Champ III: Going Places

The adventure starts here.

Henry’s Fish Restaurant, Ontario to Parry Sound Town Dock,

I called Big Sound Marina and asked about dockage at the Town Dock.  Lenore and I have liked the Town Dock because it is a lot closer to Town so the walk is shorter.  We were told that the Town Dock was not really being used for transient boaters. There were no showers or Wi-Fi at the dock.  After talking with Lenore we asked for reservations at the Big Sound Marina. They asked when we would arrive and we said Saturday and they said they were full so we would have to tie up at the Town Dock.  Well that was settled easily.  We planned on leaving late morning.

The next morning Candy and I went for our walk and after the walk I started talking with the boaters next to us at Henry’s.  After some time we compared where we were going and when I said Parry Sound he asked if I was aware of the rendezvous that would be in Parry Sound today.  It was out of Penatang Harbour and there were 60 boats traveling.  He showed me their itinerary and they were going to Britt, the Bustards and Killarney after Parry Sound.

I let Lenore know that we should get underway ASAP to Parry Sound.  There likely would be some competition for space at the Town Dock if 60 boats were going to pretty much fill the marina.

It was only 15 miles to Parry Sound so we did not have a long distance to travel.  We went in the South Entrance that winds thru cottage country and the islands.  Some of the channels were dug out of the rock so they connect the lakes.  It is very picturesque and we were there at 11:15 and the marina was still pretty empty.  Only 2 other boats on the Town
Dock so it was not a problem getting a space with power close in.  One of the other boats was Lady O that we last saw in Brewerton NY.  I went over and talked to them once were tied up and the shore power was on.  They had already been to the Okeechobee Lodge and were on their way back to Midland.

I talked to the Tourism Office.  This is where I paid for use of the Town Dock.  They called Sobeys the local grocery.  Sobeys will provide shuttle service to their store from the marina or Town Dock. The store is about 3 to 4 miles away near the south side of town. The shuttle was great and they refused to take a tip saying that it was against
their policy.  I brought back all the provisions I could carry.

The Town Dock has several features that make it interesting.  It has the Island Queen
Tour Boat.  The Tour Boat probably seats 200 and goes out about 3 times a day headed to the small craft route.  Our first introduction to the Tour Boat was one of our first times to the Georgian Bay. We were in the southern part of the small craft route headed north and this huge boat came out from between 2 islands ahead probably do 25 mph and actually looked like it was sliding thru the turn.  Quite a site to see as it headed right toward us.  Fortunately we were in a wider part of the small craft route and there was plenty of room for the boats to pass. The Town Dock also has a sea plane dock.  You can go in their office and they offer aerial tours of the Georgian Bay.  They
also offer a dinner flight to a restaurant or a champagne flight.  They run from $150 to $250 per person per flight.  Saturday was a reasonably busy day for them.

The 60 boats left Sunday morning.  Candy and I walked over to the marina to use
the Wi-Fi and probably ½ the boats were gone.
The other half trickled out over the next 1 ½ hours.  The marina was left with maybe 10 boats in
it. I did get my Henry’s post done to the Champ III website.

Tomorrow we will move on to Killbear Marina.