Improving Onboard Life: Our Top 10 Best Additions of 2024

The majority of our summer is spent cruising and anchoring around Georgian Bay and like most boaters we are always on the lookout for ways to improve and/or extend our onboard living.

Here is a list of our top 10 additions from the 2024 season that made our boating life better! From the bridge to the galley, anchoring and prop protection, these are what made our life on board a little easier and in some cases helped us sleep better at night:

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Cruising Georgian Bay 2024: My four week – 12 stop itinerary

Following May’s hectic pace of getting boats launched, cleaned and the winter gremlins cleared out, June is the perfect month to research, plan, and then begin your cruising itinerary for the summer.

For Georgian Bay I utilize my charts, Great Lakes Cruising Club binders, and Ports guide when planning our trips. Occasionally I will check Google Earth and/or Google images for additional info when heading into an unfamiliar area or just searching for places to explore by dinghy or on foot, like rivers and forests.

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Cruising the 30,000 Islands: Canada’s Freshwater Paradise for Boaters! ❤️

If you’re planning to cruise the 30,000 Islands of Georgian Bay then be sure to check out my article in Canada’s largest national boating magazine – “Canadian Boating”!

Cruising Georgian Bay’s 30,000 Islands: Canada’s Freshwater Paradise for Boaters

Cabot Head Light Station: Another “Ghost of the Bay”?

Situated on the remote northeast point of the Bruce Peninsula overlooking Georgian Bay, Cabot Head Light Station was just a few short years ago a drive-up tourist “destination” with museum, picnic area and gift shop! Sadly this property with it’s stunning views of the Bay now sits abandoned, looking more like a ghost town!

The light station boarded up, sidewalks crumbling, picnic areas overgrown with brush, the only road in barely passable by car. Reasons for the abandonment? From what I understand there were/are three main ones: road access/maintenance, hazardous contamination, and lack of funding – each made all the more difficult to resolve due to the isolated location of the property.

Approaching the Light Station from Wingfield Basin trail (I include more photos at end of story, including a peek inside)

The sidewalks and steps overgrown
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A Taste of the Bay: A 7 Day Cruise Itinerary from Midland

During my Toronto Boat Show’s “30,000 Islands” seminar, a common question asked by attendees, especially boaters new to the Bay was “where do you recommend we go?” Well, that’s an easy one for me to answer! Georgian Bay’s eastern coast is an absolute treasure trove of destinations filled with fun activities for boaters, regardless the size or type of vessel!

Wide open water for the good days, secluded tree lined anchorages for the bad; all with great swimming, paddling, fishing, and hiking. Add in stunning sunsets, star-filled night skies, sugary sand beaches, delicious local food, amazing history and you will never want to leave! But how/where to combine all of that into a one week cruise?

To make the ‘where to go/what to do’ part easier, here is my “Taste of the Bay” itinerary which is a “short haul” trip but ticks all of the boxes above. This is ideal for boaters new to the Bay who wish to venture out and try some interesting places plus learn a little about Georgian Bay along the way. And all locations are pet friendly so nobody gets left out on this trip!

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