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.