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On my first visit to Canada in 1975 we took a rented red Ford Pinto and a tiny borrowed tent from Kingston, down to Niagara then up the Bruce Peninsula to Tobermory. The MS Chi‑Cheemaun then took us to Manitoulin Island, from where we drove to Sudbury, Algonquin Park and back to Kingston. A little bit of everything to introduce me to Canada!

Roll forward 47 years to 2022 and after driving to Sault Ste. Marie to take the Agawa Canyon train (somewhat disappointing) we decided to return home via Manitoulin Island and the Chi‑Cheemaun back over to Tobermory.

Georgian Bay forms the north-east part of Lake Huron and is defined by the Bruce Peninsular in the south and Manitoulin Island in the north, both part of the Niagara Escarpment. The ferry crosses the mouth of this bay. Manitoulin Island is the world’s largest lake island and my memory from 1975 was of a dreary damp place. But this time, maybe helped by staying in motels instead of a tiny wet tent, everything seemed sunnier and more radiant.

South Baymouth, the northern ferry terminus, is very obviously a village which has grown around the ferry, with little more than the expected cafes and gift shops shadowing the ferry's waiting lanes. But waiting there was a pleasure, with properly informative notice boards on one side and views out over Georgian Bay on the other. You expect to be able to see the Chi‑Cheemaun approach from a long way away, but in fact it appears around a headland at the very last moment and does a tight turn into the narrows at the mouth of South Bay, seemingly far too fast and close to the rocks on the shore.

Waiting in a line for a ferry gives plenty of time for scoping out the more interesting fellow travellers—in this case a couple of large flat-bed trucks, fully loaded with enormous slabs of local limestone looking like they would soon be adorning the front of some pretentious new banking high-rise. Worrying at times to think of sharing a boat with such a heavy load, even though you know it's well within its capability.

The couple of hours on board went quickly. The shoreline as we left Manitoulin was a fascinating and lethal looking series of limestone ridges. Out in the open water the sun shone and we saw no other vessels. But as we approached Tobermory and the Bruce Peninsular the sky greyed over. We stayed on the deck just forward of the funnel, which was painted so brightly that the overcast sky did not matter.

The Chi‑Cheemaun ("big canoe" in Ojibwe) has been operating this route since 1974, and in this time I’m sure it has had plenty of refits. But the most noticeable to us was the way the old restrained colours have been replaced by bright indigenous-inspired designs, probably reflecting its role these days as being a bit more touristy than when it was first in service.

It was great to complete the round trip after all these years. Maybe we should have bought an open return ticket back in 1975?