Lorenzo & Delois Johnson

We are finally at the locatin where we will leave the boat for two weeks.

We did not get here without incident. We stayed a second day in Petrosky due to weather.  The wind was out of the NorthEast, and travel would been very uncomfortable.  Today, the wind was still out of the NorthEast, but only 5 to 10 Mph forcasted.   We had a very uncomfortable ride until we rounded the point and entered Grand Traverse Bay. 

Our second incident occured at the marina entrance wall.  We were entering the marina through a very shallow and narrow dredged channel.  Just as we started to make our turn through the breakwater walls, we had to stop due to another boat in the process of docking.  As soon as we stopped, the wind blew us onto the rocky side of the channel, and we were aground and helpless.  A friendly boater helped by pulling us off.  The marina owner jumped in and waded around to handle the towing lines.  We lost one engine due to sand from the props plugging the cooling water intake.  The engine was shutdown before it overheated so no real damage occured.  With much dificulty due to the tight quarters, strong winds, and only one engine, we finally secured Lil’ David in His assigned slip.  Called in a diver, and his inspection revealed no damage except some small dings on the propeller blades.  He indicated that they were serviceable as is, but since we carry a set of spare props, we will have the diver change them tomorrow, and then we can take  the removed set home with us and have them serviced.

We will have fresh Salmon for dinner tomorrow.  The Salmon was caught just outside this marina, and the fisherman gave us enough for a big meal.  He said that He has caught all that He wanted to eat this year.

The people here are very friendly and helpful.  Jeff, a local who lives aboard His Hatteras, has been most helpful.  He has offered to loan us a car for transportation while we are here, and has been helpful in every way possible.  It is really great to meet people like Jeff.  It does wonders for restoring Your faith in Your fellow man.  Lil’ David will be absolutely safe here while we are gone.  This marina came with high recommendations, but it is 40 miles off our planned path.  I am convinced it is worth it, if only for the peace of mind.

Bill and Mary Anne are leaving their boat here also, while they leave for two weeks to take care of some things at home.  We are planning for all three boats to get back together the week of Aug 10, and continue our journey South.

Tonight, we are at the Bayfront Park Marina in Petosky, Mi.  We had a slightly bumpy 50 mile ride from St Ignace to Petrosky. 

This past weekend, the 100th anniversary of the Chicago to Mackinac sailboat race was held.  The distance is close to 400 miles.  480 boats left Chicago on Saturday morning, all secure in the knowledge that they would be the first to arrive at the Mackinac straits bridge on Monday morning.  8o potential entries were turned away because the sponsoring club could not find a place for them to dock at the end of the race.

We met the first boats to arrive this morning around 8:30.  We were going in the opposite direction, so we got to see a lot of the racers during the course of the morning.  Before the morning was over, we were being viewing them as a pain in the ###.  They were very active in exercising their right of way priority over power boats. 

 The weekend at St. Ignace marina was very relaxing and enjoyable.  Lois and I spent Saturaday on routine boat chores, cleaning and engineroom duties.  Some of our traveling companions,  Bill and Mary Anne Osborne on OUR TURN, arrived at ST Ignace on Saturday.  They too are leaving their boat for two weeks, and we are leaving our boats  at the same marina.

On Sunday, we took the ferry to Mackinac Island for a visit.  Mackinac Island is like a Bald Head Island on serious steriods.  No vehicles allowed, transportation is by horse drawn carriages and bicycles.  (The horses are not potty trained.)

We visited  the Grand Hotel, and we were really impressed with the elegance and opulence.  Lunch buffet for 2 is $90, so we decided we were not that hungry, and went around the corner and had a really wonderful lunch for $30.  Mackinac Island is a relatively small island, 2 miles by 5 miles, but it is a really busy place.  Ferry boats arrive almost every 15 minutes carrying passengers and supplies.  The Island has approximately 500 full time residents, but there are hundreds of Summer businesses and all related to tourists.  We did our part in supporting them.

Most of the Island is 300 ft above sea level.  This makes for some stunning views. 

Tomorrow, we will travel approximately 50 miles to Big Traverse Bay, where we will make preparations to leave the boat and rent a car to drive home.  We are taking the unused summer clothes home, and bringing back our winter clothes.  Thus far, Lois only has 2 carloads of things to take home, and I am sure there will be at least 3 loads to bring back.   Time to start negoitations.

It is really nice to have phone and internet access again.  I heard the story about Phillip ‘Daniel Boone’ Johnson and the bear.  Poor bear.  He was in danger of being trampled by some very big feet.

We arrived here today after a very tiring 48 mile trip from Drummond Island.  Shortly after we left Drummond Island, the fog started to roll in.  I wanted to anchor and wait for the fog to clear, but could not find a safe anchorage.  Most of the trip was across open water in Lake Huron, passing behind Mackinac Island and finishing at the marina at the Western foot of the Straits of Mackinac bridge.  We were running almost totally blind; so Radar was very important.  We were in the company of several large freighters, but lucky for us, they were not anxious to run us over.  We maintained a lively conversation for the duration of the trip to make sure that we did not get in each others way.  I let the freighter pilot kow that even though I would lose in a collision, I could surely foul his propeller.  Visibility, for most of the trip, was in the 50 to 100 FOOT range.  The radar, coupled to electronic charting, paid for itself today.   Due to the fog, we were not able to dock at Mackinaw Island, since the boaters from the previous day did not leave.  We continued on to the St. Ignace Municipal Marina, and docked there.

We spent an extra day at Drummond Island.  Judy’s father has been taken to the hospital, and She and Gary felt that they should interrupt their trip to drive home and check on Him.  We spent the second day there helping them make arrangements to leave the boat and rent a car to go home.  Lois and I are now traveling by ourselves, and at first it felt strange.  I am comfortable without the second experienced opinion, but we will exercise more caution in our decisions on navigation.

We will spend Saturday and Sunday at this marina, and move on to Petrosky Michigan on Monday.  It is pretty neat to look at the charts every day and decide where we want to go to next.  Sometimes the rationale for the decision is not earthshaking; for example if the travel guide says that the town has a Wal-Mart, then that town goes immediately to the top of Lois’s list.

This trip continues to be highlighted by the people we meet.  We had good conversation and wine with a group of boaters  this evening aboard their vessel docked near us in the marina.  It is amazing how a group of people with such diversified backgrounds can sit down and have such an enjoyable visit.  I suspect that the wine might be partly responsible

Another good run today.  We arrived at Drummond Island in the early afternoon, and quickly completed the customs processing and received our coveted reporting #.  We are officially home again.

Lois was a little disappointed by the Drummond Island Yacht Haven Marina.  It clearly did not match her expectations.  It is a rather well worn, back country marina catering primarily to fisherman.  The town is very small with very few conveniences, and only one restaurant is available.  She was expecting more, based entirely on the name.

Portia and Starrie continue to be the star of the show.  We have covered over 2300 miles since we left home, and the engines have logged almost 300 hours each since we left.  They have performed flawlessly, and seem to run better each day.  All of our pre-trip preparations are paying full dividends. 

Tomorrow, We are planning to travel to Mackinac Island and spend the day there.  Mackinac Island is a hightest Bald Head Island, but it is also the second largest National Park in the Nation.  No automobiles allowed on the Island.   We will need to eat hotdogs for a few days to balance the budget after our trip to the Island, but hotdogs are not all that bad.

My Mate is steadily improving Her boating skills.  She still has a long way to go before She can take over, but it sure is enjoyable to watch Her learn and improve

Today was a good day.  The weather was perfect, and we had a good run from Killarney.  We were a little apprehensive about the Clapperton  Bay Channel, but we found it well marked and with adequate depth.

Gore Bay is a very nice city owned Marina.  This place is huge, and the staff is wonderful and very helpful. 

Tomorrow is the big day.  We are only 60 miles from Drummond Island, Michigan, where we re-enter the USA.  That is also where we return to normal cell phone and Internet services.  The only place available to clear customs in this area is at The Drummond Island Yacht Haven Marina.  Can’t wait to get there and officially return home.

Travelled from Killarney to Little Current, a distance of 20 miles.  Plans are to stay at Little Current to wait for a weather window to go to Gore Bay, a distance of 30 miles from Little Current.

Very high winds made the days travel rather bumpy .  The rocks are diminishing as we travel farther West.

We turned on the heater this evening.  We have missed Summer altogether this year.  Mid July, and wearing coats and turning on the heat seems very strange.  The long days seem strange also.  It is light by 5am, and does not get dark until after 10 PM. 

We are not sure if we will be able to travel tomorrow.  The weather prediction indicates that the winds will die down in the morning, returning to 40 Km/Hr in the afternoon.  We may leave early and try to make it to Gore Bay before the winds increase. 

We ate dinner onboard today.  It was too uncomfortable outside to venture to the nearest restaurant, which is a 15 minute walk.

The Great Lakes Cruising Association  is holding a rendezvous at this marina, making it crowded.  They are expected to leave tomorrow, but the weather may play into their decision to leave.

We spent three great days in Killarney.  The town is a resort area in the mountains.  The nearest highway was 60 miles away until 1971.  The only way to get there was by boat or by plane.  Today, it is a thriving vacation retreat, specializing in Corporate retreat packages.  We were expecting to pick up medicine for Lois here.  It had been shipped from Charlotte, NC, Fed Ex next day air, on Monday, July 7.  This place is so remote that the package did not get here until Monday, July 14.  We did not realize the remoteness of this place when we selected it as the shipping location.  Fed Ex also did a poor job of getting it here; it finally arrived via the Canadian Postal service.

There was a wild bear visiting the Lodge over the weekend.  He was rummaging through the trash cans, and climbed a tree just a few feet from where our boats were docked.

On Sunday, Gary and I went on a  guided fishing trip.  The guide John, is a local native American, and a really great person.  We covered a really large area while looking for fish.  He is very knowledgeable  about the waters.  You would have to see the waters here to appreciate how many rocks and small channels and interconnecting channels make up the waters here.  The water depths are very unpredictable.  You can be in 150 ft, and 20 feet later the depth has decreased to 5 feet.  There are lots of sheer walls with 200 ft vertical drops in depth.

We caught 5 Northern Pike and 2 smallmouth bass. The largest pike was approximately 34 inches long, and the bass were huge by NC standards.  We had fish and grits for dinner, and Lois did a great job of preparing the meal.  Gary  and judy joined us for dinner, and we had a great time.

 Travelled from Beng Inlet in Britt, Ont, to Killarney.  This marks the end of the Georgian Bay and the beginning of the North Channel.

The Georgiqan Bay was a very exciting part of our travels.  The sights were fantastic, and came at You like a fast paced fireworks display.  Every bend had a new attraction, and a breathtaking view.  The channels and lakes are very challenging to navigate, with many, many opportunities to destroy the entire bottom on Little David.

The water here is green and very clean.  It is possible to see the bottom even in 30 ft of water.  The marina is part of a Moutain Lodge retreat, and is very luxurious.

This area is rich in Wildlife.  Bear, Moose, Elk, and other large game is very plentiful.  The fishing is fantastic, with many species of fish available.

The North Channel is 138 miles long, and ends, for us, at Drummond Island.  We will pass Customs at Drummond Island  sometime next week, providing the weather is suitable for travel.  We have lots of open water to cross before we reach Drummond Island.  We also have several shoal areas with 6 to 7 feet of water, out in the middle of a large body of water, that we must negotiate.

Thur July 10, St. Amants Waterfront Inn and Marina  45 46.29 80 34.067

We left the anchorage early this morning, hoping to make some progress today.   The wind was still blowing strong from the North.  When we entered the Outside channel, the waves were high enough to rock us around quite violently.  Knowing that we would be able to rejoin the small boat channel in about 3 miles gave us the incentive needed to continue.  When we entered the small boat channel, the waves subsided completely, and life is good.  Not to last.  We entered Hangdog channel, and was in for a real eye opener.  The channeol travels through solid rock, and the depth varies from 6’ to 100’.  The channel turns and twists through this rock gorge, and the channel width narrowed down to less than 30 ft wide, with solid rock on both sides, and lots of rock underneath.  Staying out of trouble in this channel required absolute concentration and tons of luck.  We made it with nary a scratch!!!  This area is beautiful beyond description.  After we left Hangdog Channel, things went smoothly.  We enjoyed absolutely stunning scenery the rest of the day.  We spent the night at St. Amants Waterfront Inn and Marina.  It was a very nice place with a restaurant, and we were very glad for the opportunity to rest and relax after our trying day.  I may be crazy or something, but I really enjoyed the entire day, especially after it was obvious that we would survive it. 

We left the Midland Harbour Marina and headed West toward the Georgian Bay.  Around noon, the weather changed for the worse.  Heavy fog rolled in and we found a very secure cove in which to anchor and wait for the weather to change.  As the fog lifted, the wind started blowing very strongly.  We decided to proceed, hoping to make it as far as Henry’s Fish Camp, where we could have Fish and Chips and a dock with power  to spend the night.

When we entered the open water of the Bay, we had a change of heart.  We were getting our butts spanked, so we turned around and went back to the anchorage to spend the night..   

We enjoyed a very peaceful evening and night at anchor in the cove.  Used the time to kick back and relax, and enjoy the quiet beauty of this cove. 

We left Port Severn this morning, heading to the Georgian Bay.  We ran into rain and high winds shortly after leaving Port Severn.  We changed directions and headed to Midland instead.  Docked at the Midland Harbor Marina and waited until the following day for the weather to change. 

The stay at Midland was relaxing.  We went shopping, and watched as huge sections of prefabricated floating docks were installed.

Went to West Marine looking for the latest paper charts for the Georgian Bay and north Channel, but  could not find them. 

Our stay at Midland was short, but I now understand why it is such a popular cruisers stop.