told her if she needed anything to reach out! Additionally, met these guys who anchored out on a nearby sandbar. They invited us over for drinks and nice conversation.

This island had a YMCA camp, we could hear and see kids playing from afar; they had kayaking and sailing activities going on throughout the day.

If you are interested in more about this island, check it out here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beausoleil_Island

Glad I didn't know this fact while hiking: Beausoleil Island is a refuge for the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, the only snake in Ontario whose venom is potentially dangerous to humans.

Sunday, 8/6 - Anchored at 3 Fingers bay which is a large deep bay. It is protected from all directions. There is a lot of rock below the surface; however, more clay than rock in this area. It is a 3.5 mile dinghy ride to Frying Pan Island and Henry's (fish restaurant).

Joel swam to secure a stern line for anchoring and I jumped in for a swim too! The water temps were cooler than what we are use to in the states (approximately. 70 degrees). Our friend Danielle (fellow loopers, Breakaway) said not many Americans jump in the Georgian Bay waters (because it's so cold).

Side note: see the line (rope) in the lower right hand corner? We had to have a stern tie to secure the boats in case of high winds.

Pic 1: Front view of boats, Arabella (left) and Summer Place (right)

Pic 2: Capel, Chris & me - this was after my lake "bath"... we were starting to run low on water :-) Side note: Dan & Chris anchor out more than us & take lake baths all the time!

Frying Pan Island serves as the hub for the famed Sans Souci region of Ontario's Georgian bay. We stayed in Parry Sound, home of Bobby Orr (hockey player).

Henry's Fish Restaurant is a suggested looper stop, located on Frying Pan Island. Just our luck, we passed this island on Monday. Henry's is closed on Monday's. Not to worry, we met up with fellow loopers at Parry Sound and was told due to management changes and other reasons, that we didn't miss anything.

While at the Beausoleil bay, we did eat at "FIN CITY" and had the Fish & Chips. There were three options for fish & chips: Cod, Haderick and Pickerel. We were told Pickerel is the local fish, the cotton candy of the waterway so we had to have that one! It was tasty! The food and staff were great! Our waitress gave us 2 (rather large) bags of ice for FREE! Loopers like a bargain but we LOVE free stuff :-)

Monday, 8/7 - We had originally planned to stay at 3 Fingers bay (on anchor) for 2 nights; however, forecast called for rain and winds. We decided to move closer to Parry sound so if the weather did get bad, we would not be too far from Big Sound marina where we had reservations for Tuesday & Wednesday nights.

The bay here was pretty protected and super quiet. We could hear the loons, so peaceful.

Pic 1: Night 1 (anchored), rained most of the day

Pic 2: The next morning, before leaving the anchorage

Tuesday & Wednesday (8/8 & 8/9)

Tuesday: Got an early start, to make the 9am bridge opening. Side note: bridges will not open if winds are above 30 mph and during our travels we have discovered winds pick up during the day; hence, the reason for an early start.

We made the 9am opening; however, the marina could not take us until after 12pm, which meant we had to anchor in a nearby harbor bay until our slip was vacated. Yes! The winds picked up and Captain Joel had to park in the high winds. Arabella and Long Gone 2 had a bit easier docking experience as they were on T-Docks.

We had dinner at Turtle Jacks, even after being warned the food service was slow; it did take a while... BUT the food was GREAT. Joel had a chicken curry dish and I had their local fish BASA (a type of Catfish) with lobster mash potatoes (delicious).

They (Turtle Jack's) makes some pretty drinks!

We caught another "free" concert, a folk singer named James Gray. He is a contemporary version of an old-school traveling folk singer. He is a unique finger style guitarist, with a vocal that is different, a very beautiful sound. We really enjoyed it. If you are into folk music, check this guy out: https://www.jamesgraymusic.ca

Pictures below were taken at the concert, overlooking the deck!

Wednesday:

First off, Happy 48th Wedding Anniversary to Dan & Chris (Long Gone 2)! They took a sea plane ride over 30,000 island(s), they really enjoyed it! Joel and I did a few boat chores as we prepared for our guests! Joel took the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame tour while I checked out the merchandise and took in the lake view (again).

Parry Sound, town, seat of Parry Sound district, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, at the mouth of the Seguin River, 120 miles (190 km) north of Toronto.

Bobby Orr was born in the town of Parry Sound on the shores of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada (see his childhood home below). His grandfather, Robert Orr, was a top-tier soccer pro player who emigrated from Ballymena, Northern Ireland to Parry Sound early in the 20th century. Bobby Orr, byname of Robert Gordon Orr, (born March 20, 1948, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada), Canadian American professional ice hockey player who was the first defenseman to lead the National Hockey League (NHL) in scoring. He was considered one of the sport's greatest players. If you are interested to learn more, check this out: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bobby-Orr

Bobby Orr's childhood home:

Our friends came to see us! Donna Lynn / Panasea (Corbin & Patti) and Aquaholics (Graeme & John). We spend some time on the back deck of our boat, catching up. Both have crossed their wake, here in Canada. Later, Arabella, Kayak and Port-a-Gee joined us for dinner at Trestle.

Pic 1: From left: Port-a-Gee (Brian & Laurel), Arabella (Karen in front of Capel), Kayak (Kim in front of John), Summer Place (me in front of Joel), Donna Lynn / Panasea (Patti in beside Corbin in Pink Shirt) and Aquaholics (Graeme (behind Patti) and John in blue shirt beside Corbin in Pink Shirt). Missing: Anna Dee (crossed their wake, live in Boston) and Breakaway (crossed their wake, live in Chelsea, Canada).

Thursday - Anchored at Hopewell bay, near Hopewell Island. An uneventful day, we arrived mid afternoon, the temps were a bit cool. Trying to get further along to prevent getting held up by weather (rain and winds).

Friday - Left Hopewell and headed for Bustard Island where we had originally planed to stay for 2 nights, Bustard's is a fairly protected area for boaters to wait out the weather. We decided to travel on the outside (in big water, away from the land) -- everyone's tolerance for waves and winds are different. Arabella decided to take the plan B and go into a marina (Britt's marina), LG2 and Summer Place forged ahead and arrived at Bustard Island around 1pm. After securing boats (we rafted with Port-a-Gee and LG2) for a bit more security, two anchors in the water and a stern line tied to Lg2 and shore.

Legacy, Puffin and Coda arrived before us and anchored nearby in Bustard's bay. Two Harbors (friends of Phil & Wild) came in after us and anchored near the back of Bustard's bay.

After the boat was secure and we had lunch we took a dinghy ride. We stopped in to say hello to our looper buddies! Later in the day, we invited Port-a-Gee (Laurel & Brian) and LG2 (Chris & Dan) over for happy hour.

Pictures from the dinghy ride at Bustard bay:

Saturday - The rained stop around noon, still cloudy; however, we may leave this anchorage to get closer to Killarney (where we have a marina reservation for Sunday (8/13) night. Depending on weather and several other factors, we think we will be back in the states a week from tomorrow (Sunday). I look forward to sharing more about Georgian Bay next week (in the blog)!

Random Information & Miscellaneous Stuff:

Fun Facts about Georgian Bay:

Wasaga Beach on the southern shore is the world's longest freshwater beach.

Manitoulin Island at the NW edge is the world's largest island situated in a freshwater lake.

The Bay's 30,000 islands form the largest freshwater archipelago in the world.

The French explorer Samuel de Champlain was the first European to record seeing part of the Great Lakes when he reached Georgian Bay from the north in 1615. The bay was named for Britain's George IV by Captain Henry Bayfield of the Royal Navy.

Pointe Au Baril:

The site of the Pointe au Baril Lighthouse is rich in history, dating back to the fur traders of the late 19th century who left behind an empty whiskey barrel that later came to be used as a marker by fishermen to guide them safely into the harbor. In 1889, the government replaced the historic lantern-topped barrel with the present-day Pointe au Baril Lighthouse. The tradition of the barrel continues however, with one being located a short distance from the lighthouse (see picture below, of the barrel). In the picture below there is a bird nesting on the barrel :-).