In that post, I mentioned that some day I would get around to telling you about the ferry crossing from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island. Well, spring is here, the trees are in leaf, the ice is off Georgian Bay (just barely), and the ferry season opens this week. Since I was heading north anyway, I decided to go by way of Tobermory and the ferry route.
The ferry, M. S. Chi-Cheemaun (Ojibway for "Big Canoe"), has been in service for over 4 decades, but still seems to be in remarkably new condition. Partly, this is because the ship's sailing season is only 6 months long, and partly because the vessel operates only in fresh water -- avoiding the inevitable corrosive effects of the salty oceans. The ship can carry well over 100 vehicles and 600 passengers on each crossing. If you're driving a normal car, you'll probably be directed to one of the side lanes, and may be parked on either the lower or upper levels. The taller single-level centre section is reserved for buses, motor homes, and trucks.
Unlike earlier years, it is now possible to make reservations at no extra charge for all sailings throughout the entire season. That's a very good idea. If you arrive at the dock with no reservation, and don't get aboard, you're faced with two choices, neither of them very thrilling: [1] wait for 4-5 hours for the next sailing or [2] backtrack along well over an hour's worth of highway in order to reach an alternate route.
The ship moves slowly and carefully away from the pier in Tobermory. It's quite normal to see one or more of the small tour cruise boats heading out to visit the shipwrecks and Flowerpot Island.
Sailboats, motorboats, canoes or kayaks are also common sights. As the Chi-Cheemaun sets course to the north, you sail past several islands offshore from Tobermory. The rocky shores of these islands show that they are just as much a part of the Niagara Escarpment as the mainland. The last and largest of the islands, Cove Island, is home to a sizable lighthouse at its northern tip.
The crossing takes two hours, but on a clear day you are never out of sight of land. Plenty of time for a meal in the cafeteria or a snooze in one of the lounges. The broad sundecks have a selection of benches and deck chairs, also great for a little nap in the sunshine. There's a gift shop, too, with a good selection of different kinds of gift items and plenty of books about the Bruce Peninsula, Manitoulin Island, and the ships that have linked them through the decades.
At about the midpoint of the voyage, the ferry comes alongside the shore of Fitzwilliam Island, off to starboard, and that in turn gives way to the shoreline of Manitoulin. This stretches ahead to the limit of vision. Manitoulin is the largest freshwater island in the world, and as the ferry arrives close to the southeastern corner you certainly won't see all of it from the ship. Manitoulin is so big that it carries within it several freshwater lakes which are sizable bodies of water in their own right. If you set out from the ferry terminal to drive to Meldrum Bay at the west end of the island, that trip alone would take you two hours or more!
You won't even see the ferry terminal until you're almost there, unless you know where to look. The channel leading into South Bay is narrow, and has a slight bend which neatly conceals it from the eye until you are almost directly in line. The ferry makes a sharp turn to starboard and heads up the narrow and well-buoyed channel. Off to port you can see the shallow rocky ledges, well-hidden, which makes this coast so treacherous to ships.
The port at South Baymouth still makes use of an old-school but very effective navigation device. The two lighthouses on the shore, one set farther back and on higher ground, are called "range lights". When you approach the harbour from open water at night, simply position your vessel until the two lights appear in line vertically, one directly above the other. You will be exactly on course for the marked channel.
The ship angles slightly to starboard, proceeds up the narrow channel past the ferry dock, and then backs into the dock. Directly ahead, the well-hidden waters of South Bay widen out and stretch about 15 kilometres ahead into the land mass of the island. But this voyage is over. Ahead of you lies a drive of about an hour and a half across the fairly level farmlands of Manitoulin, over the historic swing bridge at Little Current, and north on a twisting road across the rock-ribbed spine of the LaCloche Mountains until you rejoin the Trans-Canada Highway just north of Espanola.
But don't neglect the picturesque small towns of Manitowaning, Little Current, and Whitefish Falls along the way. There are also some spectacular views, especially at Ten Mile Point, a well-marked scenic area with a gift shop and museum, perched high up on the rim of the Niagara Escarpment. Take your time and enjoy one of the more laid-back, relaxed areas of Ontario as you go!
The season opens this week, so here's a description of the ferry crossing from Tobermory ON to South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island -- a favourite route of mine when travelling between southern and northern Ontario.
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