Back in Beardrop July 24, 2012

After two nights at Turnbull Island, we moved a short distance to one of our favorite spots, Beardrop Harbor. One of the things we decided to try was doing our own laundry, rather than going to the laundry mat in the next town. I filled a five gallon pail with water and detergent and started mashing the clothes. After I rinsed them in the lake, Laurie hung them on the boat's lifelines and they turned out pretty good.




After dinner, we were treated to another beautiful sunset.




The next day, our friends, Kay and Leo arrived aboard Whirlwind. They anchored next to us and we enjoyed some time getting caught up. We have traveled other years in the NC with them and it is great to be sharing time with them again.




We grilled steaks and pork chops on Glory Days and toasted adventures, past and future.

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Location:North Channel

Loons, engine trouble and fun

We see a lot of Loons in the North Channel and often hear them in the evening and early morning. They are a bit standoffish and and shy. Getting a picture of one is a challenge. When we were sitting in Oak Bay, this one popped up near the water and I rushed below to grab the camera and snap this picture. Not great, but the best one I have come up with.




Leo and I decided to take the dinghy across the bay and climbed a tall rock to try and get better phone reception so I could check my email and he could order a part for his solar panel that stopped working. After taking care of our calls, we just started back when the dinghy motor stalled out and would not start. I had taken a radio, so I called Laurie and she dispatched Kaye to the rescue. We felt a little sheepish being towed back into the anchorage by Kaye, but it was better than paddling. The motor still is not working, but we will be in Little Current soon and hopefully a trained mechanic will get it working for us.





Later that day, everyone in the anchorage got a personal invitation to come to the "cottage on the rock" for a cocktail party. 30-40 people showed up. We had a nice time talking to people and exchanging stories of cruising in the NC. The couple that host the party, Norm and Elaine, hold a party every other night. Norm said they used to do it every night, but his doctor advised him to cut back.




We left Oak Bay and enjoyed a nice sail along the coast to Louisa Island, where we will spent a couple of nights. This spot offers a great view of the LaCloche Mountains and also has a sand beach. When we got here, there was only one other boat, but as the day went on, more and more starting coming in. Now there are 12 of us. This is a popular spot because of the beach and the closeness to the town of Little Current.
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Location:Oak Bay, North Channel, July 28, 2012

Back in the NC

We are back in the North Channel. After a week of fun with family and friends at Fireside Inn, we said a tearful goodbye to everyone and headed back across the lake. It was a bumpy day on Lake Huron with 3-4 foot waves, with the occasional, 6 footer thrown in for good measure. The seas were from behind, which can cause the boat to roll back and forth, uncomfortably. After we got through the Mississaugi Straights, things settled down. We bypassed Meldrum Bay and headed right to an anchorage at Turnbull Island. After a ten hour trip, we had the anchor down and were enjoying the view.

We are sharing this spot with five other boats, but there is plenty of room and we don't feel crowded. It was in this anchorage that Laurie, Hayley and I made our first stop on our first North Channel trip, back in 1998. We have not been back here since then. It has been fun for Laurie and me to reminisce about that trip and all we have learned about the North Channel.

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Location:Turnbull Island, July 21, 2012

A pair of Tartans

Before leaving the North Channel to go to Fireside Inn, we spent several days hanging with some old friends from our racing days. Jamie and Wally have a Tartan 37, Mimi, just like ours. This is their third summer with the boat and their first trip to the NC. These pictures were taken July 12th, at Long Point Cove. While we were there, a Tartan 41 came in to the anchorage and invited us all over to their boat for cocktails and an informal "Tartan Rendezvous." The owners, Alan and Margo, are from Williamston, which is the same town that Jamie and Wally live in. They sailed to South America some years back, so they had lots of tips and good advice for Laurie and me.

Jamie and Wally are now in Gore Bay and we hope to meet up with them further east in the Channel.




Looking south



Looking southwest

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Location:Long Point Cove, July 12, 2012

Hanging in Presque Isle

We arrived in Presque Isle on July 13th. We crossed from the North Channel and the crossing was uneventful until we were about 15 miles out of PI and we were boarded by the US Border Patrol. They were very polite, but it was weird to have two armed agents come aboard in the middle of the lake and start asking a lot of questions. They went through our drawers and lockers, but did not find anything that got us in trouble. When they left our boat and jumped aboard their boat, they forgot to give us our passports back. Laurie realized this before they got too far away and we called them back over and they returned our passports.

Since then, we have enjoyed staying on the boat and going back and forth to Fireside Inn to be with family and friends. Tomorrow we will head back to the North Channel for another three weeks.

More later

D & L
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Location:Presque Isle Michigan

Power to spare

When you live onboard a sailboat, keeping your batteries charged is a constant concern.  Everything electric runs off the batteries.  Lights, refrigeration, water pressure, navigation instruments, cell phone batteries and the stereo all place demands on the system.  Big boats have generators and when the batteries get low, they start the generator and charge everything up.  We don’t have a generator.  What we do have is a new solar panel.  While we have been in the North Channel, we have had lots of sunny days and the panel has been able to keep up with all our energy demands.  This picture is the number of amp hours we are receiving from our panel.  So far, we have been able to sit at anchor and produce as much electricity as we need to keep things running. 

We spent the night of July 3^rd in at Bedford Harbor and watched a great moon rise over the island.  We were one of two boats anchored here.  We trolled all around the bay, but did not catch any fish. 

On July 4^th, we left Bedford and headed into Little Current for a pump-out and supplies.  Like Meldrum Bay, Little Current has undergone a big make over on the waterfront.  There are all new docks, new bathrooms and great walkway that takes you to the top of the hill, very near the grocery store.  It cuts the walk to the store in half.  While we were there we learned that a cruise ship was coming in on the 5^th.  Just before we were ready to leave, it came in and docked.  They brought buses in to take the passengers to see a pow-wow at the First Nation (Reservation.)  

From Little Current we had a great sail up the Wabano Channel to a small secluded anchorage, called Sturgeon Cove.  We were the only boat here our first night and as I write this, it appears we will have it to ourselves again tonight.  It is tricky getting in here, as the entrance is guarded by some nasty rocks.  We weaved our way through them, but had no trouble.  The bass fishing here has been pretty good.  They like to hang out under the boat and seem to love night crawlers.  Tomorrow night we are going to do a taste test and cook some bass and some pickerel (Canadian for Walleye) and see what we like better.  I will report the results later.

Today marks the end of our third week of living aboard.  It is all good, but we are looking forward to a week at Fireside Inn near Presque Isle, with family and friends.

D&L

Dan Caught a Fish

Each year when we have come to the North Channel, I have brought along fishing gear and I often fish while we are anchored out.  I have trolled, casted, fly fished, dunked worms and bobber fished.  I have caught a few fish, mostly perch in the three inch class.  One year my buddy Leo and I caught a bunch of bass, that we threw back.  This year, things were different and we finally ate fish.  We anchored in Beardrop Harbor for three nights and fished every day.  Laurie and I each caught a nice walleye which were delicious.  We kept ten nice perch and had a wonderful lunch.  I also caught a good sized northern pike. 

From Beardrop , we had a great downwind sail to South Benjamin Island.  On our way we passed Dewdney Rock.  This is an example of some of the challenges of sailing in the North Channel.  When I took this picture, we were about a mile off shore, in 75 feet of water.  Dewdney Rock is the tip of a seventy-six foot underwater “mountain” that just breaks the surface of the water.  It is well marked on the chart, but seeing it is still a bit unnerving.  

We spent two nights anchored in South Benjamin Harbor in 6 feet of water, next to the rock wall in the picture.  Unlike other years when we have been here, there were only a few other boats.  It is still early in the season and we are seeing far fewer cruisers.  

We left South Benjamin on July 2 and moved a short distance to a “secret harbor.”  Our friends, Craig and Cindy, from Windigo, told us about it, but we promised not to reveal the location.  It is secluded and well protected.  We have not seen another boat since we arrived.  Soon we will be heading into Little Current to get supplies (I am out of beer) and then start heading back west.  We are hoping to meet up with our friends, Wally and Jamie on Mimi, a Tartan 37, just like ours.