Saturday, August 13, 2011
Last night we tried to anchor in Clapperton Harbor but the water was too deep in the area that remained available. There was another spot close by that looked promising on the charts but Rusty felt uncomfortable when we looked at it so we headed for Logan Bay. It was on the east side of Clapperton Island and proved to be an excellent anchorage. Early Saturday morning we heard that a boat had entered the area that we nixed, and had gone aground. Phew.
It was a rainy and blowy day so we headed for Kagawong and tied up at the public docks for a few hours. There was a wonderful museum in town depicting the early life in this early. One heartbreaking story centered on Daniel Dodge (son of John Dodge) who met and married a local girl while vacationing on Manitoulin Island. She made $15 per week as a telephone switchboard operator. On their honeymoon, day 13, Danny was playing with dynamite sticks, injured himself and the others and on the way to the hospital (via boat) he fell overboard and drowned. The local gal inherited 1.25 million dollars. This was back in 1938. The Manitoulin home (and dynamite) had been purchased by Dodge from the Ford family.
The weather still wasn’t cooperating much so we headed for Gore Bay, about 1.5 hours away. There were no dockhands to help us but fortunately another boater lent a hand. Not much in Gore Bay which surprised us as it was listed in the guidebooks as a provision stop.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
A Canadian customs officer boarded this morning to check over our paperwork. We were glad that our paperwork was in order. She mentioned that a number of American boats had failed to clear customs when entering Canada and were consequently fined $1,000.
It stopped raining late morning and we were off again and anchored in the Oak Bay area. Nice and quiet. On the way we passed the Benjamin Islands with their colorful pink rock faces.
Monday, August 15, 2011
We didn’t intend to go as far as we did. The winds were with us. We are back in the US. We cleared customs in Drummond Island and then anchored in Harbor Island, about two miles away. We were not the only ones and one of the other boaters came over and told us about a great anchorage in Government Bay and a good grocery store in Cedarville.
We were happy to be back in 3G land.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
We travelled only an hour or so and tied-up at DeTour Harbor Marina to take on fuel, do laundry, etc. etc. Early afternoon we headed for Government Bay. The anchorage was well protected and we were able to shave off four hours of our leg to Mackinac Island. By the time we anchored it was too late to dinghy to Cedarville.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The weather reports were not encouraging. Nevertheless we tried to make the crossing to Mackinac Island but after 45 minutes we had done enough bouncing and turned back and docked for a few hours at the Cedarville Municipal Docks. We strolled to the grocery store and it was excellent. One of the purchases was a bag of cake donuts made fresh that day in the store. Yummy.
We left early afternoon and headed through the Les Chenoux channel. It was calm until we hit some open water about one hour later. Waves began to pound us. We had called McDonaugh Marina in Hessel earlier and they had one spot left. Not sure whether or not we needed it we just stored that information in the back of our minds. We decided we needed the spot.
ME: Let’s call the municipal marina first.
MUNICIPAL MARINA: No answer
ME: I’ll call McDonaugh. Ring, Ring. I called earlier and you said you had one slip available. Can we have it?
MARINA: Hesitation… “Port or starboard?”
OUR BOAT: BOUNCE, BOUNCE
OUR VHF RADIO: Are you the boat bouncing outside the marina?
RUSTY on VHF: Yes, we would like a slip.
ME on the telephone: I can’t see the entrance to your marina. All I see is the sign “Hessel”
MARINA: If you see the sign “Hessel” you are seven miles away. You are calling the Cedarville Marina.
OUR BOAT: BOUNCE, BOUNCE
ME: Groan… Sorry, I misdialed.
RUSTY (on the VHF radio): This is the Cooper. We would like to have a slip.
HESSEL MARINA: No answer
RUSTY: I can’t raise them
ME: I’ll call them
RUSTY: Make sure you use the right number.
ME: Ring; Ring (with the right number): No answer
By that time a number of people had come out on the Hessel Marina outer dock and were waving us in. Rusty made the decision to set up for a port tie-up as we couldn’t raise the Marina by phone or VHF. It turned out to be the right call. I scrambled to the lower deck to put out the fenders and lines while the boat rocked from side to side.
We entered the safety of the marina and with the help of four boaters and the dock master; we were secured in no time flat. Hessel turned out to be a gem. The Marina was well maintained. A general store offered great lattes for $2. There was a used book store, The Village Idiom, run by two elderly women, and they helped me select some books. We took some long walks and relaxed.
Thursday, August 18
We made it to Mackinac Island before noon and docked there. Although we were rocked all day by the wakes of the ferries, it was calm at night and the location was terrific.
We toured the Fort, strolled the town, and went to the Grand Hotel for dinner. Except for dinner, it was all lovely.
Friday, August 19
The winds had picked up and there was a small craft advisory for the area we were travelling so we stayed put. Rusty got out the bikes and the three of us explore the island. It was wonderful. That evening we had a delightful time over drinks with a couple from Ohio. They were sailors but were considering a trawler so we showed them our boat and then we went over to see their sailboat. There is a surprising amount of room in a sailboat.
Saturday & Sunday, August 20-21
We ended up spending two days in Beaver Island because of weather. This is starting to sound repetitive and we were beginning to think that weather might be an ongoing factor for the next while.
Beaver Island is the place to come and relax. There are lots of cottages to rent. One well stocked grocery store, a deli/bakery, a snack bar, a museum, a bar, a couple of churches, and a ferry service to the mainland about 30 miles away. And on Sundays, the NYTIMES arrives on the 11 am ferry. At 11:10 we were sitting outside the deli on a picnic table with our lattes and the paper. How decadent!
The ferry doesn’t run in the winter and then food, etc. needs to be flown in. A gallon milk costs $1.80 extra. There are between 350 and 600 permanent residents on the Island (depends on source of information)
The museum told the story of King Strang, a self-declared king of Beaver Island and polygamist in the 1800’s. He was assassinated by two of his flock.
Monday – Friday, August 22-26
It was a four hour run from Beaver Island to Charlevoix. We left at 7 am and during the next few hours, the water and winds became increasing stronger. Dark clouds followed us all the water and at times it looked like waterspouts were forming. We were so glad to be tied up.
Charlevoix is delightful. Even though it is too windy to boat, we’ve had some nice times walking around town. There are bistros (Scovies, Racquette) that do a great job with deli sandwiches and a fish market (Cross)around the corner that sells their daily catch to the retail market.
The town has a library converted from a public school that is just unbelievable. It is huge. Former classrooms have been converted to comfortable reading rooms and there are computer stations everywhere. This for a town of 2,500 permanent residents.
Gigi has fleas. The local pet store said there was an outbreak in the area and he was out of medication. Gigi being the social princess has to meet and greet every dog within two miles so this is her (and our) punishment. We have frontline which is applied every month but last month the application hit more fur than skin so that will be a lesson. The local vet was 3.5 miles out of town and I hopped on the bike to get $100 worth of flea spray, flea shampoo, and more frontline. My treat on the way back was a latte and angus delux wrap at McDonalds. It has been at least two months.
Rusty took the time this week to do oil changes, changed the Raycor filter, and topped the batteries.
We hoped to leave earlier than Friday but the winds have been strong enough to create waves that would be dangerous for us. There has been a small craft warning for the past few days.
Today our goal is Leland, Michigan. We called ahead to the marina and while they don't take reservations they took our information, "because they like to know who is coming."
