7/20/18: Thursday – Today was forecasted to have some wind in the 15 mph or more range, so we needed to leave Beckwith Island and get back over into the more sheltered areas on the northeast side of Georgian Bay. The guys looked at the forecast, and I came up with Plans A, B, & C. Plan A would take us up into the Small Craft Channel to Indian Harbor. By the way – the Small Craft Channel is a route that weaves it’s way through the 30,000 islands region of Georgian Bay (seriously – that is what this area is called). In some places it is very narrow. This area is all granite rock, and parts of the channel are not recommended for boats over 40’ in length. A lot of loopers don’t even do the channel, but stay in the big deep water to transit Georgian Bay from south to north. But the real beauty of this region is getting INTO it and discovering the little bays and channels. Without hitting the granite. Check out the beautiful blue color of the water as we crossed the big lake!
We were in part of the Small Craft Channel back at Ojibway Bay. This gives you a little idea. The green arrow was Ojibway Bay. The purple arrow was Honey Harbor. We traveled the Big Dog Channel between Roberts island and Little Beausoliel, then the Little Dog Channel between Beausoliel and Little Beausoliel when we made our dinghy trip to Honey Harbor. The line that weaves it’s way around the islands is the Small Craft Channel on the charts, and it goes from the southern end of Georgian Bay all the way to the top where it meets the Northern Channel at Little Current.
OK – so back to today. Plan A – go to Indian Harbor. It has great reviews as a beautiful spot to anchor, and it may have enough protection to get us out of the wind. We found our way in, and it truly was a beautiful little bay. However, the Small Craft Channel went right through the middle of it. It was kind of like a wide spot in the channel. This rock guy welcomed us into Indian Harbor.
It was really pretty – like we were in an alpine lake. There were several boats already at anchor facing the channel, and they all had stern anchors out as well. We don’t have a strong stern anchor, and I’m not sure that it is allowable to tie to any trees on shore. The wind was really blowing in there, and none of us were overly confident that we could get tucked in fast enough to deploy all necessary tackle to keep us lined up with the rest of the boats without a mishap. The wind was coming right up the channel, so it wasn’t very protected after all.
Alrighty Navigator – what was Plan B? There is a bay a ways farther up, off of Twelve Mile Bay, locally known as Wani Bay. It looked like it would be sheltered from any southern wind component. The channel does not go through the middle of it, so we shouldn’t get waked there. Alrighty then…. off we go. From BI -Beckwith Island to IH -Indian Harbor to WB -Wani Bay. This is our route from Beckwith to Indian to Wani.
We arrived at Wani Bay – just 25 miles from Beckwith Island. It was indeed, a nice protected little bay. There were a few boats already at anchor, and we could see that there was plenty of room for us near the southern shore for good wind protection. It is also a really pretty bay, and just a nice breeze. The anchor set easily on the first drop, in about 12’ deep water. The wind shouldn’t shift much for the next 48 hours, so we are in a good spot!
Occasionally we’d see a loon or two. They are a really pretty spotted-feathers bird. They even sang for us. WOW! They are REALLY loud!
Hopefully this little video clip will play for you.
http://lattitudetravel.com/travelblog/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/BA3D642A-B5AB-44C9-970E-040C1727265A.mov
The weather temperature was pretty warm, although not humid, which was very nice. A couple of the boats had their dinghies out for an evening stroll around the bay, and it was very peaceful. Stuart was kind of squeaking against the swimstep. I commented that he was trying to get into his cradle to go to bed. Kenny re-tied him so he would quit squeaking. We had a couple of bags of salad that we needed to use, so we fired up Genny and cooked up some bacon, shrimp, and chicken to add to the salad. It was quite a tasty warm weather meal! We were relaxing and trying to shield the inside of the boat from the hot setting sun. Rocky looked out the window and saw a dinghy afloat, heading out away from us. She remarked that it looked lost. We looked – IT WAS STUART! That little rascal was running away from home! Kenny actually hollered at him- “STUART!”. Fortunately, Kenny was still in his swim trunks, so he quick took off his glasses and dove in and started swimming to Stuart. We could hear him yelling the whole way – stuff like “Stuart – you are in big trouble!” The neighbor boats were watching and laughing with us. I mean – look at the little bugger. He was headed out! Not just drifting aimlessly. He was outta here! By the time Kenny got there, he was out of breath, and so getting up over the fat air pontoon sides was an ordeal. The sailboat people got in their dinghy – they were coming to help. By then, Kenny was in Stuart, and chewing him out. Literally! Outloud! “Stuart – WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! You are so grounded!” We could not stop laughing! Kenny got him started, and brought him home, while the sailboat dinghy escorted from behind. We put the prodigal child to bed, and locked him in so there would be no more escape attempts tonight. Oh my goodness!
Captain caught Stuart in the act of desertion and brought him back home.
And people wonder why he is named Stuart. He must have thought there were BAH-NA-NAS across the lake! (That’s a minion thing.)
We enjoyed a rousing few games of cribbage, and were awed by a beautiful sunset.
This was day three away from marinas, and a third beautiful and very different-from-the-last, kind of spot. Tomorrow is forecasted to stay windy. It will also be Saturday, when the waterways around here get very busy. We’re thinking we’ll stay here another day in our nice protected spot. It might be more challenge than this relaxed crew wants to take on: to be in busy, tight, unfamiliar waterways, just to get to a crowded marina or anchorage where we can’t find a spot. There is a marina just 4 miles up the Twelve Mile Bay from here. The boys could maybe take Stuart for a go-fast tour to get some more gas for his little tank, and maybe some ice if need be. Our poor batteries are having a hard time keeping up with our ice demands. 🍹