There wasn't actually much of a sunrise to be seen. We left under a low overcast in the kind of light mist that you have to stand in for fifteen minutes or so to get wet. Begonia had already exceeded the limit, so every outdoor surface was wet and dripping. As I sat at the helm while we curved clockwise out of the anchorage, my wet side migrated and grew until it was basically everything.
We unrolled the jib for the first leg. On the second, we had already turned far enough to switch to spinnaker. The wind was supposed to swing from west to almost north, so we steered a course to the left of a direct line so that we could bend with it and still keep the spinnaker pulling us nice and fast. It worked well and we had a fast reach across the bay.
At the other side, we sailed through the gap between Christian and Hope islands to our anchorage at the small, southwest-facing bay at the narrow part of Beckwith Island. The winds that brought us were blowing across the anchorage, making it a bit exposed and swelly. That had apparently kept the throngs from Midland away. Midland is the center of Georgian Bay's marine industry as it is closest to Toronto, Canada's most populous city. There are a LOT of boats in Midland.
We had a forecast that called for the winds to die to nothing and swing to the northeast after dark, so our plan was to ride out the rolly afternoon and wake up on mirror-flat water.
That's pretty much how it worked. Standing on deck in the morning, we could easily see our chain laying on the lakebed as it snaked its way to the anchor. We deployed the kayak, paddled along the shore long enough to feel like we had done at least a little bit of exercise, and then returned to the beach by Begonia.
By then, the boat had arrived with caretakers from adjacent Christian Island. The three-island group of Beckwith, Christian and Hope is First Nation land owned by the Beausoleil First Nation peoples. They were very friendly and welcomed us to their island. We paid the $10 fee each and went into the interior to have a look.
The trails were really short (just a few 10s of meters) but we made an effort to see them all
Despite being large, there isn't a whole lot for humans to see on Beckwith Island, unless you want to bring a machete. The island has never seen any development and the only trails are a short network that crosses the narrows at a pinch point of the island between opposing beaches on either side. We crossed to the beach on the opposite side, which is maybe twice as long, and did our best to make a hike out of going from one end to the other, then we crossed back to do the same on "our" beach. Light winds from the north blew in smoke from fires that direction, which completely obscured views of any of the surrounding area.
The interior trail system turned out to be an expansion from the original single track to a series of sites where the Beausoliel First Nation plans to erect a number of yurts on wooden platforms. They only had the first one at the moment, which we were told had depleted their 2023 yurt budget. I think the caretakers said they were planning four or five more next year. They told us to feel free to have a look.
The yurt was large, but basic, containing a double bed, a couple of tables, and a whole lot of extra floor space. It was easy to see how extended families could fit in one or two of them for a relaxing beach holiday.
Solar panels (not yet wired up) will provide a HUGE amount of power for a handful or Yurts planned for future glamping
One other strange aspect of the project that has already been installed is a very large array of solar panels. We took a closer look and found it to be 10kw worth, although the wires had yet to be connected to anything. 10kw is a LOT of power - about enough to run two air-conditioned American homes (or twenty Begonias). The only electrical item we found in the yurt was a single central light bulb. Even if they are planning on eventually equipping each with a big-screen TV and a freezer, it still seems like way too much power for all that. It was tough, especially on a hot, sunny day, to look at all those unconnected wires and not think of it as wasted power going down the drain.
As I was just writing the last paragraph, I figured out what they could use the power for – bug zappers! Beckwith's interior is expectedly green and lush, but the moment we stepped out of the sunlight on the beach, we were constantly terrorized by ubiquitous aggressive mosquitoes. We were prepared for this, for the most part. We each had trousers, long sleeves and a judicious application of insect repellent. The stuff we use is so pungent that I can hardly stand the smell of it myself. Despite this, we quickly learned we had made a mistake by not applying it to our eyeballs or the insides of our nostrils. Our eyeballs were somewhat protected by the confusing, clear barrier of our glasses, but that quickly became the hangout for all the little monsters who were waiting for their turn at a nostril. As someone who primarily finds my way around by sight, I found this behavior most distressing.
The beach walks were the best of it really - with some beautiful patterns created by the black run off particles among the cream sand.
Thus, it was with a surprising sense of relief that we burst forward from the cool woods to the intense, insect-cooking sun of the beach for the sweaty row back to Begonia. This is when living in a place with a pool in every direction is a real bonus.
Anchorage location On google maps
No comments:
Post a Comment