Canadian Yachting April 2017 - 32

Tucked away in the bay: sailors and power boaters can use
their charts to wind their way through the shallow blue areas
to enjoy a bay all to themselves.

It's an awe-inspiring journey with endless undulations of
rock, reaching like long fingers towards passing boats, inviting
you in to explore and discover these secret spaces.
I've been boating southern Georgian Bay for decades and,
while I've been fortunate enough to explore the Killarney and
Baie Fine areas by boat, I had missed the section in-between
and it's my first trip travelling this part of the small craft route.
To describe it as otherworldly might seem a stretch, but you do
find yourself reaching for suitable words to describe the dramatic backdrop here. Simply stunning. Wildly untamed.
Tantalizingly remote.
There's only a sprinkling of cottages here, refusing to bend to
the cottage-i-fication of the more well-travelled and easily accessible parts of the bay. This morning we have only cormorants for
company. Time ticks by and we spot just one fishing boat and
one work boat in an hour and a half.
Adventurers have a choice of endless empty anchorages
accessible by picking a path carefully through the slashes of
blue on the charts - but beware. Watch the weather, the depth
sounder, and be absolutely sure of your location, as the twisted
spaghetti of marks in some tight quarters can be deceptive,
even to experienced mariners. A word to the wise as well - be

Canadian Yachting

sure of your fuel supply as there is nowhere to refuel in this
section of the bay.
We navigate through another magnificent maze of channels
and come to Obstacle Island, literally a large rock surrounded by
confusing (to the untrained eye) navigation buoys. Our captain
has travelled this section several times while teaching marine
courses, so we glide through unscathed. This would not be the
best route choice for larger vessels.
Today, under brilliant sunshine, we cruise into the French
River region that's steeped in history, part of the water highway
linking Montreal and Lake Superior. Eerie remnants of bygone
days litter the shore along an inlet. I wonder about First Nations
people, early explorers, fur traders and voyageurs, and must marvel at their ability to find their way once out on the vast bay.
We cruise into the breath-taking Bad River and I know
immediately we will need to save this region for further exploration another season. Red walls line one side and the white hills
of the LaCloche Range paint the horizon. There is ample room
in the pool for flotillas of boats to anchor together or singles to
swing on the hook. Today it is virtually empty. With its west
exposed channel a few days of high winds and huge waves have
kept the cruisers trapped inside and most headed out early
today. It can not be said often enough that Georgian Bay always
deserves your respect and in this remote part of the bay, it is
essential more than ever to keep an eye on the sky, pay attention
to marine forecasts, watch the winds, and prepare to be flexible

APRIL 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Yachting April 2017