Saturday, June 29
We got up reasonably early, considering the late arrival. I ran
downtown to a bakery for breakfast items. We fueled and departed
at 7:30am, intending to go first to Harrisville (95 mi), then on
to Detour (102 mi). Dale didn't get up until 8:10. It was a
fairly smooth ride past Harbor Beach to Pointe aux Barques. At
that point the 15-25 knot winds (northwest, clocking around to
southwest) had the reach of Saginaw Bay. The little one-foot
waves grew to 3-4 feet. Our speed slowed from 35 mph to 14 mph.
The boat crashed onto the waves, sending spray and water,
sometimes gallons at a time, over the windshield and soaking Skip
and I. The Bay crossing took an hour longer than our hope. We
finally saw the Michigan shore about 11 miles out and came into
Harrisville at 11:20am. The marina was uncrowded. We made a
decision to stay put, not wanting to continue grinding up the
coast to Presque Isle or attempt to cross to Detour with
northwest winds. We called the girls, who had taken the van to
Linda Runyon's in Sterling, then we rested and began to explore
Harrisville. The small downtown is 3-4 blocks away. It includes
a couple restaurants, grocery, tackle shop, ice cream shop, and
sandwich place. The week-long Lake Trout Festival was just
beginning. There was a trout-fishing pool for the kids and a
Vegas-tent and beer-tent for adults. Dale caught three rainbow
trout in the pool and Scott caught two. Scott released his into
the harbor, but Dale cleaned his. The boys also caught a few
minnows in the harbor. We had supper at the Bavarian Bakery
restaurant. In the evening the wind died and the fog came in.
We make a decision to go to bed early and to leave at first light
before the winds freshen.
Sunday, June 30
We leave Harrisville at 6:14am. It is mostly sunny and somewhat
breezy. We left on the bimini top and clear plastic front and
side windows. This kept the warmth in and the spray out, but
with some sacrifice of gas mileage. We make good progress past
Thunder Bay Island. It got a little choppy and we decided to go
to Presque Isle marina and plan our next move. The lighting was
great for lighthouse pictures at Thunder Bay Island and Presque
Isle, also a freighter in Stoneport. At Presque Isle we got
conflicting advice from fellow boaters. One said the lake was
fine and we should go through the Mississagi Strait directly to
Blind River. "I'd gut it out!" was his advice. This would save
over 50 miles compared to going to Detour. Fellows in a 60-foot
sailboat said they came through the Mackinac Straits and had 10-
foot waves. "Don't go!" was their advice. We decided to try
nosing along the coast to Rogers City, checking on the winds.
Out in the lake, the waves were only about 1-2 feet, so Skip
decided to try the crossing to Mississagi. About 6 miles out
however, we hit a fog bank and, not wanting both fog and waves,
we turned back to Rogers City. The weather was sunny and Skip
got good pictures in the freighter port of Calcite, just before
Rogers City. We fueled, had lunch, and informed the girls in
Sterling that we would make another try for Blind River or Detour
if the wind allowed. The weather was sunny, breezy, and hot.
There are Small Craft Warnings for the Lake and the Mafor was
16630 (translation: next 24 hrs west winds 22-27 knots and fair).
We left on our second try at 12:20pm. Amazingly, the winds on
the lake were light and the waves were only a foot. It took 1.5
hours to reach the Strait. Good pictures of a lighthouse and a
quarry. The remainder of the trip to Blind River across the
North Channel took less than an hour. We fueled and triumphantly
called the girls to drive to the North Shore Motel in Blind
River. Later in the afternoon and evening, the winds stiffened
and white caps formed in the marina. We guess the winds reached
35 mph. That didn't stop Scott and Dale from swimming off the
swimplatform, driving Blazer nuts. We took the courtesy van in
to Blind River for supper at the Auberge Eldo and also bought
fishing licenses. That night we snacked on Dale's rainbow trout,
Dale hunted for crayfish with kids from Sault Ste. Marie, and the
girls came in at 10:50 pm. The nearly full moon made for a
bright evening.
Monday, July 1 (Canada Day and Nancy's birthday)
Lots of packing to do this morning, transfering gear from our van
to the boat. Nancy and Joleen went shopping for perishables and
brought back breakfast from McDonald's. There was a beach
volleyball tournament at the marina, but we were too busy to
watch. We left Blind River at 11:15am and had good boating to
the Whalesback Channel, 17 miles distant. Would our favorite
site on Gowan Island be open? We crossed our fingers coming
between LeSeuer and Gowan, traveling along Dewdney, and
approaching the western edge of John I. At last the familiar
sand beach on the east end of Gowan came into view, deliciously
vacant! We land, toast our good fortune, and begin setting up
camp (tent, screen tent, furniture, table, inflatable canoe).
The kids throw rocks, go swimming, try fishing, go canoeing.
Blazer goes crazy with his unleashed freedom - running in and out
of the water, up and down the sand, and crashing through the
woods. The day would prove to be our hottest of the trip, in the
mid-80's I'd guess. Supper was hamburgers and baked potatoes in
the campfire. Sunset was at 9:24pm, looking gorgeous over the
Whalesback as clouds moved in. The kids had marshmallows and
s'mores over the fire, then mosquitoes began to move in. Amy and
I went to the tent for bed. Dale and Nancy trailed us by a few
minutes and were rewarded by hearing and seeing Canada Day
fireworks from Blind River, 17 miles westward. A full moon rose
between John and Dewdney, shining through the front door of the
tent.
Tuesday, July 2
The morning was overcast, with a light-to-moderate rain starting
at 10am and lasted all day. We did lots of reading and some
hiking (by the dads and sons). We saw many pink lady slippers
just west of the fishcamp on the south shore, but the orchids
were past their prime. We saw blueberries on the higher rocks,
but still very unripe. The tent leaks near the stake seams. We
will re-seal seams the next day, when it dries. Dale and Amy
will sleep on the Sunskipper tonight with Scott and Kelsey.
Supper was chicken. The fire started ok, considering the damp.
The kids ate on the boat and the parents in the screen tent.
Wine-and-pop coolers were more popular than beer. Nancy and I
had a lot of mosquitoes in the tent that night. We discovered a
zipper not completely closed the next morning.
Wednesday, July 3
The morning started with a stiff north wind and whitecaps on the
Whalesback. Breakfast was eggs and sausages. The eight of us
did a 2-hour hike, stopping at the summit near the other end of
the island. We each added a rock to the large cairn at the
summit. Good pictures of the scenic Whalesback Channel. We also
enjoyed the wildflowers, rocks, cormorants, and loons. On our
return, we find that the screen tent had blown down from the high
winds. Swimming and bathing was cold today due to the currents
from the north wind. I took Amy and Kelsey canoeing along the
protected south shore. Dale and Scott enjoyed some gunwale
fights on the canoe. The 4 kids had stone-throwing contests
while we made supper of pork chops and boiled potatoes. Amy
slept on the boat while Dale and Scott told ghost stories in the
tent. Sunset was 9:23pm.
Thursday, July 4 (American Independence Day)
Morning is sunny and cheerful, pancakes for breakfast. We take a
grocery trip to Blind River. Skip and I had the kids take
showers at the marina. On the return trip, we went further along
the gorgeous Whalesback, past John, to a protected necklace of
islands above Aird. We consider Jackson and Otter for future
campsites, but find nothing as nice as Gowan. We also explore
Moiles Harbor at the east end of John. Moiles has ruins from an
old lumbering camp and port and is also the site of a YMCA camp.
Back at camp, Nancy and I explore our channel between Gowan and
John by canoe. The two rocks near mid-channel are 1.5 and 2.5
feet below the surface. The one or two large boats we see use
the channel are either very knowledgable or very foolish. Supper
was spaghetti. Skip brought along sparklers and bottle rockets
to celebrate the 4th of July. We hear noisy loons after
sunset.
Friday, July 5
We hear loons again in the morning. It becomes cool and windy
early. Breakfast (eggs & bacon) took a long time in the wind.
Skip and I took the kids and Blazer for a hike to the fishcamp.
We saw branches stripped of bark by some animal (porcupines?).
We also saw more lady slippers, mostly dried, and wintergreen
with red berries. Many butterflies. Dale and Scott set up
fishpoles all day with Blind River worms, but no bites. The
weather gets nice. I canoed to old logs on John Island, washed
up long ago during the lumbering era, then to Goelan Island, the
nearest of the small whalesback-shaped islands in the Channel.
Skip canoes first with Scott and Kelsey, then with Joleen. Scott
and Dale did gunwale fights. We see nymphs crawl from the water
and shed to become dragonflies on our screen tent. Supper is hot
dogs, boiled potatoes, and leftover spaghetti.
Saturday, July 6
We are up early, around 7am, to break camp and depart Gowan at
9:40am. Amy was very helpful with packing and loading. We
return to Blind River and off-load gear from the boat into the
van. Nancy and Joleen drive the van to Little Current while Skip
and I take the kids on the boat. Nancy reserves a 2-bedroom
housekeeping cabin at Okeechobee Marina & Lodge, at the mouth of
Baie Fine. The 65-mile boat ride to Little Current takes 2.5
hours. We boat through the Whalesback, the strait at Little
Detroit, and the western side of the Benjamin Islands. We drag
the kids out of the cabin to see the scenic highpoints. At
Little Current, we quickly load the boat from the van, except for
camping gear. We do take time for a walk up the hill to
Farquhar's Dairy for ice cream cones. Nancy and I have the local
flavor, hawberry. We boat past the swing-bridge east of Little
Current, the lighthouse at Strawberry I, and across Frazer Bay to
Okeechobee. The total distance is 15 miles, taking less than 1/2
hour. We are given a boat slip immediately next to Cabin 26.
The cabin is spacious and has 2 small refrigerators, sink, 2
burners, propane grill, fireplace, 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. At
this point, I discover my duffle bag was left behind in the van.
Skip loans me some clothes until our next trip to town. Dale and
Scott see other kids fishing on the docks (including the kids
from Sault Ste. Marie they met at Blind River) and join them.
Dale catches 8 fish and Scott 3 that day, rock bass and
smallmouth bass. Good fishing at last!
Sunday, July 7
I was up at 7am and went to the lodge store for complimentary
coffee. I also walked a bit but there were lots of mosquitoes.
Kelsey and Amy slept in the cabin while Dale joined Scott on the
boat. The girls were up at 7:30, the boys at 9:30. Rain and
some fog started at 8am, so it became a reading and laundry day.
Skip started a fire in the fireplace. I made a potato-chicken-
carrot-bacon hash for breakfast, but most people opted for
cereal. We saw the big sailboat "Brassy", formerly "Sassy" of
Mackinac race fame, stop at the lodge dock for a while. The rain
stops and the boys do more fishing. Again good catches for the
boys, plus Amy caught one. A larger rock bass snaps the end of
my pole which Dale is using. At 5:30pm we go hiking on the
Skyline Trail overlooking Frazer Bay. The blue blazes are hard
to follow in some spots. The 8 of us and Blazer take almost 1-
3/4 hours to do the "leisurely 45 minute walk". We pick some
blueberries, see wildflowers, slap mosquitoes and take in the
scenery. Blazer flushes a large grouse or spruce hen. Supper is
porkchops and rice. It is cool and breezy, so Skip keeps the
fire going.
Monday, July 8
I canoed a little in the marina before the others got up. It was
sunny, so we boated to "the Pool", which is the famous anchorage
at the end of Baie Fine. Going through Baie Fine, we enjoy the
white quartzite mountains on the northside, the "Keyhole" section
of the fjord, and finding our old boating camp from past years.
We nosed into a tiny dock at a trailhead and anchored off the
stern. The adults were eager to show the kids Topaz Lake, a
favorite spot of ours from past years, a 15-min hike away. Topaz
Lake is impressive - cold and absolutely clear, with the rocky
bottom visible far out from shore. On sunny days it is azure
blue and a mirror-like reflector for the surrounding rock hills.
Today was a little cloudy, unfortunately. We had a refreshing
swim. The return boat trip saw some rain. Skip started another
fire. In late afternoon, we went for ice cream and miniature
golf by the store. The miniputt course follows the shore around
the Lodge property and was a great setting. Supper was hot dogs
and spaghetti. We play boys vs. girls in Outburst Jr., then more
miniputt. With the rain the last two days, I read 6 Smithsonian
magazines. Nancy, Amy, and Joleen finished a number of books during
the trip.
Tuesday, July 9
We are awoken at 6am by Amy and Blazer jumping in our bed. It is
sunny and windy today. I notice a fishfly hatch is underway; no
fish are caught the rest of the trip, not even a nibble.
Breakfast is pancakes and bacon. A few blueberries from our hike
are rationed into the pancakes. We boat to Little Current for
shopping. At the gas dock, Bobby and Suzy Stack find us. They
are staying at "the Beeches" lodge on Dreamer's Rock nearby.
Bobby's new boat, "Slow Bob", is a 24-foot SeaRay. We travel
together to the Lansdowne Channel and Killarney. The town is
very busy and seems to be favored by very large boats. We get
nice pictures going up the Channel. The return trip was a little
bumpy, as the wind whipped up whitecaps on Frazer Bay. Supper
was smoked trout hors d'oeuvres, lake trout (chicken for the
kids), and noodles. The adults went to the Wheel House bar at
the Lodge and tried the Alabama Slammers. The evening became
partly sunny and we saw a nice double rainbow at the east end of
Baie Fine.
Wednesday, July 10
It was calm and cloudy in the morning, then started sprinkling.
I counted 28 boats at Okeechobee this morning, a few more than
prior mornings. Bobby and Sue motored by on their way into Baie
Fine, but at this point it became sunny, so we talked them into
going across Collins Inlet to Mill Lake, another favorite spot of
ours from past years. The boat trip is about 2 hours, including
fueling at Killarney. The red sandstone Killarney formation is
breathtaking in front of the white quartzite mountains. At Mill
Lake we tie directly to the rock at Robinson's Rock. The kids
and Blazer enjoy the freedom of running all over the island. The
swimming is the warmest (a relative term) of the trip. Bobby
took the Dads, boys, and Amy trolling for pike, but no bites. We
stay until after 5pm before heading back. At a narrows in
Collins Inlet the two boats take turns being photographed passing
by the rocks. Frazer Bay is again rough going across. Back at
Okeechobee we see a mammoth 90-foot cruiser (SeaQuest) at the end
of our dock, looking impressive even in this big-boat country. A
52-foot cruiser was accompanying (father and son). Supper is
leftovers - steak, pork, chicken, noodles, corn. The adults
debate about departure days and listen to weather, then decide it
is time to head home.
Thursday, July 11
The morning is mostly sunny, but still windy. The forecast is
for 10-15 knot winds from the southwest, clocking to the east in
Lake Huron. That means we will try the Canadian shore on the
return trip. As before, the dads and sons will take the boat and
the moms and daughters will take the van. We fuel in Little
Current, load the van, say goodbye to the girls, and leave at
11:30am. It is 70 miles to Tobermory. We make great progress on
the north shore of Manitoulin Island, and on the eastern shore
until Cape Smith. At that point we become exposed to the
southwest winds sweeping across the Lake south of Manitoulin.
The waves build to 3-4 feet and our progress slows to a crawl.
It is a repeat of our wet ride across Saginaw Bay, possibly a
little worse since we were taking the waves head-on, whereas we
were more in the troughs at Saginaw Bay. We decide to pull into
the harbor at Club Island, one of the few islands on this stretch
of the Bay. We rest for a while and make sandwiches for lunch,
then decide to press on after putting the windows and top up.
This stretch is a little better, with the waves diminishing to 1-
2 feet as we approach Flowerpot and Bears Rump Islands. We take
time at Flowerpot to photograph the lighthouse and the
"flowerpots" (actually "sea stacks" in geologic terminology),
then arrive at Tobermory an hour later, just in time to
photograph the Chi-Cheemaun car ferry arriving from South
Baymouth. We fuel in Tobermory and look at the weather, deciding
to make the 65-mile run along and past the Bruce Peninsula to
Kincardine. We motor to Cape Hurd, then set up the windows and
top for an angry ride along Huron's eastern shore, but are
pleased to find the south winds are only building 1-2 foot waves.
We are almost out of sight of land for part of the trip. I check
our location periodically on the charts from our GPS positions.
We first spy the tall towers of the Douglas Point nuclear power
plant maybe 25 miles away, when we are about even with Red Bay, .
We pass Douglas Point and continue to Kincardine, arriving at
7:15pm. We fuel and walk into town for supper. We have seafood
at the Erie Belle, a nautical theme restaurant. We also explore
downtown a little before returning to the marina. At sunset, a
bagpiper gives a concert from the lighthouse tower over the
harbor. Dale and Scott get a tour of a 37-foot sailboat on the
slip next to us. The Sarnia couple are also returning from the
North Channel. They took 12 hours to cover the Tobermory-
Kincardine distance that took us less than three hours.
Friday, July 12
Dale and I awaken in the bow berth at 7am, thanks to Blazer
jumping on us. We have breakfast at the Sunset Restaurant in
town and leave Kincardine at 9:50am. We head for Goderich, 34
miles to the south. We continue to see the Douglas Pt towers
behind us until they disappear behind Point Clark. It is
somewhat hazy, but smooth boating to Goderich. We see the
freighter Mapleglen unloading grain and the old Willowglen, now
used only for grain storage. We next motor 12 miles south to
Bayfield to look at the marina facilities and fuel. Bayfield is
a busy recreational marina, but is showing some age. We then
start a 1-1/2 hour trip across southern Lake Huron to the Port
Huron shipping channel. This is the last leg of the Lake Huron
trip that has seen us circumnavigate the main part of the Lake.
We arrive at buoys 11&12, 6 miles from shore. We drift, make
sandwiches for lunch, then do some deep-lake swimming and try
fishing. A few old-time freighters will come by, so Skip
photographs the Calcite II, the Cuyahoga, and the Courtney Burton
in the Lake. We go under the Blue Water Bridge at 4:15pm. In
the River, we see the Paul R. Tregurtha (largest laker) and the
Edwin H. Gott. We pass Algonac at 5:30pm and hail Don and
Dolores to call Nancy that we are on the way home. We fuel at
San Souci, pass the Nanticoke and Federal Mackenzie at Seaway,
dash across Lake St. Clair and enter the mouth of the canal in
St. Clair Shores at 6:40pm.