Flowerpots

After cruising over the shipwrecks, we headed out into Georgian Bay, passing Big Tub Lighthouse. The original lighthouse was built in 1885 at a cost of $675. It was later replaced by this six-sided, 14 metre (43 foot) wooden lighthouse.

The summer waters here look calm, but the autumn storms can be furious. Cove Island Lighthouse has marked the safe passage for sailors between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay since 1858.

The shore of Cove Island is rugged and rocky, and the water is cold and clear. Too cold for swimming or diving without a wetsuit.
Some of the cedars clinging to the cliffs are among the oldest living trees in the world at over 1500 years old. There are even black bears and mississauga rattlesnakes living on Cove Island, and of course, it's a birdwatcher's paradise.

And on to our final tour boat desination.... Flowerpot Island, so called because of the strange rock tower formations on the shore.

Only two of these rock formations survive. A third rock stack collapsed in 1903.

Erosion from the stormy waters of Georgian Bay has worn away the softer rocks. Efforts have been made to strengthen these "flowerpots" in the past, by fortifying the base with more rock.


It's possible to take a ferry out to Flowerpot Island and spend the day on the hiking trails and explore the "flowerpots" on foot.... maybe we'll do that next time.

Big Canoe

The Chi-Cheemaun (it means Big Canoe in the Ojibwe language) ferries vehicles and people 25 miles (40km) across Lake Huron from Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula to South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island.

At 365 feet (111 m) long with a 62 foot (19 m) beam and room for 648 passengers and 143 vehicles, it is definitely, without doubt, a Very Big Canoe indeed.

Shipwreck!

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Tobermory was a busy port for timber and fishing. The two deep sheltered harbours were a refuge during treacherous Lake Huron storms. There are more than 30 shipwrecks in the immediate area, ideal for exploration by divers.
I didn't do any diving, but we could see the outines of the two closest wrecks from the water.

Sweepstakes
The 36.3m Sweepstakes was a two masted centreboard schooner built in Burlington, Ontario, in 1867. In 1885 she ran aground near Cove Island Lighthouse. The crew were rescued by the lighthouse keeper. The following spring she was towed into Big Tub Harbour where her rigging, equipment and cargo of coal was salvaged before she sank.

A small portion of the stern deck has collapsed, but most of the hull, deck, centreboard, windlass and some of the railing is still intact.

City of Grand Rapids
The 37.3m propeller steamer City of Grand Rapids was built at Grand Haven, Michigan, in 1879. She carried general cargo and passengers to ports on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. In 1907 she caught fire while berthed in Little Tub Harbour. To prevent the fire from spreading, she was towed out of the harbour until the tow line burned and the ship floated free.

The burning hulk drifted into Big Tub Harbour where she ran aground, burnt to the waterline and sank. The port side, the steam engine and the fire box are still visible.

The remains are preserved in such good condition by the cold water of Georgian Bay.

Tobermory

Tobermory is a charming little town at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula, the strip of land separating Lake Huron from Georgian Bay. And that's where I've been chilling out for a couple of days..... believe me, it's gorgeous!

Tobermory's Little Tub Harbour is full of boats of every size and shape, and of course there are plenty of places to stay, places to eat, places to shop, and places to spend money, but in spite of being a bustling summer tourist town, it's well worth a visit.

The Bruce Trail starts here, and follows the Bruce Peninsula and the Niagara Escarpment all the way to Queenston, near Niagara Falls. If you hiked 30km and 8 hours a day, it would take 30 days to complete the 885 km of the Trail all the way. I walked just a little teeny tiny bit of it, around the harbour.

Little Tub Harbour is peaceful early in the morning. I sat on a bench sipping my coffee and enjoying the quiet before the business of the day got started.

Like good tourists, we took a tour boat ride out into Georgian Bay to see the shipwrecks and the islands.... more about that in a later post.

And we spent lots of time sitting in the sun with friends and family on the dock of this beautiful summer cottage, built among the trees on the shore of Big Tub Harbour.
A lovely way to spend a few summer days.