Sailing away with the CEO on the 45thanniversary of the MS Chi-Cheemaun

Expositor file photo.

By Isobel Harry, This Is Manitoulin April 2020

Boarding the Chi-Cheemaun in Tobermory or South Baymouth always signals an adventure. Casting off our attachments to terra firma, we gaze to the boundless horizon as we float majestically for almost two hours on the inland sea known as Georgian Bay, part of mighty Lake Huron, in a primordial panorama unchanged for millennia.

Now in its 45th year of service, owned by the Owen Sound Transportation Company (OSTC), the ‘Big Canoe’ has been announcing its arrivals and departures with those familiar horn blasts for almost five decades. The ferry serves as the seasonal second means of transportation off or on to Manitoulin Island, a vital link for residents and visitors, offering closer access to points in southern Ontario and the US. In winter, the Swing Bridge in Little Current becomes the only way to enter or exit the Island – both methods add more than a little ‘magical mystery tour’ to the journey.

The MS Chi-Cheemaun began her rule of the waves in the fall of 1974, built by Collingwood Shipbuilding at a cost of $10 million, a state-of-the-art ferry capable of transporting 638 passengers and crew and close to 150 vehicles with a crossing time of less than two hours. She ended that season as her “shakedown” period before going into full service in 1975.

The Owen Sound Transportation Company’s CEO, Susan Schrempf, first saw the Chi-Cheemaun in January, 1984, on her first day on the job. After more than 30 years, she’s on intimate terms with every part and operation of the ship. Photo by Isobel Harry
The Owen Sound Transportation Company’s CEO, Susan Schrempf, first saw the Chi-Cheemaun in January, 1984, on her first day on the job. After more than 30 years, she’s on intimate terms with every part and operation of the ship. Photo by Isobel Harry

Ten years later, at the precocious age of 23, Susan Schrempf, now CEO, was hired by the OSTC – one of Ontario’s largest ferry operators of passenger, vehicle and cargo transportation services on northern and southwestern Ontario waterways. First in purchasing, followed by stints in budgeting, labour relations and business planning. That was back in December, 1983, when, Ms. Schrempf recalls, “I did not know what the Chi-Cheemaun was. I first saw the ferry when I started in January, 1984.” By 1996, “learning on the job,” Ms. Schrempf had won the general manager’s position.

The buck always lands on the CEO’s desk. Today may be desk-free as we chat in the ferry’s redesigned dining lounge but Ms. Schrempf’s obvious passion for her profession is never far from her thoughts. She seems to know every crew member – their quarters are underneath the car deck, by the way – and nut, bolt and operation of the ferry.

In her 35 years with the OSTC, there’s been a lot of water under the big ship’s hull, and the experience and knowledge accumulated during a long career means Ms. Schrempf is on intimate terms with all the mitigating factors of sailing the Chi-Cheemaun – the weather, the huge machinery, the rules and regulations, the safety of all aboard. “Nothing’s ever the same every day” is her operating mantra. The watch system ensures there is always an engineer on board, directed by the chief engineer; four engines (only two are used for crossings) ensure that two can act as ‘spares’ – the ship is its own mechanical back-up. There are safety management systems and a reporting ladder and everything looks trim and neat, the very definition of ship-shape. “The ship is never on autopilot,” adds Ms. Schrempf, oddly comforting in this age of VR and AI and what-not running things as we climb up enclosed stairways and down narrow passages to the pilothouse for proof.

At the wheel, behind a curving wall of cantilevered windows giving onto a commanding view over the lake, sits Able Bodied Seaman Blaire Leeson, a Manitouliner by birth, with Chief Mate Kelsey Wade standing nearby, their eyes rarely wavering from the watery expanse ahead. You’d half expect a whale to breach in this infinite vastness, but no, neither has ever encountered anything unusual out these windows, although you can see how the Ojibwe legends of the underwater monster Mishebishu got started out here in the deeps.

In the pilothouse, Able Bodied Seaman Blaire Leeson, a Haweater, at the wheel, and Chief Mate Kelsey Wade ensure safe, on-schedule crossings of the Chi-Cheemaun to and from South Baymouth and Tobermory. Photo by Isobel Harry
In the pilothouse, Able Bodied Seaman Blaire Leeson, a Haweater, at the wheel, and Chief Mate Kelsey Wade ensure safe, on-schedule crossings of the Chi-Cheemaun to and from South Baymouth and Tobermory. Photo by Isobel Harry

The Chi-Cheemaun was re-engined in 2007, good for another 15 to 20 years, says the CEO. “This is a very solid design with high-quality construction. It would cost close to a hundred million dollars to replace this ferry.” Maintenance is carried out at night, vibration analysis and non-invasive infra red tests; in winter, inspections and more maintenance take place in Owen Sound (sometimes the ship is hired out as a movie set) and every five years the boat goes into dry dock for intensive checks. “The ship is extremely healthy,” says Ms. Schrempf, “It operates in fine weather and fresh water, reducing wear and tear, for six months of the year, including the 13 weeks of high season. Structurally, there’s no degradation – we saw that when the machinery was replaced and we did a complete ultrasound of the hull and, more recently, the rehab of the interior.”

The interior rehab took place “in response to passengers’ desires since the ‘90s not just for a ferry ride, but for an experience,” says Ms. Schrempf. Experiences came on board (along with the wrapping of the exterior in Anishinaabe-inspired graphics) and a new marketing brand -‘Travel in Good Spirits’ – from sunset dinner cruises to stargazing evenings with the Royal Astronomical Society, to concerts on Sundays and Indigenous stories and drumming workshops – and are now an embedded feature in high season sailings. “The entertainment and the experiences are all-Canadian,” she says, a fact that carries through to the ‘Boatique’ gift shop with its Canadian-made gift socks, hats, outerwear and books selection. The chief overseer is delighted to hear that most of the well-chosen merchandise – the season is ending soon at this writing –is almost all sold out.

With things ticking along so well on the Cheech (as she is known locally), what’s in store for 2024, the 50th anniversary of the beloved vessel? “Well, we have to think ahead 10 or more years – customer needs have changed since the ship was built in the early seventies. Comfort was not part of the equation back then, but today passenger accessibility is an issue, for example. The elevator was built for freight, not for people; the car ramps were built for smaller cars and don’t serve today’s models as well; there’s been a big increase in motor home traffic that we need to accommodate.”

The fathom five lounge aboard the Chi-Cheemaun.
The fathom five lounge aboard the Chi-Cheemaun.

Also of concern in planning is the type of fuel that will power the ferry of the future – beyond the ultra-low-sulphur diesel fuel currently in use. “They’re testing hydrogen fuel cell engines in Europe right now – we stay abreast of these tech developments; we’re already using artificial intelligence and electric cars, these trends have a big influence on how the new generation of ferries will be designed and run.”

As we dock, Ms. Schrempf is off to inspect the effects of a recent storm surge on the shores of South Baymouth. Disembarkation is seamless as the able CEO steps lively onto the deck and into Manitoulin’s bracing autumn air.

Owen Sound Transportation Company – OntarioFerries.com • Chi-Cheemaun Inquiries: 1-800-265-3163

Conservancy has spent decades helping you experience Manitoulin’s nature

Rocky lookouts along Manitoulin trails afford the hiker magnificent vistas.

by Warren Schlote

Nature has drawn many people to Manitoulin Island for generations. But this place’s abundance of pristine lakes, forests and rocky lookouts is no accident—groups like Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy (EBC) have spent decades of time and millions of dollars preserving the Island’s greatest natural treasures.

More than 25 years since it began in 1996, EBC now protects 4,905 acres of land on Manitoulin Island (7,400.3 acres if you include its land reserves in the LaCloche mountains, just minutes north of Manitoulin). That’s especially significant because the vast majority of Manitoulin’s land is privately owned.

EBC executive director Bob Barnett spends the better part of an hour with this reporter, leafing through his property records. His list of land purchases runs in chronological order from the mid-’90s to the present day. 

Every property has a story, and as Mr. Barnett scans the list, expressions like “wow,” “exciting” and “oh my goodness” frequently escape his lips.

“This work is a never-ending source of joy to me. The people that have donated money or their land, you can tell they’re living their lives properly and they’re just a joy to work with,” says Mr. Barnett.

Although EBC is headquartered in Toronto, its connection to Manitoulin Island runs deep.

Manitoulin falls within the geography of the Niagara Escarpment, a landform that stretches from upstate New York and right across southern Ontario, before re-appearing on Manitoulin Island and Cockburn Island and arcing back southward. It ends as far southwest as Milwaukee.

But many see the escarpment as only stretching from Niagara Falls to the Bruce Peninsula, something Mr. Barnett and his colleagues have struggled with. In 1996, they were volunteering with the Bruce Trail Conservancy (which looks after the legendary 900-kilometre hiking trail that connects Tobermory to Niagara-on-the-Lake).

The trail group focused on the land along the Bruce Trail, but Mr. Barnett and his colleagues dreamed bigger, seeing the importance of the Niagara Escarpment ecosystem as a whole. Even Ontario’s official Niagara Escarpment Plan only covers the eastern edge of the Bruce Peninsula.

But why is the escarpment so special? Since 1990, it’s been designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, one of only 19 in Canada. Its special qualities include the longest stretch of mostly forested land in southern Ontario, the greatest diversity of geographic landforms in southern Ontario, the highest level of species diversity among all of Canada’s biospheres, and being an important habitat source for about 70 species at risk.

That biosphere designation also ends at Tobermory, but for Mr. Barnett and the founders of EBC, it was only natural, if not urgent, to include the Island in their conservation efforts.

“Right from the get-go, we knew Manitoulin Island was important,” he says. The group’s history of land acquisitions bears out that importance.

**

EBC’s first project on Manitoulin Island was the famed Cup and Saucer, a hiking trail that has become one of Manitoulin’s premier attractions. Mr. Barnett’s group bought 300 acres of it in 1999, then added 47 more acres in 2000. Those were the third and fourth nature reserves EBC had ever purchased.

Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy now protects 7,400.3 acres of land on and near Manitoulin Island.
Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy now protects 7,400.3 acres of land on and near Manitoulin Island.

In recent years, EBC has added improved signage to the trail and a massive parking lot off of Highway 540. Despite the massive new parking facilities, the Cup and Saucer is so popular that it occasionally overflows with hikers’ cars on the busiest days of the summer.

The popularity of the Cup and Saucer highlights EBC’s philosophy toward conservation. 

EBC lands often contain rare habitats or species at risk, both of which could be harmed with any human activity. But despite that, Mr. Barnett says it’s important to allow people to access protected areas.

“We put a big focus on trying to demonstrate how much value nature is adding to our lives,” he says. “Nature is providing quite a wide range of services to humans. We want to improve those nature services and share knowledge with people about how important nature services are.”  

Those nature services can include things like wetlands absorbing floodwater or trees removing carbon dioxide from the air. A 2009 report for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources said ecosystem services have a value of about $84.4 billion per year in southern Ontario alone!

Prioritizing public access sets EBC apart from some conservation organizations. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) owns far more land on Manitoulin and Cockburn Islands than EBC, but Mr. Barnett says he doesn’t often hear of that group encouraging the public to use its lands.

“EBC is the major driving force to improving access and getting more nature conserved up there,” he says. “That’s not a criticism by any means; I appreciate that (NCC) wants to help keep nature natural but … we put a big focus on trying to demonstrate how much value nature is adding to our lives.”

The EBC website carries a listing of all its properties on Manitoulin Island, alongside photos and descriptions of the geography, flora and fauna that make each site special. Trying to imagine what a rare savannah landscape would look like in Northern Ontario is one thing; it’s another to venture to EBC’s Bidwell Bog and experience it in person.

Manitoulin Island is very much part of the Niagara Escarpment.
Manitoulin Island is very much part of the Niagara Escarpment.

“The provincial government has pretty much stalled when it comes to building provincial parks,” he says. “When it comes down to it, there’s only two groups that are working actively to create nature reserves on Manitoulin: us and the Nature Conservancy of Canada.”

There are challenges to this mission. Land costs are ever-increasing, making it harder for small organizations like EBC to afford purchasing their most sought-after lands. This pressure persists, even though the Canadian government has launched programs to encourage land preservation.

Of course, no conservation work would be possible without local champions. One of the best-known conservationists on Manitoulin Island is Dr. Roy Jeffery, a physician who has offered major help toward purchasing, maintaining and enhancing EBC’s properties, particularly its trail systems.

Dr. Jeffery’s name comes up several times as Mr. Barnett lists the 73 properties on Manitoulin that EBC either owns or stewards. Dr. Jeffery offered to match donations on EBC’s massive fundraising effort toward buying Heaven’s Gate, a 2,140-acre property in the LaCloche Mountains north of Manitoulin.

“He’s been so instrumental in a lot of our work on the Island,” Mr. Barnett says. “Dr. Jeffery and his family are very generous. Heaven’s Gate wouldn’t have been possible without them.”

One of EBC’s reserves near Manitowaning is on land donated by Dr. Jeffery and his wife Kathy, with that reserve appropriately carrying the Jeffery name. It’s near Fossil Hill and McLean’s Park on New England Road.

Mr. Barnett, as always, says he’s gazing toward the future. In early 2023, he says he has three properties that EBC is actively working on acquiring. “There might be a fourth,” he says, and a few moments later, “maybe a fifth.”

In his usual fashion, he declines to go on-record with the details of these latest projects, keeping up the suspense as a “wait-and-see” for now.

He says he wants to increase EBC’s holdings along Highway 6, making it easier for ferry-bound traffic to pause and experience nature as they cross the Island.

Venture into the Bidwell Bog to experience an interesting landscape.
Venture into the Bidwell Bog to experience an interesting landscape.

There’s also a worldwide push on, thanks to a FedNor grant, to promote Manitoulin Island internationally as an excellent tourist destination. Dr. Jeffery, EBC board member Ted Cowan and project manager Sean O’Hare are getting advertisements in European and Scandinavian countries to boost interest in the Island’s trails.

All that extra interest means Manitoulin’s trails and nature reserves will be in tip-top shape this year, ready for even more seasonal visitors. 

Every EBC property offers something a little different, and it will take you several Manitoulin Island trips to experience them all. That leaves just one question.

Which one will you visit first? 

Sheguiandah National Historic Site: Twice the Age of the Pyramids of Egypt

Sheguiandah National Historic Site:

Twice the Age of the Pyramids of Egypt

When Thomas E. Lee, an archaeologist with the National Museum of Canada, found ancient stone implements in an Island farm field in 1951, they led him and his team to a nearby ridge of quartzite, part of the Precambrian geological formation over two billion years old that was poking out of the top of the younger rocks.

At the top of a hill in Sheguiandah, a picturesque hamlet on Highway 6 south of Little Current, Lee uncovered a stunning archeological find: a large, prehistoric quarry filled with innumerable stone tools, spearheads and scrapers that Lee claimed proved the existence of the oldest recorded humans in the Americas, some 25,000 years ago. His findings, developed before the use of carbon-dating, contradicted the ‘standard’ view – that humans came to North America after the last Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago – and were not substantiated, fueling a decades-long controversy that is still debated today.

In 1954, the hill, quartzite quarry, and the habitation area that encompasses the village of Sheguiandah were designated a National Historic Site of Canada. For over forty years after Lee’s initial digs, the site lay dormant, the land privately owned and occasionally quarried in a different location.

“The heritage value of the remains found in Sheguiandah,” reads the Canadian Register of Historic Places, “resides in a series of successive cultural occupations of early inhabitants in what is now Ontario, beginning circa 11,000 B.C.E. with the Paleo-Indian Period during the recession of glacial Lake Algonquin.

“The site also contains artifacts from the Archaic Period (1000-500 B.C.E.) as well as Point Peninsula Culture stone tools associated with the Middle Woodland Period (0 – 500 C.E.).”

These were the findings of Patrick J. Julig of Laurentian University and Peter L. Storck of the Royal Ontario Museum who led a team of specialists to re-open the quarry site in 1991. They found strong evidence that the glacial till in which Lee had found artifacts and which dated the site to 25-30,000 years ago was in a fact a much younger beach of a receding glacial lake and the effects of wind and erosion in mixing the soil had caused some artifacts to be lodged in lower, older soil strata.  Julig and Storck dated the site at 9,500 carbon-dated years, after the last Ice Age, now the standard view among archaeologists.

A Geo-Archeologist, Patrick Julig has been a professor of Anthropology at Laurentian University in Sudbury since 1990, now part-time, and had been doing research on Manitoulin since 1985. He and his wife Helen bought a hobby farm in Sheguiandah in 2002, semi-retiring to the Island in 2005 – just up the road from the site of one of most exciting archeological finds of Dr. Julig’s long career.

“The new dig was a collaboration among local municipalities and First Nations; we were working with First Nations Chiefs from the beginning. The Chiefs of Sheguiandah and Aundeck Omni Kaning were involved in discussions about collaborative ventures for tourism; communication is ongoing. The First Nations did their own studies about a possible cultural or interpretive centre and there’s support from the major landowners and the Town of NEMI. Sheguiandah First Nation wants to honour their ancestors by allowing others to learn from the site.”

Also close to the archeological site on Highway 6 is the Centennial Museum of Sheguiandah, a small but significant repository of artifacts found in the nearby excavations, ancient fossils and settler implements and buildings, offering fascinating glimpses of life in this culturally diverse area from prehistory to modern days. Last fall the Museum unveiled an engaging interactive exhibit dedicated to the National Historic Site of Sheguiandah with the backing of the Town of NEMI and grants from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and Canadian Heritage’s Canada Cultural Spaces Fund. At last, an easy-to-navigate, fun way to learn the amazing history, geology and archeology of this important place.

Dr. Julig is chair of the Museum’s Advisory Committee and designed the content of the exhibit into the clearly delineated archaeological periods of the site that are represented by descriptive panels and accompanied by the artifacts of those periods found by Lee in the 1950s and by Julig and Storck in the 90s. Museum Curator Lisa Hallaert was keen on activities for kids, so there’s a sandbox ‘dig’ with a screen for sifting out ‘artifacts’ like shells, stones and beads and an iPad station with a custom-designed archeological game featuring Dr. Julig as a cartoon character.

Among the educational panels of photos, maps and absorbing information on the site’s history, Patrick Julig indicates a display case of artifacts from the Middle Woodland Period and points to a clay pipe. “You see that in this era, people started to smoke tobacco and they made clay pipes. The Middle Woodland is characterized by the making of pottery and copper beads. Before clay, containers were made of skin or birch bark.” A beautiful clay pot from a similar site is shown as an example of artisan work from 2,500 BCE.

“Each cultural period is an evolution into the next,” adds Dr. Julig. “Paleo-Indians used long, thin, pointy spear points for thrusting at game. The quartzite knoll in Sheguiandah was their tools workshop for centuries, and we have the evidence of their scrapers and spear points, and of heavier ‘cores’ used to chip into a spear point or to flake into scrapers or knives. The spear points of different periods also indicate different ways of throwing spears, and in the Archaic Period they were fast and accurate, using ‘atlatls’ (spear throwers) and spear points with notches.”

A welcome development of the Centennial Museum project to bring the site into the light of day is the plan to allow guided tours to the prehistoric quarry in future, pending funding and consultation with those involved. “We need a boardwalk first, and gravel paths,” says Patrick Julig. The site is fragile and vulnerable to disturbance and is protected from any encroachment by the Ontario Heritage Act and the National Historic Site designation.

To Patrick Julig, almost thirty years after the publication of his team’s findings, the Sheguiandah Archeological Site remains a place of awe: “Sheguiandah is twice the age of the Pyramids of Egypt and of Stonehenge. You can see the different ancient water levels that are clearly visible and indicate the distinctive eras, the 450 million-year-old Ordovician beach conglomerate called Mystic Ridge, the artifacts that have been lying around for thousands of years and the dug pits, now bogs, at the very top,” says the archeologist. “Because quartzite is more acidic than Manitoulin’s more usual alkaline soil, there are blueberries up there.”

Until it’s possible to tour the famous site, the Centennial Museum’s interactive exhibit will whet the appetite for the archeological wonder that is Sheguiandah.

The Centennial  Museum of Sheguiandah, 10862 Highway 6, Sheguiandah.  Tel: 705-368-2367 Open May to October.

Trailer sailors explore North Channel waters in small vessels

Trailer sailors explore North Channel

If you are a sailboater in another part of Lake Huron or one of the other of our Great Lakes, or if you are considering the purchase of a sailboat, the organization is known as “Trailer Sailors” can help you to become acquainted with Manitoulin Island’s famous North Channel. (Trailer Sailors are boat owners whose crafts are small enough—30 feet or less—to tow on a trailer to their first harbour of their cruise, a useful option for those who don’t have the time for a lengthy sail from, say, Toronto to Manitoulin Island.

The North Channel Marine Tourism Council proudly brands the waters of the North Channel as “the best freshwater boating in the world” and the members of the Trailer/Sailors Association heartily agree.

“We are definitely ambassadors for the North Channel,” said John Clement who, along with his wife Irene, paused in the de-rigging of their 26-foot sailboat Taranui to discuss the Trailer/Sailor organization, sailing the North Channel waters and the community of fellow travellers who spend two weeks every year exploring the thousands of coves and Islands for which the region is justly famed.

John is a former president of the organization, having joined in 1990 (the organization itself was founded just five years earlier in 1985) and his wife was one of the co-organizers (along with Diana Nelson) of last year’s trailer/sailor cruise. The organization began with a half-dozen to a dozen like-minded souls who joined forces to explore North Channel waters.

“We joined in 1990 and we have been coming most years ever since,” said Mr. Clement. “I ran five of the cruises, then Mike Nelson took it on and Diana Nelson took it on after him.”

The Clements began sailing in small dinghies when they were younger, but with the advent of their children, they realized they needed something more substantial.
“With small children, you need to be able to anchor so they can go ashore, go swimming and it is good to have a boat big enough to be able to have some space below,” said Ms. Clement. “The kids need to go ashore sometimes.”

Since trailer/sailors tend to smaller boats, usually from 16 to 25-foot vessels that fit easily on trailers, they tend to have more limited space for supplies and amenities. “We plan every three days to be in a marina where we can pump out the head (toilet tanks), pick up ice, get an ice cream,” said Mr. Clement. “Oh we like the ice cream,” laughed Ms. Clement, “in fact we will probably go and get one after we are finishing de-rigging this afternoon.”

“So that is what trailer sailors did, anchor, go ashore to go blueberry picking and explore in little dingies,” agreed Mr. Clement.

Since trailer/sailors tend to smaller boats, usually from 16 to 25-foot vessels that fit easily on trailers, they tend to have more limited space for supplies and amenities. “We plan every three days to be in a marina where we can pump out the head (toilet tanks), pick up ice, get an ice cream,” said Mr. Clement. “Oh we like the ice cream,” laughed Ms. Clement, “in fact we will probably go and get one after we are finishing de-rigging this afternoon.”

It takes about three hours to set up or take down the rigging and mast on a small sailboat, and get her off or back on her trailer.

The amenities onboard a trailer sailor’s vessel can vary widely, largely dependant on the character of the boat and its owners. The Clement’s Taranui is at the large end of the trailered sailboats in the association, and their vessel even sports a wood burning stove. “That’s pretty unusual,” said Ms. Clement. “This was a boat-builder’s boat. Not all boats have refrigeration, some people choose to do without, but we like cheese and milk.”

The key element that attracts trailer sailors to the lifestyle, however, is the deep sense of community they enjoy, whether newcomers or long-time veterans. “Whether it is their first time or 20 years, there is a friendship link,” said Mr. Clement. “The mood has always been the same—an extended family.”

The sailors tend to keep together while sailing the waters of the North Channel, providing mutual support and camaraderie and engaging in group social events. “We might select a flat rock and say that is where we will hold a potluck at 6 o’clock,” said Ms. Clement. The sailors will return to their boats to create a dish and meet together at the appointed time on the selected ‘flat rock.’ “We had a pancake breakfast one morning,” noted Ms. Clement.

The group will hold a layday, a two-night stay in one location to provide for better opportunities to socialize and build the sense of community that holds them together.
Most of the trailer sailors have a wide and eclectic skill set. “If someone has an issue with their boat or some piece of equipment, someone will know how to jury-rig a solution and someone else will have the parts,” said Mr. Clement.

There are some things the trailer sailor group insists upon, the first being safety. “We always make sure that people are okay,” said Mr. Clement. “If someone is having trouble, we make sure that somebody stays with them to make sure they are okay.”

The Trailer/Sailor Association logo is a stylized combination of a boat in the water and on a trailer. “Half in the water and half out,” said Mr. Clement.

The boundaries of the trailer sailor cruise usually extend from Killarney and Thomas to the east and Long Point and Spragge to the west, visiting the Island ports of Little Current, Kagawong, Gore Bay and Meldrum Bay and the North Shore ports of Spanish and Blind River along the way.

There are some things the trailer sailor group insists upon, the first being safety. “We always make sure that people are okay,” said Mr. Clement. “If someone is having trouble, we make sure that somebody stays with them to make sure they are okay.”

Another thing they insist on is knowing how to sail your boat. “We are not going to teach you how to sail,” said Mr. Clement. “We also suggest that you at least take the power squadron course.”

The group also insists on a high set of environmental standards. “We insist on environmental care,” said Ms. Clement. “We travel together and we feel we are obliged to set our standards higher than most.”

The Island marinas have most of what trailer sailors need to make their stay enjoyable, particularly enough room to set up their boats when they arrive. “A good ramp with the right angle and enough depth to get into the water is important,” said Mr. Clement. “The ramp at Little Current’s Spider Bay Marina is excellent and Gore Bay’s is very good too.”

Some of the safety items the group insists on are mast lights that help show where a boat is located in the pitch dark of a moonless North Channel night. If a boater’s anchor drags and you have to anchor, it helps a lot to know where the other boats are located. The light located at the top of the mast takes the guesswork out of the process. “It has to be visible for 360 degrees,” said Mr. Clement.

The sailors are also encouraged to have their VHF licence. “I think Roy does an excellent job of reminding people what each of the channels are used for,” said Ms. Clement. Roy Eaton voluntarily runs a daily ship-to-shore radio broadcast for two hours every day during July and August and connects the North Channel boater community in a very tangible way.

The Island marinas have most of what trailer sailors need to make their stay enjoyable, particularly enough room to set up their boats when they arrive. “A good ramp with the right angle and enough depth to get into the water is important,” said Mr. Clement. “The ramp at Little Current’s Spider Bay Marina is excellent and Gore Bay’s is very good too.”

WIFI is also very important for the sailors as well, and in that regard, the marinas are also very well set up.

To learn more about the Trailer/Sailor Association and to join the organization check out their website at trailersailor.info.

Article by

Michael Erskine

Michael Erskine

Michael Erskine BA (Hons) is a staff writer at The Manitoulin Expositor. He received his honours BA from Laurentian University in 1987. His former lives include underground miner, oil rig roughneck, early childhood educator, elementary school teacher, college professor and community legal worker. Michael has written several college course manuals and has won numerous Ontario Community Newspaper Awards in the rural, business and finance and editorial categories.

Get reel! Make fishing your Manitoulin mission

Get Reel:

Make fishing your Manitoulin mission

It’s 7 am at the Providence Bay Marina and a warmly-smiling bearded fellow walks towards a charter fishing first-timer, one hand clutching a coffee, the other extended in greeting. Neil Debassige is the owner of Island Sunrise Cottages and Fishing Charters, (he’s also the principal of Lakeview School in M’Chigeeng), and this morning we’re headed out on to the big water of Lake Huron on the south coast of Manitoulin to do some big fishing. Regular guest Glen McCosham, who goes out with Neil four or five times a year, is the other passenger; he hails from Lively, near Sudbury, and he is psyched. “I was up at 5:30,” says Glen, “I can’t sleep if I’m going out on a charter!”

We climb into Neil’s spotless craft, moored along thirty-odd others in the slips, and slowly move out of the bay into the open water. Neil sets up four downrigger rods off the stern, explaining how they work to catch the Atlantic, pink, coho and Chinook salmon, and the lake and rainbow trout this area is known for. “We’re fishing down and back,” he explains as he attaches the large shiny lures, “so the line goes straight down 30 feet to a release clip attached to a weighted ball. From there the line with the lure at the end goes back 125 feet. When a fish pulls on the lure, that line is released from the clip and goes slack, causing the rod to pop up, not down, which makes sense when you understand the mechanics of the system.”

With the mechanics taken care of, we settle in. “Today is perfect,” sighs Glen. It’s nippy and overcast, we’re all bundled in several layers; the waves are choppy, giving for a wilder ride than, say, fishing on an inland lake. With the insider knowledge of a long-time charter enthusiast, Glen adds, “What you don’t want is a calm day.” (You don’t?) “I call those ‘bluebird days’ when it’s sunny and the water is like glass out here.” Pressing for what possibly could be wrong with such days, when all is unruffled, even your butterflies, Glen replies, “then you’re swatting at deer flies and mosquitoes.” Fine, bring on the shifting seas! We’re looking for an authentic experience here, not some onboard picnic, after all.

More boats are zipping by now, heading into deeper waters. Out of consideration for this guest’s lingering butterflies, Neil stays closer in the bay, watching the sonar screen. He explains that fish feed in a ‘thermocline’ in the 50-degree range.

“Today is perfect,” sighs Glen. It’s nippy and overcast, we’re all bundled in several layers; the waves are choppy, giving for a wilder ride than, say, fishing on an inland lake.

“It all has to do with the water temperature. When it’s cold, fish won’t expend their energy to eat. We fish at the temperature where they’re feeding.” While the guests chat companionably, Neil quietly keeps an eye on the screens and rods the whole time. Suddenly he jumps up, seizes a rod and starts reeling like a man possessed. Glen grabs the net, and we land a beautiful pink salmon, small by their standards, about 2 pounds, but big by mine; it goes into a well filled with lake water. Off we motor, setting the rods for the Big One that Neil feels is out there.

Neil is a born teacher, and his wife Dianne is a teacher too; they fish in summer and hunt in fall. He taught in the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, and in Kashechewan First Nation in James Bay with Dianne before becoming principal of Lakeview School. “All kids, in all schools, are awesome,” he says, seeing his job as “unleashing potential.” He and Dianne have designed a program called “National Archery in the Schools” to teach this “very levelling sport that is not based on strength. It’s great for learning the ‘humility’ lesson of the Ojibwe Seven Teachings of the Grandfathers.” Neil also runs Fuel the Fire TV with another passionate outdoorsman, Rob Seifried, of Kagawong; their motto ‘Get Outdoors’ is on Neil’s t-shirt. Their first outdoor sports episode secured a deal with Wild TV on the Bell network, who intend to produce 13 more starting in January. The series’ pilot can be viewed at www.fuelthefiretv.ca.

The men are working like mad, bringing in the 11.5 pound Chinook salmon in what seems like seconds. They high-five each other, grinning like kids with their first catch. “It’s all about the charter captain,” enthuses Glen, “he has to know where the fish are, and stay on them!”

This reporter’s job so far has been to take notes–ok, just try this while on a bobbing boat!–and photos. That’s when I remember to unpack my camera. Just in time, too, as Neil races back to the stern while Glen assumes his position, lifting a rod with both hands and reeling furiously. “See?” shouts Glen, “Neil has that sixth sense!” as he manoeuvres the rod, the fish fighting him every inch of the way. The men are working like mad, bringing in the 11.5 pound Chinook salmon in what seems like seconds. They high-five each other, grinning like kids with their first catch.
“It’s all about the charter captain,” enthuses Glen, “he has to know where the fish are, and stay on them!”

It’s been about three hours, during which Neil reflects on how time on the water is just as important as catching fish: “Time spent outdoors is our most valuable time, it teaches us to respect each other and our environment.” He asks if I’d like to go out deeper. “The waves will be higher out there,” he says, compounding the butterfly issue. “Better to have enjoyed yourself than swear off fishing because you pushed yourself too far your first time out.”

As the two men stroll back to continue their quest, their relaxed forms seem to embody a phrase of the poet and naturalist, Henry David Thoreau: “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”

Back at the marina, we’re greeted by the harbour master, Ken Niles, who rings a bell to announce a catch over ten pounds. People flock to the weighing station to take a look. Ken takes two photos of the crew, one for the marina’s Facebook page and many albums, and one “to pick up when you come back.” Four years ago, Ken came from McKerrow, just off the Island, and started taking people out fishing. He’s since been hired by the Algoma Manitoulin Harbour Commission to run the marina, and now he’s “got no time to fish.” He loves promoting the fishing in Providence Bay, calling out in French and English to visitors from Timmins, Québec, London, “everywhere”, by name, overseeing the launchings and landings, answering the phone (“How’s the fishing? Fantastic!”) and manning the marine radio. His dog Lila follows him around as he keeps the coffee pot on and cleans the common areas; he also organizes an annual derby, fundraising for various local causes, offers the loan of a box of lures and awards a filet knife to “fish of the month” winners. Ken Niles is a prize himself.

At the immaculate fish cleaning station, kids crowd around to watch Neil rinse and clean the fish, filleting the red-orange flesh and vacuum-packing it. As the two men stroll back to continue their quest, their relaxed forms seem to embody a phrase of the poet and naturalist, Henry David Thoreau: “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”
Fishing licences are required for all fishing, available at several licence issuers on Manitoulin.

Article by

Isobel Harry

Isobel Harry

Isobel Harry is a photographer and writer who has also worked extensively in the field of human rights advocacy. Her photos have been widely exhibited and she has published articles in many magazines; as programmes director and executive director for PEN Canada for twenty years, she worked on behalf of the right to freedom of expression internationally. Now living on Manitoulin Island, Isobel works as a freelance writer and photographer and is a frequent contributor to the weekly Manitoulin Expositor newspaper and the annual This is Manitoulin magazine. Her interests lie at the intersection of arts, culture and human rights.