ITINERARY:  GEORGIAN BAY / NORTH CHANNEL

GEORGIAN BAY

Below is a sample of our Georgian Bay North Channel Itinerary.

Half-Day Charter would be four hours of sailing and relaxing. Given the shorter time period, you would sail out to Beausoleil Island (a Canadian National Park) along the Northern or Southern shorelines. Guests can take in the beautiful scenery of the many islands that are in the area, while basking in the sunshine. Time to drop anchor and go for a swim is possible if time permits.

A Full-Day Charter allows for guests to sail further from the marina, drop anchor for lunch, go exploring with the dinghy, or hiking on shore. For guests that would like more time sailing, one itinerary would be to sail to Beckwith Island (17 Miles from the marina) and drop anchor around noon on the East side of Beckwith. The boat will be anchored in 10 feet of crystal clear water with a sandy bottom. After lunch, guests can make use of the long sandy beaches to swim and sunbathe. After being at anchor for a couple of hours, we would depart and sail back to the marina.

For an itinerary with less time sailing, and more time at anchor, we would sail to Beausoleil Island and drop anchor at one of its picturesque and secluded anchorages like Chimney Bay or Lost Bay. This would allow for about 3-4 hours at anchor where guests could go ashore to explore the Island, explore with the dinghy, go swimming, or simply relax on the beach!

A Full-Day Corporate Charter could entail similar itineraries, or the vessel could stay underway sailing during the entire charter without stopping to anchor. This could involve leisurely sailing around Beausoleil and the surrounding islands. COSMOS will plan any itinerary to suit the needs and wishes of the guests within the time frame allotted for the charter. Guests are encouraged to steer the vessel to experience the exhilarating thrill of sailing!

A Sunset Cruise Charter has guests departing sometime after1500 (3pm) and head for the open waters towards Giant’s Tomb Island. Guests could enjoy dinner on the upper deck as the sun gently sets over the horizon while sailing. Alternatively, we stop at an anchorage and guests can enjoy dinner with the gentle motion of the vessel swinging on the anchor as the sun slowly slips below the horizon. The vessel sails back to the marina arriving no later than 2200 (10pm). Guests are offered the option, (with an additional fee), to stay overnight on the yacht until 1100 (11am) the following morning and includes a continental breakfast.

The Weekend Getaway Cruise, beginning at 1600 (4pm) Friday, allows for a more adventuresome journey given the guests will be spending two days and two nights on the yacht. The first night could be swinging on anchor at Beausoleil Island. The next day, guests could sail through the Minicognishene and Musquash Channels. Very secluded anchorages such as Longuissa or Hockey Stick Bays make for a tranquil evening swinging on anchor. Sunday, the vessel returns to the marina arriving typically no earlier than 1600 (4pm).

The Week-Long Charter Charter (or longer) on Georgian Bay allows for exploration of the famous 30,000 Islands area from Midland up to Parry Sound and beyond. Guests can choose between a blend of open water sailing and navigating through the scenic Small Craft Channel. The well-marked Small Craft Channel offers hundreds of protected anchorages along its route. For the real adventuresome types, one itinerary would have guests sailing open water to the northern end of Georgian Bay to the Bad River Channel anchorage. Here guests can experience breathtaking scenery and explore, with the dinghy, over 100 Miles of tributaries and rapids that are part of the mouth of the French River.

NORTH CHANNEL

Since the East end of the North Channel, at Killarney, is 120 Miles from Midland, the distance makes it prohibitive to cruise the Channel with any of our charters that are less than a Week-Long.

COSMOS is offering charters to the world renown North Channel cruising grounds for charters that are a week-long or longer. The cruise would depart and return to our charter base in Midland at the south end of Georgian Bay. Advance reservations are required.

COSMOS is also offering Week-Long (or longer) charter cruises that begin and end in the North Channel. Some points of charter departure and arrival for guests could be Killarney or Little Current, Manitoulin Island. The charter cruise would start and end at the same location in the North Channel. COSMOS will deliver the vessel to the departure location prior to the beginning of the charter.

A Week-Long charter in the North Channel involves sailing some of the best fresh water cruising grounds in the world.

Manitoulin Island, the largest fresh water island in the world, is a natural break wall creating a unique long strip of water in between the Island and the mainland’s picturesque north shore. This relatively quiet and protected body of water stretches 70 nautical miles, from Killarney in the east to Thessalon in the west. The well known cruising grounds, generally referred to as the “North Channel” proper, occupy 40 of those 70 miles and are predominately in the east-end of the Channel.

Many cruising yachts travel every year to these idyllic islands where excellent protection is available for anchorages while enjoying breathtaking panoramic views. The famous Benjamin Islands Group is composed of pink granite, as opposed to the white quartz mountains to the north, and the limestone of the lower, surrounding islands. To the north, the very ancient La Cloche Mountain range stretches for miles of pristine solid white quartz mountains dotted with evergreen and deciduous forests.

Baie Fine is one of the North Channel’s finest attractions. It is a 10-mile long fiord, the only one of its kind in North America. As you sail down this fiord, you are amazed by the majestic and steep white quartz mountains that create both sides of this natural wonder.

For the certified divers, we have itineraries that include sailing to Tobermory and diving in Canada’s ‘Fathom Five National Marine Park’, the first of it kind in Canada. The park has 22 known shipwrecks and is home to 140 species of fish.

The North Channel too, has many a sunken wooden ship for diving enthusiasts who want to explore these underwater treasures.

Any of our planned itineraries can be modified to accommodate your wishes on a day-by-day basis. For guest scuba divers, the itineraries can be modified to take in more dive sites on the cruise as desired.

Your Captain can give you several choices each day so the cruise route may never be exactly as originally planned – guests decide! Extending or shortening stays at particular locations is always possible. Weather may limit choices for overnight anchorages and such decisions are always made with safety first in mind. For those guests that would prefer to do more sailing, that is entirely possible – it’s up to you!

Other spectacular anchorages with breathtaking scenery in the North Channel
are Croker Island, Fox Island, Hotham Island, Landsdowne Channel, Covered Portage Cove, and Bear Drop Harbour to name a few. To inquire about booking a charter in the North Channel, contact us.