On to Killarney

I finally got one load of laundry done about 11pm before we left Parry Sound on Thursday (7/30). There was just one washer and dryer and there was someone waiting every time I checked during the day. This time there was a very friendly Canadian with his drink in hand just finishing up. He said he had been in Wis. often on business and thanked me numerous times for visiting his country – an interesting laundry experience.

We’d heard a pump out in Parry Sound was pretty pricey so we went the 10 miles on to Killbear Marina for that and fuel. Well, a pump out there was $25 – the most we’ve ever paid. Every other time we used that service in Canada, there was no charge. Now that we’re in what’s called the “Canadian Crest”, solid granite everywhere, marinas have to use holding tanks and the price reflects it but that’s understandable.

We saw numerous spots like this one during the day but thankfully they're well marked.


We passed this lighthouse on the way into the anchorage at Snug Harbor. Guess what – Snug Harbor Light. It was a very peaceful anchorage with 3 other boats. No going to shore here either because of the cottages.


On Friday it was more beautiful scenery and more narrow rocky passages. This is Pointe au Baril Lighthouse (in French, the point with the barrel).

To the far left of the picture, right at the point, there’s an elevated wooden barrel and a sign “site of the original barrel denoting safe passage through turbulent waters”. In the mid-1800s, local residents erected a barrel with a lantern on top to better guide boats into the channel, hence the name.


We anchored in an unnamed and uncharted cove off Nare’s Inlet. We asked a cottager on shore about depth and he said we’d be fine in the middle and we were. He said it’s called Portage Bay so it’s now named on our charts. Two other boats came in for a total of three. It’s the first time in awhile we anchored “Mediterranean Style” where you put out a bow anchor and tie the stern to shore. It was handy to take Ginger to shore – didn’t even need the oars.


Everything about this spot was great except for about 2 dozen mosquitoes that somehow got inside the cabin before we got things closed up. They were very elusive but we got nearly all of them before we went to bed. Then the last few met their demise after about two hours – ugh.

We left the anchorage at 7:15 am Saturday to cross from the 30,000 Islands to Killarney on the northwestern end of Georgian Bay, where we arrived about 4pm. We decided we’d dodged enough granite for this trip. We actually were able to sail the boat all day – yippee! It was a bit rocky but we couldn’t complain since the wind was in our favor for once. It sprinkled while we were anchoring just outside Covered Portage Cove but poured for hours once we were settled so our timing was perfect.

Here’s a picture from inside the Cove where we moved to on Sunday morning after about six boats left.



There’s a little trail from shore where you can climb up for a scenic view. Here’s the anchorage from the top. We’re the third sailboat from the left.


The northwestern end of Georgian Bay leads to the North Channel, a really popular cruising area. We’re seeing a lot of Michigan boats here. Until now, we hadn’t seen any cruising boats from the U.S. except for the Loopers we met at the gathering in Penetanguishene. Killarney is the easternmost point of the North Channel. Surprisingly, it wasn’t settled by Irish immigrants but French. A VIP visitor back in the day said the area reminded her of the Town of Killarney in Kerry County, Ireland and the name stuck.

We stayed one night in Killarney at the Sportsmen’s Inn Marina. Rain jackets were the fashion of the day most of the time we were there. The “must do” here is to have fresh fish at Mister Perch. No frills but very tasty. You order at one window of this bus and pick up at another; condiments are at the front fender. Picnic tables are off to the side. Quite a fun and different way to enjoy a fish fry.