Fathom Five National Marine Park The Bruce Trail We toured the 7 million dollar new Fathom Five National Marine Park visitor centre and observation tower which was in the process of having it's grand opening in Tobermory. It was very impressive with displays on shipwrecks, caves, historical data, lighthouses, flora, fauna, animals, fish, glaciers, rocks, orchids, native people, trees, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake, black bears, flower pots and so on. The new observation tower is 65 feet high and you can see all the islands that encompass Fathom Five (Cove, Flower Pot, Bear's Rump) and down to Cabot Head headland at the corner of Georgian Bay. Fathom Five National Marine Park is home to 26 know ship-wrecks preserved in the cold clear water, 3 lighthouses, caves, flowerpots (limestone formations) and some of the purest water in the Great Lakes. The 800 km. Bruce Trail is a hiking trail that follows the Niagara Escarpment from Queenston Heights to Tobermory.

Thomas Bay to Tobermory Monarch Butterflies We made our way using a reduced genoa sail as we travelled in a brisk wind that averaged 15 to 24 knots and waves that rose from 1 to 2 metres throughout the day. We arrived in Club Island after a "bit of a bruiser" 27 mile journey. We made sure to keep ourselves tethered to the boat by our life-jacket harnesses in the bouncy sailing conditions. We awoke to calm conditions and motored onward to Tobermory. Between Club Island and Bear's Rump Island we were witness to a Monarch butterfly migration as at least 30 passed over us. We would see one every few minutes all going east to west but travelling separately.

Good-bye to the North Channel Monday August 7th, 2006 found us leaving the North Channel and all it's beauty behind us. We have very fond remembrances of: the tranquil private anchorages we enjoyed, the windswept breathtakingly beautiful pink granite of the Benjamin Islands, the magnificient white granite La Cloche mountains, the emerald green (gold edged) waters of Baie Fine, the red rocks of Thomas Bay, Roy and the Cruisers Net out of Little Current, special time spent together with Robin & Matt and Les & Winn, splake fish and chips in Killarney, the blueberries - everywhere, the blueberries, and the trillions of rock faces with absolutely no graffiti on them - how beautiful.

Thomas Bay The Big Bang We sailed in light 7 knot winds the whole distance from Baie Fine to Thomas Bay. We averaged 5 knots on our journey which took 7 and a half hours. (26 miles straight line distance). Nobody said it was a fast way to travel, but it sure is pleasant. Thomas Bay is one of the anchorages, albeit very beautiful, that is hard to access because of rocks and shoals across its entranceway. Having gotten into Fox Harbour, an equally difficult anchorage, we felt like "experts" and must surely be able to access Thomas Bay. We got in all right. Getting out was quite another matter. We're told that posting a bow watch is how it's done. We soon found out that the light conditions must be right in order for that bow watch to see the rocks. We also found out that our good old boat did stay afloat after riding over (or should we say "on") one of the beautiful red granite rocks of Thomas Bay.

La Cloche Mountains Portage Route We anchored overnight (tied to shore) tucked in to a very small private cove in the white quartz La Cloche Mountains on Baie Fine. Much to our surprise as we enjoyed our morning coffee two canoes happened by. It would appear that our cove was on a portage route. The canoes had already put 6 miles behind them by time they got to us. Wonder if they ever thought of using a sail? The canoes were part of the extensive water sports rental equipment that we saw coming out of Killarney. It appears to be the headquarters for all manner of outdoor activities.

Baie Fine - The Pool Rock Garden Extrodinaire On route to Baie Fine we had a pleasant anchorage overnight in Beaver Bay (in the lee of Strawberry Island). The next day we motored through Baie Fine which is a 9 mile long fiord of emerald green water through the gorgeous white quartz La Cloche mountains. Breath-takingly beautiful. At the end of Baie Fine is "the pool" - truly a tranquil anchorage destination. The Evenrude (of outboard motor fame) family cottage is located there and is still enjoyed by their family.

Engine Problems Good to have a mechanic on board The front seal of the water pump on our Yanmar diesel is seeping engine coolant. We're having to top up the coolant once or twice a day. Since there are no places to buy marine parts Barry plans to convert the cooling system to lake water until we can repair the pump. It's not really a big problem but it does present it's self always at the most inopportune times.

Hotham Island - North Channel August 1/2, 2006 Man is it hot!! (36 degrees) There seems to be a constant small craft thunderstorm warning being issued. We found the swimming to be cool and private and have spent 2 nights hidden away behind Hotham Island. We put the hammock up on deck in a very secluded and beautiful cove that we're sharing with a belted Kingfisher bird. He's quite good company however their was a rather noisy visitor on shore through the night. We didn't get a look at him but another boater reported sighting a mink and there have been reports of bears and fox. Very funny story on the Cruiser's net this morning regarding a bear, a boat and a fisherman. It went something like this: the fisherman was out in his boat trowling along when a bear swam up to his boat and proceeded to board it, the fisherman therefore chose to get out, swam to shore and since the trowling motor was carrying on, on it's own, the bear could be seen fishing from the boat by the fisherman on shore. This is a true story.

Fox Harbour - Fox Island "The Benjamins" Monday, July 3l, 2006 After extensive research we found ourselves ready (?),well at least wanting to attempt the entrance way to Fox Harbour. We were very proud of our success (or good luck), at finding our way in to this most beautiful anchorage. We enjoyed a peaceful night there, tied to shore. We headed off in the morning to a more secluded anchorage - north of Hotham Island, as we had shared Fox Harbour with 8 other boats last night. Barry is still adding the "comic relief" to our journey. Good thing as our starter on the diesel engine broke and he had to repair it while we were underway. Luckily we were in fair weather and an open channel. Good to have a mechanic on board, especially one with a good sense of humour.

Back to the Benjamins Saturday July 29, 2006 Sadly as we head back to the beautiful Benjamin islands we must say our good-byes to Les & Winn Files. They will themselves be leaving Little Current after many years of gunk-holing in the North Channel. By the first of August they will be heading through the 30,000 islands to Penetanguishene. They plan to visit their son in Parry Sound on route. As Roy of the Cruiser's Net would say,"we wish them fair winds and safe harbours". We will be forever grateful to them for sharing their extensive expertise with us on the North Channel.

Sad Good-byes Little Current Saturday July 29, 2006 Sadly it was time to return Robin & Matt to Little Current to head home for Becky Holloway's birthday celebration. It was wonderful to share discovering the Benjamin's with them, as well as our special time together. We enjoyed time together hiking, picking blueberries, swinging in the hammock, exploring, swimming, baking cookies, taking pictures, sailing, playing rummio and scrabble, fishing (Matt) and eating, of course, lots of eating. During our time with Robin & Matt we anchored at Louisa Island, Gibson Cove-Fox Island, South Benjamin Island and Mink Island. Alas, we said our good-byes until we meet again in Grand Bend in August.

Robin & Matt on board The Benjamins Tues. July 25, 2006 We are delighted to have our daughter Robin and son-in-law Matt on board for 5 days. We took Les Files' expert advice and set off to discover the North Channel Benjamin Islands. We have to agree with Les when he refers to them as the "jewel in the crown" of the North Channel. Their windswept pink granite rock makes them seem almost surreal. How wonderful that Robin & Matt could share the joy of discovering such beauty "right on our own doorstep" before they head off on their own adventure to England on August 28th.

Little Current, North Channel The Cruiser's Net Les and Winn Files introduced us to a wonderfully useful tool operated by the Little Current Yacht Club, "The Cruiser's Net". Every morning at 0900 "Roy" comes on VHF Channel 71 to update cruisers on news, weather and sports. He takes any emergency broadcasts that may need to be transmitted. A boat check-in service is offered to anyone wishing to have their location recorded, and a relay message service is also offered. One morning when a thunderstorm was predicted to be coming in from the west, a well-equipped boat at that end of the channel passed along very useful information he was receiving on his radar, as well as wind and wave information. The Cruiser's Net also passes along local entertainment information. We very much enjoyed and looked forward to hearing daily updates from "Roy" and also following the progress of the boats that called in. The Little Current Yacht Club also offers a lecture series and we were lucky enough to catch one. We heard John Smulders, who is the owner of Discovery Yacht charters out of Little Current, speak on his favourite 10 anchorages in the North Channel.

Killarney to Little Current Friday, July 2l, 2006 After a delicious dinner of famous "splake" fish and chips in Killarney we spent our first night anchored in the North Channel in Powderhouse Bay at Badgeley Point. L45 58.5, L81 35.3 In Killarney we met an interesting couple, Heather and Murray Rand from St. Thomas. They passed on their web-site address to us: www.windswept-lv.ca They both are working at the Killarney Mountain Lodge this summer and spend their winters aboard their 40' C & C sailboat which is presently in the Exumas. The quartz La Cloche mountains and monarch butterflies saw us on our way to Little Current, where we were given a very warm welcome by Les & Winn Files on board Winscoop. Their extreme kindness and generosity saw us provisioned and ready to set sail when our daughter Robin and son-in-law Matt arrived.

The Bustard Islands Byng Inlet to Killarney Tuesday July 18, 2006 We left our safe anchorage in Byng Inlet and headed out into a very wavy Georgian Bay for the Bustards. The winds were 15-20 knots on our departure. With our main and genoa sails both up we averaged a 6.5-7 knot sail. Once in the Bustards we enjoyed 2 tranquil and peaceful nights. The Bustards will always be close to our hearts, not just because of their incredible beauty but as the place where we hung out the hammock. Thanks to the inverter we even enjoyed a movie on our laptop. (Capt. Ron, of course)

Wednesday August 2, 2006 Little Current The Storm July 17, 2006 saw us safe at anchor in Byng Inlet with Force 9 winds across our deck. After the storm extensive damage was reported all across the North Channel and Georgian Bay. In Killarney docks were torn out with boats attached. The Killarney Mountain Lodge sustained extensive damage and lost 25 trees off their grounds. We have seen a huge number of trees toppled throughout the North Channel which is not that surprising as they are mostly rooted in moss on top of the rocks. In Little Current boats on land on cradles were toppled. We heard that above Force 12 winds were registered near Clapperton Island (south of the Benjamins). In this location one poor fellow managed to put his "chartered" 39' trawler on the bottom. Apparently he attempted to reset his anchor while the storm was going on, left the hatch open, and broached. Sounds like he lost his deductible deposit.