Sail Far Live Free

Best Towns  (Part 4 of 5) The towns in the North Channel are typically small and isolated from larger population centers. This lends itself to a certain charm and quaintness. You won’t find Wal-Mart and Home Depot nor a Starbucks on every block, which means you might have to sometimes search and improvise to meet your needs. But typically cruisers are known for their ingenuity and self-sufficiency, so no worries! For Quaint Adventure: Kagawong, Manitoulin Island Kagawong is a small, out of the way stop deep inside of Mudge Bay on Manitoulin Island. Kagawong isn’t a major stop for provisioning. There’s a small market store across the street from the marina, but they carry very few groceries. If you want a bigger selection you’ll have to hoof it a mile or so up the hill on the way out of town and stop in at the gas station that carries a few more provisions such as milk, frozen meats, and canned goods. The point is, don’t come to Kagawong for provisioning. Come to Kagawong to v...

South Benjamin Island - Little Current 16NM The day broke with an overcast sky but the winds from last night had subsided. We pulled the anchor around 8am and began motoring east towards Little Current, the largest town in the North Channel. The wind was light enough that the bugs were out for most of the 3 hour trip. We carefully rounded our way past the Sow and Pigs (rocks just south of the Benjamins), Croker Island and then south of Amedroz Island. As we entered the channel leading to Little Current, we hailed Spider Bay Marina on VHF channel 68 and reserved our slip. Spider Bay was about a ¼ mile walk from town but the marina has free wi-fi and coin laundry facilities on site, so we decided to make it home for one night. After safely docking next to several chartered sailboats, we began cleaning Island Bound . Next it was off to town for a stroll through the gift shops and a stop at The Pantry Café for lunch. I was treated to the special of the day, a Texas brisket sandw...