I am connected to the internet here at Mackinaw City so I'm going to catch up. Here goes....
Saturday, June 18
Sunny and breezy today. After a nice layover at South Bay Cove Marina we departed at 9:45am. The scenery was beautiful and the navigation challenging. Mary and Cecil were helpful in locating up-coming buoys. We tried anchoring in Indian Bay, a very pretty little cove, but the area was too cramped and the bottom was not conducive to a good anchor set. We decided to push on. We landed at Henry's, famous for fish dinners, people come from all over, even flying in...we were not overly impressed with the food but the slip was good for an overnight.
Traveled 27.6 nautical miles today.
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| Henry's...Over priced fish and chips but the view was great |
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| Mary and Cecil (Warren also!) |
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| Captain (doesn't like to pose for photos) |
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| We posted this going up to the flybridge to prevent brain damage |
Sunday, June 19
Another sunny day as we departed Henry's at 10:26am. We only have to get to Parry Sound today so we took it easy this morning. Mary and Cecil are leaving us at Parry Sound and heading home by way of Buffalo, after a peek at Niagara Falls.
Made it to Parry Sound in 3 hours and docked at Big Sound Marina.
Monday, June 20
Said our good byes to Mary and Cecil this morning, after a great visit!
Big Sound Marina has the dubious distinction of having the worst showers ever. Not dirty but you have to keep pushing a button on the wall for more water. Also, permanently situated shower heads spray all over the place, especially on your towel and dry clothes.
We realized that Kerm was almost out of his RX so we went into town to get a refill...easy??? Nay, nay, I say. Canada doesn't refill American prescriptions and our American pharmacy would not send meds into Canada. Scramble, arrange and finagle...and finally we figured it out with help from brother Greg, FedEx and Parry Sound Chamber Of Commerce (for a legit delivery address). The process took a little while so we were delayed in port for three days.
Since we were held up, we used the time for sleep, re-provisioning, laundry and boat maintenance.
The weather was chilly and rainy for most of the time. We could have taken a look at the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame but it seemed to be closed every time we went by. We also planned the next stage of our trip. The North Channel is famous for some of the best fresh water cruising in the world with wilderness anchorages, crystal clear water and thousands of rock islands.
Thursday, June 23
We took off from Parry Sound's Big Sound Marina at 6:45am in overcast weather. Our destination is Killarney which is across Georgian Bay, a big stretch of open water.
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| Leaving Parry Sound behind |
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| Kilbear Point Light |
By 9am we were in fog and navigating by radar. We are swarmed with gross little flies that got every where, even in your mouth if you kept it open for too long. It was disgusting. A very long crossing with fog, bugs and a couple of missing buoys making for difficult conditions.
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| Killarney Channel looking eastward, whence we came |
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| Looking west |
By 6:28pm we were glad to be safely docked at Killarney Mountain Lodge Marina. 79.3 grueling nautical miles from Parry Sound.
Friday, June 24
Layover day due to fog and rainy weather. We walked into town, found a good spot for breakfast and then looked around. Bought more charts for safer navigation.
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| Killarney Church |
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| The Sportsman Inn, nice accommodations and a marina too |
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| Look at the name on the boat |
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| Rocky landscape |
Saturday, June 25
We departed Killarney Mountain Lodge Marina at 8:45am. Killarney Channel was fun to motor through, you get a good look at the town.
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| Pittfield General Store access by land or by water |
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| Our Warren was so excited to see this!! |
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| LCBO = Liquor Control Board of Ontario = a liquor store. No beer here...have to go 'The Beer Store' for that |
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| Sportsman Inn from the water |
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| Fishing Boat with minimal openings to protect against the weather |
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| Goodbye Killarney |
The trip to Covered Portage Cove was only 3 miles across Killarney Bay.
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| Entrance to Covered Portage Cove |
By 9:52am we were safely anchored in the cove...a short hop but well worth it. We dropped anchor in 7 feet of water and it held first try. There were a few other boats anchored in this delightful spot with white granite rocks and towering pines.
Kerm broke out the dinghy for some exploration. We clambered up the cliffs and got some great views.
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| The Belle looking good |
We had a great day and enjoyed the Cove. Slept well...I did at least. Kerm slept in the upper cabin so he could monitor the anchor alarm.
Sunday, June 26
Pulled up anchor at 8:27am and headed up the Lansdown Channel to Baie Fine (pronounced bay fin) which is a 10 mile long fjord that leads into a tight little spot called The Pool.
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| Along Lansdown Channel |
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| Entrance to Baie Fine |
Entered Baie Fine at 12:00
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| Shows how tight the channels can be |
Entered the channel to 'The Pool' at 1:39 which is very tricky due to shallow spots and rocks.
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| Little entrance to negotiate getting to 'The Pool' |
By 2:52 we were safely anchored and very glad to have made it all the way back to The Pool. Then, after about an hour, the two other boats in the area left...leaving us with The Pool all to ourselves for the night.
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| Multi-colored Rocks |
Monday, June 27
Beautiful calm morning!! Pulled up anchor and left The Pool at 6:38am.
Here are some videos I took upon on leaving ...
We left Baie Fine behind us and headed for Little Current, the biggest settlement on Manitoulin Island.
Big being a relative term in these remote areas.
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| Goodbye, Baie Fine |
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| Lighthouse on the tip of Strawberry Island |
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| Little Current Swing Bridge-opens on the hour only |
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| Coming into the Port of Little Current |
By the way, Canada Post was on strike while we were in Canada, but I guess the labor dispute has been resolved now. There was supposed to be internet at the municipal dock but it didn't work while we were there.
We docked at 10:18am and traveled 21 nautical miles. After tying up, we noticed that Makalani, with fellow loopers Vince and Mary Jo aboard, was also in port. The last time we had seen them was in Oswego, NY before crossing Lake Ontario. They are nice people hailing from Stuart, FL and it was fun to compare notes. They had traveled the Trent-Severn waterway also and were heading out into the anchorages of the North Channel just like us.
I went shopping for supplies and Kerm worked on the toilet, which has been giving us problems for the last few days. Boy, I lucked out on division of labor in this instance!! When I got back Kerm had no good news and was not the most happy camper on the wharf. Glad to say that the showers here in Little Current are top-notch.
Word on the weather is that there might be some storms heading our way in a couple of days so Makalani and Southern Belle plan to head to the Benjamin Islands tomorrow. The Benjamins are said to have beautiful pink granite and cute, little hideaway anchorages.
Tuesday, June 28
After a great breakfast at 'The Pantry' in town, we departed the Little Current City Dock at 9:38 under an overcast sky. By 10am we had light rain and white caps were beginning to form. Soon we had 2-3 ft chop. We decided to duck into an anchorage by Clapperton Island rather than pressing ahead to Croker Island in the Benjamins since the weather was turning bad on us. At 11:50 am we dropped anchor in Logan Bay, 13.3 nautical miles from Little Current.
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| Makalani at anchor in Logan Bay |
Wednesday, June 29
Cool temps this morning but no rain. Happy to leave Logan Bay after a crumby night. The Belle is going to search out a supposed great anchorage on Croker Island and report back to Makalani. Vince and Mary Jo are more interested in moving further along but I want to see about this anchorage on Croker Island.... So Kerm and I hoisted anchor at 7:49 am.
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| The coast of Clapperton Island |
It's a short run up to Croker Island. Although it's pretty, it's too early to stop and I also want to move along through Little Detroit Cut to the Whalesback Channel before we stop for the day.
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| The Benjamins from a distance |
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| The Sow |
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| Little Detroit |
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| Rocky shores close by |
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| Makalani |
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| Sunset on Beardrop Harbour |
At 1:40 we were safely anchored in Beardrop Harbour, a nice protected bay. We let out all of our chain (100feet) and the holding was good. Traveled 31.3 nautical miles today in sunny, crisp weather.
Kerm continued to fight with our toilet but it seems to be winning the battle, poor Kerm.
Thursday, June 30
Hoisted anchor at 6:03 and snuck out of Beardrop quietly to avoid waking Vince and Mary Jo...they go faster than us and they sleep later.
We are anxious to be back in the USA...been gone for almost a month and want to be back for the 4th of July. We are headed for Drummond Island for Customs Check-in.
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| Warren adding some comic relief to a boring moment aboard |
We made good time and arrived at Drummond Island at 1:28pm. The last bit getting in was a little hairy with confusing buoys and twisting channels. We cleared Customs by 2:26. Traveled 52.8 nautical miles today.
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| Father and son out for spin in Drummond Marina |
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| Sunrise on Drummond Island |
After a good night's sleep and a wonderful shower I did a load of laundry. When I came back Kerm said he had broken a non-replaceable part on the toilet. Bummer... but now we know we just need a new one. Bring on civilization so we can order one, get it delivered and install it.
We packed up our toys and left Drummond at 12:15. Headed through Detour Passage with a final destination of Mackinaw City in mind.
Holy, moly the weather on Lake Huron turned on us and before we even got to Detour Reef Lighthouse we had to abort our passage. We were getting knocked about by waves in the 6-8 range and it was ugly!!
We ducked into Detour Village Marina and were happy to overnight behind a breakwater on a good solid dock.
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| Belle after a harassing day...poor thing |
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| Lots of Michigan marinas are state owned. We found the facilities good and prices very fair |
Okay...let's try this again. Left Detour Village at 7:30am. Weather looking much better. Overcast but visibility more than 1 mile. By 7:58 we cleared the Lighthouse. What a difference a day can make!
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| Detour Reef - the day before waves were bashing up against this looking very dangerous |
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| Martin Reef Light |
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| Mackinac Island |
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| Mackinac Island Light |
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| Round Island Light, right across from Mackinac Light...you thread the needle |
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| Big Lake Freighter that crossed our path heading for the Mackinac Bridge |
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| One of many ferries going back and forth to Mackinac Island from the mainland |
Have a wonderful holiday where ever you may be.
Take care
Christie
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