Armchair Cruise

Captain Tom shares local folklore, directs attention to interesting sites and occasionally, reaches into his humorous side to share a few more "facts". We continue the river portion past restored log cabins some dating back to the 1880's. Just downstream a bit further is the site of Bailey's Trading Post. Fur traders plied their wares here as early as 1835.

"This channel marks the beginning of Lake Muskoka.

Lake Muskoka is 18 miles long, 5 miles wide and goes down to a depth of just over 300 feet. . ."

It's a hot summer morning under a clear blue sky. The water flows deep, dark and as smooth as silk.

The air is fresh, crisp and intensely therapeutic in sharp contrast to the city variety a few hours away.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard The Lady Muskoka. Our cruise today is for 3 hours.

Half an hour is spent here on the Muskoka River, the balance out on Lake Muskoka". . .

and the well rehearsed patter by seasoned Captain Tom Brown promises an informative look at the

"Jewel of the North" called Muskoka.

One of the highlights during this stretch  is Santa's Village, a 50 acre family amusement park built on the 45th parallel,

half way between the equator & the North Pole.  The river portion of the trip is indeed "up close & personal" and offers an interesting look at life in the "slow lane". The locals never tire at returning the multitude of waves from well-wishers aboard, an unusual ritual you realize that only happens on boats!

" and on our left is the Beaumont Farm first settled in the 1880's by Augustus James Alport, the first Reeve of Muskoka . . . "

and Captain Tom nudges into the conversation momentarily to share a little more dialog about the area.           

Our cruise swings south for a moment before continuing west between Eileen Gowan and Browning Islands, two of the largest on Lake Muskoka. We enter open water again and Captain Brown speeds up a bit to get across this open stretch to visit  . . .

"On our left is Nine Mile Island owned by . . . Notice on their far shoreline, a little man made of stone. The idea for that comes from the Inuits who built cairns like that on the Caribou trails hoping they would become used to the sight of man and make their hunt go a little easier. They called him "Inukshuk".

We swing north and west past Walker's Point named after Captain Harper Walker, a British settler here in the 1880's.

"On our right is Old Woman Island.. Local folklore has it that the island got it's name from the local Indian Chief. When his wife got old he'd take her here, build her a wigwam and then return to the mainland to get himself a new and younger bride!"

We work our way further west past Stonewall, Christmas, Cedar, Grandview Islands each with its own contribution to Tom's commentary until we begin our turn towards at Columbia & Rebecca Islands  on our way to another highlight of our cruise . . .

"We are about to enter an area known as 'Millionaire's Row' .

Rambling palatial summer homes line the path between Tondern and Squirrel Islands, home to "quiet billionaires and king makers" primarily from the Pittsburgh area who vacationed here since the turn of the century. Supposedly, they first came here for the excellent fishing and to escape the steel mill smog of the industrialized cities of the "rust belt" around Pittsburgh.

The long stairway at the beginning of "The Row" identifies the Sharon Club, a fishing and social club whose charter dates back to 1891.

"Back at the Mellon Estate on the right . . . notice the brown building up between the two brown boathouses. . . That's the summer home of their caretaker !"

This always brings a sigh and later a chuckle as passengers are reminded that job applications are available at the snack bar. On our way home, we discretely continue with the "who's who" along the way. Yes, occasionally we've had requests for

anonymity which we of course respect and are greeted with an appreciated wave next time through.

The final leg follows highway 118 east past the Clemson Estate, the Granges, Wyldwood Point ( the kidnapping of John Labatt took place there in 1934) and the stately Holiday Inn Resort on the cliffs to the left.

Shortly we re-enter the river for the final half hour upstream regretting that our escape is soon drawing to a close.

"In just a few moments we'll be docking at Riverside. On behalf of the crew and myself I'd like to thank you for coming along with us today. We sure hope you enjoyed your cruise on the Lady Muskoka. Have a good stay while you're here and a safe trip home."                  (Return to Page 1.)