YachtAweigh Yacht charters and rentals: Georgian Bay Anchorages July

Navigating around rocks and through tight channels, we zig- zagged and s -curved our way to Midland and stayed at Bayport Marina July 19 -20.

midland on.

Our first night , we attended an impromptu presentation by the manager on traveling through Georgian Bay. Mike, the harbormaster, met with our group and provided local knowledge for places to stop as we head up through Georgian Bay. Very much appreciated. Best “take away”- avoid the rocks!. Also watch for bear and step around any rattle snakes!! We will be traveling with Sanctuary and Southern Cross on the next portion of our trip.

For entertainment, we visited the Huron Martyr memorials

Filled up with Fuel, did a pump out prior to heading north. Preparing to fill our dingy gas tank, –fuel line broke! Quick trip to the Marina Store to purchase a new tank, $109.00 ouch.

Needed to be done, as we plan to be anchoring in secluded bays over the next three weeks, and the dingy is our transportation between boats, running to shore, and exploring.

ANCHORAGE ON GEORGIAN BAY

LONQUISSA BAY July 21

First night at anchor – beautiful bay north of midland. Rocks above the water on both sides of the channel, wonder what’s hidden below the water. The well marked channels are very much appreciated! Even the cottages are built on rocks!

July 21 July 21

Took a dingy ride up the Musquash River . We were looking for rapids and were not disappointed!

anchorage georgian bay

After a bit of exploring, we tied up to a large rock and got out to check out the rock formations. h Dave fished off the back of the boat- happy to catch three bass, but not big enough for a meal! anchorage Georgian bay

There were over a dozen boats in the bay by end of evening. This is a popular spot ! After seeing the nice sunset, we can see why.
July 21
July 22 , Saturday left for O’Donnell Point to anchor at 12 mile Bay.

Still overcast weather; we set off with no wind and were happy to move along. We joined 14 other boats in 12 mile Bay and we arrived by noon. The spot we picked had a weedy bottom, and it took a few tries to get our anchor to set. Once again, we dropped the dingy in the water and explored around the bay.
july 22 july 22

inukshuk rock formations

july 22

SNUG HARBOR ANCHORAGE Sunday; July 23

Light east wind, with overcast skies is getting to be a repetitious forecast. Our planned stop was Henry’s fish camp. Well known as the best Fish and Chips in the area, we were disappointed to find they had closed the morning we arrived. We radioed for help at the dock and were told the staff had walked out that morning!

With the winds picking up, and a light rain falling, we decided to cruise on Snug Harbor. This anchorage is also adjacent to a well-known Fish and Chips location called Gilleys. There were only two other boats in the harbor, perhaps due to begin mid-week and rainy! After a nice long walk along the cottage roads, we had dinner at Gilleys restaurant. The pan fried fish pickerel was decent, the coleslaw was a special sauce that was very good. After wards, we had Karwartha Ice cream cones at the store; and that was my favorite part of the day. It even made it to my art journal!
july 23 gilley's

HOPEWELL BAY ANCHORAGE JULY 24

When is this rainy spell going to end? It is only 58 degrees, rainy, and now high winds as well. Hoping to wait out the weather, we left the harbor at noon and still saw 2-3 foot waves with gusty winds. The ride to Hopewell Bay was worth the trip, we arrived at 2:45 after traveling 14 miles and anchored in a nice protected anchorage. Another evening of riding in the dingy before settling in to scout out the predicted Northern Lights. Disappointed that the over cast clouds prevented any possible light show. Will keep looking to the skies as we head north.

BAD RIVER ANCHORAGE JULY 25 TO 26- MORE RAIN

We altered course mid day, deciding to bypass Bustards Islands as we had heard so many boaters were heading there for the night. Instead, we continued on to Bad River. This stop has rave reviews on line and from boaters that gone ahead of us. It features rapids that you can fly through on your dingy, as well as hiking trails to an overlook and lots of blueberries.

bad river
Who knew shooting the rapids on our dingys would be in store for us today? Life after 60 – doesn’t involve easy chairs and television today!

We settled in, and did the rapids and the blueberries before the rain and wind came at us again. One advantage of rain- Colleen has time to draw in her art journal. Here is a reference to berry picking, rocks, seagulls and nature!! This is the first remote anchorage- there is no phone service or internet reception!!

GEORGIAN BAY

The mileage from Midland to Killarney (entry to the North Channel) is 168 miles.

bad river

The scenery changes as we head north. First it is wind swept pine trees amongst the rocky islands. Next we begin to see cliffs and large rock formations .

From rocky landscapes to endless stretches of water way, Georgian Bay offers cottage rentals, resorts, marinas, museums and heritage sites. Georgian Bay features more than 30,000 islands to explore. The beauty of this area is unexpected, as we had been so focused on getting to the North Channel, we had overlooked the area traveled first before getting to the North Channel. A few more days of anchoring, before we get to Killarney!

Filed under: Moon Shadow Log Tagged: Boat, Georgian Bay, Great Lakes, loopers, Midland, Ontario

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