Story of Our Summer Cruise 2013

June 26 - In Port at Thessalon

Today was for the birthday girl who has reached a new milestone (but I am sworn not to reveal it). Bill and Jo greeted Judy with a bouquet of wild flowers they had gathered around the marina and a chorus of "Happy Birthday." Cards from around the world were opened and additional greetings were read on Facebook while Judy sat outside the Library which is the only source of Internet access we have found here. Thanks to all of those who sent cards and greetings.

Later in the day Judy, Dean Charlotte and I celebrated Judy's birthday with blueberry cheesecake and a small flower vase from Carrie Rose and prosecco (an Italian sparkling wine).

Last year we almost had to wait in line to get one of the available seats while people sat with their Macs and PCs surfing the net, checking e-mail, and one girl was even streaming a movie at 11 o'clock in the morning.. Cars occasionally pulled up, parked at the curb and fired up their lap tops. Internet connectivity in the North Channel after Thessalon is going to be sparse for us as, with the exception of a couple of stops in small towns, we have to rely on AT&T service from the USA. It does not matter that the USA shares a long border with Canada and the largest importer of Canadian goods and hockey players. For telecommunications companies, Canada is treated like the dark side of the moon.

To keep minimal lines of communications open requires us to sign our souls over to AT&T for an International Data Plan ($60 for a meager 300mb; $60 for 200 mins of calls to the US; and $50 for 200 texts. At that rate it would cost about $260 to download the latest episode of The Killing." We can queue up at the Library for a long time for that!

Prior to our trip I had researched getting a Canadian hotspot device for which a good Canadian plan could be purchased for around $60 for 2Gb. This would have suited us perfectly as we could suspend the plan when we finish our trip and reactivate it whenever we wanted. I was even prepared to drive to Windsor from Kalamazoo (about 2 1/2 hours) to buy the hotspot and complete the paperwork. I was already to commit after several hours on the phone with Rogers (the Canadian equivalent of AT&T) when they finally broke the bad news that they would not accept a US credit card but only a Canadian one. They would not even accept cash for several months service. What a disappointment after waiting probably eight hours. Do not even think of trying to get a wireless phone simcard as the same applies. We later found that there is a grey market in the cities where one can purchase prepaid sim cards with data but we will not be in their vicinity for some time.

Now that I have vented a little on the challenges of communications in the North Channel, I will turn to some of the good things so far.

Thessalon is small town at the NW corner of the North Channel with a small marina that can hold about 40 boats. Most of the piers can hold two boats of our size and we have the Ontario Provincial Police launch in front of us. Currently, there are four transient boats, four work boats, and a handful of seasonal sailboats and small power boats - about what we have seen on past trips. Later in the season, the marina does get busy as the "Loopers" begin to arrive on their migration southward to Lake Michigan and their entry to the river system in Chicago for the long haul down the rivers.

It is a shame that there are so few boaters using Thessalon as their entry point into Canada as it is only a short ride from the Detour Passage and another short day to get to the Turnbull/Long Point Cove area which is considered by many to be the western edge of the "real" North Channel. The marina buildings were built (or rebuilt) in around 2000 with very clean bathrooms and an excellent lounge/meeting room on the upper floor. The marina staff are very helpful and maintain a small fleet of bicycles for use of boaters so a trip to the main street is very quick. Slip pricing, by Canadian standards, is very reasonable and not much more than an equivalent slip in the US.

Just a Selection of the Wild Flowers Around the Marina

The main street of the town has all of the essentials for a cruiser - a good hardware store, post office, mini department store, and, in our opinion, the best supermarket in the North Channel. It does not have a big choice of restaurants as in Gore Bay and Little Current but if you can get a reservation, Tina's has a varied menu at reasonable prices. It does have a 110 year old Curling Club!

Today, Bill and Jo departed on Dolly for points east but we may hook up with them later as they will be staying in the area we are heading to. Albin showed up later in the day to take their place.

Carrie Rose, Sir Tugley Blue and Albin & Co

Unfortunately, Albin arrived with a a large number of stowaways which soon spread to our entire boat!

The Mayfly

Just before sunset we heard our first loon (or "diver" as they are known in the UK) just off to our east. Loons are relatively uncommon this far west in the North Channel and we only heard them 50 miles or so to the east. Loons are often seen alone or in a mating pair with the the "loonettes" hitching a ride on the mother loon. There is no mistaking the sound of a loon with a distinctive plaintive call that lasts for several seconds. it is definitely a "call of the wild."

The Loon (courtesy of the Internet)

June 27 - Thessalon to Turnbull Island

We awoke to the noise of gentle rain on the cabin top, a sound reminiscent of camping years ago. The pitter-patter of rain was always pleasing (as we had a good tent and later a pop-up camper). The downside is that today we wanted to be on the move at a reasonable time. Rain is not an issue for us as far as traveling as we are well protected in the pilothouse but soon after waking, the sound of thunder could be also heard overhead. Thunder alone is not a big issue but the lightning causing the thunder is of more concern as we are a prime target on the open water with a couple of antenna, radar, and other metal objects that lightning likes to seek out. With the lack of weather information, we decided to stay put and wait it out. A quick trip to the Library, and Internet access showed the storm was not too extensive and should move out in a few hours. Enjoy the pic Alexis the Weather Lady!!

Weather Radar View of Northern Lake Michigan and Huron (with us at the red dot)

One big adjustment the boater has to make when they go to the North Channel is dealing with weather information. US boaters are spoilt by the wealth of weather resources provided by the National Oceanographic and Aeronautical Agency (NOAA.. NOAA also makes all of its data available to third parties at no cost so there are a number of apps and computer sites of all kinds with many specific to the boaters needs. On Lake Michigan, we can get very specific pinpoint forecasts which are continually updated. In the remote regions of the North Channel, our only source of weather is Environment Canada (the equivalent of NOAA weather) which justifiably does not spend much of its resources here. We do get regular marine weather forecasts on our VHF radio but they tend to be somewhat generic and cover a large area. "Chance of showers, waves less than 1 meter" is the norm. Environment Canada does a good job of storm warnings for which we are grateful.

At around noon, the skies cleared enough so we and "Carrie Rose" decided to head out to Turnbull Island just a few hours away. Had a good ride with 1-2s and sun and arrived at Turnbull to see Dolly and Wave Equation, a sailboat we met last year in Gore Bay.. There was also another Nordic, "Janally," owned by George and Jean Barnhart, anchored between two islands just around from us and I took the dinghy out for the first time this year to chart with them. The outboard gods were watching over me and the motor started with no problems and the gearbox that I had rebuilt over the winter worked perfectly.

This was our first time in Turnbull and it was a great anchorage with good holding on a clay bottom. We anchored in the NE corner in 9' and felt well protected. It was a pity that the weather deteriorated overnight as it would have been a great spot to get the kayaks out and explore the many small islands adjacent to Turnbull.

June 28 - Turnbull to Aikens Island

Rain again this morning and after getting a call from our friends, Stephen and Fran Hill on "Tuggin'", we decided to head for Aikens Island to meet up with them, Randy and Audrey on "Heart Tug" and Bob and Jan on "Wings". We first met them at the last Rendezvous and had a great time. Randy and Audrey live in Canada just north of Lake Ontario and, each summer, travel the Trent-Severn Canal to Lake Huron and then back in the early fall. Thus they have a wealth of knowledge of the area we will be cruising after the North Channel so it is a great opportunity to pick their brains and meet up with friends.

We had five boats all anchored in a line in a small bay on Aiken Island, tied off to the shore which is a first for us. By doing so it limits the boats' swing at anchor so we can get closer and not have to travel so far. We can converse with Dean and Charlotte as if they were in the boat with us. They are only 30 feet away!

"Sir Tugley Blue, Carrie Rose, Heart Tug, Wings, and Tuggin'"

Fran the Fisherwoman's Catch of the Day and Food for Tomorrow!

Charlotte on ..........

All enjoyed "Happy Hour" aboard STB.

June 29 - At Anchor in Aitken Island

Fom the Rocks

Wild Iris

We awoke very early to the sound of the battery voltage alrm telling us we needed to start the generator to charge the batteries up. When we are anchored we depend for the most part on batteries to power lights, refrigerator, freezer, water pump, toilet, stereo, etc. For major loads such as cooking,water heating, and battery charging we have to fire up the generator and we have our own little onboard power plant. Actually, it's not that little as we could power a small house with it.

Running on batteries means we like to conserve our electricity usage from the batteries to minimize the amount we have to run the generator since it does create some noise and uses fuel. In an anchorage it is common courtesy to keep noise to a minimum so everyone can enjoy the peace and quiet of the wilderness. To help our conservation, we have switched all of our lights over to LED bulbs, added a new LED anchor light, improved airflow around the refrigerator, and have added a high output charger to charge batteries quickly when we need. The subject of electricity on boats is always a great subject of discussion and ways to improve its use can generate debates which rage on for weeks on boating forums. Our philosophy is to try to conserve and run the generator when we need it - we did pay the price of a small car for it so it needs to have a good payback.

Anyway back to our battery alarm. It was unusual for us to reach such a low level and after reviewing what could be wrong we started to troubleshoot what could be wrong. The generator was run for at least two hours the previous evening, the batteries were reasonably well charged, and we were not running much overnight. The batteries had to be ruled out as the source of the problem. so amidst much hand-wringing from the Admiral, I ran a battery discharge test which involved fully charging the batteries and then turning on electrical items so we were drawing a certain current. The time to discharge the batteries to a certain voltage is measured and compared with the battery specs. After 7 hours, the data was showing our batteries were as good as new. The batteries charged up well to 100% in a short time. We were nowhere nearer solving the problem! The batteries did not show a significant drop in voltage overnight either.

While all of this was going on Randy, Dean and Charlotte came over to the boat and we spent several hours poring over the charts, sucking up Randy's immense knowledge of Georgian Bay and the Trent-Severn. We learnt all about the best anchorages, most advantageous lock tie-ups, where to get the most delicious "sticky buns," ice cream,and "butter tarts." To Randy's credit, he manages to keep a reasonable waistline!

As we had planned to meet up with the trio of "Heart Tug," "Tuggin,'" and "Wings," they had planned a beach fish fry of their recent catch. Each of us bought a dish, while Randy and Stephen did the honors frying up a large batch of fresh Northern pike and bass. Dean baked some delicious bread. The meal was DELICIOUS - fit for Admirals and Captains!! There is nothing to beat freshly caught pike and bass with home cooked baked beans and accompaniments.

Master Chef Randy	Master Chef Stephen
Fish Cleaner Extraordinaire Fran	Master Baker Dean
The Feast

 

Will They get Us Back?

 

June 30 - Aikens Island to Little Current

No Problems with batteries this morning - maybe the gremlins have left. After another couple of hour with Randy on the Trent-Severn, we pulled our shore lines and anchors and headed for Little Current, the largest town in the North Channel, just under 30 miles away.

A perfect day to be on water today and we were soon in Little Current. We were amazed to see that we were only the fourth boat on the Port of Little Current Docks with only one boat on the wall. Current and wind aligned

and we had a slip to take advantage of the situation. We had expected, with Canada Day being tomorrow, that the Docks would be very busy and slips would be in short supply.

 

Other than catching up on a few jobs, taking a walk around town, and enjoying Rolo icecream we had a relaxing afternoon and evening.

July 1 - Little Current for the Day

Today is Canada Day (previously Dominion Day) celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act of 1867, which united three former colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire. It is considered Canada's birthday and is the major federal holiday.

Today also marks the start of the season for the Cruiser Net broadcast from Little Current. Every morning for the last ten years, Roy Eaton (a retired principal) has hosted a morning broadcast on VHF Channel 71 for cruisers in the North Channel. At 9:00 a.m.promptly, he provides a weather report, world, Canadian, and US news summary, and takes position reports from any cruisers who wish to report in on their radios. As needed, he will handle requests for assistance and try to hook people up with others that may be able to help. He currently broadcast from the Anchor Inn. The Cruser Net is a great resource to find out where friends are, what anchorage are busy or quiet, and to keep in touch with what is happening in the outside world.

Roy Eaton, Charlotte, Dean, Me and Judy

While we were sitting there listening to the broadcast, we received some exciting news - a new grandson had been born to our son, Barry and his wife, Nichole in Traverse City. Cormac Wagner Jones weighed in at 7lb 2oz. and all are doing well. By time we get to see him he will be nine weeks old - Grandma cannot wait! We celebrated his birth with champagne on the boat with Dean and Charlotte.

Cormac Wagner Jones

The rest of Canada Day was spent checking out the activities in Little Current and generally goofing off.

This Year's Canada Day Mural in Front of Last Year's

 

July 2 - Little Current to Snug Harbor

As we only had a short run planned today, we had a little lie-in with coffee in bed - plus it was only 52 deg. outside - brrrr. We debated going early or going to sit in with Roy's Cruiser Net and we made the right choice as Roy was on his lonesome when we arrived at 9:00. Charlotte and I scribed the boat names and locations for him.

After posting some mail, we hustled and made the 10:00 am bridge opening. Carrie Rose is not as high as us and can make it through the bridge but we have to go through on the hour when they pivot the bridge and give us room to pass. This is the 100th Anniversary of the bridge's construction which was a major enginnering feat for this remote area and opened up a road route which helped the area.

Snug harbor was only 15 miles away and, with perfect weathe conditions, we were soon in the totally enclosed bay. As the bay is deep until you get very close to shore, we anchored as close as we could and then took a line ashore to a tree to keep us stationary (like we did in Aiken). It was our first time solo though and it took a while to get everything lines up just right but we persisted and had a sound anchorage in the end.

Unusually, we were the only two boats so we had it all to ourselves. Last year, there were so many boats in here we just passed it by. There does seem to be fewer boats in the NC this year which is somewhat unexpected as the economy is rebounding. One factor that may be infuencing the numbers is the shutdown of the Erie Canal in NY state due to heavy rain and resulting damage. Many boaters on the Great Loop who would normally be arriving in the NC about now are stuck in the locks, some for over three weeks!

I did try a short shore walk along a trail which goes over to Fraser Bay to the north but, after donating a couple of pints of blood to the Canadian mosquito squadron, I gave up and just relaxed on the boat for the rest of the day, Oh! - I did accomplish one boat job, adding an extra inch of insulation to the refrigerator to try to cut down on it running all the time.

Flowers on Shore Before the Mozzys Got Me

This afternoon and early evening is what the North Channel is all about - solitude; light breezes, calm waters; sun; silence broken only by the birdsong and the lapping of water on the shore; sightings of occasional water birds and the odd beaver and muskrat. Hopefully many more days like this to come.