We're back in Saugatuck!!

After 1226 NM (1410 statute miles for you landlubbers) we finally arrived back in our home base of Saugatuck. We had actually planned to return to Saugatuck today but not all the way from Ludington. In fact our two longest legs were our first and last days of the trip. After the gales of the past few days the lake was remarkably docile when we left at 7:10 under clear skies and light breezes. We also found out where the flies had been for the last two months and that was between Ludington and Saugatuck. It was actually warm and we even picked up a tailwind about halfway down which helped boost our speed. After a quick stop in Holland to top off our fuel tank we arrived at our slip next to the haul out well at about 6:30. Al serviced the engine just after we got settled and we only have to clean the boat in the morning before hauling out tomorrow afternoon. Our trip has been a blast and we hope to repeat it next summer. We also hoped you enjoyed reading about our travels.

It's always about the weather

UPDATE 08/03/09: We plan to head out in the morning as the weather is toning down enough to leave. It won't be the peaceful last day we had hoped for but we really want to get back. Here's what the lake looked like this morning (note: the object on the right side of the picture is a dredge not a boat).

UPDATE 08/02/09: It's Saturday morning and the wind is really howling and the current weather forecast may not let us out of here until Tuesday. If it is Tuesday and the conditions are acceptable we will head all the way back to Saugatuck versus a stop in Holland.

We arrived in Ludington today for a nice restful weekend before winding up our cruise early next week. We have TV, fast Wi-Fi, and a pool and hot tub at our disposal. Unfortunately the weather is not looking too favorable for our lengthy leg to Holland on Monday. It's three days away and as you know the weather in the Midwest can change rather quickly so I don't put much stock in forecast until the day before.

It's all downhill from here

We had a short but nice stay in Leland including a great meal at The Cove retaurant. The last time I was in Leland was 2002 and it was a marginal marina at best. They have just completed a total replacement of their docks and are nearing completion of new marina office and boater's facility. Unfortnately they have no bathroom or shower facilities but only charge $23 for the night because of that situation. We departed at 9:30 this morning expecting another bumpy day based on the forecast but were instead treated to a nice, easy ride down to Frankfort. It rained a bit but was at least fairly calm. We will head out tomorrow for Ludington where we will stay three nights and take care of some admin on the boat and a welcomed rest before the final push to Holland for a night and then end our journey back in Saugatuck on Tuesday. Attached are some shots and video I took in Leland.

Back in Lake Michigan

We left St. Ignace at 8AM this morning because we had a long leg ahead of us for our next stop in Leland, MI. It was a rough and uncomfortable day with non-stop waves and wind. Along the way we discovered many new leaks caused by waves breaking over the bow and soaking the fore deck. After 77 rocky miles we pulled into the newly remodeled harbor at Leland about 4:30 and had a drink with a couple on a Grand Banks who we had met before and who had taken the picture of our boat that is featured at the top of this blog. There's not much new to report but I will add some shots I took in Leland tomorrow.

Our next stop will either be Frankfort or a long weekend in Ludington. The unfavorable weather is not supposed to abate for several days.

Return to the Mac!!

We decided to head out of Drummond Island and head to St. Ignace and the Mackinaw area before returning to Lake Michigan. The weather also looks favorable on Lake Michigan for the next few days so we should be able to make it to a port mid way down the coast by the weekend.

Back in the USA (Drummond Island)

Due to challenging weather we elected to bypass scenic Bruce Mines and make our way directly to Drummond Island which is our rentry point to the US. They have real live CBP agents (versus a phone) so clearing customs is a snap provided your papers are in order. On our way here from Gore Bay we stopped for one last North Channel anchorage at Longpoint Cove. This was a new spot for us and it was really beautiful albeit a bit windy with a slight westerly exposure. After two sleepness nights due to the "band" at Gore Bay we spent another restless night on the hook with a light chop slapping the hull all night. We are shielded from the wind and safely tied to a dock tonight so we should be able to get a good night's sleep.

The anchorage at Longpoint Cove provided a great place to dingy and explore so I have attached a few pictures of the area. Our 54 mile trip back to Drummond started out pretty rough but settled down about half way and turned out to be quite pleasant the last few hours. We will probably move on out in the morning for St. Ignace and get ready for the run back down Lake Michigan starting this weekend.

Gore Bay to Bruce Mines (maybe) to Drummond

We will depart Gore Bay a day later due to crummy weather once again. We had a windy and rainy night and only after a rock band on shore at a festival quit playing at 1AM. Our itinerary might change on this leg based on time and weather.

During our second day in Gore Bay we relaxed and watched the wind blow. It's calm now but the band is still playing and will do so until 1AM again. For dinner we dined at the annual Rotary Club fish fry held at the local hockey rink. The food was great and the company at our table was enjoyable. For desert they had ice cream served just in front of the parked Zamboni. Attached are some pictures of the event as well as a panorama of Gore Bay. At the end is a short video showing the captain driving his other boat and the sounds of CCR at the Gore Bay Summer Fest.

Little Current to Gore Bay

We left Little Current on Tuesday for the last time on a beautiful, sunny morning with light winds and headed a short distance to the Benjamin Island group for some more time on the hook. We stern tied at Croker Island and settled back for some relaxing days in this beautiful anchorage. We took the time to go ashore and explore the rocky hills that surround the bay and to take a dip in the crystal clear water. It was nice until day three when it started raining. We entertained ourselves watching some movies we had onboard. Below you will find some shots we took on our dingy excursions. Note the unique rock formation we call "the finger". You will also see a picture of a snake that was just about to go for a swim. It was about 3.5 feet long and is a common sight in these parts. There is also a short video showing a potential anchorage in the future.

We are now in Gore Bay at the town marina for a night and will head out tomorrow for another night at anchor before making a long passage west to the last stop in Canada at the town of Bruce Mines. We’ve never been there before but were told it has some nice places to eat. After that we will head back into US waters with a stop at Drummond Island, Michigan.

Byng Inlet to Little Current

After four wonderful nights at anchor we were ready for some dock time and found our way on Sunday back to the bustling metropolis of Little Current, ON. The town got its name due to the fact that there is generally a “little” current flowing through the channel that passes by the town. Since this is the only water passage in and out of the North Channel on the eastern side, the current will either flow east or west depending on the winds. I am attaching a video to show the current passing by the boat at our dock. There is also an indicator buoy in the channel that shows the current direction.


We left Byng Inlet on Wednesday and headed outside in mostly favorable conditions and cruised all the way up to Beaverstone Bay where we once again followed the small craft passage to Collins Inlet and Mill Lake. We dropped the hook exactly where we did two years ago and enjoyed a restful night. We departed early the next morning and headed out the eastern side of Collins Inlet where we encountered a flotilla of 30+ power boats headed in the opposite direction for a destination somewhere along the small craft passage. Keep in mind that Collins Inlet is only 50-75 feet wide in some spots so it can get congested with that many boats. On our way we made a quick stop in Killarney and then pressed onward to our next anchorage at Covered Portage. This is an interesting bay in that it is almost surrounded by high granite bluffs that are accessible by a path on shore. We headed out for the walk after we arrived and had some wonderful views of our boat and the bay from above. We were joined by another couple we had met along the way and who we anchored with a few times. See the video below for a view of the hike.

Leaving Covered Portage on Friday we headed for the very popular destination of Baie Fine which is an 8 mile fiord like body of water flanked by granite speckled mountains on either side. We anchored in another familiar spot in Marianne Cove and tied our stern to shore as is the custom in this bay since there is little room to swing freely on the hook. This location also has a great hike on shore up to the top of Fraser Hill which is about 500 feet above the bay. After a fairly tough, rocky climb up we were treated with a spectacular view of the surrounding area and Baie Fine. I am attaching one of the panorama shots I took of the view. We decided to stay another night and enjoyed the peace and quiet that an anchorage brings.

After Little current we will continue to head west and will be at anchor the next three days in the Benjamin Island group before heading into Gore Bay for some admin (food, laundry, etc.). Attached you will find our planned route and some shots of the anchorages and passages we were just in.

Parry Sound to Byng Inlet

We finally left Parry Sound after four long, cold, and windy nights at the Big Sound Marina. The town certainly offered a lot of amenities but the marina was not a jewel. It's a city run marina and they really need some adults as part of the staff. Our trip up to Byng was about 55 miles and mostly inside protected from the open bay. At Point Au Baril we headed out into the bay and although it was a bit rough it was only 15 miles before we were back in still waters. The alternative route was sort of inside but very rocky, tight, and wind blown and we were advised not to try it in our boat without perfect conditions. Byng Inlet is one of those long, straight cracks in the earth so typical in this area that has become a natural protected canal like harbor well of the open waters. Tonight we had dinner at the famous Britt Inn in the town of Britt, ON. We have many notes from fellow travelers about who to see at the Inn and that we should tell them they said hello. At this restaurant the owner actually drove his Mercedes and picked us up at the marina. The food was great and the service was impeccable. Below you will find a picture of Sheri with Jim and his Mercedes.

As we departed Parry Sound I decided to go through the Hole In the Wall which is shown in the following video (when I can get it to upload to this post). I am also attaching some pictures of our trip up.

It's Monday and we are still not moving

Today marks our fourth day in Parry Sound. The good news is that the fifth day is free. The weather forecast indicates that the winds will be lessening tomorrow through late Wednesday but my faith in a prediction for more than a day is limited. The wind came up last night and blew continuously and is still blowing at least 20 knots on Monday AM. I guess a visit to the Bobby Orr hall of fame is a sure thing today. This video below shows what we've been staring at for three days.

We're 1/3 of the way up and we haven't hit anything yet!!

We departed Honey Harbor bright and early on Wednesday and continued north up the small craft passage up the eastern shore of Georgian Bay. After an overnight at Henry's (famous fish restaurant accessible only by boat or plane) on Frying Pan Island (Sans Souci area), we anchored in Ruddy Bay about six miles from Henry’s in the Moon River area of Ontario’s Massasauga Provincial Park. It is a beautiful area with only a few cabins and many hiking trails. We had a quiet anchorage and although some strong winds were predicted, they never showed up. There were many other beautiful anchorages in this area which we explored in our dingy and we were sorry we could not have stayed at more. The plaque in the photo below which is on a cross on next to Henry's honors Samuel de Champlain who was the first European to pass through this area almost 400 years ago. Over the weekend we will be staying at the port of Parry Sound which is a major metropolis compared to other places we have been. They even have a McDonald's, Home Depot, WalMart, Subway and a Little Caesar's pizza but it's still just another small town in Canada. Storms and high winds came through on Friday night so we were glad we were at a dock. For you hockey fans this was the hometown of Bobby Orr where they have a museum in his honor just up from the marina.

The passage along the small craft route, except for a few legs where you must go “outside” on the open waters of Georgian Bay, is very well protected and well marked for navigation. Most all of the passage is natural except for a few spots that had to be blasted to a depth of six feet to make them navigable by most boats. Those areas were evident when the name contained the word “narrows” or “cut” and barely had room for two larger boats to pass. It’s a common practice to send a “Security” (pronounced SAY-CURE-IT-TAY) notice on the radio warning boats approaching the other entrance when you are coming through and how big you are. The small craft passage was mapped out in the 1950’s by a boating enthusiast who wanted a safe route along the treacherous east side of Georgian Bay.

Our trip up to this point has been interesting in that it was nothing like we imagined this passage would look like. Unlike most of the Great Lakes routes we've experienced this place looks like any medium to large lake just about anywhere in the east. It's a myriad of fingers, bays, and coves and you rarely get a glimpse of the open water of Georgian Bay. I understand that will change a bit as we get farther north but it's still fairly protected nonetheless. Sheri has done a great job reading our charts and letting me know what color (red or green) and where the next bouy or shore marker is located. The bouys we pass are rarely more than a 1/4 mile apart so it's a busy job just keeping up. We are also glad to have the very detailed strip charts for this area so that we follow the route exactly. Going the direction we are traveling the "red right returning" rule is in effect for which side to pass the bouys on which makes following the route much less confusing. As you can see from the one picture on this post there are many a damaged prop in thia area. The two videos below show just how tight things are.

Rocks to our left, right, and everywhere

We have finally arrived at the beginning of the small craft route up the east side of Georgian Bay and is the part of our voyage we've really been looking forward to. It will be an exercise in precise navigation with no room for error and should be successful if we follow our charts and guides without exception. I will post more information as the trip progresses. The weather still is unseasonalbly cold (not cool) with unfavorable west winds (the norm). It's Al's first day wearing long pants on the trip and we have the heat on in the boat.

Since our last post we anchored twice but only stayed overnight at the last spot. Our intended anchorage on Beckwith Island just wasn't very nice and was not as well protected as we would have liked with the predicted winds. Our trip up from Thornbury was very lumpy and we even had to tack like a sailboat to avoid the dreaded beam seas in order to have a tolerable ride. After an hour of bouncing around at anchor we hauled it in and moved on to Penetang Bay which is only two miles from Midland, ON (largest city in the area) and closer to our next destination in Honey Harbor. As we rounded Asylum Point (yes, named for the asylum on the hill overlooking the point) we entered Penetang Bay. The bay is long and narrow, well protected, and has many marinas and one cool anchorage next to an old 18th century naval base that has been restored. There are even a pair of replica schooners tied up to the dock and only about 200 feet from where we anchored (see photos). After a cool and rainy night we headed out about 10AM.

Tonight we are staying at the South Bay Cove marina in a very popular spot named Honey Harbor. There are many marinas in the area but none as nice as this one. It has Internet, TV, a very friendly staff, and a nice restuarant which we will try out tonight. This area is littered with cabins and is where metropolitan Ontario and many Americans hang out recreationally. Tomorrow we plan tp head to the Frying Pan/Sans Souci Island marina in order to move up the coast a bit in preparation for some upcoming weather. The weather, unfortunately, is not predicted to be very favorable for the next few days so distance may be our plan versus destinations. Our plan is to be finished with this section of the trip and back in Little Current by 7/22 at the latest.

Happy 5th, 6th, and 7th of July

It will probably be July 7th before we are back in contact as Internet access is sparse in these parts. We decided to forgo Lion's Head and proceed directly our original destination at the bottom of Georgian Bay which turned out to be Thornbury. It's a very cute town and is apparently a big winter destination with a number of ski areas nearby. We had a fabulous meal out and will head out tomorrow morning for an anchorage at one of the islands just east of here. Just for reference, it's our southernmost destination on this side and is only a two hour drive from here to Toronto which should give you a good idea of just how far we've traveled. We also passed the 500 mile mark on the trip log today. After that we should be in Honey Harbor on July 7th if all goes as planned. Today was a long but easy day with near flat water conditions.

Below you will find some shots of Cabot Head and lighthouse as well as downtown Thornbury. The other shots were from our anchorage on 7/4.

See you then.