Winter on Georgian Bay is really something to experience! When it snows here it doesn't fool around! It's dramatic and serene at the same time. We have had some ripper storms and some magnificent snowfalls ranging from a few centimetres to over a meter! It's something to see and be a part of to really appreciate and admire, it is spectacular....as long you don't have to drive anywhere!
In early January, we were having an amazing snowstorm. The Bay was thundering with its unpredictable force and while watching the storm, I noticed off to the northwest side of Dyers Bay, lights, bright lights shining through the heavy snow. Pulling out my binoculars, I could see a huge freighter being moored in the Bay, looking like a ghost ship silently hugging the shoreline. Upon a closer look I could see that it was the freighter 'St Marys Challenger'. This was all quite exciting to see and after doing some research I learned that St Marys Challenger is 551 foot freighter, with a 56 foot beam! She was built in Detroit by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in 1906. It is now an articulated barge, which essentially means it no longer runs on its own power, rather tugged to and from its destination. However, it was the oldest operating self-propelled cargo vessel on the Great Lakes, if not North America until 2013! Built before the Titanic, it operated for over 100 years, something unique and special to see on Dyers Bay!
