Part 5: On To Lake Michigan
July 28, 2011
We have been winding our way through the 30,000 Islands (and 100,000 submerged rocks) area of Georgian Bay and I thought you might like a brief description. This area is unlike anywhere else we have been with the boat. Georgian Bay itself is a large body of water on the east side of Lake Huron. The east side of the bay is a maze of rocks and islands extending miles inland in some places. Near the lake the rocks are barren; a little farther inland, trees begin to appear on the islands. The islands become very close together with channels separating them. The effect is very beautiful with granite rock plunging into the water topped with pines and other trees and flowers and grasses in the low places or growing in rock crevasses. A typical small bay that we would anchor in has granite walls and trees on the sides and a grassy marsh area at the rear of the bay. The loons, Canada Geese and cormorants frequent these bays along with beaver, weasels, frogs, snakes etc. There is nothing like the plaintive call of the loon in the early morning.
Today we came inland on Byng Inlet and are several miles from the lake. We left behind the islands and pine trees. There is still some rock but the land is flatter and more soil-covered. It feels like a completely different place. I expect there were lots of trees at one time, but the area was heavily lumbered in the past. The inlet itself is amazing -- it runs practically straight inland for about 10 miles, becoming a river and then a small stream (which runs off the chart). It is mostly deep and was used as a shipping channel until recently. Coal and oil were brought in by ship and off-loaded here. That is all gone, along with the lumbering business and tourism is the main business.
We decided to stay at a marina after we tried to anchor and found the anchorage was full of old logs. As much as 40 percent of the trees that were floated down the waterways never made it to the mills -- they sank and are still on the bottom or sticking up at and angle (known as a deadhead -- something you don't want to hit with your boat).
The main small boat channels and some alternate routes are well buoyed and easy to follow (with some twists and turns, some tight places and shallow spots and submerged rocks lurking on the edges of the channel). Some bays have soundings marked on the chart only up the center. If you stray from the center, you need a bow watch to spot underwater rocks and must proceed slowly and with caution. Going aground here means major damage to the boat. Some channels are wide enough for only one boat and it is customary to announce on the VHF radio that you are entering the channel. The buoys themselves are only 3 feet high and skinny so harder to spot than we are used to. All in all, it keeps one on ones toes!
We are only 50 miles from Killarney, which is the start of the North Channel, but we are making it last a week so our generator part (which didn't get to Orillia or Parry Sound in time) will hopefully catch up with us. (I told the customer service rep at the courier company that one could walk 20 miles a day and get the package to us quicker than the courier company seems to be able to drive it! Not so nice but we've been trying to get this part since July 10 and my patience is wearing thin.
We have enjoyed more normal temps this week -- highs in the high 70's or low 80's and 60's at night -- perfect!
Aug. 13, 2011
It's been more than two weeks since I sent any news because we haven't had an internet connection in the wilds of northern Georgian Bay and the North Channel.
We made a number of forays inland - Sandy Bay, Henvey Inlet (where we anchored in "the flower pot" and took the dinghy several miles to the end of the inlet and then got wet coming back because the wind was up along with the waves), Obstacle Island (picked blueberries), Bad River (another dinghy adventure). We set out with limited fuel and made a circuit of some islands, not realizing that we were going the wrong way and would have to come up a rapid. In the middle of the rapid, the shear pin broke on the outboard but we managed to row to shore and replace the shear pin. Then the quandary was to try the rapid again as we were almost to the Devil's Door and back to the boat or turn around and go back the way we had come, probably running out of fuel. We chose to run up the rapid and then found there was a rapid going down through the Devil's Door (a narrow place). It all worked out and we got back to the boat in one piece with a little fuel to spare.
From BadRiver we had a run across some open water (which we did early in the morning before the wind was up) to BeaverstoneBay. At MillLake we picked a few more blueberries, then enjoyed the passage through beautiful Collins Inlet, anchoring at KeyholeIsland. On August 4th we got to Killarney and found our long-awaited generator exhaust part had arrived! We installed that and have enjoyed a quieter generator since. When I opened up the old exhaust cylinder and saw the damage, I was thankful that we didn't damage the generator itself; there had been enough heat to melt closed the water tube, causing an explosion which blew apart the insides of the cylinder.
We also had the almost required fish and chips from the bus at the Herbert Fisheries as well as ice cream. After Killarney, we were in the North Channel, with the white quartz La Cloche Mountains (looked like patches of snow in the trees). A special side trip was down Baie Fine, a ten-mile fjord, where we anchored in "The Pool" at the end. We had taken to swimming most days, but Mel came out of the water fast when fish started biting him! There were lots of small fish (up to six inches long) that attacked anything that moved -- even a piece of white string!
We next stopped at Little Current on ManatoulinIsland for fuel, groceries and new shear pins.
We were on our way to the BenjaminIslands when we discovered that much of the North Channel we had to travel had no detail on the chart card we use in the chartplotter. This left us with paper charts, which is do-able but not much fun, especially with all those submerged rocks!
We did manage to get into the anchorage at SouthBenjaminIsland and there found 8 other "looper" boats. We all got together "on the rocks" for a social hour and we made arrangements to follow two other boats through Whalesback Channel. We had an extra day at Beardrop Harbour where we waited out a blow (Jean picked more blueberries and a quart of huckleberries). Our buddy boats both dragged anchor and had an anxious time of it but our trusty anchor held well.
We left early to beat the wind to BlindRiver which has a very nice marina facility (we all expected something more rustic). We rode our bikes to the logging museum and visited the grocery store to spend the last of our Canadian cash.
Yesterday we crossed back into the U.S. at DrummondIsland and today crossed the northern part of Lake Huron to Cheboygan to get together with two other couples who own Camanos (one doing the loop as we are).
That brings you up to date. It is obvious that summer is on the wane up here. Today we have a day-long drizzle and the temps have been dipping into the low 60's and even 50's at night and the 70's during the day. Time to head south! But first we will stop at Mackinac Island.
Aug. 19, 2011
After three days in Cheboygan, we went 15 miles to Mackinac Island, a destination that we'd been told not to miss. This is a popular destination but most folks come by ferry from MackinawCity or St. Ignace. We were able to get a slip in the marina without a reservation since it wasn't a weekend. The many ferries come and go all day, some creating a surge that moves all the boats against the docks. The cruising guide advises one not to complain about the ferries because no one on shore cares -- ferries are the bread and butter of the island, bringing thousands of tourists to this tourist-dependent town.
There are no cars on Mackinac Island. Soon after the first horseless carriage arrived in the late 1800's, the carriage companies petitioned the city fathers to protect their business by banning motorized vehicles and the ban has stuck. There is a modern ambulance, some fire trucks and power trucks but transportation for everything else is by horse or bicycle (I guess a golf cart is OK but we didn't see any).
Downtown the streets are lined with parked bicycles and there are large bike lots in key places. Horse carts and carriages abound and the odor of horse permeates the downtown. All that said, there is a certain charm to seeing a cart loaded with hay drawn by a team of work horses or a wedding party in fancy carriages.
We took the narrated carriage tour which gave us a good overview of the island: the Grand Hotel (largest summer hotel is the world), the Governor's Mansion (which we toured Wednesday morning), the carriage barns where most of the horses are kept, Arch rock, the old cemetery, Fort Mackinac (which was moved from Mackinaw City in the 1800's and which Jean toured Wednesday afternoon -- very nicely done exhibits), the state park (most of the island is State Park) as well as buildings of interest in town. In general, it's an expensive place, but the marina was quite reasonable and we refrained from shopping. Sounds to remember are the clip-clop of passing horses, taps played at night and the fog horn in the early morning as fog settled around the island.
Yesterday we went under the MackinacBridge, through the Straits of Mackinac, west to Gray's reef and then south down Lake Michigan to Charlevoix. The wind picked up during the days, so we rolled as the waves came across the lake from Chicago. We were glad to pull into the sheltered harbor and new marina at Charlevoix. A group of "loopers" was leaving to visit the boat house owned by the Winns of Four Winns boats. We got settled and joined them for the tour of the collection of classic boats of all kinds, in the water and hung from the ceiling of the biggest boathouse I've ever seen. The Winns had just finished the loop and one of the couples had met them along the way -- hence the invite to visit. All the loopers got together afterwards for happy hour.
Today we had some routine maintenance done on our engine, did two loads of laundry, shopped for food, rode our bike to see the "mushroom houses" (look like stone hobbit houses) designed and built by Earl Young, beginning in the late 1920's. Tonight we'll join some friends for a restaurant meal. So it's been a busy day. That brings you up-to-date. Tomorrow we'll continue south on the lake.