CPR Slips – St. Ignace Island (July 18th)

We left Red Rocks, Ontario early in the morning bound for the CPR slips. Our route took us back out Nipigon Strait but this time we had the wind and the current at our backs so it was a quicker trip. We were actually even able to sail for a while. We had read about the CPR slips (48°41.8’N, 88°00.5’W) and also heard about them from various people. The area has quite a history but back in the 1800’s it was owned by the Canadian Pacific Railroad and used as a hunting and fishing camp to entertain their customers. Since then the land has passed to private ownership and the present owner allows others to use it for non-commercial enjoyment. There are a number of docks inside the harbor and we had no idea which, if any, we would be able to use. We put fenders and lines out on both sides and began to make our way in. There is a narrow, barely deep enough channel that takes you into the tiny harbor. We navigated in with Phebe on the bow pointing our way to the deeper water. As we rounded the corner we saw that there several boats already docked. Fortunately, a couple of the boaters directed us to a dock and helped us get tied up. We probably had only two feet of water beneath the keel at the dock but it was plenty.

 

 

 

 

 

We socialized a bit with our new Canadian friends and then went off to the wood fired sauna. We had heard about the Canadian saunas (pronounced sowna) but had yet to use one. It’s common to find them hidden in remote places for those “in the know” to use. This was one of the more elaborate ones and was inside a nice building with a changing room and a nice large sauna (steam bath) room. It was already heated up so we only had to provide a couple of bodies and some water. Very nice indeed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was just a short walk through the woods to the other side of the island where there was a breathtaking open water view over Lake Superior. We were fortunate to have a full moon that night and it was glorious. No pictures of the full moon as they couldn’t begin to do it justice.

We finished the evening off sitting around a fire visiting with the others and learning more about the area. John and Carlo helped us with our dock lines the next morning as we set off for Woodbine Harbour. This was a special stop indeed.