Penetanguishene

We headed the few minutes over to Penetanguishene on Tuesday. Bay Moorings Marina is sponsoring a 2-day gathering for Loopers to share information and socialize.  About 30 boats are expected (29 power and one sailboat). This is the reason we took the side trip to this part of the Georgian Bay instead of heading directly to the North Channel. All the other boats came through the Trent-Severn Waterway instead of the Erie Canal as we did.

Penetanguishene is considered the “Gateway to the Georgian Bay” and we were told this area is considered the “Carribean of the North” as far as cruising is concerned. It is unbelieveable how many huge marinas there are between Penetang and Midland (just across the peninsula). There are literally thousands of slips and lots of sailboats in them.

The Town of Penetanguishene is a picturesque bilingual community; they still have "French" schools and "English" schools. Its’ colorful history reflects its three founding cultures – Aboriginal, French and British. The largest outdoor historic mural in North America is here along with thirty others throughout the town. Here is one of the HMS Bee from Discovery Harbor:

Bay Moorings Marina did a fantastic job of organizing and hosting the Looper Gathering. We stayed there 3 nights; we would have left sooner but it poured most of the day on Thursday. Probably our favorite thing was getting to know fellow Loopers and sailors, Pat and Lynn, who grew up and still live here. Their sailboat is currently stored on the east coast of Florida awaiting their return in October. They’ll spend their second winter in the Bahamas and then continue on the Loop route. Pat actually built their 39ft. sailboat himself and judging from pictures, he did an amazing job. They were so gracious to us, taking us out for breakfast, running us around by car, giving us tips on the area, letting us use their empty slip and inviting us to the Friday Pub Night at their sailing club.  Pat and Paul are going over charts on the picture below. Thanks again Pat and Lynn – I hope we see you again on the waterways!

Here’s Paul making a selection in “The Beer Store” – that’s really what it’s called! Nothing is on display, you decide what you want by looking at the signs on the wall, place your order and it comes out on the conveyer belt. VERY different for us but interesting.


Our current location is marked by the pink arrow on this partial view of the Georgian Bay. We plan to anchor for a few nights on our way to Parry Sound, the next place to provision.