WINTER 2005 • PAGE 3
SAILING DESTINATIONS
By Pixie Haughwout and Ralph Folsom
L
ake Huron’s North Channel, a virtual unknown in
sailing circles, is rated one of the top ten cruising
destinations on earth. It and adjacent Georgian
Bay have over 32,000 freshwater islands to explore. Yes, La Cloche Mountains, ending in “The Pool,” celebrated
that number is correct! Nearly all of these islands are by the Group of Seven Painters. The Benjamin Islands,
public, with more wild blueberries to pick than your crew whose rocks are as startlingly pink as a brand new
can eat. That’s why we San Diegans have swallowed our infant, with serene single-slot gunkholes. Oak Bay,
hitch after decades of trailer-sailing, and plan to cruise
multiple majestic anchorages … you could spend a week
the North Channel until death do us part.
here and just scratch the surface. Manitoulin Island, the
world’s largest freshwater island and location of some of
This is wilderness cruising, an idyll of anchorages and
the North Channel’s most charming ports-of-call: Gore
village ports of call. The North Channel is a rhapsody in
Bay, Kagawong, Little Current and Meldrum Bay. There
rock and pine, high bluff and deep bay, orchestrated in
you can stock up at farmers’ markets, go to summer
its own key. The elevations are dramatic, the daylight
theaters and gorge on ice cream that does not come in
long and sharp, and the northern lights brilliant against
measured scoops.
the night sky. Monarch butterflies hang glide in your
wind wake, while the call of the loon resonates in your
If you can’t get your own boat to the North Channel,
soul.
consider chartering from several small Canadian
companies. You pay in discounted Canadian dollars!
Nearly all of the North Channel is in Canadian waters. Its
Sleek Mackinac racers mingle with small, trailered
hospitable, generous people bid you most welcome.
sailboats and Great Circle Loop cruisers in a destination
Swim every day in ten feet or under where the warm
so abundant you will not outlive its offerings. And the
water has been baking on hot rocks … there are no
North Channel stories and tales that come with it are
tides! And the sailing, it is a dream come true. Winds
enchanting … “The Great Sawmill Robbery,” “The Curse
from the west typically clock in about 11 a.m., peak at
of the Bearwalk,” and more. Obviously, we are in love
20 knots around 3 p.m., and are gone by dinner at six.
and have built a barn in Upper Michigan where
The sun sets about 10 p.m., a serene afterglow to your
Ensemble, our 24’ Pacific Dolphin sloop, waits for us to
sailing adventures. Just how adventurous can it be?
come back next summer.
There is a large bay with hundreds of islands inside the
North Channel that got its first chart in 2002. There are
For details and recommendations galore, please see our cruising
even parts of the North Channel and Georgian Bay that
guide, which is a new edition of Marjorie Cahn Brazer’s classic:
remain uncharted!
Well-Favored Passage – The Magic of Lake Huron’s North
Channel, available at www.SeaFeverGear.com. You can reach us
Here are some of the most famous destinations in the
directly in San Diego at (619) 222-7074 or
North Channel. Baie Fine, a true fjord set deep into the
PixieH@Mailstation.com.
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