Summer cruise summary statistics

As always I kept detailed statistics that captured the various runtime aspects of our cruise and are as follows:

• Launched 6/14 hauled out 8/11
• We were on the boat 58 nights with 32 in a marina and 26 at anchor
• Total miles traveled was 845.80 nautical miles (973.33 SM) with an average of 14.58 NM/day
• Our average speed was 7.44 nautical miles per hour
• Total time underway was 119.69 hours
• Total fuel consumed was 397 gallons and averaged $4.52 per gallon (lowest $3.95 highest $5.11)
• Our average mileage was 2.13 NM/gallon
• We ran the generator for 52.6 hours averaging 2.02 hours per anchorage (don't need to run it at the dock)

I hope you found these informative and we will see you next year.

There is always one each summer - Meet the motor vessel WTF

Each year we meet some interesting people and see some unique boats that are partaking the the Great Loop experience. The Great Loop is a cruise route that lets you circumnavigate the eastern US via the Great Lakes, Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, Ten-Tom (KY, TN, AL) river systems, the Gulf of Mexico, the west and east coast Intracoastal Waterway, Hudson River, Erie Canal, and finally back in the Great Lakes.

This year we saw a unique participant and don't know exactly what kind of boat this was but it's definitely a "one design". The bow design was really unique and rumor has it that it was a ferro-cement hull (aka concrete). In addition, it had started in Florida. Enjoy the pictures.

The cruise is over and we are actually glad





After a fabulous summer on the northern waters of the Great Lakes we are back at our new home base in Drummond Island, Michigan. As you may remember we elected to store our boat in the North Channel for the next few years to avoid making the long haul up and down Lake Michigan which we had done for the past four years. This was done primarily to save on expenses and wear and tear but more than anything to avoid the consistently problematic trip back down the Lake Michigan in August where windy conditions are almost always the rule. To validate that we are currently sitting at the dock in Drummond with 20-30 knot winds stirring up everything and would have kept us in a marina somewhere.

In any case our last week after leaving Little Current was very nice with six peaceful nights at anchor and only one night in a marina. If you look at the attached map you can follow the route we took. We resolved the water leak problem mentioned earlier but it will have to wait until next year to be fixed as a new part is needed. We once again hooked up with the cottagers in Hotham Harbor we met a month before and had nice but familiar anchorages after that. Based on the forecasted weather we decided to come back to Drummond a day early and are glad we did (see above). At out last anchorage we saw the Mergansers (ducks) that we had seen a month earlier and they were quite a bit larger and just about ready to fly. We also ran into a Loon pair that posed for some quick pictures. No fish (keepers) were caught but a lot of fishing took place.

All in all it was a great summer and we only have to wait 10 months to do it again. Haul out happened on 8/11 and we left the island on Friday. On our way back we have stops planned in Ohio, Washington DC, and Atlanta before getting home on 8/25.

The last week of cruising begins

After three days in Little Current we are ready to keep moving westward. We left the dock at 11AM and headed over to Croker Island in the Benjamins for three days of anchoring but had to divert to Gore Bay a day early on Thursday when we discovered that we had a leak in our freshwater system and were nearly running on empty. Our boat holds 130 gallons so a lot of water went somewhere in a hurry. We will do some systems testing while we are at a dock and see if we can pinpoint the issue. An update will follow.

It's fireworks time in Little Current

Little Current waterfront (The Wall)

Little Current street fair

Today was a big day for the Haweaters with bands, a street fair, and a few other events including a pretty decent fireworks show which was not bad for a little town of 1500 folks. We spent most of today doing chores (laundry, cleaning the boat, etc.) and will relax tomorrow as Haweater Weekend comes to an end. It's a civic holiday in Ontario (not because of the Haweaters specifically but just a general day off). Anyway, here's some of the fireworks!!!

Back in Little Current and it's Haweater Weekend!!!

With the excitement reaching a fever pitch we are really pumped that we are in Little Current for Haweater Weekend where we will partake in all the festivities that are available (when we find out exactly what they are). While we are here, we plan to relax (some more) a few days before heading out for the final 10 days our summer cruise. On a side note, we were happy that the “tap, tap, tap” from our first visit was gone as the new parking lot at the east end of the town has been completed and looks quite nice, eh! (I'm starting to sound Canadian).

We had a great final anchorage in Mary Anne Cove and once again made it up to the top of Fraser Hill for the second time this year. The view as always was spectacular (see below). We also tied to the same spot on shore but had no furry visitors this time. Because the outboard is still problematic (remember, we hit a big rock a week ago) we were confined to short hops in the zodiac so fishing was limited (i.e. no fish were caught).

While in Little Current we met up with a couple from Sudbury, ON who we met at an anchorage last year. Based on an email I discovered that they just happened to be down this way today and joined us for a fish dinner being put by a local church as part of Haweater weekend.

From here we will anchor a few more nights and then go to Gore Bay for a night before heading out for our last anchorages and then returning to our new home base at Drummond Island. Normally we would be on our way down Lake Michigan towards Saugatuck starting at the end of July.

Back in Killarney after some anchoring

Bad River to Covered Portage to Killarney

Our stay in the Bad River was fun although I hit a rock with my outboard and don’t know if I broke something or not but based on the way the engine sounds it may not be good. Anyway, we circumnavigated the area with rapids and even with a limping outboard we made it to the top of the series of lesser rapids and came down the Devils Door rapids which dump out into the bay we were anchored in. We left on Sunday and spent one night in Covered Portage where we joined some friends we met last year before heading back over to Killarney for a couple of nights. 

Dore's Run alternate route

The Obstacle Island passage

One our way up to the Bad River from Byng Inlet we took the small craft route but decided to try the alternate route through Dore’s Run and Obstacle Island. Well, in comparison to other passages, Obstacle Island takes the cake and is now the “Mother of tight passages” going forward. It was so tight that I had to use the bow thruster to turn around the rock that is the “obstacle” in Obstacle Island. All the other spots (Canoe Channel, Rogers Gut, etc.), are just tight straight shots but definitely pale by comparison to this baby. Even the cruising guides imply going to from either direction to Obstacle Island but not through the passage. When I saw it I felt the challenge and thank the Lord we did not hit anything. I will write that down as a only a maybe in the future. 

Yes, we went through this

Only 70 feet

Our stay in Killarney was been enjoyable as usual. It has been very windy and we are glad to have been tied to a dock the last few days. On Monday night we were able to watch the President speak to the nation on Fox News aboard a 70' Hatteras luxury yacht. Coincidentally, this boat was home ported in Hawthorn Woods, IL where the owners live and where we used to live and is berthed in Kenosha, WI where we used to moor our boat. The couple asked us aboard and were very fun to talk to. We find it amazing that they can handle a boat that large with just the two of them.

Killarney Light

Lily Pond

On Tuesday we took a nice hike out to the Killarney Lighthouse although like most Canadian lights in this area they are not that historic. One interesting spot we happened upon was a beautiful lily pond that I captured with HDR to bring out the detail.

Lily Pond

Extra pushing power

As with each stop we make, we come across interesting people doing interesting things. This time in Killarney we met a couple who were canoeing across Canada with a baby and a dog and another couple from Ohio who were touring the Great Lakes on jet skis. And of course the guy who passed by us in the channel in his sailing canoe.

We're officially heading back today

With just three weeks left we are now retracing our steps and heading north and west again. We decided to goo all the way back to Byng Inlet instead of anchoring due to the weather that was predicted. We will leave Byng on Thursday and head back in the Bad River for 3-4 nights on the hook and then on to Killarney for a last visit there.

On our way up we decided to try a section of the small craft route that we had bypassed before due to the difficulty factor and because our boat is the maximum size recommended to travel it. In any case, the passage is not that difficult unless you have an oncoming boat that does not make a "securite" call alerting others boats of their intentions. Once committed there is virtually no room to maneuver in the approach areas. In our case two boats violated that rule when we were there on Wednesday. Here's the video of our passage of Canoe Channel.

We will report back in a few days.

There's always something new on every cruise - PART THREE

Seaplane brochure

Getting ready to leave

As promised, Sheri and I had a first today and that was to go on a seaplane ride (see the exciting video) from our current port of call to an island in Georgian Bay for dinner. Sounds pretty exotic, huh? Not to put a damper on the excitement that must be building but we’ve been to the island (Frying Pan) before by boat and have eaten at the restaurant (Henry’s) before back in 2009 and the menu is basically fish and chips but they are really good fish and chips. The ride out was about 10 minutes and the ride back was 15 minutes and we had about an hour for dinner (included) and it only cost (classified). As an aside, it was surprising how small planes have gotten as I’ve grown older. On the way out I rode up front with the pilot and on the way back I was shoehorned into a triple seat with Sheri and real cute young lady and felt very confined but I guess all of us in the back were in the same predicament. This was basically a four seat aircraft that was modified to hold five people but not five Al sized passengers.

Our plane

With our pilot

In any case, it was fun seeing this beautiful place from the air and I hope that you enjoyed the video.

Parry Sound, Ontario

Downtown Parry Sound

The sign says it all

According to the welcome sign at the town entrance, Parry Sound is the "Jewel of the 30,000 Islands" region of Georgian Bay. We know that some of those islands are really just rocks but it's still a beautiful place. We went shopping today and actually had lunch at a McDonalds which may not be a big deal but to us (me) it was a nice encounter with civilization. This town has a Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire (like a little Wal-mart), and many other familiar commercial enterprises. The biggest treat was shopping at a supermarket that was like what we have at home. I can't emphasize enough how remote the places we frequent while on our travels up here are so to us this is a metropolis. This was also our second visit (last in 2009) to Parry Sound so we had a good idea what they had to offer.

I think they have a bear problem

Downtown theater

We are going on a new, non-boating, adventure tomorrow and will provide a full update on the blog tommorow evening so check back.

Continuing south in Georgian Bay to Parry Sound

Hopewell Bay moonrise

After a brief one night stay in Byng Inlet (Britt) we pressed southward along the small craft route about 30 miles for a two night anchorage in Hopewell Bay on Shawanaga Island. It was nothing special but an easy in and out and offered fairly good protection except from boat wakes out in the main channel. We were treated to a beautiful moonrise each night. I also tried fishing but again no luck. This was a new section of the small craft route that we bypassed it in 2009. It too was nothing special (in comparison to where we had been) and was much more heavily populated than points north. We left the anchorage on Sunday morning and headed another 30 miles to Parry Sound where we will stay for a couple of nights before heading north retracing the route we took on the way down. We plan to be back in Killarney by next weekend if the weather cooperates.

Hopewell Bay panorama

Pointe au Baril Light

Interesting mount for a nav marker

Typical small craft route scenery