Though we sailed through the region, members of the Group of Seven canoed it, stopping to sketch whenever they saw something that pleased them. He wrote: “Every wind brought its change of colour – the North wind with everything sharply defined and the distant islands lifted above the horizon by mirage the South wind – the blue giving way to greys and browns and the water washing over the shoals and the West wind best of all sparkling and full of movement….” Casson (two members of the Group of Seven) painted.ĭuring the 1920s and ‘30s Carmichael kept returning bringing A. My plan was to end up in the Bay of Islands and tour some of the shallow islets by dinghy, looking for sites where Frank Carmichael and A. Nonetheless, we still had to make tracks to hit the Bay of Islands.Ī second pot of coffee was made on the go, and we settled in for the route north of Clapperton Island. ![]() Next morning, we overslept, which was okay, because it was the summer solstice and we had a long stretch of daylight ahead of us. A kingfisher did a couple of strafing runs over the boat, and a great blue heron lifted off from the reed bed a hundred metres away. It was one of those first night dinners that couldn’t be matched anywhere, and the sun downers put us in a gentle mood. Laurie and Bob just watched from the warmth of the cockpit.Īs we towelled off, Bob began grilling steaks. Fortunately, my heart didn’t stop, and Suze joined me. The only way to find out was by making a full-gainer commitment off the swim platform. It was one of those heart-stopping plunges when a toe-dip wouldn’t do enough to convince you the water was warm. The southern pool is rimmed by pink granite and topped with pines. You can’t come too close as it shallows quickly, but the beach is easily reached by dinghy. The north pool, the largest, features a good sand beach for swimming. The Croker Island anchorage is well protected from all quarters. ![]() An American Hatteras named Sassy was nosed up to the shore, and a steel sloop, was anchored out in the deeper water of the pool. It would have taken another 20 minutes for us to bring Bay Spirit into the Benjamin basin, but with everyone pooped from a long day, we decided to set the hook in the inner anchorage at Croker Island.Īs it was early in the season, there were just two other boats sharing the anchorage. Navigating here isn’t treacherous, but it does require your full attention to keep the boat lined up in the channel. Two hours took us to the Sow and Pigs – the rocky islets guarding the southern entrance to the Benjamin’s. The wind was blowing 18 to 20 knots out of the northwest but settled down and by the time we slipped our lines the breeze was manageable.īecause we wanted to anchor at a reasonable hour, and be headed in a direction that would put the Bay of Islands, Baie Fine and Killarney within easy daily sailing distances, we chose the Benjamin Islands as our first anchorage. We arrived at the CYC base in Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island shortly before noon. Most Canadians, and more than a few Americans, who know about the Groups painters associate them with Ontario’s Algonquin Park, but the artists ranged far and wide, painting in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and the Canadian Arctic. It was easy to sail and had a good name – Bay Spirit. The Hunter had a big forepeak with a double berth and all kinds of stowage space along with a big aft cabin – a double berth again. We chartered a Hunter 35.6 from Canadian Yacht Charters (CYC). Growing up in Ontario, I spent a large part of my school years checking out the prints of contorted trees and wicked westerly storms while awaiting my audience with Principal Frank for my infraction du jour. And second, I wanted to revisit and view the region in the same the way the iconic landscape painters of the Group of Seven, did three-quarters of a century ago. First, I wanted to introduce Bob and Suze to the pleasures of cruising. But on this trip, I had a new agenda – actually, two agendas. Hundreds of trees have been sacrificed for stories about the channel, and I’ve contributed my fair share. ![]() We were setting out to explore the North Channel – that magical stretch of Lake Huron between Manitoulin Island and the mainland of Northern Ontario west of Georgian Bay. We sold Bob on the idea of cruising by telling him a boat was just like a cottage where the scenery (and grass) could be changed on a whim. But while Bob seemed content to sit and watch the grass grow beneath his Adirondack chair, Suze was set to go exploring once their daughter Amanda became a teenager and wanted to avoid them completely. ![]() Devout cottagers, they have a beautiful, century-old log cabin on the Bruce Peninsula. A version of this article appeared in the Buyer's Guide 2023 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.įor years I’d been suggesting that Bob and Suze come cruising with us.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |