Wednesday July 31: Croker Island

It was just an ok day for travel yesterday - not really great, cool and windy so we ended up just cruising for 12 of the 21 miles to Croker Island. Even with the flybridge canvas down to take advantage of the sun, jeans, long sleeve shirt and jacket were still in order. I sure do miss the flybridge enclosure of the trawler :-)

The Benjamins are easy to spot as the high granite cliffs really stand out as we approached this unique group of islands.. Most of the islands in the North Channel are lower in elevation and mostly tree covered.

We ended up at Croker Island – in the same area in which we anchored three years ago when we were traveling the loop. The depth below the boat is about 3 feet with a mud bottom :-) Not too many boats are interested in this shallow of a spot so we were mostly alone.

There are two people (circled in red) on the cliffs behind us to give some perspective on the height of these granite rock islands.

A quick kayak ride was in order but it was really pretty windy and the waves didn't make for a very nice ride. Afterwards, Steve went hiking up to the top of the cliffs. What a view!! Plus he came back again with blueberries – they are all over these islands and right now must be prime season. 

A day at anchor without some kind of issue just isn't a day. It was 6 pm or so when it seemed we were closer to shore than we were before. Seems like a familiar story but on the positive side at least it was still light out :-) That plus it's only 3 feet deep with a mud bottom – how much trouble could we get into???

By the time Steve had hauled a second anchor to shore (the back was tied to a tree already), it was going on 7 pm. Late dinner tonight …

This is the chart shot of the Benjamin Islands. We are at the red dot at Croker. But we really wanted to go to South Benjamin but didn't really want to move the boat. No problem. Someone (not mentioning any names here) used the charts to determine it was only a mile across. So I'm thinking – I can do that – right? I mean Lion's Head was a farther kayak than that.

Ok – so I take maybe 20% of the blame. Real distance? Two miles. And two miles back. Doesn't seem like much until you stoke that kayak paddle for the 10,250^th time. I almost had to make use of that tow line on the front of my kayak :-) Note to self: check that the scale of miles on one side of the chart is the same as the scale of miles on the side of the chart in which we are interested :-)

Truthfully? It was a really nice ride. Especially on the way over. The water was smooth  so we could go along the shore of the nearest island and see the bottom with no problem.

Once we got there, I parked my kayak in the reeds and took a snooze while Steve hiked around. The views over the harbor are amazing. Lots of boats but lots of room.

A truly crazy beautiful place. We REALLY need to come here and stay a while!

We kayaked the two miles back to Guppy, reset the anchors again for the storm due in tonight and took a nap :-) Again admiring the rock formations on the way back. The movement of the glaciers is so clear through this area. Maybe I will be a geologist when I grow up …..

Monday July 29: Jumbo Bay – A Day of Rainbows

 Today was finally a day of sun and clouds – more blue sky than not. And a rainbow in the morning to boot! It had lightly rained last night and the weather was vastly improved so it was time to move on from Whitefish falls. One last internet fix and we were on our way – to Jumbo Bay and the fish!

It really was the perfect travel day after three days of overcast, cloudy and rainy. Still unseasonably cold but way more enjoyable than the ride coming into the Bay of Islands. I have to say I didn't think I'd be wearing jeans, long sleeve shirt and jacket at the end of July!

Tried calling the kids today – not much luck as the phones often are “looking for service”. Guess we really are away from it all ….

Evening in Jumbo Bay produces no fish but did produce a second rainbow for the day – and it hadn't even rained on us! It was a double for a short period of time but the really neat part was when the single cloud moved in between us and the rainbow. I'm not sure I've ever seen that before.

It was a very quiet night with no wind and what a spectacular sunrise – not that I saw it – again ….. Steve's comment was that he just couldn't stop taking pictures. Here's a few of what he took:

On the right is what happens to your anchor line when the wind is so crazy calm: it just floats in circles around the front of the boat. We like line that floats because it's much easier to keep from running it over with the engine!


It was a good start to a good day. Destination for tonight? The Benjamin Island groups – one of the most unique and popular anchorages in the North Channel!

Sunday July 28: Rain and Thunderstorms

Some nights it's really nice to be tied to a dock and last night was one of those nights – really hard rain and lots of it. Along with much thunder and lightening with one lightening bolt being the widest Steve has ever seen. Fortunately we were able to move to the dock at Bay Villa Lodge (with a much nicer view!) as we definitely weren't interesting in moving anywhere today as the dark rain clouds seemed to just continue to roll in.

I spent part of the day in the main lodge building here as I was able to use Steve's ipad but not my computer for the internet – very odd. Very fun fireplace though – and almost cold enough to wish there was a fire burning in it!

The lodge is owned by a guy (and his wife) who used to come up here from Chicago with his dad to fish. Interesting enough he used to work at Republic Steel in Cleveland for a time. He and his wife came back here to stay for a night, ended up staying 4 nights and then ended up buying the place! Funny how things turn out.

It was definitely entertaining to watch all of the fisherpeople in small boats zipping back to the river when the rains blew in early in the afternoon. It's actually turned out to be a decent day now about 6 pm with mixed sun and clouds. More rain predicted for tonight though.

 Steve spent his time finding red raspberries and blueberries as he walked up to the small falls here. No kayaking though – too windy and too rainy. He also stumbled upon a lone gravesite right next to the main road through this area. Makes one wonder about the person buried there ….

The evidence of the glaciers in this area is unmistakable though. These glacial groves rival the ones on Kelly's island and they are just sitting around in this area as though no big deal – which they weren't as we saw many of the grooves along this river.

Many of them were along the riverbank by the falls (hence the name "Whitefish Falls") so it was fun to see.

Steve also found  a small park along the way to the falls.

Steve spotted our dock pet: the small turtle sitting on a board near the dock. Shy little guy as he jumps in as soon as you take very many steps onto the dock!

Tomorrow (Monday 7/29). Steve asked Don (the owner here at Bay Villas) where to fish. The 3 foot pike being cleaned at the fish table has definitely peaked his interest! So we'll head back the way we came in, make a turn at the junction with the other channel, follow this around and then weave our way through any rocks to head into Jumbo Bay. The fishing area is circled! After fishing and hopefully pulling up something for dinner, we'll find a place on the west shoreline as the winds are forecast to be out of the west tomorrow night.

Saturday July 27: Whitefish Falls - A Step Back in Time

The morning was not what we had hoped – still overcast, rain off and on with more rain supposed to be coming.

After admiring both the rain and the Canadian soldiers that were plastered all over the boat, the decision was made to move on. Guess our nice SUNNY ride through this area, known as the Bay of Islands, wasn't going to happen – at least not today.

It was still a nice ride – we still have hopes for tomorrow when we leave! Whitefish Falls really a step back in time. We're tied to the town dock – there is room only for us and a small boat in front of us – with no power or water but that's not a problem for us.

The small river is lined with cottages and lodges – very reminiscent of the 1960's on the Trent. Steve's family vacationed at Scotsman's Point cottages on Buckhorn Lake (on the Trent) about the same time my family was traveling the Trent on a boat. It isn't unreasonable to think we might have crossed paths on this lake so far from both of our homes. How amazing!

We passed a fun garage with cool signs on the way to River Lodge. Just a throwback to the 60's :-) This was on the way to River Lodge where we were headed for lunch.

The lodge was open for breakfast and lunch today – serving homemade perogies. How could we turn that down? What a fun place though. Log cabin throughout (not like Warren and Elin's on the farm though) complete with a great room with a huge fireplace. Just a fun place for lunch. The wool blanket draped over the couch was just like one my parents used to have – probably about the same time frame I would guess.

Tomorrow the plan is to kayak to the falls about ½ mile up the river and then head out – assuming the weather cooperates :)

Friday July 26: Bell Cove - deja vu .....

The bridge at Little Current is the only road access to all of Manitulin Island (largest fresh water island in the world - for more info on Manitoulin Island click here) and although I'm sure it was worth it's weight in gold when first completed, it actually LOOKED like gold our last night at the city marina there. So pretty.

We intended to stay at Little Current just a couple of nights (one day due to weather and one day for laundry, groceries and relaxing) and ended up with a third day there just for fun! By the time we left yesterday it seemed as though everyone was moving with more boats on the water than we've seen so far. Guess they all were getting a jump on the weekend :-)

Pondering in which direction to head next, we consulted the guide book for places to anchor. It's a nice resource because there is an overview of the area along with recommended anchorages (and includes pictures). 

Usually this means the holding is good, there is no cottage in the area and there is wind protection from one direction or another.

So after some debate we ended up with a choice of Bell Cove. Of course most of the decision depends on what the winds are predicted to do – not that the prediction is always correct of course as you know. But usually the direction of the winds is mostly accurate even if the strength is not.

As you can see in the picture (the indicator compass is circled in the lower middle of the picture) Bell Cove was a perfect choice for the south, southwest and southeast winds that were expected. We ended up anchoring just below the word “Bell”.

Great day – nice anchorage. Good thing too since we are now here for our second day! The rain started this morning along with clouds and cool air. More wind later today along with possible rain and thunderstorms. Definitely a good day to stay put. We'd like to go farther north to the small town of Whitefish Falls but would like to go on a nice sunny day as it should be a beautiful ride through all of the rock islands.

 Sunset as really nice. There were 4 sailboats and 3 powerboats anchored in here with us last night – why is it sailboats always look so nice in a sunset?

A kayak ride around today was in order (it's good exercise for the arms, back and shoulders, right?), and went well until the wind started kicking up – against us. Cut the ride short and headed back to the boat as we weren't sure what the weather was going to do.

Steve was both ambitious and hopeful. He finally removed the extra snaps on the floor of the flybridge and the floor of the aft deck (I can hear Becky cheering with an “it's about time” :-)). Best guess at some point the snaps were used to hold carpeting down – now all they did was to be a pain in the foot when walked on!

And of course, there was an attempt at repeating the successful fishing in McGregor Bay – no dice here. In fact the only thing he caught was a small fresh water clam! It had grabbed a hold of the hook.

So tomorrow we'll be up early – especially if it's a nice day – and off to Whitefish falls.

Wednesday July 24: Little Current - North Channel

The morning we left the anchorage at McGregor was so calm and quiet. We did have a boat join us (far right) for the night. As we were leaving, he stopped by in his dinghy - nice guy. Indicated he's been coming to this little bay for the last 20 years

Steve didn't fish but I'm sure there were still some bass or muskie down there with his name on it!

Of course the line on the tree needed untied (by kayak) and then both front anchors needed raised and put away so there was work to be done just getting away and headed back to the channel. Steve always does a great job though :-)

At cruising speed of 18 mph (once we had cleared all of the rock islands) it was a short 1 hour until we spotted the lighthouse marking the entrance to Little Current.

The winds were strong from the East (which is unusual up here) and we were traveling south so moving along at speed was the best way to keep the broadside waves from making the travel miserable.

We are now truly in the North Channel as Little Current is the ONLY water passage for cruisers traveling from Georgian Bay to the North Channel of Lake Huron. For more info, click here.

I'm not quite sure why it's called LITTLE current though because yesterday the current was really ripping through here. The winds were from the west at 20 mph gusting to 30 mph and the water was crazy moving east past the marina at which we are staying. So much so that there were white caps!

It's a very nice town though and has everything we might need. Steve found a fish store so salmon was on the list for dinner last night.

I managed to get a hair cut - definitely due. Of course this from the lady that cut it WAY short 3 years ago. Seemed that she would talk and snip, talk and snip - next thing you knew my hair was definitely too short.

As luck would have it, I was able to just walk in. Bad thing was that there was no one waiting to be after me! So it was talk and snip, talk and snip all over again. I kept working to get her to quit cutting and finally somewhat managed to escape with a decent haircut :-)

Of course you won't see my picture on the blog for several weeks .....

We heard from Peter and Cheryl today (Surona/Deja Vu). They are in Perry Sound - part way up Georgian Bay and are headed our way!

It'll be fun to travel with them as we finish up touring the North Channel before turning around and heading back toward the Trent.

The red line at right give you some idea of where we'll be - mostly hanging around islands somewhere :-)