July 12-13, 2009 This island is known as the Whalesback Island, marking an area in the North Channel as the Whalesback Channel. Behind this island we anchored in Bear Drop Harbor; our last two nights of our trip. This anchorage will always be special. The North Channel, Ontario, Canada July 8-13, 2009
Duncan Bay Boat Club, Cheboygan, Michigan July 14, 2009
Greetings to all,
This blog will cover the past seven days for a distance of 260 miles from Collins Inlet in the Georgian Bay to yes, you just read correctly from above, to our home port of Cheboygan, Michigan. Today is Wednesday, July 15, our first day back to our home marina and I am trying to recover from the bittersweet feelings I have as I write my last blog after we completed the trip yesterday, July 14. We made it.. hip hip HURRAY!
Even though this is my last blog to write, there is actually another one coming in a day or two from Charlie. He will take you all in with him as he pilots Freedom's Turn on that last mile into Duncan Bay Marina yesterday. Besides his facts, he may even have some feelings!
On July 8 we woke up to an absolutely beautiful morning at anchor in Mill Lake in Collins Inlet of the Georgian Bay. We traveled to Killarney at the beginning of the North Channel where we spent one night at anchor at Covered Portage, then on to Little Current, Manitoulin Island for two nights, then two nights to wait out west winds of 20-25 knots gusting to 35 at our Bear Drop Harbor anchorage.
On our last day of cruising, Tuesday, July 14, it was a good day to leave the protection of Bear Drop Harbor. The water was laid down as I snoozed off and on all morning and later Charlie told me he saw a Bald eagle fly right past our boat. That must have been our good omen to go home.
There was a weather threat building for Wednesday and Thursday, so after much discussion, we opted to go past our planned Harbor Island two day anchorage and go on ahead to report into U.S. Customs at Yacht Haven Marina on Drummond Island ( it was quick and uneventful) and thus, head on home.
We made a mutual decision at 1:30 PM to go all the way to Cheboygan, after bracing ourselves with emotional thoughts settling in. We then called a few looper friends to hear their voices and to share what we were going through.
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Being so close to our home marina, we decided it was meant to be, so home we went. Michigan at last. So on July 14, 2009 at 6:15 PM Captain Charlie gave a blast on Freedom's Turn horn as we entered our home harbor with boater friends waving us in and taking our lines.
If we could go back briefly to July 8 and have the privilege of sharing our last beautiful Great Loop Adventure days with you all, we'd just love it.
The North Channel of Lake Huron
If this would be your first time in a boat in the North Channel of Lake Huron, you would be enthralled with the natural beauty of the area. The 120 mile long channel offers small and remote towns welcoming you to tie up your lines to their docks and discover their small town Canadian charm such as in Little Current. Or how about a divine fresh whitefish or trout sandwich at an outside restaurant that once was a bus with a sign just under the order window that says "Fish eaters make better lovers. " You could experience this in Killarney.
Nowhere will you see high rise developments, congested traffic, or fast food chains in the North Channel.
On the water, you would see for miles and miles the wide, open spaces of Mother Nature's finest forest land, rocky granite cliffs, and rock formations. Some even look like Indian faces like the one just going into Collins Inlet from the east on your starboard and one at the Covered Portage anchorage off of your port going in.
If you were in charge of navigating these waters, you would have to master your exploration techniques as you plan where to cruise otherwise you could get confused when finding your way around the many islands here with their hidden, shallow water areas. Studying the weather several times a day would be paramount especially if you were going westbound with westerly winds predicted as the long, open body of water could produce waves greater than many days on the Atlantic Ocean.
Much of the land in the North Channel is protected Indian reservation land and has been untouched by commercial use. You would be lucky enough to hike on much of this land; just don't take or leave a thing!
The pure air would fill your lungs completely yet comfortably and make you feel relaxed if you were cruising the North Channel. The very blue water would be clean enough for you to swim and bathe in.
You might see a six foot in diameter bird nest at the top of a tall tree and then spot a mother and father Bald eagle bringing food there for their babies on Turnbull Island if you are lucky enough. Should you take your dinghy ashore, there are hikes to take on big rocks where you could pretend you are an explorer on an expedition at a place like the Benjamin Islands. The wild blueberries you could pick in the Whalesback Channel area at Beardrop Harbor make the best blueberry pancakes ever, if you time the blueberry season just right.
Hidden waterfalls and beaver dams are here and there to be discovered and of course many fishing opportunities would be awaiting you in the private and abundant coves at places like MacGregor Bay or Strawberry Island.
Many of these coves are surrounded with views of granite cliffs that will take your breath away during the day and will make you feel protected at night.
And this is a place you could see a mother loon swimming proudly with babies on her back. And should you take your dinghy ashore to swim and bathe in a sandy beach spot, we cannot forget to remind you to check the floor of your dinghy before you get back in. There just might be a snake in there, curled up like a bunge cord.
Charlie and I have experienced all that is mentioned above throughout the years here in the North Channel. Consequently, it has been a real treat for us to end our Great Loop Adventure coming back to this summer vacation paradise we have enjoyed so much. Last summer was the only summer since we have owned Freedom's Turn that we did not go to the North Channel because we began the Great Loop working our way down the west side of Michigan in August instead.
For Charlie, the North Channel is the place he first came to all the way from West Virginia as a baby on a blanket with his family for their yearly fishing vacation.
We will love this place forever and it seemed very appropriate to come back now as we prepare to end our vacation trip of a lifetime.
Out of all the places we have been, the North Channel remains our favorite place to cruise.
North Channel, July 12, Little Detroit Passage.
From right to left the black marks represent the following stops: Collins Inlet in the Georgian Bay, then the remainder in North Channel with stops at Covered Portage near Killarney, Little Current on Manitoulin Island, Bear Drop Harbor, to Drummond Island to check in and last to our home port.
July 5, 2009 Henry's Fish Camp Restaurant, Frying Pan Island, Georgian Bay.
This photo should have actually been in the last blog but did not make it in time so it is here now. These gentlemen are friends traveling together on a boat next to us when we stayed at Henry's the one night. Charlie asked them to pose for this photo because they were each wearing, coincidentally enough, shirts with Michigan State's two biggest football rivals printed on them. The other interesting thing was that both men were Canadian and did not realize the significance!
July 8, 2009 Anchoring in a beautiful place here at Mill Lake in Collins Inlet, northern Georgian Bay, which is also at the beginning of the eastern part of the North Channel.
July 8, 2009 The 'Crabby Indian' Profile in a rock formation. Someone spoiled the view with a speed sign painted on the rock just below.
July 9, 2009 After setting the anchor in Covered Portage mid morning, we take a fun dinghy ride into Killarney (a little over a mile)for a fish and chips lunch at what boaters call the red school bus restaurant. It is really Herbert Fisheries.
Charlie is getting the condiments.
Our anchorage at Covered Portage near Killarney.
The Indian face rock formation at Covered Portage, can you see it?
Duncan Bay Boat Club, Cheboygan, Michigan July 14, 2009
Greetings to all,
This blog will cover the past seven days for a distance of 260 miles from Collins Inlet in the Georgian Bay to yes, you just read correctly from above, to our home port of Cheboygan, Michigan. Today is Wednesday, July 15, our first day back to our home marina and I am trying to recover from the bittersweet feelings I have as I write my last blog after we completed the trip yesterday, July 14. We made it.. hip hip HURRAY!
Even though this is my last blog to write, there is actually another one coming in a day or two from Charlie. He will take you all in with him as he pilots Freedom's Turn on that last mile into Duncan Bay Marina yesterday. Besides his facts, he may even have some feelings!
On July 8 we woke up to an absolutely beautiful morning at anchor in Mill Lake in Collins Inlet of the Georgian Bay. We traveled to Killarney at the beginning of the North Channel where we spent one night at anchor at Covered Portage, then on to Little Current, Manitoulin Island for two nights, then two nights to wait out west winds of 20-25 knots gusting to 35 at our Bear Drop Harbor anchorage.
On our last day of cruising, Tuesday, July 14, it was a good day to leave the protection of Bear Drop Harbor. The water was laid down as I snoozed off and on all morning and later Charlie told me he saw a Bald eagle fly right past our boat. That must have been our good omen to go home.
There was a weather threat building for Wednesday and Thursday, so after much discussion, we opted to go past our planned Harbor Island two day anchorage and go on ahead to report into U.S. Customs at Yacht Haven Marina on Drummond Island ( it was quick and uneventful) and thus, head on home.
We made a mutual decision at 1:30 PM to go all the way to Cheboygan, after bracing ourselves with emotional thoughts settling in. We then called a few looper friends to hear their voices and to share what we were going through.
a
Being so close to our home marina, we decided it was meant to be, so home we went. Michigan at last. So on July 14, 2009 at 6:15 PM Captain Charlie gave a blast on Freedom's Turn horn as we entered our home harbor with boater friends waving us in and taking our lines.
If we could go back briefly to July 8 and have the privilege of sharing our last beautiful Great Loop Adventure days with you all, we'd just love it.
The North Channel of Lake Huron
If this would be your first time in a boat in the North Channel of Lake Huron, you would be enthralled with the natural beauty of the area. The 120 mile long channel offers small and remote towns welcoming you to tie up your lines to their docks and discover their small town Canadian charm such as in Little Current. Or how about a divine fresh whitefish or trout sandwich at an outside restaurant that once was a bus with a sign just under the order window that says "Fish eaters make better lovers. " You could experience this in Killarney.
Nowhere will you see high rise developments, congested traffic, or fast food chains in the North Channel.
On the water, you would see for miles and miles the wide, open spaces of Mother Nature's finest forest land, rocky granite cliffs, and rock formations. Some even look like Indian faces like the one just going into Collins Inlet from the east on your starboard and one at the Covered Portage anchorage off of your port going in.
If you were in charge of navigating these waters, you would have to master your exploration techniques as you plan where to cruise otherwise you could get confused when finding your way around the many islands here with their hidden, shallow water areas. Studying the weather several times a day would be paramount especially if you were going westbound with westerly winds predicted as the long, open body of water could produce waves greater than many days on the Atlantic Ocean.
Much of the land in the North Channel is protected Indian reservation land and has been untouched by commercial use. You would be lucky enough to hike on much of this land; just don't take or leave a thing!
The pure air would fill your lungs completely yet comfortably and make you feel relaxed if you were cruising the North Channel. The very blue water would be clean enough for you to swim and bathe in.
You might see a six foot in diameter bird nest at the top of a tall tree and then spot a mother and father Bald eagle bringing food there for their babies on Turnbull Island if you are lucky enough. Should you take your dinghy ashore, there are hikes to take on big rocks where you could pretend you are an explorer on an expedition at a place like the Benjamin Islands. The wild blueberries you could pick in the Whalesback Channel area at Beardrop Harbor make the best blueberry pancakes ever, if you time the blueberry season just right.
Hidden waterfalls and beaver dams are here and there to be discovered and of course many fishing opportunities would be awaiting you in the private and abundant coves at places like MacGregor Bay or Strawberry Island.
Many of these coves are surrounded with views of granite cliffs that will take your breath away during the day and will make you feel protected at night.
And this is a place you could see a mother loon swimming proudly with babies on her back. And should you take your dinghy ashore to swim and bathe in a sandy beach spot, we cannot forget to remind you to check the floor of your dinghy before you get back in. There just might be a snake in there, curled up like a bunge cord.
Charlie and I have experienced all that is mentioned above throughout the years here in the North Channel. Consequently, it has been a real treat for us to end our Great Loop Adventure coming back to this summer vacation paradise we have enjoyed so much. Last summer was the only summer since we have owned Freedom's Turn that we did not go to the North Channel because we began the Great Loop working our way down the west side of Michigan in August instead.
For Charlie, the North Channel is the place he first came to all the way from West Virginia as a baby on a blanket with his family for their yearly fishing vacation.
We will love this place forever and it seemed very appropriate to come back now as we prepare to end our vacation trip of a lifetime.
Out of all the places we have been, the North Channel remains our favorite place to cruise.
North Channel, July 12, Little Detroit Passage.
From right to left the black marks represent the following stops: Collins Inlet in the Georgian Bay, then the remainder in North Channel with stops at Covered Portage near Killarney, Little Current on Manitoulin Island, Bear Drop Harbor, to Drummond Island to check in and last to our home port.
July 5, 2009 Henry's Fish Camp Restaurant, Frying Pan Island, Georgian Bay.This photo should have actually been in the last blog but did not make it in time so it is here now. These gentlemen are friends traveling together on a boat next to us when we stayed at Henry's the one night. Charlie asked them to pose for this photo because they were each wearing, coincidentally enough, shirts with Michigan State's two biggest football rivals printed on them. The other interesting thing was that both men were Canadian and did not realize the significance!
July 8, 2009 Anchoring in a beautiful place here at Mill Lake in Collins Inlet, northern Georgian Bay, which is also at the beginning of the eastern part of the North Channel.
July 8, 2009 The 'Crabby Indian' Profile in a rock formation. Someone spoiled the view with a speed sign painted on the rock just below.
July 9, 2009 After setting the anchor in Covered Portage mid morning, we take a fun dinghy ride into Killarney (a little over a mile)for a fish and chips lunch at what boaters call the red school bus restaurant. It is really Herbert Fisheries.
Charlie is getting the condiments.
Our anchorage at Covered Portage near Killarney.
The Indian face rock formation at Covered Portage, can you see it?We come to our first landmark for Little Current; the Strawberry Island Lighthouse! 
July 10, 2009
The swing bridge in Little Current opens on the hour and we made it there at just the right time.
Downtown Little Current; a familiar place for us to come back to!
July 11, 2009
July 10, 2009
The swing bridge in Little Current opens on the hour and we made it there at just the right time.
Downtown Little Current; a familiar place for us to come back to!
July 11, 2009 We begin a long bike ride of eight miles round trip by leaving the city limits and going to visit Denise and Wayne; owners of a B & B who we met through Charlie's brother Bud and his sister-in-law Diane. Bud and Diane drive from southern Ohio every summer for their week at the B & B for fishing and enjoying the sights of this long time family vacation area. Two summers ago Charlie and I were passing through Little Current on Freedom's Turn the same week that Bud and Diane were staying with Wayne and Denise.
On our way, we went past a field of cows! To our friend Warren and his wife Debbie who own a beef cattle ranch in Alabama, what kind of cows do we have here?
Boy, were they staring at us.
Protecting the calf.
Coming into Little Current, we listened to the Cruiser's Net radio program that is broadcast every day at 9:00 AM on marine radio channel 71. We learned about current weather conditions, local and national news. Boaters can announce their presence in the area so Charlie came on and said we were coming in from the the east. Imagine our delight to hear the voices of our sailboats friends Nancy and Tom on their boat Mistress (we know them from our home port in Duncan Bay) announcing on the radio station that they were coming into Little Current same day we were only coming from the west!
We reunite after 11 months! They are the first link to our other life!
Denise and Wayne invited us to their B & B for a lovely dinner. We were so grateful and it was great to see them again. Until next time and not good by, we said to them.
It is here that I finish my blog writing. I thank Charlie for helping me with the right words and for the facts for the blog past 11 months. The feelings have been all mine.
And I thank all of you for reading our story.
I will include one last quote from one of my favorite writers, Henry David Thoreau, taken from my well read, battered and dog eared book, "Thoreau on Water, Reflecting Heaven," one book from "The Spirit of Thoreau" Series sponsored by the Thoreau Society. This particular book is a collection of Thoreau's writings from several sources, carefully chosen to highlight his experiences living on the water throughout his life. I have relied on it throughout the entire trip.
On our way, we went past a field of cows! To our friend Warren and his wife Debbie who own a beef cattle ranch in Alabama, what kind of cows do we have here?
Boy, were they staring at us.
Protecting the calf.Coming into Little Current, we listened to the Cruiser's Net radio program that is broadcast every day at 9:00 AM on marine radio channel 71. We learned about current weather conditions, local and national news. Boaters can announce their presence in the area so Charlie came on and said we were coming in from the the east. Imagine our delight to hear the voices of our sailboats friends Nancy and Tom on their boat Mistress (we know them from our home port in Duncan Bay) announcing on the radio station that they were coming into Little Current same day we were only coming from the west!
We reunite after 11 months! They are the first link to our other life!
Denise and Wayne invited us to their B & B for a lovely dinner. We were so grateful and it was great to see them again. Until next time and not good by, we said to them.
We walked carefully to the top of a granite cliff in Covered Portage. You can see Freedom's Turn in the middle of the three boats on the right. Just another day in paradise up here.
It is here that I finish my blog writing. I thank Charlie for helping me with the right words and for the facts for the blog past 11 months. The feelings have been all mine.
And I thank all of you for reading our story.
And I feel like a very lucky first mate to have made this trip in my lifetime. I have endured 342 days of living outside my normal comfort zone for a distance of 6,069 miles and have learned more than ever that I can do whatever I set my mind to.
I have been blessed to have been able physically to make this thrilling cruising trip with my husband, the guy who put up with me through thick and thin and kept me safe through it all. I have been on my own inward journey as well as the outward journey and have gained personal growth daily by leaps and bounds. And last, I have learned that the friends Charlie and I have made on this trip are so dear that they have become part of our chosen family.
I will include one last quote from one of my favorite writers, Henry David Thoreau, taken from my well read, battered and dog eared book, "Thoreau on Water, Reflecting Heaven," one book from "The Spirit of Thoreau" Series sponsored by the Thoreau Society. This particular book is a collection of Thoreau's writings from several sources, carefully chosen to highlight his experiences living on the water throughout his life. I have relied on it throughout the entire trip.
From a writing in his Journal #3: pages 274-75 on June 22, 1851 (while living on a Walden Pond)
" To be calm to be serene - there is the calmness of the lake when there is not a breath of wind -there is the calmness of a stagnant ditch. So it is with us. Sometimes we are clarified & calmed healthily as we never were before in our lives - not by opiate - but by unconscious obedience to the all-just laws - so that we become like a still lake of purest crystal and without an effort our depths are revealed to ourselves. All the world goes by us & is reflected in our deeps. Such clarity! Obtained by such pure means! By simple living - by honesty and purpose - we live and rejoice!"
Thanks again for going along with us. Oh, what a ride.
Sincerely,
Linda
