Today we left the Georgia Bay and turned into the North Channel running alongside the Manitoulin Island towards Mackinaw City. So when we turned down the channel to Killarney, the first thing we encountered was a tug pushing a wide metal barge loaded with a tractor trailer fuel truck. As we neared the city wharf, he waved that he was trying to park where we were, so we circled out of his way and we watched while he turned so the truck could drive off over a ramp way, and then tied up to the dock. I am always interested to see people who are living their daily work routine on the water. I can honestly say that I have never seen a fuel truck on a barge before.
We docked there in Killarney to have lunch at Herbert Fisheries which is a fish and chips place serving up lunch boxes from the side of a red and white school bus in front of the fish market. While we were sitting at a picnic table on the wharf eating what the Canadians call "white fish", fried and crispy along with fries, we got to see their fishing boat come in. The boat was very different than what I was used to, because it was totally closed in. They docked at a low section of the wharf, so they could step out of the side door and they unloaded large crates packed with white fish and trout that they had just caught this morning. I commented to one of the sailors about our NC fishing boats and their wings to hold the nets, to which he explained that they did not
troll for the fish like in NC. They were setting gill nets in the afternoon and then coming back the next morning, pulling the nets in with a winch, and hauling all those fish back to the fish market. They were filleting fish on a working table in the back of the boat then carrying them into the fish market where they were cut up for frying for lunch (talk about fresh fish), or shrink wrapped for sale or shipping. It was a fun experience, and it reminded me of the history of Tony’s Sanitary
Fish Market in Morehead City, which started out as a fish market that cooked fish and served it on the dock. The advantage Tony’s has is that the waterway it sits on is not frozen for months of the year. We did buy a white fish for our freezer so we can have it again.
Tonight we are anchored in Covered Portage bay, a hidden lake with a tiny finger of water leading back out to the
channel. There are nine other boats sharing the space, but there is plenty of room. We are surrounded by rocky cliffs of jagged granite and one of the other boaters told us that you could climb to the top. I guess we’ll try that tomorrow.
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