September 13, Wednesday from Mackinac Island to Leland, MI

I wished we could have spent more than a half day on Mackinac Island, and I took a few photos as we were leaving…

Since we are traveling on Lake Michigan with ever changing weather patterns, we are taking advantage of each good day and going a little further than we normally would if it was the month of August. We really want to be close to Chicago by the 25th so can fly to Florida to celebrate our grandson’s second birthday.  We leave 12 days from now, but the forecast isn’t great. It seems there will be many days when we can’t travel due to uncomfortable winds and waves.

Much of today was out in open water and I sat in the sun looking out at the water. We were amazed how deep the lake is here. In the chart, below the land on the left, the depth reads 489 feet!

As we traveled south on the east side of Lake Michigan we moved into areas of huge sand dunes that are very high cliffs along the water. Where there aren’t sand dune hills the shoreline has sandy beaches – who knew? There are inlets and marinas all along this beautiful coast and it looks pretty wild from a distance. (Note: We chose the east side of Lake Michigan due the wind forecast for the next week or so. Other years the west side would have been necessary but we are so glad it worked out this way for us.)

We arrived in the lovely town of Leland a little after 6:30pm and docked in their fabulous marina with great facilities that look very new.  They even have a large boaters lounge that I took advantage of while waiting for laundry to wash and dry. We walked around town, bought a few groceries, and headed back to the boat for a Thai dinner I whipped up thanks to a handy box of ingredients. It was a short but sweet visit to Leland. Dirk was especially impressed with the accommodations in the marina.

September 12, Tuesday Tolsmaville anchorage to Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw)

Our main goal today was to report into US Customs after we crossed the US border and to get as far across the top of Lake Huron toward Lake Michigan as time allowed. Well, we got lucky. First, as we neared Drummond Island to report in person as is required when returning to the US, we learned the the Customs office was closed except for weekends so  we could check in at Mackinac island (pronounced Mackinaw). After a beautiful few hours cruising we ran into foggy seas near Drummond Island, making for some tricky navigation around islands in the bay.  The sky cleared, we saw interesting clouds, and then  the sun came out and Lake Huron was easy cruising. Very nice! As a result we moved right along and arrived in Mackinac by 4:30 – much better than hoped for.

After getting the boat docked we found the remote US Customs phone on an outside wall of the dockmaster shed (pretty understated), called and got checked in even though the remote camera wasn’t working. Once that was out of the way we had time to walk through town, be amazed by horse and buggy transportation, lots of bikes, and no cars – none!

We walked up to the famous very Grand Hotel, sauntered a bit on the longest veranda of any hotel in the world (they say) and even walked inside a looked around a little (without paying the requested $10/person).

We walked back to town past the sign we had missed on the way in. They are serious about that! Later we had dinner in town, a warm shower at the marinas facilities and relaxed at the boat. A great day!

September 11, Monday  – Little Current to a bay in the North Channel

I took an early walk and caught some shots of a large ferry and Wandering Star on the docks in Little Current. After our likely last grocery shopping in Canada we got underway with another long day of cruising over the open waters ahead of us.

The wind had picked up a bit and we had one to two foot swells most of the day, which which we can handle.

Later, when we crossed a channel that came up from Lake Huron we were hit broadside with larger swells and we bounced around a bit. One of the reasons for the swells is that our boat was moving back to our original destination after a diversion due being called on for a rescue mission!

The Coast Guard put out a call for anyone on the North Channel (us and not many others in September) to look for a metal rowboat drifting toward Blind River and needed help. Dirk responded, since the river was 12 miles away from us, which is hour and a half at our speed. The Coast Guard asked to change direction and head there in case the Coast Guard  boat was delayed, even though we were pretty far away. The CG gave us the latitude and longitude, but after we did some research the numbers didn’t make sense based on where we were. When we asked for them again the latitude and longitude destination was 3 hours away! Never-the-less he asked that we continue the course and we did. About 10 minutes later we got the “nevermind” call – their rescue boat had found the troubled boat. In all it was about 45 minutes of going in the wrong direction, but in case of emergency we’d hope someone would do that for us.

We arrived at our anchorage a little after 6pm – a old lumber town with docks and a breakwater, but no information about whether or not we could use the docks, so we chose to drop anchor.  It was a lovely, calm way to end the day.

The first photo was around sunset. The next around sunrise.

September 10, Sunday from Wrights Marina in Britt to Little Current, ON

We started around 8:30 with a grand goal to make it all the way to Little Current, a town all travelers must  pass through to continue into the North Channel of Lake Huron. It was a stretch goal, but it would mean we can do our last Canadian provisioning before heading to the US. Dirk needs his Canadian Maple Leaf cookies and an O’Henry bar!

Fortunately the weather and wind was with us. The Georgian Bay was smooth and we were outside of Little Current in less than 8 hours. Unfortunately we had to wait for a swinging bridge to open on the hour but got to the town marina a little after 5pm and took care of the tie up by ourselves – we are getting pretty good at lassoing cleats! The marinas are pretty deserted now and the remaining dock hands have short hours.

We walked through the quiet but cute town – everything was closed – and I found where I can buy groceries in the morning. The restaurant recommended by other boaters was a little pricey, so back to the boat for a veggie chili dinner with burger on the side for Dirk.

At this point I want to mention that there are beautiful cruising channels in the Georgian Bay and later in the North Channel that we won’t be visiting due to the delays we’ve had along the way and our need to travel to Florida on September 27th for our grandson’s birthday. We’ve learned that Lake Michigan can get pretty stormy this time of year, and since we don’t feel safe or happy traveling in rough weather, we need to leave plenty of extras days in our schedule for “weather days”.  So that is why we are happy to put in long days for distance in this otherwise great place to visit.

September 9, Saturday – Hope Island to Wright’d Marina, Britt, ON

Dirk was energetic this morning, getting us moving on the water by 7:30 am. Our plan was to head West-North-West to Lion’s Gate, across the width of Georgian Bay. After about 45 minutes of rolling and somewhat uncomfortable travels we rethought our plan. Dirk was concerned that the top of Lake Huron would also be difficult and although the boat could handle the swells, it’s not fun. So we altered course and headed due north, and immediately felt relief since we were now heading into the small waves.

As we moved north we were also moving toward the the eastern shore which provided additional protection. The change in plans means that we will be cruising on the North Channel of the Georgian Bay after all, which is protected from the large bay below it. It’s extra miles, but also extra sights and extra comfort. Here are the improved seas going north and the sparkling seas behind us…

Although the sun was shining nicely, the temperature was still in the low 50’s, so we bundled up. I broke out my parka and knit hat. As we moved north I was able to peruse the guide book we had bought for the Bay and North Channel – now we will need it after all. We identified a likely marina and now we are nicely situated there. We also topped off the diesel and had a free pump out. We arrived around 4:30 – that’s a long day for us!

Boating down the rocky channel to the marina was a treat, as was seeing all sorts of homes built on top of rock.

Wright’s marina has a courtesy car – the first one we’ve seen in Canada I think. We borrowed it to get some groceries, but the store closed just as we arrived at 6pm. However we took advantage of the restaurant upstairs and had a nice meal out – a treat after traveling 9 hours today.

One of my favorite funny, true stories came from the owner of the Wrights marina (it’s small and everyone can see the shore from their boat, and there are picnic tables and chairs along the grassy waterfront.)  The story goes: A group of 4 looper boaters were chatting on his shore in the afternoon, and one of the men remembered he need to fuel up. All the guys grabbed their beers and joined him on the boat while he moved it the to fuel pump (after letting the marina know that he needed fuel). The owner was waiting at the pump to catch the lines as the boat pulled it – but no lines came! They were all guys, used to being the captain and having their wives/partners handle the lines!  Once they realized what happened they felt a little foolish I expect, and maybe more appreciative of what us partners automatically take care of. It’s a great story!

September 8, Friday –  Port Severn to Hope Island Anchorage on Georgian Bay

We got our boat concerns checked out this morning by Gord. He said that although there may be some issue in the port engine it was likely that using a heavier oil and something called “Lucas oil” will take care of it in the short term, and maybe the long term as well.  Dirk and Gord got the supplies, put the oil in the port engine and and we were soon underway (as soon as the laundry was dry (free laundry at Starpoint Marina!)). We completed our last river lock – a nice one as they all are in Canada, and then threaded our way through a channel to the great Georgian Bay.

Because of the colder weather we reluctantly decided to give the east side of Georgian Bay with its 10,000 islands and the highly regarded North Channel a pass so that we can move south a bit sooner.

So here we are, traversing this huge bay, with waves/swells between 2 & 3 feet in 55 degrees! Whee! I slowly added more layers as we entered the big waters until I had 3 layers on my bottom half and 4 on the top. Only my hands and ears were chilly. We also put on our life jackets and I decided to stand on the flybridge and roll/dance with the swells for my comfort at one point. I also took ½ of a  bonine tablet (sea sickness prevention).

Georgian Bay is to the right of Lake Huron. We will only be crossing the top of Lake Huron and then will travel down Lake Michigan on one side of the other (not the middle!). We are waiting to hear weather predictions for later next week before we decide.

I’ve been reviewing our guide books and Active Captain looking for anchorages or marinas along the way so we can plan our next few days on the big water. We hope to get to Mackinaw Island (near the junction of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron) Monday evening (3 days)– we’ll see.

Tonight’s anchorage is next to Hope Island – a very pretty spot with a sandy beach and some trails (I hear) and one other boat anchored here. It’s somewhat protected but the boat will definitely be rocking us to sleep tonight!

September 7, Thursday, Orillia to Port Severn, ON

The town of Port Severn contains the last lock of the TSW (Trent-Severn Waterway) which completes the connection between Lake Ontario and the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. We stopped just short of the last lock to stay at the Starpoint Marina where our favorite mechanic will meet us tomorrow morning. Yup – another issue. He’ll let us know if it’s safe to continue or if the port engine needs an additional repair. Stay tuned…

After two normal locks this morning we came to lock 44 –  Big Chute Marina Railway- a railway carrier for boats on the Trent Severn waterway since the actual lock was never built. The railway car dips deep enough into the water for our boat to drive in and then picks up the boat with two straps to keep it steady while the wide and open railroad car moves up a hill, over a road and down a hill to drop us in the lake below. Amazing! (I learned that one reason the Marine Railway hasn’t been replaced by a lock is to keep sea lampreys out of the Trent Severn and nearby waterways.)

Here’s a boat completing it’s transit as we arrived…

Our Big Chute travel…

We continued toward Port Severn through narrow canals and some surprisingly deep lakes – up to 135 feet!

Although we’ve traveled many days to get this close to Lake Huron and would think there would only be small cabins in the area, we saw very large and upscale homes as we traveled the last 3 days. This area is not that far from Toronto – 3 hours or so – and many small cottages are being replaced by fancy summer estates.

We only had one quick rain shower at the second lock today. Fortunately I saw it coming and had put on my rain stuff – coat, bib and boat – so I stayed dry! I’m always the one on the bow in the locks.  Dirk is lucky because he works the locks under the sundeck awning (that I waterproofed!).

We made it to the very nice Starpoint Marina and had another in-house dinner – too lazy to walk the 10 minutes to town. I’ll check it out in the morning while Dirk and Gord look at the engine. Wish us luck!

September 6, Wednesday, Kirkfield Lock to McGregor Marina in Orillia, ON

Today’s goal was to go through the Kirkfield lock and five other locks that were close to each other. Then we’d travel through Lake Simcoe and stay on the lock wall at the Couchiching lock which would be closed due to fall hours. The map of this last part of the Trent Severn follows…

We started at the top of the Kirkfield Lift Lock which lifted us down in the water trough about 49 feet with its hydraulic lift, similar to the Peterborough Lock.

The weather was cool and I wore long underwear so I could ignore the cold. We traveled through rivers, lakes and five man made canals again in lovely weather, remarking on the interesting homes and beautiful sites as we traveled. The arched bridge was the first reinforced concrete bridge in Canada in the early 1900s.

We were doing well and arrived in Orillia, home of the Couchiching lock.  We headed down a narrow channel but ten minutes later we encountered a (too) low swinging railroad bridge which turned out to be on the same schedule as the lock. The bridge keeper was not allowed to open it, so we turned around and headed back. We had passed a marina just as we entered the narrow canal so I called to see if they had room for us. The manager asked if we were the trawler they had just seen go by and laughed when I said ‘yes’. When she saw us enter the channel she remarked to a co-worker ‘I wonder where they think they are going!’.  They gave us a little break on the marina rate and we had a quiet night there – except for the noisy train (remember – railroad bridge!).

September 5, 2017 Bobcaygeon to Kirkfield Lock, Ontario

(But also by car from Stow, MA, to Redford, NY to Belleville, ON to Brampton, ON to Peterborough, ON to Bobcaygeon, ON!!)

We arrived back in Bobcaygeon and our boat late yesterday afternoon, the 4th, after a fruitful week away.

After beautiful Niagara Falls we headed home to Stow and a busy Lake Boon Water Carnival Weekend with events all weekend, and also were able get together with Dirk’s second cousin Sietse (rhymes with pizza) and his girl friend Derfogail (Irish name) who are now living in the Boston area. The week also included gathering warm clothes together for our upcoming later-than-expected travels in the Georgian Bay and Lake Michigan and also seeing a number of friends and family.

We left our house in Stow 4 days ago on Saturday, September 2, with the plan to stop in Belleville, ON (on Lake Ontario) for Aunt Willi and Uncle Dick’s Anniversary Party and in Brampton, ON (to see Luke and Saskia and Randy) before arriving at the boat on Monday (yesterday). I booked an Airbnb near Watertown to break up the 12 hours or so of driving. This unusual Airbnb was in a former hippy farmhouse and has 6-8 guest rooms on a sustainability farm with chickens, rescue pigs and alpacas, and is very close to the Thousand Islands. It was a great place to stay and we really enjoyed meeting the other 5-6 families staying there. The owner, Nicole Caldwell, has written a book about her experiences with the farm – “Better Farm.”

After the lovely 65th (!) Wedding Anniversary Party in Belleville on Sunday we traveled a bit more so we could stay overnight north of Toronto with Dirk’s cousin Saskia and family. On Monday we drove to Petersborough to drop off the car rental, where we were met by Judy and her friend Paul! Cousin Judy drove all the way up from Belleville so we wouldn’t have to take an expensive taxi to Bobcaygeon. We ate on the river in Peterborough, saw numerous Monarch butterflies and drove up to Bobcaygeon.

Our Wandering Star was nice to see again after a week and a half! Judy, Paul, Dirk and I  walked to get some delicious Kawartha Ice Cream and then we were left alone with our boat to unpack and find places for the additional warm clothes.

Today, the Tuesday after Labor Day, our favorite mechanic ever, Gord Gardner, came bright and early to our boat (7:30am) ready to complete the connections for the rebuilt Port fuel pump. He had thoroughly evaluated the port engine and recommended we use a heavier oil in the engine from now on.  Gord knows what he is doing and does it so quickly that he and Dirk were done before I came back with groceries. Thanks Gord!

Finally, on the water! We went through the Bobcaygeon lock again and learned that now there are new, shorter hours for the locks which makes our goal to get to Chicago before the end of September even more challenging.

We had traveled for about 4 hours when rain started just before a lock, but we went through and then docked the boat to wait it out and get on dry clothes. We were reading and after a while I noticed the quiet – the sun came out (!) and we were on our way again.

It was beautiful although slightly chilly, being on lakes, rivers and canals again. The Trent Canal, dug straight through solid rock was amazing as were some of the views on the river, particularly when the water was perfectly still.

Tonight we are docked at the Kirkfield lock, the other lift lock on this Trent-Severn waterway. Since the lock closed early we have to wait until 10am to get underway tomorrow. Forced to relax and enjoy peace and quiet – Darn! 🙂

August 23, Wednesday Bobcaygeon to Niagra Falls (in a car!)

Well, another repair is needed to assure that the port engine will  be healthy. When Dirk tested the oil yesterday morning the stick read higher than the day before, which usually means something, likely diesel, is leaking into the oil and diluting it. Gotta be fixed or the engine won’t be properly lubricated, so we called Gord again. He thinks it’ll take a week or so to fix and so we found a slip for the boat in Bobcaygeon,  Dirk thought it would be a good time to head home and check-in, so we took a taxi to Peterborough, rented a car and now are in Niagara Falls, Canada. We’ll go home to Boston for a week before continuing our trip.

Niagara Falls is a treat. We haven’t visited for many years, and although there are more high rise hotels and casinos, the walk along the falls is still green and gorgeous. Good job, Canada! We lucked out with a hotel room with a great view and then walked to the falls.

The crazy side of Niagara Falls with haunted houses and arcades and lights is still there too. Fun to walk through and laugh…

Here are the last shots of the area this morning including other views from the room.