North Channel - Mosquito Island

A large island, Great La Cloche, lies just to the north of Little Current.  On its northwest corner is a small cove, made even more protected by a small island, Mosquito.  It is known as Mosquito Harbor.  The protection provided by a harbor has been mentioned numerous times in these descriptions of anchorages in Georgian Bay and North Channel.  Summer 2016 had many days and, even nights, that were plagued with high winds, creating rough waters.  Finding an anchorage where surrounding land keeps waters smooth is one of the important factors.

Another aspect often a benefit of anchorages in Georgian Bay and North Channel is that the surrounding land is public and accessible.  The opportunity for a walk is important to the littlest of the crew, Bonnie, and the hiking/exploring/nature experience to the human crew.  Unfortunately, the majority of the shoreline in this harbor is on Great La Cloche Island, marked private even though it is totally wooded and undeveloped.

Fortunately, the small island giving the name to this cove is not marked private, even though it once had a house, probably when this area was being logged, the largest industry in the area 100 years ago. The chimney and foundation gives evidence to the history of habitation.

The shoreline of Mosquito was made of a soft rock, broken into flat pieces.  The land access not only filled Bonnie's needs for a walk ashore, it gave Jill another chance to build a welcoming Inukshuk.

North Channel - Little Current

On the journey from Heywood Island to Little Current, a small cruise ship also headed to Little Current overtook Last Dance.  Although there is a huge bay of water around Heywood, the two little ships arrived at a narrow pass at the same time.  The water at this point looks wide, but the deep water is only along a very narrow channel known as Strawberry Channel.  Another interesting navigation challenge.

The swing bridge connecting Manitoulin Island and Little Current opened early for the cruise ship, allowing Last Dance to follow and make an early landing in town.

Little Current is misnamed.  Often, a big current is running in the channel and through the docks next to town.  The currents are unpredictable and can change quickly.  To help boaters understand the direction and speed of the current, one of the red channel buoys has a bottom shaped like a boat hull.  The bow points into the current and the amount of lean increases with the speed of the current.

There are some benefits to being at a dock in a town.  It is nice to be hooked up to electricity and get an internet signal.  Many people are concentrated at the docks giving opportunities to meet other cruisers, building friendships and learning about the area.  Often, there are needed resources close by.  Little Current has two grocery stores, unexpected in a town with a commercial district only a couple blocks long.  And, there are chances to interact with critters, though usually not the wildlife variety found at anchor.

There are disadvantages to marinas, also.  Rarely is the quiet of an anchorage experienced, with noises from cars, trains, businesses, factories, and people.  The shore and other boats block the cooling breezes.  And, as can be seen here, a grand sunset looses much of its impact due to the visual clutter.

North Channel - Heywood Island

Heywood Island is a large island lying between Killarney and Little Current.  There are a series of coves and smaller islands along the north shore, creating multiple safe harbors.  Because of its proximity to Little Current, the only place with grocery stores, it is a popular spot.

A pair of eagles had a nest on one of the small islands.  In this image, the female eagle can be seen on the nest and a juvenile eagle, full sized but without the characteristic white feathers, stands on the left.

The spot where Last Dance was at anchor provided a view of the nest.  Both parents are on the nest here.  The male had just returned with a meal he had captured.  About a week later, it was reported that the eagles were giving flying lessons to the eaglets.

Sunrise at Heywood.  Being at anchor allows one to experience the many beautiful aspects of nature.

North Channel - Snug Harbor

Yes, there is a Snug Harbor in North Channel also.  This view is looking out toward the entrance, illustrating well that Snug is a totally protected harbor.  Although carved into the same peninsula as Covered Portage, this cove is different.  It is deep.  The shallowest spot during Last Dance's visit was 35 feet deep and at the base of the cove, where one might expect shallow water, it was over 45 feet.  Anchoring in deep water requires a long rode to the anchor, resulting in large swing circles.  The shore does not have the high rock bluffs of Covered Portage, but does have some height and tall trees creating protection from winds of all directions.  And, while the cove is deep, the entrance cut is shallow, making getting into Snug Harbor a tricky proposition.

Another feature of Snug Harbor is a marked hiking trail across the peninsula to Fraser Bay.  The trail leads through very thick wooded areas, along a lake, and out to a rock beach on the bay.

This underlying rock structure at this point of the peninsula is layered, with horizontal strata.  It is broken at the water's edge from waves, making natural steps down to the water.  Good for hikers.  Also good for bears.  The edges of the rock steps has provided the bears with a convenient hone to sharpen their claws.  Evidence was abundant along the shore.

While interactions with the wildlife are a highlight of the cruise through Georgian Bay and North Channel, up close and personal encounters with bears are not desirable.   However, it is good to know that they are still thriving in this area.

The layered rock broken by the lake's waves makes many small, flat rocks that comprise the beach surface.  A previous hiker took advantage of the rock-strewn beach to construct a large Inukshuk.  This Inuit symbol of welcome or indication of appropriate path does create a sense of comfort and has become an art form.

North Channel - Covered Portage Cove

A small and shallow cove lies within a mountain ridge along Killarney Bay.  In ancient history, it was a place that canoes where portaged across the land to greatly shorten the distance traveled to reach Fraiser Bay and Baie Fine.  It appears to be too small, and the nautical charts indicate too shallow, to have more than a couple boats at anchor.

This image is looking toward the opening of the cove and out into Killarney Bay.  This is a well-protected cove.  Covered Portage Cove is larger than it appears on charts and the almost flat bottom allows anchoring all across the cove, right up to the rock walls.  The extra 2' 9" of water level of North Channel helped create sufficient depth for vessels with a deeper draft.  In 2016 the maximum depth was 8.5 feet.  In a year when water levels are below datum, it would be difficult to enter the cove.  How was the aerial shot made?  The answer is one of the attractions of Covered Portage.

The ridge around the cove is 125' high, and more at some places.  When high winds kick up, the waters stay smooth in the cove.  What was planned to be a short stay for Last Dance turned into five days as a great place to hide from a multi-day storm.  The crew returned to a second visit later in the season.  This has to be one of the most beautiful, interesting, and protected anchorages anywhere in North America.

Storm clouds approach.  Weather watching is critical to comfort and safety on the water.  Accurate prediction of wind and sea state have to be determined to keep a boat from being in peril.  It was nice to be in a secure anchorage as nasty weather approached.

One of the aspects that makes Covered Portage a nice place to spend some time is hiking trails that can be reached from the cove.  At the base of the cove, along the white rock wall next to Last Dance in the photos above, there is a trail that leads up the ridge then along the top.  Good exercise and interesting woods hiking.

The ridge runs the length of the cove, with the highest point being at the east end near the entry to the cove.  Along this section, one is 125 feet above the water where the boats are anchored.  It was from near this point where the aerial photo was captured.

A bit of rock climbing is required to reach the summit   For altitude-challenged Floridians, hiking in the mountains, gaining view high above surrounding waters, is a rare experience.

There was another trail, with access along the water, that lead up the southern ridge or out to the west side of the peninsula.  On a hike of this trail, a plateau was reached that had some scattered rocks.  The rocks were crafted into an Inukshuk by the resident rockhound on Last Dance.

It is always interesting to see how things in nature struggle to survive. This tree has survived for many years without any soil for its roots and having to battle winds that come across the ridge.  Its crooked trunk attests to the difficulties endured.

A view to the west with a corner of Fraiser Bay and the Blue Ridge Mountains above Baie Fine in the distance.

Another summit reached.  With multiple hiking opportunities, Covered Portage offers days worth of new experiences for the cruiser.

Local knowledge creates greater options for boaters.  Although the cove is shallow, the bottom is fairly flat.  As demonstrated by this trawler, good depths continue at this spot right up to the shore.  They were able to put the bow on shore, the beam next to a rock, and secure the boat with an aft anchor, while maintaining sufficient water depth under the boat.







Covered Portage Cove - just one of the many amazing beautiful and enjoyable anchorage in the North Channel.

North Channel - Killarney

Killarney is a small town located on a cut made by the glaciers, separating the tip of the peninsula off, to form George Island.  Even though Killarney is on the mainland, for most of its history it was only reachable by boat or float plane.  It is so far from any other populated place that a road was not built to Killarney until 1962.  It is a popular stop for all cruising boats.

The Herbert family has operated a fishing fleet from Killarney for multiple generations.  The great lakes fishing boats are of a quite different design.  Lake waters can get very rough with high seas.  The fishing boats are designed so the high waves can crash over the top of the boat.  For visitors, the importance of the Herbert family is the restaurant they run with great lakes fish and chips.  In this image, one of their fishing boats is returning to dock on the Killarney Channel.

The Killarney Mountain Lodge was built in the late 1950's as a wilderness resort for a large corporation.  It was reimagined as a resort open to the public when the road was built in 1962.  Many families have spent their summer vacation at the lodge.  In 2015, the lodge was purchased by a Canadian businessman who had family members in Killarney and had spent summers there as a youth.  A large investment is being made to bring the Killarney Mountain Lodge to a world-class resort in an upscale rustic style.  The marina has been expanded and upgraded and the lodge restaurant is run by creative, highly-skilled chefs.  The Last Dance crew can happily attest to the quality of the food, service, and atmosphere.  Winter sports are being added to the resort to move it to a year-round operation.

North Channel

North Channel is better described as a bay in Lake Huron lying between Manitoulin Island and the mainland.  It stretches from Killarney to Sault St. Marie (off this map to the left).  Manitoulin Island is the largest freshwater island in the world.  There is only one bridge connecting the island to the mainland, at Little Current, and it is only one lane wide.  The bridge is a 100-year-old swing bridge, originally built to carry trains, that is opened on the hour for boat traffic.  It takes 15 minutes to swing the bridge open and back closed.  The red dots indicate stops made by Last Dance on the 2016 journey.  The best anchorages are along the northern edge.  The green areas on the map are Provincial Parks and the gray areas are First Nation land.