30,000 Islands, Two Small Boats

[Dave Hadfield]

Great story!

[Dan McCosh]

Nice story. I have to admit that I mainly try not to talk up our favorite places, in a fruitless attempt to keep them less crowded.

[WI-Tom]

Nice story. I have to admit that I mainly try not to talk up our favorite places, in a fruitless attempt to keep them less crowded.

Oh, I completely understand that sentiment. But the people who would be likely to join those crowds are not my audience. From the perspective of a small sail-and-oar boat, all the best corners are still blissfully empty.

The places I go, I almost never see any boats. On this week-long trip:

1. 2 kayakers on West Fox Island who were just arriving as we left.
2. 5-6 kayakers/canoers at Big Rock Portage--we just passed on by from a distance.

That was all on the first day. After that, no one else but ourselves until we got back to Killarney.

The main anchorages in the Benjamins, Beardrop Harbour, Turnbull Islands, etc. are awfully crowded for keelboats and powerboats. From what I've experienced, the small boat centerboarder areas that I frequent see little to no traffic. I've been coming to Georgian Bay for 9 years or so. In all that time, the small sailboats/rowing boats I've seen have been:

1. A man and his wife rowing a wooden dingy ashore from their keelboat in the main harbor at the north end of the Bustard Islands.
2. A group of about 7-8 home-built wooden cruising boats launching at Killarney on a guided cruise led by Howard Rice.

It really is a different place by sail and oar, I think. A much emptier place. I would not mind running into a few more boats (and crews) like mine. But really, I have yet to see that happen even once out on the water.

Tom

[Ron Williamson]

Mid July to mid August are peak season for the main anchorages and choke points like Little Detroit,but small boats can always find a quiet spot.
Also coinciding with the most predictable weather, warmest water and best blueberries.
Late August and into September can be lovely and the crowds will be gone,but you will be rolling the dice,weatherwise.
R

[WI-Tom]

^^^

Oh, yeah--September! I did one long(ish) trip in September. The Benjamins were empty. The weather was beautiful. But I always felt like weather was a ticking clock on that trip, like, how long will it stay beautiful?

Edit to add: To me, worrying about Georgian Bay becoming overcrowded because of little sail-and-oar boats seems a bit like worrying about the Appalachian Trail becoming overcrowded with unicyclists. I mean, yeah, there are crowded stretches on the AT, and lots of people out there. But precious few unicyclists.

And even if a unicyclist posted lots of stuff about his unicycling trips to the AT on a bicycling forum, I doubt that would change.

Tom

[The Jeff]

Thanks for sharing your trip and all the pictures! I knew this area is high on your list of favorites (maybe the favorite?) but for some reason this thread seemed to give me a better idea of what it's like. I'm serious about getting up there myself and giving it a try in the next 10 years. My wife has never gone camping and is a bit apprehensive about it, but some friends and I have convinced her to try car camping in May. I figure we start with baby steps and work our way into pitching a tent on a granite island in the middle of nowhere. And at least she doesn't roll her eyes anymore when I tell her what Wisconsin Tom is up to.

[WI-Tom]

Thanks for sharing your trip and all the pictures! I knew this area is high on your list of favorites (maybe the favorite?) but for some reason this thread seemed to give me a better idea of what it's like. I'm serious about getting up there myself and giving it a try in the next 10 years. My wife has never gone camping and is a bit apprehensive about it, but some friends and I have convinced her to try car camping in May. I figure we start with baby steps and work our way into pitching a tent on a granite island in the middle of nowhere. And at least she doesn't roll her eyes anymore when I tell her what Wisconsin Tom is up to.

Thanks for the comment--I think it's fair to say that the Thirty Thousand Islands is my favorite cruising ground so far. By quite a large margin, too.

Other than the obvious small-boat-friendly character of the place, and the relative simplicity of camping there if you don't want to live at anchor, I'm just drawn to these north(ish) latitudes: the white pines, the loons, the bare stone of the Canadian Shield terrain.

I do have a few other possibilities in mind farther north, farther afield, that may challenge Georgian Bay's status as my favorite if I ever manage to get to those places. We'll see...

As far as boat camping like this, I think it really is quite similar to car camping. You can carry an awful lot of stuff if the crew needs a bit more comfort in camp. And you can get to some nifty camping spots in just a few hours (or less) of sailing. For somewhat reluctant participants, a short approach (less time on the boat) is everything. My wife loves the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage (it's the only place she'll do a boat trip with me)--2 miles or less to a campsite.

The closest equivalent in the North Channel is probably Spanish or Blind River as mentioned earlier; in Georgian Bay, it would be Killarney or Britt, I think. Short passages to great destinations for exploring and camping.

Tom

[The Jeff]

As far as boat camping like this, I think it really is quite similar to car camping. You can carry an awful lot of stuff if the crew needs a bit more comfort in camp. And you can get to some nifty camping spots in just a few hours (or less) of sailing. For somewhat reluctant participants, a short approach (less time on the boat) is everything. My wife loves the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage (it's the only place she'll do a boat trip with me)--2 miles or less to a campsite.

That's a good point and something I've been thinking about lately. I've been pretty fixated on 30-40 mile daysails since I figure if I've only got a day to go sailing then I want to be sailing rather than poking around small creeks or whatnot. But on a multi day trip I can see the object being to really explore smaller places and enjoy the area than sailing for sailing's sake. Quite a while ago I went on a 60 mile canoe trip down the Noire River in Quebec and really enjoyed the difference in scenery from tidewater Virginia's low lying marsh and pine trees. I'm sure the Canadian Shield terrain is just as cool to explore.

The closest equivalent in the North Channel is probably Spanish or Blind River as mentioned earlier; in Georgian Bay, it would be Killarney or Britt, I think. Short passages to great destinations for exploring and camping.

Yeah I've been doing some Google Earth cruising and figured Britt or Key River might be good spots for launching to get out to the French River park. There looks like there's plenty of channels and islands to explore for well over a week!