THE POOL OF BAIE FINE, ONTARIO TO KAGAWONG, ONTARIO

Saturday, August 8th, 2015

Day 369

Miles Traveled: 45

Total Miles Traveled: 5620

  As expected, retrieving the anchor was a bit of a challenge this morning.  There was an abundance of weeds wound around the anchor chain and clumped on the anchor itself.  We had heard from others that it can take over 30 minutes to "deweed" and get the anchor up.  Dan made record time using the boat hook and finished in less than 15 minutes.  The skies were overcast and the winds were very calm leaving the North Channel like glass.

North Channel - calm waters

  We timed our departure from The Pool to arrive at Little Current's swing bridge for its hourly opening.  We arrived just 5 minutes before opening - perfect timing.  Since we didn't need provisions, laundry, or WiFi, we choose to move further along the waterway given the great travel conditions.

approaching Little Current - lots of boats

  We proceeded down to Mudge Bay where Kagawong, Ontario is located.  This town is home to several points of interest.  We arrived early afternoon, giving us plenty of time to explore.  All the sites are on one road.  Just across from the marina was an old inactive lighthouse that was built in 1894.

old 1894 Kagawong Lighthouse

  Just beside the marina was the St. John Evangelist Anglican Church, also known as "The Sailors' Church" due to its nautical theme.  The building used to be a warehouse, but, in 1938 it was refurbished into this unique church.  The stained glass window on the front is a picture of a ship at sea. They were having a Tea and Luncheon, but, we had already eaten.  They still welcomed us in to enjoy the interior.  

"The Sailors' Church"

  The pulpit is a restored bow of a wooden boat that wrecked in Mudge Bay during a violent storm.  Four lives were lost - two adults and two children.  The pulpit is a memorial to them and all who have lost their lives at sea.

memorial pulpit
(table in front decorated for English Tea Party)

  We continued up the road and found Hawg Eaters, a snack shop serving pulled pork, and Manitoulin Chocolate Works.  We stopped to partake of both.  We continued our exploring and found the trail to Bridal Veil Falls.  The trail followed a nice stream.

stream along the trail

  The town of Kagawong got its name due to these falls.  Kagawong in Ojibwa means "where mists rise from the falling waters".  Many visitors come to see these falls and play in the water below.  Those that are more adventurous can walk behind the falls.

Kagawong Bridal Veil Falls

  Some chores had to be done when we completed our site-seeing.  Angie worked on the blog post (marina had great WiFi) and Dan changed the Racor fuel filter.  It had quickly gotten used up due to our recent rough rides on the waters of Georgian Bay.  All the rockin' and rollin' gets sediment in the bottom of the fuel tanks stirred up and the Racor fuel filter keeps that from getting into the engine.  After these tasks were done, we relaxed a little and then prepared dinner.