7-18  –   7-21-2017  Echo Bay and Beyond

We were told about the anchorage Echo Bay by multiple people. Although friends, Mike and Cathy, finished their Loop in Florida they told us about Audrey and Randy Hart Tug which is a red Ranger or American Tug. They are Canadians that spend the summers cruising these waters, but are not Loopers.  We met up with Hart Tug and their travel companion boat of Loopers Mz Full Charge in Echo Bay.  This is one of those bays where you must anchor the bow and tie the stern to the shore.  We no sooner pulled in and Randy, in his dinghy, was there to help us take our line to shore.  That is so helpful.

When we picked our spot, there was a very large snapping turtle sunning himself on a rock.  We disturbed his beauty sleep.  We hope he’s not a revengeful turtle because he could do some damage with those jaws.  Yikes.

After we got settled we went for a dinghy ride to a bait/beer/Ice cream shop a little ways away. When we got back we stopped and chatted with the crew on Mz Full Charge.  We later had docktails with Hart Tug and Mz Full Charge.  They are all very nice people. Scott fixed their jammed railing that opened to the back of their boat.  They were so grateful. Scott had a chance to chat with Randy and he gave him some hints on where to go and thing to watch out for, including the deadhead on our way out.  Love the locals they know it all.

That evening we were sitting on the back of the boat and watched a mink climb in and out of the water, hunting for dinner. They sure can move fast.  I had a tough time getting a photo, but I did get one that is fairly clear.

In the morning, the water was like glass. The sun was rising and shining on the boat across the bay from us. Although there were quite a few boats in the anchorage, everyone was respectful and quiet.  We hardly knew anyone else was there. What a beautiful morning.

We also stopped at Sawdust Bay and No name bay.  On our travels, we stopped at Big Sound Marina.  They charged us $5 to tie up for 3 hours. They called me a cab to take me grocery shopping, while Scott used their laundry facilities, got dinghy gas and filled our water tanks.  For a $5 stay and a cab fare we were all set for another week at anchor in the gorgeous wilderness. We couldn’t wait to get to our next anchorage.

We did some fishing, although slow at first, we had two nice bass to clean for dinner.  I get a little antsy if I don’t get off the boat. We found a big rock and went rock hopping.  We found a patch of wild blueberries. The bag we had our fishing licenses in was sacrificed for our harvest.  We had a delicious fruit salad with our bass on the grill.  We have heard about all these restaurants that have good fish fry, but in all honesty, our fresh caught fish can’t be beat.

We swim often, for enjoyment, exercise, bathing and cooling off. The water is crystal clear.  We enjoy it and  it sure helps make our water tank last longer without having to shower.

We also went to the Bustard Island Harbor anchorage.  We did some serious dinghy exploring, picking our way through very narrow and shallow waterways.  We did more rock hopping and berry picking and fishing of course.  We weren’t catching anything and I got bored so Scott took me back to the boat but he wasn’t ready to give up.  He grabbed his lunch and off he went.  I was sort of looking forward to having time alone.  It wasn’t 10 minutes later and I hear the dinghy coming back.  I thought something was wrong. He had a shit-eating- grin on his face and said.  “I found them and came back to get you” as he holds up an 18” and 16” Smallmouth bass that he caught with three casts.  I grabbed my pole and we went back to the secret spot.  I immediately had a nice one on my line, but lost it.  Scott caught another one, but then the wind changed directions and just that quick they stopped.  We once again threw back the monster fish so it could go back into the breeding pool and we had fried fish as an appetizer for docktails on our boat with Manatee and Chemistry.  They loved it.  Needless to say there were no leftovers.

There was a neat woman in her 80s that lives on one of the islands that we saw out scooting around in her aluminum runabout.  Our docktail guest had the pleasure to meet her and she lives there by herself all summer.  She had her whole family and herself brought in by helicopter one Christmas.  I love her spirit, wish we could have met her.

We saw so many unique things traveling to and from this anchorage.  I just have to share some with you.

I hope you enjoyed a few sites from Georgian Bay no matter how random they are.  I tried to find something other than rocks and trees. But in my defense the landscape is so amazing, I keep taking photos because there is so much that is beautiful and unique, but photos just don’t do justice to them.

It has been several full days and we are loving life.

Thanks for reading and sharing in this magical trip.

Karen and Scott

Unique Random Photo of the Day: