Otter Cove and Red Rock, Ontario (July 14-17)

Otter Cove (48°37.2’N,88°13.5’W) was just a short 10 miles or so from Loon Harbour and was supposed to be a beautiful spot. Once again, the wind wasn’t cooperating so we motored our way through the islands to Otter Cove. Thank God for the chart plotter and GPS or navigation would have been a real struggle. It’s often impossible to tell deep water from shoals by looking so our electronic charts kept us safe.

Otter Cove was another stop with a narrow shallow entrance that required a bow lookout and caution to get inside. There was a smaller power boat fishing in the channel that temporarily blocked our way but we eventually got our turn and made it inside. We got anchored in the more protected northern arm of the cove and got the motor on the dinghy for a little exploration.

We were passing by the power boat when they waved us over. We were excited to meet our first “real Canadians” but it turned out that it was a couple from Colorado on vacation. They did give us some tips on how to get to the waterfall which proved to be very helpful. The trail to the waterfall was up a small shallow stream and was difficult to find. It was a short hike to the falls and we were able to get to both the bottom and top of the falls.

We just spent the one night at Otter Cove and then it was on to Red Rock, Ontario (48°56.8’N,88°16.2’W). Red Rock is a small town at the northern end of Nipigon Strait. It would be our last chance to get diesel before leaving Lake Superior at Sault Ste. Marie. It was another long day of motoring but at the end was a beautiful little town and marina.

We had been told about the interesting way that they keep seagulls away from the marina but still chuckled when we heard it ourselves. They have a “Birdgard” system that repeatedly plays the sounds of seagulls being killed and eaten by hawks. Sounds strange, but it really works. In three days, I only saw two gulls and they were fly by’s. They shut the system down overnight but other than that it plays all the time. You get used to it.

We explored the town and met finally met our Canadians at the Legion Club which was the only place in town to buy a beer. We didn’t have much for excitement in Red Rock but it was a nice place to take care of life’s business like laundry and showers. Thank God that they sold real beer at the liquor store. An unexpected treat.