The second you cross the swing bridge from
the mainland of Northern Ontario on your
approach to sailing the Channel you find
yourself on island time.
"Looks like a Group of Seven painting,"
says second mate Barb Anschuetz of the
Channel vistas.
and watching them bounce like flying fish.
Item: Sailing a fancy Hunter with all
the bells and whistles. Sailing a much
older Aloha called ;“Rowdy’s Revenge”, a
38’ cat called ;“Nauticat”,; cruising in a
trawler and a power cat both. Canadian
Yacht Charters has a diverse fleet with the
right boat for your needs whether you
want luxury, sail or comfort. And if you
don’t feel up to the channel, they’ll provide a skipper.
Item: Late one day at south Benjamin
after we’ve picked up Barb and Dave and
cast off for this particular return to the
channel.
One boat here. Ours. The sun falls and
paints the pink granite headland even
pinker. We dinghy ashore, clamour up
great boulders.
Back on the boat we watch the stars
come out – a scintillating tapestry that
does something to your soul as you look
around, as you hear the call of a couple of
loons, haunting and forlorn but beautiful
as a Mozart symphony.
;“I can’t believe how beautiful this
place is,;“ says Barb. ;“Like a Group of
Seven painting.”;
;“Two or three other spots I wanted
you to see,”; I say. Haven’t had a great
weather window on this trip so they
aren’t going to happen.
Barb takes a sip of wine, looks around
Janet Head lighthouse guards the West
Bluff side of the approach to Gore Bay on
Manitoulin.
the bay, up at the sky. She deeply inhales
the evening air, crisp and redolent of
pine.
“Next time,”; she says.
“So you’d come back?”;
“I’d come back in a minute.”;
Back to the Channel.
Pam and Ken Blodgett maintain a complete
fleet of boats for skippered or bareboat charters out of their Canadian Yacht Charters
Gore Bay base.
www.cycnorth.com
