Day 8 - Bumbleberry Pie

We made the 43 mile trip from Harbor Island to Meldrum Bay, Canada on flat seas at 7 kts. Meldrum Bay is on Manitoulin Island which is the largest fresh water island in the world. People that are born and raised on Manitoulin Island are called Haw Eaters. That is because Haw berries are plentiful on the island. Haw is short for hawthorne berry.

The municipal marina at Meldrum Bay has had many recent upgrades. Six years ago when we first cruised here the facilities were a few sunken barges and a ramshackle shed for an office. Now they have four floating piers with water and electric and a new administration building. Someone has to pay for all this. The dock fee has increased from $1.00 per foot to $2.00 per foot. Lorriane is the new harbor master at Meldrum Bay. Peggy retired last year. Lorraine admits she knew nothing about her job but the boaters have trained her.

Meldrum Bay is a port of entry into Canada. There is a phone booth in the harbor masters office for this purpose. Just pick up the black phone and it automatically rings the customs agents. A nice young women took my call. I explained we had all been here before on another boat. She asked for the registration number. I asked if she wanted to know the name of the boat we were currently on. She advised that wasn’t necessary and gave me my entry permit number which I wrote on a piece of scrap paper.

The highlight of this harbor is the Meldrum Bay Inn and restaurant. There is a lot of pride in family ownership. The mother and daughter are the hostess and waitstaff and the father is the chef. We have had dinner there many times and always have excellent food and service. Last night I had lake trout almandine. The commercial fishing boat that provides the fresh fish can be seen tied to the nearby dock.

No meal at the Meldrum Bay Inn is complete without a slice of bumbleberry pie. There is no such thing as a bumbleberry. They use whatever fresh berries are locally available that day. Perhaps there were even a few haw berries in last nights pie which is always served with vanilla ice cream.

We will be going off the grid for a few days so do not be concerned if you do not get your daily update. We will spend a few nights on the hook at Beardrop Cove, a night in the Benjamin’s and then on to Little Current which is the closest thing to civilization in the North Channel. They even have wifi there.

Sign in the window of the Meldrum Bay grocery store.

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