Location

North of the Bustards group, the small craft route offers a secondary passage through the islands of the French River delta. If your draft can manage it, this is a splendid inshore tour. Approaching from the east, you have to be able to handle the daunting slaloms of Parting Channel. If that’s beyond your means, come in off the main route to the French River main outlet, then bear east on the secondary channel. Your objective is the generous anchorage behind Obstacle Island. It’s on the secondary channel, and does attract cruisers, but there’s plenty of room to swing north of the channel and you have a wonderful base station for exploring the nearby eastern outlet (Bass Creek) and a myriad of other untrammeled attractions.