Thursday morning we helped
Kismet and Cbay leave the docks then stopped at the local coffee shop before
going to sit in on the daily Cruiser’s Net. The net is broadcast every day in July and August and
provides weather, news and other information to all the cruisers in the North
Channel area. In addition to the
information provided they have boats call in with their location. Typically
between 120 to 170 boats will check in by geographic area each day. We had been listening and reporting in
to the Net for the past five or six days and it was nice being able to see the
operation first hand.
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| Our last Looper docktail party with the crews form Seabiscuit, Kismet, Cbay, Blue Heron, and Marc's Ark |
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| Roy Eaton brodcasting the Cruiser's Net. |
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| The admrial watching the scenery. |
We left Little Current around
noon and headed to what Mary thought was one of her favorite anchorages at Bell
/ Sturgeon Cove. We had been there
before and one cove is very easy to get into but not as protected as the
adjacent one. We chose to anchor
back in a corner of Bell, the easy one.
The winds picked up as the day progressed. We were ok where we were but a shift of the winds could be a
problem. We took the dinghy over
to the other cove which I remembered had a range set up to guide you through
the narrow inlet. The cove was
well protected from all winds but it was too rough to attempt entry. As it turned out this was not the
anchorage Mary was thinking of after all.
Shortly after going to bed
the winds shifted and being back in the corner of the cove we were now much
closer to shore. We turned on the
depth finder and kept an eye on the chart plotter to make sure the anchor was
holding. The winds died down around
midnight and allowed some sleep before picking up again around 3am. By 5am Friday morning we had had enough
and pulled up anchor and headed to our next spot at Croaker Island. There are two anchorages at Croaker the
more protected inner one was full so we anchored in the outer one. We took showers and had breakfast and
rested a bit. As boats left the
inner anchorage we moved over and ran a line to shore to keep the boat from
swinging. I found an iron stake in
the ground that I used to secure the stern line.
Friday afternoon we took the
dinghy to shore where we climbed the rocks and were treated to some fantastic
views. We tried but were unable to
reach the highest rock. Back at
the boat Mary took a nap while I took the dinghy to shore and gave it a good
cleaning. I then tried climbing to
the highest rock from a different location and was able to make it. I came down what I thought was going to
be an easier way but ended up at the water’s edge a 100 yards or so away from
the dinghy. I decided to walk
along the rocks back to the dinghy, holding the camera up incase I
slipped. Well slip I did and not
only did the camera go under I banged up my shin pretty good. The same one I banged up when I slipped
in the Dismal Swamp.
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| John determinded to get to the top |
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| View from Croker Island |
I was able to upload the
pictures from the SD card but the camera seems to be history. We had brought our old camera along
just in case but after going through many storage spots could not find it. Many other Loopers had arrived during
the day and were all anchored in the outer bay. There was a beach along the shore where we all got together
for drinks and snacks. We had a
very quiet night with no wind or swinging on the anchor.
Saturday morning we really
tore the boat apart looking for the spare camera. We emptied out all compartments under the bed in the side
stateroom where all of our assorted souvenirs and gifts were stored. No camera was found. With our Loop nearly over we needed to
get them out as well as our duffel bags, which were in another compartment
anyway. It is amazing how much we
had accumulated and had stored away.
After a second search of our
hanging lockers the camera was located.
Two new batteries and we were in business. We took the dinghy over to the South Benjamin Island and
took a hot hike up the pink granite rocks. We then went over to North Benjamin and went to look for a
swimming spot we used to go to.
With the low water levels the spot was not useable. By this time we were very hot. We took the dinghy around the corner of
the Island out of the wind, pulled it up on shore and jumped in. This tuned out to be an even better
spot to swim as there was a small pool of water between the rocks that was just
like a shallow hot tub. After lots
of swimming we headed back to South Benjamin and went through a winding channel
where we found a couple of sailboats tied to the rocks. We found a spot with at least 6 rings
installed in the rocks where if we had a couple of extra dock hands (Don &
Kelly get your passports) would be able to tie up Passport.
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| Loon |
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| The Benjermin Islands |
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| Notice ring placed in rock to tie a boat up to |
The winds had shifted and
picked up by the time we returned.
John decided to get out the spare anchor and put it out just in
case. We have never used this
anchor and it has at least 200’ of line that was all knotted up. It was quite a challenge to un-kink the
line, I think we had it stretched around the decks of the boat at least three
times. After what seemed like
hours I got back in the dinghy and dropped the anchor while Mary used the
windless to pull it in and set
it. With the wind shift I was
concerned about the stake holding our stern line. Mary convinced me it would be ok.
Sunday morning we awoke to
winds from a different direction and gray skies. The weather forecast was for 25 mph winds in the
afternoon and our original plan
was to move to a different island with a bit more protection. The wind increase seemed to have
occurred earlier than expected and decided to just stay put.
After listening to the
Cruiser’s Net and taking showers we were treated to bright blue skies. We decided to celebrate the beginning
of our last week of the Loop with a special breakfast of eggs Benedict and
Champagne. We moved the table to
the back deck and set up a couple of chairs. Mary even put on a dress for the occasion. Just as we were going to sit down Mary
says, “John we’ve moved”. Sure
enough our stern line was no longer attached to shore, the stake must have come
loose. I pulled in the line and we
had a very un-leisurely special breakfast. It took a while but we were able to get the line around a
tree this time and the boat back in position.
The winds continued to blow
all day and into the night. One
minute we had bright blue skies and the next many shades of dark gray. We did a
lot of reading today. We both
finished the books we were reading.
I got caught up with all of the magazines on board, one of which had an
article on Roy Eaton who runs the Cruiser’s Net in Little Current.
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| Crocker Island |
Monday it took nearly an hour
to pull up both anchors and coil up the stern line. We had a bit of wind and waves until we turned into the
McBean Channel. There is a tight
passage called Little Detroit in the McBean Channel where you have to announce
that you are going through it on the marine radio. In previous trips to the North Channel it was thought to be
a really BIG deal. Well, after all
we have been through it was no big deal at all. Today was full of bright blue skies with no clouds. A perfect day to pass through the
Whaleback Channel which is either the beginning or end of the North Channel
depending on your direction. We
anchored outside of our favorite anchor as we thought it was to shallow for
Passport. We took the dinghy in
and had some fond memories of great times there.
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| Narrow passage named Little Detroit |
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| Whalesback |
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| John Harbor |
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| Cleary Cove |
Tuesday we went to another familiar place, Meldrum Bay. The old rustic marina is being up dated, there is a new breakwater, harbor building and new docks. They will be tearing down the old warf building as well as the warf. It was in this old building that we first checked in with Canadian Customs on our first trip to the North Channel 22 years ago. At that time the customs office had a small office in the building. The new docks were nice and the town still has it’s rustic appeal, but it will not be the same without the old warf building.
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| Meldrum Bay |
Wednesday we had gray skies and
some wind when we left. The seas
were not to bad and we had a comfortable ride. By the time we crossed over into US waters the sun came out
and the water calmed down and was nearly flat. We decided to push on all the way to Hessel. With the smooth water we were tempted
to go home to Mackinaw City but it would have been another 3 hours and we
didn’t get into Hessel until 4pm.
Plus we wanted to stay for the Antique Boat show and see Pam and Bill
from Seabiscuit who will be exhibiting their 1964 Chris Craft Roamer in the
show.
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| Morning sky as we left Meldrum Bay |
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| Hessel Sunset |
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| It just kept getting better. |
Thursday we were greeted with
a higher wind forecast than we wanted. There was much debate as to our next move. Due to the boat show “all plastic
boats” need to be out of the harbor by 5pm Friday. Our original plan was to just anchor in Hessel Bay and
dinghy in for the show on Saturday.
With higher winds forecast the crew was not comfortable in anchoring
out.
After giving the boat a good
cleaning (hopefully removing most of the spiders) we borrowed the
Harbormaster’s car and drove to the next town a few miles away. While there we stopped at another
marina and decided that even with the lower water we could make it in
there. We reserved a slip for
Friday night. Pam and Bill arrived
while we were gone and we made plans to go out and grab a burger with them for
dinner. When we returned to the
harbor the wind had died down and the water was flat. Maybe anchoring will still be an option. If so it will mean we wont have either
a 4 mile bike ride or 7 mile dinghy ride (one way) to the show on
Saturday. It will also mean less
of a ride to Mackinac Island Saturday afternoon where we have
reservations.
Friday we really slept in and
when we awoke it was still relatively calm in the bay, plus the wind forecast
had been reduced. We will have to
just wait an see if the wind gods are nice to us this afternoon and let us
anchor here in the bay.
All for now, hope everyone
has a great weekend.
John and Mary
