We braved the winds before they got to maximum strength and
did a little dinghy ride around the area. Cloudy, cool and a little damp but
not too bad. Motored right past a couple
of loons, we never tire of seeing or better yet hearing their call. We spent the afternoon and evening visiting
and generally catching up on things. It
was so nice to have friends aboard again. Note the wind blown hair.
Saturday morning, we got moving early toward Fox Island, our
next anchorage. Upon arrival we found
quite a few boats in the anchorage (and a large sailboat just beat us to the
anchorage and got a great spot). So
that’s when teamwork came into play as there was room at a spot using a bow
anchor and a stern tie to shore configuration. I jumped into the dinghy with
the stern line, Julie captained Sum Escape and Nancy was operating the anchor
windlass control as Julie backed toward shore. Scott handled the stern line as
I tied it to a tree on shore. What
teamwork! I don’t like anchoring like
this when the wind will be on the beam as this puts an extreme amount of force
on the anchor versus swinging with the bow to the wind. But it was really the only good choice in
this pristine anchorage (thanks Alan and Margot for the recommendation!!). We recorded over 26 knot wind gusts but we
held well in the clay bottom and were out of the wind driven waves, so all was
well. Scott and Nancy on a dinghy ride before breakfast.
We had a nice breakfast and then we took a dinghy ride over
to the Benjamins and toured them a bit.
We left early on the dinghy trip to beat the forecasted strong winds
again!
We landed at the large anchorage there and climbed the huge granite hillside. What a view!
We landed at the large anchorage there and climbed the huge granite hillside. What a view!
A little more teamwork with Scott holding the pan to stop the wind from cooling the grill due to the strong winds on the beam.
In the evening we took a little hike around Fox Island. There was a large pond just over the boulders
and we saw three beavers munching on the seaweed there. We met one Canadian
couple who has been anchoring here for over 20 years and always spend 10+ days
here each summer. They said this is one
of their all time favorites and we see why with all the great scenery, dinghy
riding area and hiking all available. That is one of the beavers in the center of the picture. More teamwork...
Sunday morning, we had breakfast and then left to take Nancy
and Scott back to their car in Spanish.
We wish the weather had cooperated a little better as there was no
swimming but at least it did not rain during their stay. We had such a great time visiting, playing
euchre and exploring in the dinghy with you Nancy and Scott! Thanks so much for making the long drive up
from Grand Rapids. It was great catching
up with you and we look forward to seeing you again in West Michigan when we
return later this year.
Sunday night we went to the east side of Croker Island and
shared the anchorage with two other boats.
It was a quiet night with little wind.
Leaving the anchorage in the morning.
Monday, we went to Kagawong and did the town tour in a
couple hours. They allow you to tie up on
the outside of the marina for a few hours free of charge to visit the
town. We went to the Anglican Church
that is right at the harbor and is decorated with nautical themed items. Check out the pulpit, the bow of a boat!
And again, there were swimmers in the marina in spite of a
large sign stating no swimming due to electric shock hazard. We do not like seeing this but I guess there
is not much more one can do.
We also hiked up to Bridal Veil Falls. Lots of people were enjoying the pool below
the falls as well as standing under the falling waters. It was quite pretty in spite of the dry
weather and reduced water flow.
We also stopped at the chocolate shop and ice cream shoppe and bought a great pulled pork sandwich for lunch.
We then moved to Clapperton Island, Beatty Bay and were the only boat there. The winds died right down at sunset again and a beaver was seen swimming toward us, but it dove under the water before it got too close to us.
And a cruise ship passing in the morning.
Tuesday, we were headed to Darch Island but ended up going
to Innes Island. Julie spotted a nice-looking
cove with what appeared to be a beach.
It ended up being stones but was still a nice place to spend the day and
evening. We even floated on the blow up chairs
a bit. It was a nice relaxing day.
On Wednesday, we returned to South Benjamin and took a spot
in the south anchorage further in than the other four boats there. We took a dinghy ride around to the large
anchorage and climbed the granite hillside again. One never tires of the view from the summit!
Thursday, we returned to Spanish and got a little fuel (just
enough to safely get us to the US as fuel is almost $5 a gallon in Canada), a
pump out and some fresh water. We then
tied up at the courtesy dock and walked to the grocery store to re-provision
for a few more nights on the hook. We
departed with John Island as our anchorage.
We selected a small spot called Cara’s beach right behind Gowan Island
to get a little protection from the west winds (only 15 knots so not bad). It was a cute little sandy beach and a nice
spot especially as the wind went calm overnight.
We have been in Canada since June 1 and are truly enjoying
our time here. We do need to start
planning our return to the US though.
And we are looking forward to seeing all our children at a rented Higgins
Lake cottage in mid-August! They are all coming to help us celebrate our 40th
wedding anniversary, Sarah and Joe's 15th anniversary and all the August family birthdays. We are so pleased they could all arrange their
schedules to do this. We so look forward
to reminiscing about all the camping trips we did at Higgins Lake over their
childhood years and spending a few days together as a now extended family with
Sarah and Jordan’s spouses Joe and Eliza and Brett’s fiancé Natalie. And we are also renting a
cottage in Muskegon and hosting Tom’s Mom’s 95th birthday
celebration there. All Tom’s siblings
will be there to help celebrate Mom. We
are looking forward to these wonderful family time opportunities.
Friday, we moved on to an anchorage suggested by Alan and
Margot (Encore) at the Grand Banks Rendezvous. Wow, we entered Long Point Cove and were the
only boat there!
We had seen our friends
Mark and Judy (Serenity) on AIS and they were nearby in Beardrop Harbor. So, we gave them a call to see if they were
interested in joining us and they did.
We had seen our friends
Mark and Judy (Serenity) on AIS and they were nearby in Beardrop Harbor. So, we gave them a call to see if they were
interested in joining us and they did. 
We took a dinghy ride around the area and spotted no less than four beaver dens. We invited Mark and Judy (Serenity) and sailors Bob and Monique (Sea Skimmer) and Jim (Touch of Gray) for cocktails and conversation. All remarked what a great anchorage this is! Thanks Alan and Margot for the recommendation.
In the evening we
spotted three beavers swimming around the rocks behind the boat. Wow, they are large animals! Unfortunately, no pictures but Julie remarked
that they looked like bears coming out of the water they looked so large in the
binoculars! There were two adult sized
and one juvenile. Should we still swim
here Nancy D?
We spent three days and nights in Long Point Cove, the last
with a pretty good thunderstorm rolling through with lots of lightning.
But all was well in the anchorage and we are thankful for the safety of the anchorage from the winds associated with the storm. The "beaver door" door is still open in the photo above...it always gets closed at night! It was such a fitting “last anchorage” in the North Channel for us this year. Just beautiful. Pulling anchor and leaving.
But all was well in the anchorage and we are thankful for the safety of the anchorage from the winds associated with the storm. The "beaver door" door is still open in the photo above...it always gets closed at night! It was such a fitting “last anchorage” in the North Channel for us this year. Just beautiful. Pulling anchor and leaving.
On Monday ,after we pulled anchor we headed to the marina in
Meldrum Bay.
We had heard that the small hotel/restaurant there was a good place to eat.
We took a long walk, did some laundry, washed the boat and then did go to dinner in the evening. By the way dinner was good but not great. The General store from our walk.
Before dinner we had beverages with Jim and Lauren (Oar Knot) and Alan and Sherry (Sea Jamms). Alan and Sherry were boat neighbors in Ortega Landing in Jacksonville last November and they told us then they would be starting the Loop in March. We saw them briefly one morning in April in Chesapeake, VA but this is the first tie we were able to catch up a bit.
We had heard that the small hotel/restaurant there was a good place to eat.
We took a long walk, did some laundry, washed the boat and then did go to dinner in the evening. By the way dinner was good but not great. The General store from our walk.
Before dinner we had beverages with Jim and Lauren (Oar Knot) and Alan and Sherry (Sea Jamms). Alan and Sherry were boat neighbors in Ortega Landing in Jacksonville last November and they told us then they would be starting the Loop in March. We saw them briefly one morning in April in Chesapeake, VA but this is the first tie we were able to catch up a bit.
Tuesday we left bound for DeTour, Michigan. It was a bit choppier than forecasted (go
figure) but waves were mostly on the bow so not too bad (at least compared to
beam seas). As we neared DeTour I fired
up the new Customs and Border Patrol phone application to do an automated video
call check in to the US. It worked
excellent! Agent needed to talk to each
of us, so we passed the phone and it took about 5 minutes. Very nicely done US Government! So today ends our 68 days in Canada and we
thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them.
We took a nice walk around town. Here is the line up for the ferry to Drummond Island.
We took a nice walk around town. Here is the line up for the ferry to Drummond Island.
In the evening, docktails were arranged by all the Loopers
here. I think there were 10 boats
represented. Couldn’t meet them all in
the short gathering! We did get to see our friends
Ken and Karen (Island Girl) whom we have not seen since travelling with them
for a few days in North Carolina in April. It was great to see you again Ken and Karen! We’ll look you up in Sarasota in December and
help you celebrate finishing your Loop there!
Stay in touch!
Here is what every fresh water marina should have posted. This was on each electric pedestal in the DeTour Marina. Given this is a state marina and the ESD incident in Traverse City that Julie and I witnessed was a state run marina, this is not a surprising thing. Oh, and we are back in fresh water, note the spiders!
Wednesday morning the weather was cooperating to travel
across Lake Huron to Cheboygan where we will slip Sum Escape while we travel
via land to the family functions mentioned earlier in this post. DeTour Passage light house as we are leaving in the AM. 
Thank you so much Robert and Diane for all the hospitality and the slip arrangements in the marina. We hope to see you again soon and perhaps on the water next summer too!
Friday night we were able to drive our rental car to Mackinaw City where Dave and Lisa (Caribbean Breeze) had arrived. They are friends from Grand Haven and were celebrating their first week living aboard as they start South (via the East coast) for the season change. We hope we can hook up with them next year on the water. Safe and enjoyable travels to you both!
Rich, Paula and their daughter Maggie also visited later in the evening. It was great seeing everyone. We also got to say hello to Alan and Sherry (Sea Jamms) and Herb (Phantom), all fellow Loopers who we have run into from time to time. We last saw Herb in Georgetown SC in April. There were also other familiar Looper boats in the marina but folks were not on board. It is such a small cruising world.
More in September when we get back on the water.
Miles travelled: Month: 373/ Trip to Date: 12,639
Travel days: 23 / 291
Engine hours: 51 / 1442
Locks: 0 / 129
Bridges opened: 2 / 110
Days on hook or free wall:
23 / 142Bridges opened: 2 / 110
Gallons of diesel: 282 / 9888
Scenery and clear fresh water in Canada…priceless!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment