Frying Pan Bay, Beausoleil Island, Georgian Bay Islands National Park

This blog will chronicle our (Pat and Patty Anderson's)

cruising adventures on the Great Loop!

DAY 107 - July 16, 2017

I took Baxter to shore at Herb Island first thing, which was a bit more of a challenge today than it had been yesterday for some reason.  Let's just say I should have been wearing my bathing suit and leave it at that! 

We had a leisurely breakfast, loaded up the kayak, and pointed the bow toward Port Severn and Georgian Bay! It was about eight miles to Lock 45, the last lock on the Trent-Severn Canal. We went through at about 10:30 a.m., and made a point to thank the lock staff and tell them what a great  job we thought Parks Canada is doing at all the locks.  They are head and shoulders above the Erie Canal! While at the blue line, I bought some ice, and got a brochure for the Georgian Bay Islands National Park with some maps and a listing of the locations with docks there are actually quite a few, and we can stay at them with our Parks Canada Seasonal Mooring Permit. Patty picked Honeymoon Harbor based on Active Captain, but we diverted to Frying Pan Bay, since according the brochure, Honeymoon Harbor has dockage for two boats and Frying Pan Bay has dockage for 12 boats.
J
ust as soon as we exited the lock, we were in Georgian Bay.  The small boat channel is well marked but has some really narrow spots, so naturally in one of those narrow spots we encountered  some big yachts returning to Port Severn. Georgian Bay is very rocky, and it is not a good idea to go outside the marked channel! We kind of fudged on that a little, going just outside the red buoy so the big boat could get by, since there was just not enough room for us to pass in the channel! 

We were intending to go to Honey Harbor to the store there, but as we were motoring along, we found ourselves in another thunderstorm with driving rain, and visibility was seriously compromised! Fortunately, we soon came to the Picnic Island Store right on the channel, and tied up to their dock. We were able to get most of what we wanted right there, and we were also able to top off our fresh water tank, since the last time we took on fresh water was back in Campbellford! With ice, groceries ,and a full fresh water tank, we are in pretty good shape for the next week or so!

The Active Captain reviews all say don't expect to find dock space at any of the Georgian Bay Island National Park sites, but we came in about 2:00 p.m., on a Sunday and were able to tie up at a dock with only two other boats on it, and one of those has now left.  
In fact there were a couple of other free spaces on the dock where we are, and another dock a little way away that has no boats on it at the moment.  Timing is everything!

Daydream and another boat on dock at Frying Pan Bay

The sun came out about 2:00 p.m. We never would have expected it after this morning thunderstorm, but the the sky cleared, and it got fairly warm!  Frying Pan Bay reminds me so much of some of our favorite spots in the San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands, except that it is fresh water and the water is warm enough to go swimming! So I put on my bathing suit and counted to three about ten times and jumped in! It was bracing at first but I quickly got used to it, so it actually seemed warm! I swam a bit, washed my hair and bathed, and then took the sponge and wiped off three plus months of waterline scum, at least on one side of the boat! After I dried off, I took Baxter out for a recreational paddle in the Sea Eagle kayak!

Frying Pan Bay looks a lot like San Juan Island anchorages!

Jonathan and Tristana on the boat tied up in front of us on the dock had some suggestions as to where we should go next, including Indian Harbour, Twelve Mile Harbour and Snug Harbour. Hey, it is Canada and they spell it with a "u"s o I do too!

A nice dinner of Johnsonville brats on the Magma with a cucumber - onion salad in a vinegar and water dressing, followed by my nightcap of my new favorite Canadian whisky, Forty Creek, pretty much capped off what turned out to be a great first day on Georgian Bay!