PHOTOGRAPHY BY ETHAN MELEG

During my youth, when I first became enamored with sailing the Great Lakes, I would hang around Michigan���s Black River Yacht Club, where the Black River empties into the St. Clair. If I was there at the right time on Sunday morning, I stood a good chance of being asked to fill in for absent crew on one of the Six Meters that gathered there every weekend to race.

On these adventures I often heard about a marvelous place where the water was so clear you could read heads or tails on a dime in 40 feet of water, where little islands begged for boaters to stop for a picnic lunch on white, sandy beaches. This magical spot is Tobermory, a village at the tip of Ontario���s Bruce Peninsula.

Thanks to the rugged dolomite formations of the Niagara Escarpment, the Bruce Peninsula, which separates Georgian Bay from Lake Huron, boasts a unique beauty. At the very tip of The Bruce, as locals call it, are two small, deep, well-protected harbors called Big Tub and Little Tub. At the innermost reach of Little Tub Harbor is Tobermory.

The harbors were first surveyed in 1815 by the British Royal Navy Admiral William Fitzwilliam Owen, from his schooner Huron. The area was called Collins Harbor on early charts, but by 1850, its present name emerged, probably because Scottish settlers were reminded of Tobermory on Scotland���s Isle of Mull.

Tobermory Marina is at the end of Little Tub Harbor, surrounded by a host of unique shops perched on cliffs. Here, you���ll find a full range of services, including a boat launch, fuel, shorepower, water and pump-out facilities. Overnight-docking fees are $1.50 Canadian per foot. The harbormaster���s office is at the fuel dock and stands by on channel 68.

Tobermory also supports one of the largest dive operations in the Great Lakes region, thanks to Fathom Five National Marine Park (the first of its kind in Canada). The park contains 22 shipwrecks and 19 jewel-like islands, which draw more than 8,000 adventure-seeking sport divers every year. Boaters interested in diving within the park should first register in the office, on the harbor���s eastern waterfront.

Nestled within the boundaries of Fathom Five is Flowerpot Island, where you can enjoy an unparalleled view of rock formations left behind by primordial seas. In addition to the two flowerpot-like sea stacks that gave the island its name, you���ll discover caves in the ledge rock 20 feet above Georgian Bay, naturally occurring orchids and more, making Flowerpot Island a picturesque destination indeed. It is accessible by ferry, and small boats can tie up at the provincial dock.

Once you���ve made dockage arrangements with the harbormaster, it���s time to explore Tobermory. Little Tub Harbor is a busy place. You���ll find every type of vessel here: large private cruise ships, rubber inflatables, sailboats, dive boats, dinghies and perhaps even one of the few Great Lakes gill-net tugs still doing business in these waters. Not to be missed is the house where fishermen sell catches of lake trout, chub and whitefish. Of course, the fresh fish is great, but don���t overlook the smoked stuff-it seems custom- made for sunset appetizers on the afterdeck.

Downtown Tobermory occupies a minimum of geography, but the number of shops within spitting distance of the docks is remarkable. If you���re a new arrival, you can spend an entire weekend exploring the waterfront shops without ever losing sight of your boat. Art galleries, nautical and chart shops, gift shops, clothing stores, outfitters, grocery stores, restaurants, pubs and bookstores all look out over the crystal-blue waters of Little Tub Harbor.

If you���re heading out early to explore solo or leave with one of the boats for a day���s diving, you���ll find at least one restaurant open before dawn. Fuel up on everything from donuts and coffee to a lavish bacon-and-eggs breakfast. For fun after sundown, Tobermory has its own theater, numerous pubs with a variety of live entertainment and even an Internet cafe for staying in touch with folks back home.

Away from the harbor but still within walking and biking distance are plenty of other services, including a top-notch health clinic. Because so many divers visit the area, the facility has one of the few fully staffed and equipped hyperbaric chambers in the province.

For those who have bicycles or can get there by taxi or boat, Big Tub Harbor is a must-see. The entrance is marked by one of the Great Lakes��� oldest operating lighthouses. In the 1870s, Charles Earl, one of the area���s first permanent settlers, hung a lantern at the mouth of the harbor to help guide ships to safety through fog and darkness. In 1885, the Department of Marine and Fisheries purchased three lots on the harbor���s west side and constructed, for $675, a lighthouse on the site. A six-sided wood lighthouse replaced the original in the early 1900s, and it is still in operation today.

In the shadow of the lighthouse is a popular campground and dockage area. A short walk from the campsite puts you at the waterfront, where a straight wall drops 40 to 60 feet and displays geological wonders from when the Great Lakes region was covered with an inland sea. Big Tub Harbor is also the final resting place for two shallow wrecks. Glass-bottom boats, which stop here several times a day, allow passengers to watch divers explore them.

Bruce Peninsula National Park offers plenty of hiking trails, including rugged, beautiful stretches of the Bruce Trail. (The Bruce Trail stretches from Tobermory to Wiarton and contains more than 100 miles of main trail and 40 miles of side trail.) Not surprising, the Bruce Peninsula is a photographer���s paradise, with Canada���s largest collection of wild orchids and a smattering of one-of-a-kind wildflowers. You can also enjoy canoe and kayak tours, horseback riding and golfing at Cornerstone Golf Club.

If you want to meet up with close friends in Tobermory for a week���s cruising, Tobermory Municipal Airport is the perfect place to connect. Located just outside town, the airport has a 3,180-foot paved runway with automatic lights. Services include fuel, oil, tie-down and free parking. The airport is open from May through October and uses a Unicom Radio frequency of 122.8.

For the past 40 or so years, Tobermory has been a favorite destination of mine, be it by land or sea. It���s grown since I first visited, but it has remained the sort of friendly, sleepy little fishing village so many of us dream about. Take the time-be it for a weekend or a month, a boater won���t find a better destination.

For more information, contact the Tobermory Chamber of Commerce, (519) 596-2452; chamber@tobermory.org; www.tobermory.org.