August 20, 2022, Thessalon, Ontario,
So below is a review of our week in The North Channel of
Lake Huron, Canadian waters:
We decided to spend two nights here in Thessalon so we could
catch back up with our friends Kenton and Kathy Nice from Nice Goin’, as
they will be heading down Lake Erie starting Monday and we will be heading down
Lake Michigan. So, we wanted to have one more night with them for a proper send
off. Hopefully we hopefully see them in Florida this winter. They did the loop last
year but could not get onto Canada, so they did the Canadian section this
summer and are now headed to Buffalo and then down the Erie Canal to NYC, then
the East Coast back to Florida. Folks do the loop in many ways. So, we cleaned
the boat today, did some shopping and I’m working on this post. Another
beautiful day today hot and sunny. Today is our last day in Canada tomorrow we are
“back in the USA”, Drummond Island Michigan.
So, here’s our week in review:
August 15, Travel Day #39, Killarney ON to Little Current:
Total Distance Traveled: 20 Miles, Total Time Traveled: 3.5 Hours; We spent
three nights in Killarney at The Sportsman Inn and had a wonderful break from
moving every day. There were several loopers at the marina and we met several
new folks who we plan to catch up with later in our travels. One night we had
14 folks at Docktails and shared a lot of stories and laughs. By far this was
the largest gathering for us with fellow loopers.
Monday morning, we got up and had a 20-mile day planned
headed to Little Current, which a nice little village and we stayed at a slip
in the town marina. We passed a beautiful lighthouse on the way into the harbor
and had to wait for the swing bridge to open which it does on the hour. When we
got to the lighthouse at 11:45 there were four other boats and by the time they
began to “swing the bridge”, there had to be 12 boats passing through with us.
The locals showed up right at noon. They open the bridge for 15 minutes total
including swinging the bridge in both directions, so you must be there on time
or wait an hour. They only allow 7 minutes to let the boat traffic through so I
understand on weekends it can be a real show. This is a one lane bridge (it used to be a
Railroad Bridge) and it now provides the only automobile access to Manitoulin Island. Manitoulin Island is a very rural
area, its over 1,000 square miles and takes 2 hours by car to transverse. Most
towns have a population of under 100 year-round residents, and the resorts
towns maybe 200 in the summer. I can’t imagine what winters are like there. We
saw very little development however the scenery is just spectacular. This whole
area is so like the Maine Coast and The Maine north woods. Both are stunning.
Track
August 16, Travel Day #40, Little Current to Kagawong ON:
Total Distance Traveled: 17 Miles, Total Time Traveled: 3 Hours: We had a
short day planned for Day #40 only traveling 17 miles to Kagawong, so we took
our time departing Little Current and a beautiful morning cruise and arrived
around noontime. Kagawong turned out to be one of the more enjoyable harbors of
the week. The dock hands were wonderful two young students and the harbormaster
who could not have been a better mentor for them. Just a wonderful team, most enjoyable
overnight. They told us all the highlights which included a cool chapel and a
nice hike to a great waterfall. We had lunch cleaned the boat and then went for
a hike to the waterfall
There were two other loopers in the harbor that night one
was Salty Dogs whom we had cruised with in the past. Ron and Pam came
over for drinks that evening, and we very much enjoyed their company. I am sure
we will hook up with them in the next few weeks. Great folks from Idaho. The
next morning there was a farmers’ market in the town square that we visited
before we departed. It was wonderful, fresh vegetables, blueberries, and tons
of baked goods. Meredith had a wonderful time picking up fresh produce it’s by
far the first time we have seen such wonderful (non-supermarket) produce.
Track
Sandy Beach by the Marina
Chapel Note the pulpit!
Lake Shore
Lighthouse
August 17, Travel Day #41, Kagawong to Gore Bay: Total Distance Traveled: 25 Miles, Total Time Traveled: 4 Hours: We went to the Farmers Market first thing and then headed off to Gore Bay for a short 16-mile journey. We were planning to cut through a narrow pass but after talking with a few local fishermen they suggest (since the lake is three feet lower than normal) that we avoid that channel and go the long way around, which one said, “isn’t necessarily always the long way around”. I hear those words! Therefore, we ended up with a 24-mile voyage and a less stressful cruise to Gore Bay. You will see on the track the channel we could have taken and the large island that we ended up going around. We still had plenty of time and had lunch on the ride over, our first BLT with fresh summer tomatoes, that to me that is the best sandwich ever (fresh, local, pump, red, tomatoes)! Once again you will see in the pictures, I include below how very similar the North Channel is to the Maine Coast. Overall, our time here in the North Channel has been amazing.
We walked into town and checked out all that Gore Bay had to
offer, and it wasn’t much! Pretty limited shopping and no great restaurants. We
did find a local brewery (Split Rail Brewery) and sat on their deck on Lake
Huron and enjoyed a fine IPA. We
finally decided that we would try the Fish and Chips restaurant and we sure
very pleased we did. Fish and Chips here on the Great Lakes is a big deal and
our meal was excellent. They fish they use is Pickerel and it was a delicate batter
very thin, just a most enjoyable meal, looking over The North Channel, overall,
a great day and beautiful evening.
Track
Pictures
August 18, Travel Day #42, Gore Bay to Blind River: Total
Distance Traveled: 28 Miles, Total Time Traveled: 5 Hours: This morning we
departed Gore Bay at 8:30 as we were crossing over the North Channel from
Manitoulin Island to the North shore of Lake Huron which was a 25-mile open run
in what I kept referring to as the open ocean. We could not see land, maybe an
island here and there but it’s open ocean, it’s not what I call a lake! We had a perfect day with very little wind
(less than 5 kts) and beautiful sunny skies. There was a fog bank on the
southern shore, but we were headed mostly North. You keep an eye on any fog bank
to see if it’s headed your way, but we always had great visibility. We arrived
in Blind River early enough to have our second BLT after getting settled in.
Short travel days are great because you have the afternoon to explore these
small village, go for a walk or a bike ride or take the dinghy exploring.
After lunch we walked into town which had less than Gore Bay,
so the last two locations were kind of a bust. We wanted to get to the North
Shore of the lake, so it was worth the ride. It was a peaceful ride and we never
saw another boat in the 4 plus hours we took getting here. That was a first, as
we normally see boats all day. We had dinner on the boat some fresh corn we had
picked up at the market and a killer Meredith salad. Early to bed as we have
another 30-mile day in the morning.
Track
Sure looks like an ocean!
A cruise ship passes by
August 19, Travel Day #43, Blind River to Thessalon Total
Distance Traveled: 32 Miles, Total Time Traveled: 5.5 Hours: We left Blind
River around 8:30 in the morning as we had a mostly offshore run up to Thessalon
and wanted to try and arrive before the afternoon winds and waves picked up which
we were able to accomplish. However, by 10 AM a decent bit of wind had picked
up and it was off our port bow, so it was a lumpy ride north. Visibility was
great and once again saw no other boats a few in the far-off distance but in
general we had The North Channel to ourselves. For the first time in Lake Huron, we did see a
commercial fishing boat, not fishing but crossing the lake (crossed our bow 2
miles ahead of us).
We arrived and settled in then went for a walk downtown to
find a dinner location and we could not find a place we wanted to eat, so we
went to the market and picked up dinner to prepare at home. We are trying to keep
our food inventory low as we don’t know what we will be allowed to bring back
into the USA. We have heard many different
tales of what is allowed when entering either the USA or Canada. Bottom line is
it depends on the customs agent you get and what kind of day he is having. I know one thing you sure want to be on their
good side, so I plan to be “yes sir, no sir, thank you sir” all call long.
One of the reasons we chose this northern section of The
North Channel, (we were the only loopers here Friday night, and just 2 of us
tonight) was it’s a great location to watch the Northern Light show that was
forecasted for Friday night. They were predicting a specular Aurora Borealis
for these few days and we chose a place with literally no lights. Unfortunately,
it was cloudy all night and we never go to see them, and it’s forecasted to
rain tonight and tomorrow. So that was a bust, but we put ourselves in a good
location had it been clear. At any rate one thing about being in the remote
section of The North Channel is the stars have been unbelievable. Last time I
have been in an area with no lights was Baxter State Park 15 years ago (maybe
more). At any rate, the star gazing here has been unreal, spooky in a way, for
this Cambridge boy!
Track
Pictures
So, we are getting
ready for dinner with our friends Kenton and Kathy, we are going to host as
their not a great place to eat and bid them a safe journey south and we hope
our ships will pass tracks again this winter. Thessalon is the Northern most stop
on The Loop and many Loopers don’t come this far up Lake Huron. So tomorrow we
are off to Drummond Island, enter back into the USA. We are planning to two
nights on Drummond Island so we can get our oil changed and engines serviced on
Monday. We have now traveled 240 engine hours and Dwight Raymond told me to change
the oil every 250 hours, and he’s the boss, so that is the plan. Very exciting
also is that we will be spending three days at Mackinac Island at the Grand
Hotel What a treat that should be.
From the big picture review, we are right on our plan from a
scheduling standpoint. We are now headed into Michigan the end of August,
September we plan to travel the Michigan side of Lake Michigan, we have a quick
trip back to Maine the end of September, and then onto the Inland Rivers. Still
planning to go through Chicago around October 1st.
Safe Travels Enjoy, loved all the comments this week and you
identifying yourselves, Cheers
Welcome home, Hoser. The way things are going in the US I'd consider staying in Canada.
ReplyDeleteAnother fantastic post! Take care.
Pj and Suzy, it just gets better. What type of Commerical fishing on Lake Huron, my guess is Whitefish like Lake Michigan. Keep us posted on Chicago, we are going to Montreal 10-1 to 10-7 with some good friends. Nice try on the northern light, you would have really seen the show, absent the clouds. Have seen them a few times, very unreal looking. I saw some images from space that were crazy. Travel safe and get that oil changed.
ReplyDeleteAnother fantastic trip segment! Well done.xxoo Limo
ReplyDeleteWelcome back to the U.S.A. by now you have probably enjoyed Macinac Island, it is certainly quite unique. Many, many many years ago I did three Macinak Island Races, two out of Chicago and one out of Detroit.
ReplyDeleteYour photos and your words are great and I am really enjoying them.
Hey ski bum,
ReplyDeleteNice job as always! I hope you can afford all the booze!!?? You can never have enough friends. The harbours and light houses are amazing up North.
A fellow bum.
Got behind on blogs since we were out of town. We are enjoying all the narrative and pictures. Places we never knew existed!
ReplyDeleteThanks for making the effort for us to enjoy.
Your ski buddies in Colorado!
Once again the Blog has provided much interest and intrigue. I consider you both to be very brave and adventurous. Stay safe on your continued travels homeward. Big Hugs, Pat Maynard
ReplyDeleteThe further you go the more amazing the sights and experiences. What a great caper. Hard to know without living it with you want great cruising there is inland. Keep going. We are all listening!
ReplyDeleteSean O:
ReplyDeleteToo bad you’re so introverted and don’t like to drink!
Jack and Meredith - this is fabulous! The stories and the pictures are just great. Glad the boat is running well and that the weather has been so good. Safe travels! Anne H.
ReplyDelete