Canada at last!!!

After parking our car in a storage building where it will stay out of the weather for the next six weeks we headed out around 11AM for our first Canadian stop in Blind River, Ontario. We will stay there only one night and head out for some anchoring before reaching the hub of the North Channel at Little Current, ON some time around July 6th.

After a windy but peaceful and sunny day (finally) we arrived in Blind River about 4:30 and immediately headed for the cash machine and grocery store to stock up on some perishables before heading out for three days of anchoring. It was fun seeing some old acquaintenances in the marina and dining in the newly reopened marina cafe. The current owners offer a good menu of locally caught whitefish which we tried and loved. In addition, I had my first taste (this year) of poutine (french fries w/gravy and cheese curds) to go along with the fish. If you have not tried it you don't know what you are missing. They actually offer this in the Costco snack bar in Canada. 

Poutine

Grilled Whitefish

We will be off the net for a few days starting 6/30 so we'll catch you up when we arrive at the next wireless hotspot.

Oh summer, where art thou?

Since arriving at Drummond Island we've been holed up once again waiting on the weather to break so we can start our passage to Canada. It looks like Wednesday will work and we plan to head off to our usual first stop in Blind River, Ontario and to see our pals Roy and Darryl who run the marina there. It's a quaint little town where we will stock up on Canadian money and pick up a few groceries. After that we plan to anchor for a few nights before making our way to the hub of the North Channel at Little Current.


The weather up here in the north woods has been downright not very summer like. Today it's 53 degrees and very windy and rainy at times. We used the two days at the dock to complete some planned maintenance and repairs and to just relax. We encountered cool weather at the beginning of our trip in 2009 and did not see it warm up until mid July.

Finally, the cruising can begin

We arrived in Drummond Island on Sunday afternoon and settled in for a couple of days before we head off to Canada. This is a neat place and is a popular vacation retreat for the summer months. I'm sure the winters are fun but I'll just stick with summer. There are a few more things that need tweaking on the boat before we leave and will involve a trip or two to the local hardware store. The island has a grocery store, a hardware store, an ice cream stand, a couple of gift stores, and a few restaurants. It's still early an most are not in full operation. The island itself is reachable by boat, plane, or your vehicle via a ferry.

Had a great sunset tonight.

Drummond Island Sunset

Saying goodbye to Mackinac Island

A passing ore carrier



Mackinac Island Light

De Tour Light



Off to Drummond Island

We left Mackinaw City under sunny skies in separate modes of transportation around 10AM and plan to meet up in Drummond Island marina for a couple of nights and make this our last US fuel up before entering Canada in a couple of days. The route by Mackinac Island is always fun because of the non-stop ferry action. Here's a short video of one that passed me.

Admin day in Mackinaw City

Mackinac Bridge

Laundry and some boat improvement activities filled our day, a nice sunny one I might add, here in Mackinaw City. I installed a new pump that will be used to provide pressure water from the lake for cleaning mud off the anchor and rinse the boat when we are away from a dock. We also had a new food treat that is a fixture up here in the Upper Peninsula and that is a "pasty". No, that's not a "pasty like a stripper would wear but is basically a meal in a crust wrapper and was a way miners in the old days could carry a full meal with them to work. Here's more info on Michigan pasties if you are interested. In the end I think we would try them again and don't know why it's taken this long to discover them.

USCG Icebreaker Mackinaw

Racing with an island ferry

The only other noteworthy event besides the lack of rain, was a visit by the newest Great Lakes icebreaker, the Cutter Mackinaw, at a dock right by us.

Road Trip in the rain

Whitefish Point from the Lighthouse

Today we picked just about the crummiest weather day of the trip to see some sights in the Upper Peninsula near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Since we will probably be provisioning at that location for next year, we wanted to scout it out ahead of time. Lucky for us they have a super Wal-Mart which is really all one needs. Leaving SSM we headed northwest for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. This facility is absolutely first class and has many interesting artifacts from Great Lakes shipwreck history including the ship’s bell that was recovered from the Edmund Fitzgerald which went down on 11/5/1975 not far from Whitefish Point. This location marks the eastern entry into Lake Superior and is about as bleak as it gets.

Museum complex from Lighthouse

Whitefish Point Light

Bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald

Welcome to Paradise

Tahquameneon Falls (lower)

Back in Mackinaw City

Leaving Whitefish Point we backtracked through the big city of Paradise on our way to Tahquamenon Falls State Park where the larger of the falls is purported to be the second only to Niagara east of the Mississippi. While at the falls we enjoyed a nice downpour in 50 degree weather. We made it back to Mackinaw City around 7PM and after dinner we settled in to a comfortable evening with the heat on.

Tahquamenon Falls (upper)

Charlevoix to Mackinaw City

At the dock in Charlevoix

On yet another cool, damp and foggy morning we are off again as we head towards our summer cruising grounds in Ontario assuming summer actually shows up. Today we made the 50 mile trip to Mackinaw City in dense fog where we will be reunited with our car and plan take to care of some last minute provisioning and sightseeing on Friday when we drive to Sault Ste. Marie where they supposedly have some real stores. This is not the first time we have traveled in fog and with GPS navigation and radar it's really no big deal. The only thing wth our route today was that it took us along the main shipping lanes leading in and out of Lake Michigan. The only vessel we encountered was a tug and barge that was behind us most of the day. The pictures below show what we saw.

1/8 mile visibility in front

And to the stern

Mackinac Bridge in the soup

On Sunday we will split up for our trip to Drummond Island where Sheri will drive the car and I will take the boat.

Leland to Charlevoix

Leg 3 route

We arrived Sunday at the very nice Charlevoix City Marina at 3PM and settled in for a few days of admin tasks. On Monday we picked up our rental car and headed south to retrieve our car in Saugatuck. After depositing our car in the marina parking lot in Mackinaw City we headed back to the boat after 550 miles of uneventful driving. On Tuesday, the Caterpillar tech arrived at 8AM and began performing the planned engine maintenance we had previousley arranged. As a part of the maintenance we volunteered to transport some parts to the CAT shop in Kalkaska (about an hour away) where they could be cleaned. After a late breakfast at a local restaurant, we picked up the parts and headed back to Charlevoix. By the time we arrived, the CAT tech had just about finished the other tasks and was ready to reinstall the part we had in our possession. All work was completed about 3PM and we settled in to a very stormy afternoon and evening. We did, however, take in a movie at the local theater. On Wednesday we continued with admin tasks and prepared to leave on our next leg to Mackinaw City on Thursday.

Charlevoix Marina is probably one of the nicest in the area and is a very popular destination during the high season in July and August. They have great facilities, free Wi-Fi and cable, and a very helpful staff. Downtown is just a block away as well as most community events and concerts that take place during the summer. Below is a panorama view of the marina with Round Lake in the foreground and much larger Lake Charlevoix in the distance. Our boat is at the far right side of this picture.

Charlevoix Harbor

While I was with the mechanic working on the boat engine, Sheri took a walk to visit the famous Mushroom Houses of Charlevoix. These are unique to this area and a real interesting thing to see. Since I did not get a chance to see them on this trip, I'm attaching a few pictures I found on the web. You can also find more information at the following link  Mushroom Houses of Charlevoix .

Ludington to Leland

Leg 2 route

Historic Fishtown

Our second long day was just about as good as it gets with no flies, light winds and almost flat calm conditions. We left Ludington at 8AM and arrived in Leland at around 5:30PM. We will stay two nights in Leland and just relax a bit after two long days underway. We had some great meals in town and picked up some freshly caught whitefish for our Father's Day dinner when we arrive in Charlevoix on Sunday. Leland has an active commercial fishing community which is based in the part of the village called Fishtown. I'm attaching a few shots of that area as well as some seagull pics I took from our slip.

Historic Fishtown

Caspian Tern

Liftoff

Taking flight

Just a gull

Day 1 - Saugatuck to Ludington - We're underway again

Heading into Lake Michigan

Day one route

After a rainy first night on the boat we shoved off the dock in Saugatuck, Michigan at 8AM and headed north once again for the peaceful and scenic waters of Ontario’s North Channel and Georgian Bay. The day was long and mostly boring as the sky was a low overcast and ended entering  Ludington harbor in dense fog. This year we beat the ferry Badger in but not by much. After we were safely attached to the dock we had the pleasure of watching the Badger depart for Manitowac, WI with the the bagpipes playing as it headed into the fog for the four hour crossing. Here's the YouTube video. Badger Fog Departure

Badger in the fog

Our next stop will be Leland, MI and after that we will make our way to Charlevoix, MI where we will take care of some engine maintenance courtesy of our friends at Caterpillar. We will also be renting a car so we can move our car from Saugatuck to Mackinaw City, MI. The reason for the move is because we plan to terminate this year’s cruise at Drummond Island, MI and avoid the painful trek back down Lake Michigan to Saugatuck in August. Not having to transit Lake Michigan each year will save us big bucks considering the price of diesel these days. From Mackinaw City,  Al will take the boat to Drummond Island and Sheri will meet him there in the car. We plan to base our cruising from there for at least four years and then return to Saugatuck where we will more than likely close out our boating days.

We hope to hear from you while we are away.

Arrival in Saugatuck



Headed to the well

First look after a year

We arrived in Holland, Michigan on Saturday evening and after a restful night, we went down to Saugatuck on Sunday morning to begin getting the boat ready for launch on Tuesday. Our friends Kathleen and Dave Charlton came over from Chicago to spend a few days in the area and to help us with the launch. The boat went in as planned on Tuesday and we spent most of our last day on Wednesday provisioning and getting ready to leave the next morning.