My summer goal was to get to the 2012 Great Lakes Cruising Club (GLCC) Rendezvous at Parry Sound, Georgian Bay, Ontario, and I made it! 637 NM from my departure point of Ontonagon, MI. I departed June 1 and arrived July 14th in Parry Sound.
Completed Outbound Leg (Red Color)
The event beat my expectations. There were 90 boats and 200 people! The marina was shut down for the event and all slips went to the Club. Types of boats were about 50/50, power versus sail.
Most days we had continental breakfast served 0730-0900, except for our breakfast cruise on the Island Queen. Each evening there was enough food and drink to make a dinner of it. Two nights were more formal and held at the Stuckey Center, a multiple use center right on the water within walking distance. The last dinner included music and dance after.
Lots of free access to mueseums, ships, the fire tower overlooking the harbor, etc. Overall a well organized enjoyable event.
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| These tents were the center of activity on most days |
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| The Commodore's sailboat in blue |
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| Ships in dress, flying flags of past events. |
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| Dash in the line up. |
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| Island Queen, our 2 hour breakfast cruise, really fantastic. Note the size of this vessel (largest tour ship in Canada) especially in light of the narrow passages this ship passes through. |
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| Loading up at 0700! |
Breakfast Cruise Route In Purple
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| The Stuckey Center, a multiple use center for concerts, formal dinners, and other events. We had two evening events here including our formal Commodore's reception and dinner. |
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| The Big Sound Marina site of the Rendezvous |
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| Swing bridge at beginning of our cruise to SW of Parry Sound. |
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| Not much room for this ship to pass! |
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| The ship must follow the same route as this pleasure boat. |
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| You can see the path the boat took and where the ship will go. |
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| Blind turn, tight quarters for a ship this size. |
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| Very picturesque. |
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| Many interesting cabins along the route |
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| This is the small craft route...and also, not so small craft! |
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| Added hazard of fog as we approach the open water of Georgian Bay. |
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| There are several narrows, 2 mile, 5 mile, and 7 mile along the route we took. This is just one of them and typical of the marked routes of this region of Georgian Bay. |
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| Better know what you are doing! |
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| Many narrow channel passages |
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| Very tight! Took the paint of the buoys as we passed...just kidding! But it looked that close. |
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| Even tighter! |
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| Watch this series of slides showing the proximity of rocks along side of the channel. |
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| Close approach |
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| Watch marker and rocks on starboard side |
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| Marker is really close |
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| The clarity of the water makes the rocks look pretty scary given this is a large ship and we are just feet away! |
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| Another one of the narrows, it simply does not look like enough space for a ship of this size. |
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| Day mark on side of channel. |
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| Look at the proximity of those rocks on the port side! |
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| Bridge opens again on our return |
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| Approaching the city of Parry Sound, Ontario |
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| Approaching the dock |
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| One of the highest train trestles in Canada, 114 feet high. |
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| View from the fire tower overlooking the town |
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| Almost docked |
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| Canadian Coast Guard buoy tender. Just leaving docks after being open for GLCC members. |
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| High shot of the marina, Island Queen, and approaches to Parry Sound |
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