Little did I know, way back in the spring of 1974, as I boarded the Chi-Cheemaun ferry for a yearly fishing trip from Tobermory to South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island, that I would be blessed and lucky enough to travel, round-trip, each and every year for 50 years consecutively, on this magnificent ferry.
Born and raised in Waterloo Ontario, I would make the 3 hour drive up to Tobermory, fishing boat in tow, in the very wee hours of an early June Saturday morning to arrive the required one hour prior to the ferry’s earliest departure time from Tobermory.
Some years I took the ferry twice, as my spring fishing trip had been so exciting, well, I just had to go back in the fall for another week of fishing.
In 1990, my wife Joan joined me on this yearly trip (she found out she also was a fisherperson at heart). Since then, we’ve travelled together on our yearly fishing trip(s).
Our worst ferry crossing to date (there was only one) was a departure we took around 10 years ago, travelling back to Tobermory from South Baymouth. The lake was extremely rough, and thank goodness neither of us get sea sick as there were many on board who felt just that! Never so glad to see the Tobermory dock and get our feet back on stable ground.
We eventually built a home in Tobermory and moved here permanently in 2009. No more long drives up to our favourite place on earth… Tobermory, Ontario, Canada, and the Chi-Cheemaun dock!
Our next departure date is early June 2024.
Jim and Joan Garner
Tobermory ON
