Tobermory Area Advice

[Danneskjold]

I'm in the process of planning a trip for a group of friends and a couple sailboats travelling up to Tobermory this summer. We've scanned things to do in the area, and I'm looking for any advice someone with experience can provide.

I'm a Lake Erie sailor, and haven't sailed in Huron at all. Looking around Tobermory we want to make a visit to Flowerpot Island. All I can find with reference to visiting the island are charter trips with jet or glass-bottomed boats. Is it possible to either dock or anchor a 30' sailboat with a 4.5 foot draft on the island, or is it reserved only for commercial operators?

Any suggestions for other places to visit while in the area in terms of day trips? We'll be at the furthest extent of our trip once we get to Tobermory, and we're meeting friends who are AirBNB'ing in town, so unfortunately we won't be able to go much further North.

[Mirage35]

There is no dockage and nowhere to anchor on Flowerpot - take one of the tour boats or stand off leaving someone one the big boat while the rest of the crew dinghies in.

[John_Trusty]

Neat place to go, but the harbor is way too touristy for my taste. Suggest buying and studying the Ports cruising guide for suggestions and accurate info on that coast - Georgian Bay, The North Channel & Lake Huron | PortsBooks.com

If your friends have a car up there, you can explore the Bruce Trail and national parks that are in the northern Bruce peninsula. Nice places in the national parks are several miles away, so a little far for biking, and it's a small town so public transit is not much. I was disappointed by the Flowerpot island tour, and we did it through the commercial ferry. The flowerpots themselves are just eroded rock formations (with good marketing). There's no non-commercial dockage that I know of. You absolutely do not have to worry about depth as it's "binary" - you either have 150 ft of water or rocks! It's scary how close to the shore you can get and still be in 50' depth.

Tobermory (Little Tub) harbor is busy in the summer with dive boats, tours, etc. so there's some wake and that big ferry blows its horn every three hours. The harbormaster and local shops are welcoming, but it's very public. Get used to tourists coming down to the docks to take photos in front of your boat or look in the cockpit like you're in a zoo. There are good anchorages around to the east of Tobermory (Wingfield Bay about 20 nm), but not many on the little islands north of there until you get near Manitoulin. Cove Island has a protected anchorage on the south end that's about as far as Flowerpot from Tobermory (3 nm?), but I've not experienced it myself.

Personally, I liked the tour up the eastern Huron coast more. Towns like Port Elgin and Kincardine are priceless cruising ports. If you've got bikes, there's a short coastal ride from Port Elgin to Southampton that's worth the entire trip. Going north, there's no good anchorage or port between Port Elgin and Tobermory, so it's a full day run next to a lee shore that is entirely rock - pick your weather window well.

[mottseng]

Sailed there last year and loved it. Yes it is a busy harbour and marina but that is the allure of it. We initially wanted to stay for 2 nights but ended staying 3 nights because there was so much activity. The staff at the marina were great and well organized. We sailed around Flowerpot Island and the structures are very unique to see. We took our dinghy around the corner to little tub and snorkeled on the ship wreck which is always a great adventure. It was great to meet and have conversations with the other boaters who come from far and wide. we love to sail into secluded anchorages where there is peace and quite however our trip to Tobermory was different and we loved it just the same. Even enjoyed the horn from the Chi Cheemaun !! We plan on visiting Tobermory again next year on our way to the North Channel.

[SailorPat]

I spent five night at Little Tub in August 2019, having arrived early for a crew swap. The busy harbor and marina are worth about two days. It is at least half a day cruising (by slow 7 kt sailboat) to get to an OK anchorage at Club Island or Rattlesnake Harbour to the North, a full day to reach Killarney or Beaverstone Bay approach to Collins Inlet. To the North is where the serene cruising happens. Tobermory is a great rest and reprovision stop for ice cream, fuel, pump out and groceries. There is no good service marina there if repairs are needed.

[JordanH]

I know this post is now 2 years old, but hey, with the pandemic, maybe people didn't make it.


I took a trip up Lake Huron and into Georgian Bay in... 2011? I can pass on my experience for what it's worth a decade later. (I'm also a 4th generation property owner near Tobermory, so have a slightly different perspective from land.)


We started our trip in Goderich. This is a very narrow channel to enter; they have a fuel dock, and the internal harbour is very well sheltered from the wind. There are strong warnings of surge from the river after a big rain. We didn't experience that, but every sailor there told me to leave the docklines loose. The marina has a pool, bathrooms, fuel dock and friendly resident boaters. It is a far walk from the town and amenities. (I spent a month here outfitting the boat and was very comfortable.)


Prevailing westerly winds mean that you can usually catch a day with some south in it for a beam reach to start going north. Remember, you're catching all the lumps that build up across lake huron, so watch the preceding days in weather. It's more pleasant than Erie because of the depth, but after a big wind storm, it can be wavy. Sunsets are amazing.


Leaving Goderich and going north, we made Kincardine our next stop. I'd have to check my log book, but it was about 25nm which is doable for those of us under sail or easy for those sailors who treat their sailboats as motorboats. The marina is in town and an easy walk to restaurants and amenities. They have a piper that leads a parade through town and would play the bagpipes at the lighthouse at dusk. Again, a very pleasant place to be and we would have stayed longer if we hadn't been so eager to get north.


From Kincardine to Tobermory was our next hope... that was a very. very. long day for us. We sailed it offshore and, looking back, I regret not exploring that coastline. But I digress. The sail from south to north is easy. You generally have a westerly wind so you are beam reaching, but once you get to the tip of the peninsula you have some options to make. You can go around the easy, wide open approach to the north, or take the inside channel. We took the inside channel. It is very dangerous without your charts - the Canadian charts are pinpoint accurate and if you follow them, you'll be fine. But if you stray out of the channel, you are likely to hit unforgiving rocks that seem to come out of nowhere from the deep water. Pay very close attention to the channel. When you get to the north side of Tobermory, you've got all kinds of activity from the Chi Cheemaun, tour boats, kayaks, pleasureboats etc. When we went, it was far less popular and had no issues, but even then had some good views of the ferry.

Tobermory has two harbours; Big Tub and Little Tub. The little harbour, Little Tub, is the main town. Was once a small, fishing village, is now a very busy bustling tourist town. I love it because I've known it since I was a baby; There are sweet shops for fudge, ice cream beaver tails. There are fish & chips bars etc. If you manage to find a space to dock - which is often very difficult to get a visitor slip in the summer - then be prepared to be the "animal in the zoo". Tourists walk the docks to admire the boats and take pictures... in our little Contessa, trying to have breakfast in the cockpit with bed head etc after a rolly night, tourists stop by to say 'hi' while you're eating and sometimes take photos. yeahhhh. That brings me to the protection. The harbour is protected on most sides, but if you get a storm that sends waves from the north-ish, they slam into the south wall of the harbour and roll right down through the visitor's docks. We were on a bucking bronco one evening where our boat was jumping maybe 4+ feet as the swells came in. And there are so many boats moored that you can't move or leave. The other days were all pleasant and well protected. There is a lot of traffic in the harbour; Pedestrians, tour boats, ferry and the public boat launch are all right there so... if you like to people watch, shop the shops, eat the treats etc, then it's great. You can take a dinghy over to the Big Tub harbour where there is a shipwreck (in the park, follow the rules), and some other facilities like a restaurant where you can dinghy up etc. We didn't look for mooring over there, but that may be an option these days - call ahead for availability.


Tobermory is great, but we wanted a quiet night so we jumped north a little to Cove Island. I'm not sure if we were allowed to anchor there because it's in Fathom Five National Park... but, we didn't even think about that at the time, we just found a quiet spot and anchored. Again, the rocks are extremely dangerous on approach. Have someone on your bow. The good part is the water is crystal clear and you can see into it far deeper than you'd imagine. We had an amazing night in seclusion... to be woken by a tour boat which came in, circled our anchorage, and again we were the subject of tourist photos. heyyyy good morning.


Leaving Cove Island, we left to the south east, rather than north west, just out of convenience for the wind. Crossed the ferry track, getting a good view of her (remember, the Chi Cheemaun is very fast and will not be altering course. Keep clear of that freight train.) We bee-lined it, dead downwind, for Club Island. At this point, there is nobody. You are very much alone (Coast Guard is stationed in Tobermory with a VERY fast boat, so you can call on vhf for help... but there aren't other boaters around for aid). Club Island is the half-way point on your way to Kilarney... Motorboats pass it by, so it's a little, comfortable, C-shaped Island providing good holding in the middle of no where. a GREAT stop over location. Although you're likely tempted for a walk, be exceptionally careful about what you walk on! It was FILLED with poison ivy! We didn't notice until we were in the thick of it... fortunately we were not affected and were very careful on the hike back to the dinghy. It is a beautiful place for sunsets and photos of your boat but there really isn't anything to do... maybe a SUP or kayak run around the bay, a careful hike to stretch your legs, have a restful night and then carry on.


You can go north to Killarney and beyond from there... I'll skip my tales up that way since you only mentioned Tobermory. However, I would recommend that you stay in Tobermory for only 2 nights and use the rest of your time to get up to Baie Fine beyond Killarney. If you are coming from Lake Erie, then make the extra effort to get up into Baie Fine and Killarney area... we called Lake Huron "The Commute" because the best sailing and wilderness is into the north channel up there. Seriously, don't hold yourself to Tobermory - you can go there in a car. You REALLY want to get up behind Manitoulin island and explore all the amazing places there. You can use Killarney as a staging point but there are SO many places to go from there, you simply won't have time to find them all in one trip. Way better sailing, safer sailing, and more places directly accessible from your dinghy in that area rather than in the tourist filled tip of the Bruce.

[mottseng]

You mentioned Baie Fine. Did you know that Baie Fine is the longest fresh water fjord in the world. Travelling up Baie Fine you would think you were in Norway.

[JordanH]

Originally Posted by mottseng

You mentioned Baie Fine. Did you know that Baie Fine is the longest fresh water fjord in the world. Travelling up Baie Fine you would think you were in Norway.

Yes, I did know that. It's beautiful. It is beautiful and my pictures don't do it justice, but we travelled to the end of it when it was like glass and undisturbed...
http://www.jordanharkness.ca/sail/wp.../DSC_3080a.jpg


An entry from my partial travel log as we hiked to the top of Casson Peak on Baie Fine

The fjord Baie Fine « Sail Log


And then as we leave Baie Fine on a day like glass.

Heywood Cove – Ooh la la! « Sail Log


Perhaps I shouldn't put this out there, as it should remain undisturbed.
J.