Some pictures taken this week

Killarney Channel - the main street of Killarney, Ontario

A Boat-in Movie Theatre - in our marina in Killarney

Sportsman's Inn, Restaurant & Marina, Killarney ON

Lighthouse at entrance to Byng Inlet, Georgian Bay

Dinner on our boat with the crews of Teliki & Thistle Dew, Killarney ON

St. Amant's Inn, Restaurant & Store - in Britt, Ontario

Our boat in Britt - on the left, behind

Range with green lights - entering Byng Inlet

Range with red lights - entering Byng Inlet

Another community, more new friends

Because we are flying our Great Lakes Cruising Club burgee up on our mast, we got invited to join 12 other sailors here in the marina (Britt, Georgian Bay, Ontario) for dinner tonight.  Having just left the Trailer Sailors in the North Channel, we were by ourselves for a whole day without hooking up with another group of sailors.  Sure not lonely out here!

Also met Morris & Joyce who have a trailer and sailboat here in Britt, and are also members of the Trailer Sailors Assn.  Morris gave us valuable advice on anchorages and routes from here to Midland, all the way down the coast of Georgian Bay.

We met Ted from Grand Marais (MN), who knows Art (who we met in the marina in Ontanagon a few weeks ago), both of whom know Tyler and the Barness's in GM.

Taking a lay day here.  Catching up on sleep, maintenance, cleaning (boat and ourselves), more sleep.  Life is good. The world is small ...

Crossing Georgian Bay

We left the rest of the Trailer Sailors fleet this morning in Killarney; we're on our own again now.

Exciting day today, crossing northern Georgian Bay from Killarney to Britt in the Byng Inlet near the northeast corner of the bay.  This is the one section of Georgian Bay that required long runs on the outside - 40 miles - with no places to safely duck back into sheltered waters – mostly we were several miles offshore.  The winds ranged from 10 to mostly 15 knots or more for the seven hours it took us to make the crossing. Waves – big rollers – continued the whole time – probably over 3 feet, maybe more.  Auto just couldn't handle it, so we spent almost the whole day steering the boat. Not relaxing, not especially fun. Cold, too – full foulies on all day.

Ihana handled it just fine; we did okay also – but it was exhausting.  Finally grabbed a marina slip in Britt, had breakfast at 4 pm, and slept until we went out for pub grub (Britt's Pub?).

We have to go back outside for about 15 miles for the next leg, but will wait until the winds subside a bit out there. Maybe a lay day here; supposed to be winds of 20 early tomorrow morning, then down to 10 in the afternoon (offshore, thankfully), with waves building to ½ to 1 meter.  Might go for it in the PM; might just wait it out for a day.

Ten days with the Trailer Sailors

 We have been very busy.  I've only read 1-1/2 books since we left Superior on June 25.  Spending much of my "leisure" [i.e. not sailing or motoring] time reading cruising guides and studying charts, figuring out where we will go next. Or occasionally, blogging when we can get WiFi access to the Internet. That's why we don't publish daily.

We have sometimes been in marinas (like tonight, in Killarney ON); the other nights anchored in various locations in the North Channel. Killarney is a great town - the main street is a channel about a mile long between the mainland and an island. [There is a road also, but it's really more like a wide alley - the water is the main story.] We are at a dock on the island side; a water taxi continuously takes us back and forth across the channel to town - although we could use the dinghy.

It seems to be a lot more crowded all over the North Channel this summer than in past years; sometimes it is difficult to find a good spot to anchor.  For example, last night outside of Covered Portage Cove we put out two bow anchors and two lines tying the stern to shore, so we wouldn't swing into other boats.  Good thing – strong winds. Decided to pull all this out this morning after the overnighters left; we had to motor the Bruce anchor out as we couldn't pull it out by hand. We needed lots of room to do all this maneuvering and decided to do it when the other boats were gone.  After that, we headed to Killarney to grab a dock and hook up with some of the rest of the Trailer Sailors.

It has been GREAT hooking up with old and new friends here.  There are about 30 boats in our "flotilla", although most of these come and go.  There are only 5 boats here tonight in the "main fleet" [all from MI, MN & WI]; great dinner at the Sportsman's Inn.

There are about 100 boats in the North Channel - at least those who radio in to the morning Cruiser' Net where we can all find out who is here, who is where, and the news, and unreliable weather forecasts.

It has been and will be sad to leave these friends.  Thanks to John Travis ("Traveler") for planning and leading this organized adventure. We can't believe how many people we know here (now, and from before), and how helpful everyone is.  We met the Fraks again, the couple we met in Marquette on our way across Lake Superior, who trailered their boat here for these two weeks. And many others.

We expect to leave them all on Thursday (wind and waves permitting), to make a 40-mile crossing of northern Georgian Bay – should be easy after some of those 60+ mile crossings on Lake Superior. After that, we should be in protected waters (somewhat), all the way to Port Severn where we start transiting the Trent-Severn Canal.

One possible snag is that the Canal is at low water levels. If they don't get some rain, it may be too shallow for us when we get there in a few weeks.  No way to know now; it probably won't be a problem.  Onward.

Will upload pictures separately.  Stay tuned.

An interesting evening

Earlier this week, we had a real eventful night -

The setting: We had anchored in a very crowded (but beautiful) anchorage. Because of the large number of boats anchored close together, everyone had short anchor rodes (lines and chains to their anchors) – too short to hold well in strong winds, but short enough to prevent the boats from swinging into each other – we had 50 feet of chain, 10-15 feet of line, and a kellet. [Significant Lesson Learned: Avoid crowded anchorages and ALWAYS set enough scope. ALWAYS.] In the evening, we had a great time reconnecting with our new friends for conversation and beer, on their s/v-Iroquois (Debi & Jack), who we had met a week or two ago in Meldrum Bay.

The storm:  Strong winds hit about midnight, from a different direction, causing us to drag anchor.

The problems: 1) we were drifting into another boat; 2) it was too dark to see which boats were where; 3) we had to get our anchor up, then get out of there.

The midnight cruise: We motored through the fleet, in the dark, trying to find a safe place to reset our anchor (not to mention the difficulty of pulling the anchor up in the dark while motoring.)  We were locating boats with flashlights, and shoreline with the chartplotter.  In strong winds. Not fun.

The good news: We did not hit another boat. No damage. Nobody hurt.

Anchoring, take two: We found the best place we could where we thought we could reset the anchor without swinging into any other boats.  But it was pretty close to a rocky shore – couldn't tell how far away it was due to the dark – probably 20 to 60 feet but who knows? We put the anchor in, and stayed on anchor watch all night – impossible to tell how well it was set, exactly where we were, or who or what we might hit.  Had the diesel motor ready to start, fast, if we needed it. (We didn't.)

Morning:  Very tired. Up all night.

Decision:  In the daylight, get out of there and into a different anchorage which would not be crowded, would be safe from the strong winds, and where we could anchor securely and safely.  We motored a few miles to Croker Island – set TWO anchors with incredibly long scopes and, pointed into the wind, tied TWO stern lines to shore.  Then we slept most of the day and the next night.

Meanwhile: Since our VHF radio didn't work too well, we had trouble contacting the rest of the fleet.  But we did and let them know where we were and that we were okay.

Epilog: Bought two more flashlights and another spotlight. Swore never to anchor again without enough anchor rode, regardless of what other boats were doing or saying. Got our antenna fixed (finally!).  And, since then, have had safe anchorages and wonderful sailing.

Good learning experience. You will be happy to know that we did everything right in acting through this adventure (except, of course, for the initial anchoring location and setting the anchor).

Important take-away: ALWAYS have your anchor light(s) on in all anchorages, even if you are well away from any expected traffic and are in designated anchorages – another boat might have to motor through the anchorage in the dark and/or in a storm, and needs to know where you are.

Stuff happens. Oh, well …

Pictures from the North Channel

Some of the ~30 sailors attending the happy hour party on - and mostly off - our boat

Anchored, with our stern pretty close to shore

Plotting the course at our navigation station

The marina at Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island

Boats and Anchorages

These are some of the variety of boats participating in the 2012 Trailer Sailors Assn. North Channel cruise - 

Klingon Bird of Prey ?

Trailer Sailors

We are still in Little Current, Ontario.  Had a great potluck with about 30 boats and their crews of the Trailer Sailors Association, who we will be sailing with for the next week or two.
We do still count as trailer-sailors, since we did have our boat hauled from our home port (Lake City, MN) to our launch port (Superior, WI). - Everything is trailerable if you have a big enough truck.
Skippers meeting today, then we will be off-line until we get back to WiFi, probably by next weekend or before.
Great people, nice weather but hot, riding our bikes around the town here, re-provisioned and pumped-out.
I'm late, I'm late - for a very important date.  No time to say "Hello Goodbye" - I'm late. I'm late. I'm late ...

Little Current

We made it to Little Current, Ontario.  Now tied up at the Town Docks.  Have started meeting up with other trailer sailors.  Opening potluck is Sat. night - we made it a whole day ahead.
Got a lot to do now that we are back in "civilization".  More news later - we're back on the 'net!

Canada! We're in the North Channel

Left the USA this morning; we're now on the west end of Manitoulin Island in Meldrum Bay. Cleared customs, so we are legal to sail in Canada through September (if we stay that long).
Internet, where we can find it, is extremely slow and difficult to work with.
We will leave tomorrow for several days of sailing and anchoring out, so don't expect any posts for a few days.  We should be in Little Current by Saturday sometime, so we will back on-line by then (we think).
Tentative Plan from here: Cross to the Whalesback Channel; anchoring maybe north of John Island, then on to Laurier, then the Benjamins or Croker, and on to Little Current. But don't believe that too much.
Nice traveling by boat - without a car, we tend to stay around the ports. And so, we meet people and see local stuff that we would probably have driven by quickly if we had a car.

Happy Birthday to Nelly

Hello to Nelly! 

And Happy Birthday, a very special birthday!  Chag Sameach!  Mazel tov!

We are currently in Meldrum Bay, which is on the west end of Manitoulin Island. MI is the largest freshwater island in the world and we will be sailing in the channel north of it as part of Lake Huron for the next month.
What is here?  A small marina with friendly people.
A restaurant and inn which are lovely in a down home way.  And a small general store.
No phone. No post office.  But beautiful area.

The weather has been wonderful here. In the 70's or low 80's for the last week or more.
Blue skies.  The only thing missing is a bit more wind.
But we are doing a lot of exploring from the water side.

And we really are sorry that we are missing your celebration.  It will be a wonderful party.
Would love to be there.

Hugs to you and all of our dear colleagues.  Please give our regards to all of them.

Bob and Ilona

on sv-Ihana

on our way to the Bahamas. 

Life is good.

a little DeTour

We left the Soo this morning. Tonight we are at the De Tour Harbor Marina, at the eastern end of Michigan's Yoop.  It was a little out of the way ("only a 3 hour deTour ...").
Tomorrow we have a (very) short sail to Drummond Island.  Ilona was there about 60 years ago and always wanted to go back.  I want to go there to hear their famous marching band - I'm sure everyone has heard about the Drummond Bugle Corps ...  [somebody stop him!]

Fun with AIS

Playing with our AIS (Automatic Identification System) which is connected to our MacBook.  Our boat is the yellow-orange boat in the marina - the Kemp Marina in downtown Sault Ste Marie, MI, USA.  The Buffalo is a large laker; we were warned that it would pass within a couple of hundred yards of us (it did) - you can see its track. There is another large boat in the MacArthur Lock.

Technical notes (can be safely ignored): The charting program is Coastal Explorer.  It is a Microsoft .exe program running under XP in a virtual machine under Mac's Snow Leopard OS.  The AIS is connected to a USB port on the Mac, sending NMEA-0183 data to the CE chartplotter program where the AIS info is overlaid on the chart.  I have to configure this whole mess so everyone can do their part in relaying the incoming data through all these things to the CE program.  As CE is a Microsoft-type program, it will do practically everything but is so complicated that real people can't use it, or use more than a small fraction of its capabilities. Sometimes I can figure out how to do this.  Punch Line: Much too complicated to set up and run this in real time; I use the Garmin chartplotter at the helm to notify me of impending collisions when underway. Actually, I use Visual Flight Rules, looking at the chartplotter and its AIS data only for distraction and amusement. [I warned you not to read this.]

Pictures of the computer screen weren't so good.  Sorry - so Soo me / or maybe Suomi?

Ihana at the Soo

Pictures, eastern Lake Superior

Going through the Canadian Lock, Sault Ste. Marie

Under the Soo International Bridge

Laker, leaving the American Lock

International Bridge @ the Soo

Bob on Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior. Are we having fun yet?

Ihana reaches 1000 nautical miles. About 400 of these are on this trip.

Pictured Rocks National Seashore, east of Munising MI

Completed our Lake Superior crossing!

We did it. We're off of Lake Superior.  400+ miles in 12 days.  Went thru the Canadian Lock at Sault Ste. Marie today, are down at and on Lake Huron level, and we are docked up at the Kemp Marina in the Soo (US side). Couple of days here to relax, recoop, restaurant, laundry, sightsee, restock.

People reports:
1. Jim Kimmet, who helped us move the boat all the way across Lake Superior from Duluth to the Soo, will be leaving us tomorrow and heading home to Minnesota. Thanks, Jim!  We really appreciated the help, and the sailing instruction.
2. Met Todd & Kitti Jones ("Gypsy Soul") in Marquette. And again while anchored near Munising. And again at Grand Marais.  And again today in the marina at the Soo.
3. Met Vern & Laura Kors ("Joule") in Marquette. And again last night at the Whitefish Point Harbor of Refuge.  And again today here in the Soo.
4. And now another couple who are on their way back to Bayfield (Wisconsin) after FOUR YEARS of going to and living on their boat on the east coast and Bahamas.
-- certainly not a lonely trip.  And we sure aren't the only ones doing it.

Breakage report:  The fridge seems to turn itself off whenever we run the radar.  We need to reboot it then by turning it off and back on.  Don't know why, but we have this diagnosed and an easy fix.

along the Pictured Rocks to the Soo

Monday – Spent a Lay Day in Marquette.  Laundry, walks, naps. People report: Met a couple with a 47' Island Packet, "Gypsy Soul". Dinner with Bob & Lori Frak, 23' Santana, "Alegria" – they live in Marquette, and we will see them again in the North Channel in a few weeks.  Breakage report: None.

Tuesday – Motored from Marquette to Murray Bay, on Grand Island just north of Munising, MI. Anchored here overnight. People report: "Gypsy Soul" was anchored here. More visiting.  Viewing shipwreck with our lookbucket from the dinghy. Breakage report: None.

Wednesday – Happy 4^th of July. It's our anniversary!  47 years ago today we went sailing on our first date.  I dumped the Malibu Outrigger 3 times; got married anyway. Left Grand Island this AM. Some sailing, light winds.  Will travel along the Pictured Rocks National Seashore today, bound for Grand Marais (Michigan!) for tonight. 

The stretch after that is the most "interesting" – no place to pull in until we reach Whitefish Bay, where we hope that the harbor of refuge at Whitefish Point is not silted in too much for us to get into. Then should make the Soo by Friday; locking through and a marina right after that (US or Canada side?).

As usual, we may be out of cell phone and WiFi range for a few days.  Or not.

Marquette and more great people

Motored (no wind) today; now tied up on the City Dock at the Cinder Pond Marina.
1. While motoring into the marina - with our Trailer Sailor flag up - we passed a sailboat that waved us over. Turns out it was Bob & Lori Frak, who will also be going to the North Channel (but by trailer, not water).  We will join them for dinner tomorrow night. - Lay Day in Marquette.
2. Crashed a Jarvinen-Huuki-friends graduation party. Dinner, then out to a house on the lake (yes, that lake). Saw and met lots more relatives, Finns, and their sig-others.

Daily breakage report: None!

Didn't know life could be this much fun.  Really enjoying the trip.  Will we ever reach a port where we don't know anyone or anyone who knows those who we know?