Queen Ann’s Revenge

  We’re back in the “real” world of the
USA.  This marina has cable tv which we haven’t had for the last 2 months.  Hank hooked us up, but we forgot to turn it on when we got back to the boat Monday night.  No more “funny” money & we’re getting great reception for our cell phones & air card.  Prices here at home are certainly less than those of Canada.  We enjoyed our “international travel” & will probably go back to Canada again next year…….

We’ve spent the last week days visiting villages & anchorages in western Lake Huron.  Most of the villages in Michigan that we’re visiting have very good state-run marinas that are inexpensive & clean.  When we left Drummond Island we went to De Tour Village, which also has a museum that we visited.  Actually it’s pretty small, a work-in-process – the day we were there was customer appreciation day & wonderful cookies & desserts & lemonade were being served.  De Tour is where you catch the ferry for Drummond Island & we were surprised that it runs year round – even breaking the ice so it can get thru.  Here at De Tour we saw 6 or 7 lake freighters headed thru the channel – the only ones we’ve seen these past 2 months on the Great Lakes.

We met the chief of Parks and Recreation for the state of Michigan & he was most interested to hear of our experiences at the marinas (he was at the marina for a “surprise” inspection visit).  We’ve learned that Michigan has one of the best-run park systems in the country and all that we’ve seen to so far have been just great.  We also read that Michigan has more state registered boats than any other state (even more than Florida, which surprised me).

We anchored at Harbor Island one night & another at Government Bay where we awoke to a steady, chilly rain.  The wind shifted and our anchor was dragging, so we decided to pull it & go to the village of Hessel to wait out the weather.  Hessel is one of 2 villages within the beautiful Les Cheneaux Islands of Lake Huron.  It’s nice to have shore power when it cold & rainy!  Harbormaster Gail was there to greet us & help us settle in to our dock.  Hessel is a major center for antique speedboats & restoring of same.  We saw Hackers, Garwood, and numerous Chris Crafts.  Hank, who grew up with a wooden speedboat on Lake George, was so happy to see all the boats!

And then Tuesday afternoon we arrived at Mackinaw City for a couple of days.  Mackinaw City is a real “tourist town” & is where you can catch the ferry for Mackinac Island (other ferries go from St. Ignace) – they’re traveling the 6 or 8 miles to the island every half hour.  We saw ferries zipping all over the water as we were coming into the marina & they don’t slow down for you!  $24 for a round trip to the island!!!  We’ll be at Mackinac Island next Tuesday & Wednesday – another tourist spot, but very beautiful we hear & we want to see the island & the Grand Hotel.

Tuesday evening we met and had dinner with a great couple (John & Sandy Even) from Dubuque, Iowa who keep their boat up here & spend the summer touring upper Michigan & the North Channel.  Small world……  I had the local specialty – white fish – for dinner & it was wonderful. 

Yesterday morning we walked around the village of Mackinaw City & looked at all the tourist shopping spots – tee shirt & fudge shops everywhere.  Nothing of interest to people our age (although we did explore a bookstore)!!!  
 

After our walk, I cleaned QAR’s insides & Hank scrubbed the outside.  I got through before he did, so I got to go to a movie while he was still cleaning.  Had a thoroughly enjoyable 2 hours with “Julie-Julia”.  I had read Julie’s blog as she was writing it & was very interested to see how it was converted to a movie.  Now I want to get another Julia Child cookbook to read (love to read cookbooks).  We had a very surprisingly good dinner at a local Italian restaurant – chicken with polenta — & then enjoyed a band concert at the park next to our marina.

This morning we toured around Colonial Michilimackinac – a 1770’s era fort and fur trading village that reminded us so very much of Fort Niagara in Youngstown, NY – and also saw the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse.  We haven’t kept count of the lighthouses we’ve seen, but there have been lots!!

Hank just unhooked our shore power.  We’re headed to Bois Blanc Island for the night.  This is supposed to be a serene and peaceful location, which we need after seeing all the tourists & tourist shops!

We’re still at Drummond Island Yacht Haven.  Decided to stay an extra day ‘cause a rain front came thru yesterday afternoon.  We’ll leave here this afternoon & anchor at
Harbor Island for the night; then head to de Tour Village on Friday.  It’s cool this morning so we’re in long pants and jackets once again.  Amazingly (or maybe not so amazing), boaters up here are already starting to pull their boats for the season.  The couple on the sailboat next to us said they had about 2 months of sailing this summer & even with that the weather didn’t cooperate very much.  It’s such a beautiful area for boating that I guess it’s worth the effort.  Once winter arrives, the focus of Drummond Island changes over to snowmobiling. Once winter comes, the islanders mark trails on the frozen lakes with Christmas trees.  Does that mean they can’t snowmobile before Christmas???

There are 2 customs officers that work here — commuting from Sault Ste. Marie (in a department of homeland security truck).  They are here from noon till 7 pm, 7 days a week.  Once boating season ends; (they go on vacation) & then they’re back in the winter for the snowmobilers.  It seems a waste of time & money (our tax dollars) to me – no “bad guys” are going to bother to check in with customs.  There’s got to be a better way.

Yesterday we walked to the Drummond Island Museum.  The curator is a 5^th generation islander & is very proud of her heritage & her island.  The museum has a little bit of everything – a fun way to spend a few hours.  While walking to the museum we saw 3 large (to me) snakes curled up beside the road – they were still there on our way back.  I was assured that they were probably water snakes.  There are no poisonous snakes on the island — & no skunks either.  The island has a dolomite “mine” &, other than boating, that’s about all that’s here for commerce.

Today is our 11 month anniversary of leaving Dubuque last September & starting our Loop Adventure.   Wow!  We’ve done over 5,400 miles & figure it’ll be about 7,000 by the time we complete the loop when we arrive where the Illinois River meets the Mississippi River – sometime around the first week in October.

Fish to taste right, must swim three times – in water, in butter, and in wine.

                                                                                                        Polish Proverb

Last Friday, we anchored at
Bear Drop Bay.  We got there pretty early – one other sailboat was there & later left, so we were the only boat at this beautiful anchorage for the night.  Hank was casting off the back deck & on his third cast he hooked a 22 ½”, 4 pound walleye!!!  About time I say……he managed to filet it in between rain showers & we had a delicious dinner, with half frozen for another day!!

We had quite a rain storm come thru & had to reset the anchor 3 times ‘cause we were dragging.  The third time Hank put out another anchor & that held us just fine.  We’ve had lots & lots of wind & cool temperatures the past few days.  Canadians are still complaining about this being a terrible summer for them — & we have to agree.  One Canadian quipped that August 16 was their one day of summer & it was the only true “hot” day we’ve had.

Saturday morning we were in long pants & jackets, bundled up as we motored to Blind River for the night.  We got there early (wanted to get there before the wind came up ‘cause we had 15 miles of open water to cross) & had a long walk into town for lunch & a few groceries.  We’re still meeting so many friendly, interesting folks.  I made chili for supper tonight – good weather for it! 

Sunday we spent at Thessalon – our last night in Canada.  This morning we had a short 20 mile crossing to Drummond Island, Michigan where we tied up & saw the customs agent walking up to check us back into the USA.

We enjoyed our 9 weeks in Canada!!!  The northern coast of Lake Ontario brought back so many memories of our sailing years there.  The Trent-Severn Waterway is one of the most unique waterways in the world, especially the “Big Chute”.  The North Channel & Georgian Bay have some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.  We had beautiful anchorages, visited quaint small towns & villages, and met many friendly citizens of Canada.  We were surprised by the 13% sales tax on everything (to pay for their health care coverage) & especially by prices at the state controlled liquor stores – more than double what we pay in the states.

We saw a bear, otters, loons, bald eagles, beavers.  Hank caught his fish!! Unfortunately, I haven’t seen a moose, but we did hear one calling while we were anchored at Baie Fine.  Maybe I’ll see one in the next week or so.  We’re going to explore the Upper Peninsular of Michigan for the next 2 weeks before we head south toward Chicago.

THE NORTH CHANNEL

We left Little Current last Thursday & have spent the last week slowly working our way thru the
North Channel of Lake Huron in Ontario.  We keep saying how beautiful it is — & it continues to be one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever seen..  We anchored behind Crocker Island &, the next  night, really enjoyed our anchorage at Little Benjamin where I was able to finally spend time swimming in the clear water.  On Saturday the 15^th, we stayed at the marina at Gore Bay & had dinner at the Two Pines Restaurant with Dee & Rudy off True Love II.  Rudy & Dee are from Vermont; are in their 70s & doing the loop is one of the last things for them on their “Bucket List”.  Good for them!!!  We’ve enjoyed traveling with them.

We tied up at the marina at Kagawong village & hiked the trail to Bridal Veil Falls – a 40’ falls that drops to a 3 or 4’ foot pool – very beautiful and refreshing on a warm day (we were there with about 30 other people & were surprised to see so many).  We toured St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church – built on a nautical theme (the pulpit is the bow of a 26’ wooden speed boat that crashed & killed 2 people 20 years ago).  From Kagawong we went to Clapperton Island & anchored for the night – out of the wind in 10’ of water.  After that, we anchored at Louisa Island & the next night behind Anchor Island at McBean Harbor with one other boat.  It was a desolate anchorage – very quiet & adjacent to an Indian Reservation so we couldn’t go ashore (private land).  When I got up in the middle of the night, there was absolutely no light except for a few stars.  Again – very beautiful!  We both are enjoying our anchorages…

Now we’re at the marina in Spanish, Ontario (pop. 800) for the second night because of weather.  We’ve had rain all day & right now a front is passing thru with winds up to 40mph. We hope that tomorrow will be calmer.  We did laundry this morning & then we walked into town for lunch & a visit to the grocery – actually locals who saw us gave us a ride both ways. Very friendly folks.  Later we climbed the very long, steep steps (in the rain) to the nature trail to get our exercise. This village was home to schools for both boy & girl “aboriginal” (Indian) children who were “rescued” by Jesuit priests & put in boarding schools to be educated.  The schools were closed in the 50s.  This coming weekend is a reunion & quite a few former students are expected.  The villagers have been busy today getting ready for “Spanish Fun Days”.  There are at least 7 conflicting stories about how Spanish got its name.  However, there is no one here of Spanish origin & no one who speaks Spanish.  

I’m still looking for my moose & Hank’s still searching for the elusive fish!  And I still haven’t had any homegrown tomatoes or visited farmer’s markets – we’re always a day or two too early or too late….………..

Written 8/20/2009

We left our anchorage at
Bad River early on the 6^th to avoid predicted high winds & lumpy seas.  We motored thru Collins Inlet (one of the most beautiful passages we’ve seen) – then we hit rough seas – but for just 4 miles.  We were headed to the village of Killarney where we tied up at the Sportsman’s Lodge.  This is a village that caters to tourists – lots of boaters and campers headed to one of the Killarney Provincial Parks.  There was lots of rain Sunday morning, so we decided to stay another day.  We had lunch at Herbert Fisheries – a red bus parked by the dock selling fish & chips.  I also got a fresh frozen filet for the freezer, just in case Hank never catches a fish!  I went to the “grocery” store for a Sunday paper, but nobody had gone in to Sudbury to get one, so I rented a movie instead & spent a couple of hours watching the latest James Bond movie – Hank didn’t watch; he just doesn’t like movies…..

We left Killarney on Monday for the 28 mile trip to Baie Fine – another beautiful trip to one of the most gorgeous places we’ve ever seen.  Once reaching Baie Fine , we went  10 miles up the fijord  (the only one in North America) to the “Pool” at the end where we anchored for a couple of days.  The hills surrounding the fijord are white quartz covererd with evergreens – where there are no trees you’re reminded of snow covered hills.  There were 6 boats anchored for the first night (we’re still traveling with True Love II); we’ve heard of as many as 50 boats anchoring in the Pool.  A wonderful 2 days.  We swam, Hank fished.  We grilled out.  We explored in the dinghy – on Tuesday morning we saw a bear swimming in shallow water.  He seemed unconcerned by us & took his time climbing out of the water & disappearing into the tall grasses lining the shore –it wasn’t a moose, but a bear’s okay!  However, I’ll still continue my search for a moose!

We hiked 1 ½ hours up & down to Topaz Lake with Dee & Rudy off True Love II.  A pretty challenging hike thru rocky riverbeds & the forest – but well worth the view of the lovely lake nestled in between the white quartz hills.

Today we’re at Little Current to do some provisioning for the next 5 or 6 nights at anchor in the North Channel.  We’ve met up again with Izzy & Jeff off Izzy R (last seen in New Jersey); had dinner with them last night & hope to see them again.  We’ve talked them into turning around for a day trip to Baie Fine (they just motored right past it).  They won’t regret it!

GEORGIAN BAY – PART 2

**********HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIN**********

On the 4^th we were tied up for the night at the public dock at Point Au Baril Station (no phone, no wifi), another of the small villages that dot the shoreline of Georgian Bay.  We shopped at the CC Kennedy Grocery Store for a few things.  They had a very nice, though small, selection of produce – except for tomatoes.  We have yet to see any home grown tomatoes or even a garden (but lots of flower pots & perennials stuck in crevices of the boulders).  Dirt is at a premium up here on Georgian Bay

Also at the dock were True Love II & Quotidian (Maurice – a retired police detective from St. Pete who’s doing the loop by himself in a 21 foot Ranger Tug).  We walked to a restaurant where we had a very mediocre meal.  Most every restaurant in Canada serves  fish & chips (I’m really getting tired of French fries).  But we tell ourselves that we’re getting a “taste of the locals”.  We have discovered “peameal” which is pork tenderloin rolled in cornmeal, then sliced very thin & pan fried.  It’s very good & they serve it with breakfast or as a sandwich (a BLT).  I’ve also seen poutine on the menu which is French fries with gravy & melted cheese – am not sure if we’re brave enough to try that!

We left Point Au Baril Station and encountered rough, lump seas with 3’ waves & the occasional 5’ to 6’ one.  We were following True Love II for most of the trip & we took the lead after taking a short cut around a waypoint.  True Love II called to tell us that our dinghy wasn’t tied to the boat any longer – if we’d still been behind them we might have lost the dinghy for good!  Fortunately, we were able to rescue the dinghy, but it took 3 tries in those rough seas to get it tied behind QAR.  The painter had broken & I used the remaining line for the first attempt & it broke again.  Anyway, it was a “recovery at sea” that wasn’t much fun & we were glad to tie up for the night at Wright’s Marina in Britt.  We enjoyed a very good dinner of mussels & fettuccini with scallops at the Little Britt Inn, had showers & early to bed.

The next day we traveled thru tricky channels – Rogers Gut & Cunningham Channel – with hairpin turns around buoys – past Bustards Islands & Gun Barrel — to another beautiful anchorage on the Bad River near Devils Door

We’re started writing down some strange boat names that we come across.  Current favorites are – Dad’s Basement and Holy Ship.

Written 8.9.2009