Baie Fine

by Ron

Baie Fine (French for “fine bay” and pronounced “Bay Fin” ) is a 10-mile, fjord-like cut that is most scenic. It was our next stop for anchoring in the North Channel. These Mountains are solid white quartz and often look like they are snow-covered.

Mary Ann Cove was highly recommended to us as a way to see these beautiful white granite fjords. We weren’t able to find a spot in that particular anchorage as it was filled with boats by the time we arrived. We found an even better anchorage and anchored with just one other Looper boat, “Currently”.

We took a long dinghy ride to get to the end of the bay to “The Pool”, which is a very weedy, protected harbor known for its remote location and beauty. Ole Evinrude, pioneer of the outboard motor company, built his cottage on an island there which was only accessible by his yacht and hooking up his boat to the house to provide electricity.

We found a state park there with an incredibly rocky, steep trail that led us to a lake with more pretty scenery.

We stopped over in the town of Little Current located on Manitoulin Island, the largest fresh-water island in the world. We waited out some rain and windy weather while reprovisioning and exploring the town. Our next stop would be one of the many anchorages in the Benjamin Islands.

The Benjamin Islands, just 19 miles from Little Current, are known for their smooth pink-colored granite rock formations while being surrounded by pine trees. We anchored in this popular anchorage with many other boaters and enjoyed being surrounded by the unique formations that took form so many years ago.

Our time in Canada came to a close after spending a total of 5 weeks here. It was definitely the most challenging to navigate, beautiful and unique boating leg of the trip we experienced. We headed out to Blind River Marina, once again to wait out the weather and start our entrance back into the US.

The view from our anchorage in Baie Fine, the beautiful white quartz mountains were quite the site when waking in the morning.

We took the long dinghy ride the length of Baie Fine to the Pool, found the trail leading to Topaz Lake. Ole Evinrude’s Cottage (photo on left).

This was the trail to Topaz Lake, not well marked, rocky and steep and we did lose our way, but eventually found the lake
Topaz Lake were hot even to want to jump in but not from these rocks!
Town Docks at Little Current, right by main street and serves as a provisioning stop for Local boaters and Loopers.
We first saw this vending machine with a long line of people waiting by it. We were curious and thought we’d give it a try, made your pizza in three minutes and it was actually a step up from Domino’s, thin crispy crust with fresh ingredients, thinking about a new business venture . . . not yet in the US.
Anchored in the Benjamins
The beautiful salmon-pink colored granite surrounded our anchorage
Benjamin Islands, the most famous in the North Channel.
Very nice marina and our last stop in Canada.
Our last dinner on the boat in Canada, White Fish on a bed of wild rice and roasted brussel sprouts, delicious! At every meal use our souvenir cups and reminisce about that place where we got. Tonight’s cups were the wine glass given to us at the Pig Roast at Shady Harbor Marina in New Baltimore, NY and the water cup from Venice Yacht Club in FL.
Sunset at Blind River Marina, our last night in Canada

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