Kagawong, Ont

2 – 3 August 2014

We left Baie Fine in the morning with the goal of getting to Kagawong by 4 PM. Thre only tricky bit was the swing bridge at Little Current. It opens on the hour and only until the boats clear, or 15 minutes, which ever is shorter. So I wanted to make the opening at 2PM

Since we had come from that area I had a good course and distances, so I knew the speed we needed to go. There was hardly any wind, Baie Fine was smooth and calm. On the way out we passed a number of boats that had settled in for the weekend.

We soon were in the main channel and skimming our way to Little Current. As we rounded the entrance, the Constable Carrière was at anchor. We gave them a wave on the way by and again said thanks.

We headed into the Little Current channel at 1:50 PM, perfect timing. There was a sailboat about a mile ahead of us. They had their mainsail up, but since only an idiot would try to sail through a swing bridge, I assumed they had their motor on, the sail was for show. (An aside, sailboats under sail have the right-away. Sometimes sailors will use the sail as a decoy as they motor along).

At noon we heard the bells clang and we could see traffic stop. We heard the bridge operator call on both VHF 14 and 16 with no response. Then we saw the sailboat make some wild gyrations to the left and then to the right. Sigh, he was under sail and was too close to the bridge, the operator couldn’t open it until the boat cleared the swing. Five minutes later the sailboat was out of the way, the bridge opened and we passed through.

Sailboat

After that the trip to Kagawong was pretty uneventful. The trip of 36 miles was the longest in quite awhile, our last long distance was over two weeks ago.

We tied up at the Kagawong town docks. We had been talking about getting a second kayak, so I could join Susan on some of her adventures. Manitoulin Wind and Wave was the biggest place in a 50 mile range, so we headed up the hill to their store. We met Bruce who walked us through the options. We settled in on a 9.5 foot sea kayak and an 11 foot standard kayak, but one with a bigger cockpit opening. We would meet the next day for a trial.

From the store we headed up to Bridal Falls. We passed a food trailer, the “Riverside” and decided to stop for a soda. They had “pogos”, which is Canadian for Corn Dog. I got one as a snack it was one of the best corn dogs I’ve had. We then decided to just get dinner there (Susan’s fish would wait until Sunday).

After eating we headed to the Bridal Falls. The Kagawong River comes out into a falls that you can walk behind. We got some great pictures of the falls and the creek that runs away from the falls. It’s a very scenic walk along the creek. There are picnic tables and benches to sit in along the way.

Falls

At the end of the marina dock is a church that has the prow of a boat as the pulpit. St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church is also known as “The Sailors’ Church. It was built in 1936-1938. They have a Saturday night service, I was able to get in to get pictures after the service ended. The church has a nautical theme. There is a ships wheel at the peak, wooden floats adorn the ends of each pew. The prow of the boat was from a wreck in 1965 that took the lives of members of the church.

Church

On Sunday morning we both took long showers since I was able to fill the water at the dock. After taking care of mailing some cards out, we headed over to the Kagawong Museum. It was very nice, it had the history of the town from the 1830′s. There is a wreck nearby that is a popular spot for divers. They have an extensive display of pictures from inside the wreck and artifacts.

We then walked back up the hill to Manitoulin Wind and Wave. We walked with Bruce to the top of Kagawong River (before it goes over the falls). I was able to test paddle the two kayaks. I opted to get the 9.5 foot sea kayak. It seemed more stable, and it’s much easier to get into. Plus we knew we could store it on the boat, another 11.5 kayak would have been a problem. I bought the Key Lime Green one (but I bet you knew that color choice).

NorthChannel200005

Bruce delivered us and the kayak back to the boat. We are in the process of packing up and heading to the Benjamin’s for the night. I doubt that we will have internet access for the next week, so I’m pushing this post out.