Day 409 – Little Current, Ontario to anchorage in Oak Bay - August 18, 2012

The wind has finally calmed down a bit, so after a stop at the fuel dock to pump out the holding tanks, we headed off to one of our favorite anchorages in the North Channel – Oak Bay (specifically Hotham Island South Cove).  This is a great anchorage no matter what the wind direction and since we are still experiencing some wind, it is the perfect spot for tonight.  Bob and Ivy from Karma have joined us at the anchorage.

Our trip to the anchorage was beautiful.  We experienced a tiny bit of leftover swell, but our course quickly took us in another direction and the remainder of our trip was in relatively protected waters.  Ultimately there were six boats in the anchorage, but it was not crowded at all.  It was a great night to be at anchor and we are glad we waited in Little Current for the weather to improve.

            Miles: 21.8      Bridges: 0        Locks: 0

one of the islands on the way to Oak Bay

directional signage on a small rock to let us know which way
the channel goes

awesome granite rocks

another beautiful night in another beautiful anchorage

Day 408 – at Little Current Town Dock, Little Current, Ontario - August 17, 2012

Well, we ended up spending one more day in Little Current.  It was a very good decision as the wind howled all day long.  One of the things most cruisers find ironic is the name “Little Current” for this particular town in the North Channel – that’s because the current that flows past the town can be anything but “little”.  Today was one of those days where a more accurate name for this town would be “Big Current” or “Mega Current” or “Monster Current”.  It was amazing to watch the navigation buoys lean in the strong current and to see the current flow around the docks.

Many of the Loopers who are here in Little Current waiting for better weather got together this evening and walked up to the pizza place in town and enjoyed dinner and conversation. As I’ve said before – getting together with other Loopers and enjoying drinks, food and conversation is a part of the Loop we will definitely miss.
 
            Miles: 0           Bridges: 0        Locks: 0

another beautiful evening sky in Little Current

Days 406 & 407 – at Little Current Town Dock, Little Current, Ontario - August 15-16, 2012

A second day in Little Current turned into a third day and we may add one or two more before we are all done.  We are experiencing strong winds and rain with a chance of thunderstorms.  We will wait for that weather to clear through before we head out.  The good thing about staying here is that chores get done – including laundry, boat cleaning (inside and out), bill paying, blogging…

We are fortunate to be here in Little Current to wait out the poor weather we are experiencing.  The town docks in Little Current are a great place to stay and definitely one of our favorites.  The docks are in excellent shape and there are restaurants, shops, grocery stores, a hardware store, and many other amenities within walking distance.

There are seven Looper boats here in Little Current so we are taking the opportunity to visit with everyone as well as enjoying cocktails and meals with some of the couples.  The camaraderie that Loopers share is definitely something we will miss when we finish our Loop.

            Miles: 0           Bridges: 0        Locks: 0

this tiny little bat (just two inches long) was hanging on the block wall
of the washroom building at the Little Current Town Dock

what is that on the top of the hill on Goat Island...

...well, it's a goat, of course!

our view of the town of Little Current and part of the Town Dock

a beautiful evening sky in Little Current

Day 405 – anchorage in “the Pool”, Baie Fine to Little Current Town Dock, Little Current, Ontario - August 14, 2012

Our original plan was to spend one more night at anchor before heading to Little Current, but we were not certain about what the weather had in store and we didn’t want to get caught in unpleasant conditions.  This is one of those times we really wished for better internet access here in Canada as we were stuck with only the weather we could get on the VHF radio for our information.  Having only the VHF radio information feels extremely limiting – the way Fred usually does his weather research is to check-out multiple web sites and a few different apps when he is making our travel plans.

We can report that there are definitely weeds in the Pool as evidenced by the mess we brought up on the anchor.  Fred had to spend a fair amount of extra time cleaning as he brought the anchor up.  We could see Bob working on Karma’s anchor next to us and we know we looked the same.

Our trip to Little Current was great and we timed our arrival at the Manitoulin Island swing bridge just about perfectly – less than five minutes of waiting and the bridge opened and we were through the very last bridge of our Loop.  We found Jim’s Joy and One September (Loopers we’d seen in Killarney) here at the dock and we said a quick hello.  Then we were off to the grocery store.  We have a number of chores we would like to get done while we are here – laundry, boat cleaning, shopping, etc., so we will spread them over the next two days (or more if we end up “stuck” here because of weather).

We joined Jim’s Joy and One September for dinner and continued the discussion we started in Killarney about good spots to anchor.  We also talked about the weather (a favorite topic of all Loopers).  We are all working on our plans for this last stretch of the North Channel – trying to decide how many days we can spend before we need to be to Drummond Island where we will check through Customs and back into the United States.

            Miles: 19.9      Bridges: 1        Locks: 0

Bob from Karma working on getting the weeds from "the Pool"
off his anchor

heading back out Baie Fine

beautiful rock colors along Baie Fine

Strawberry Island Lighthouse

the Manitoulin Island swing bridge - this is the last bridge
we will have to clear on our Loop

Day 404 – anchorage in Covered Portage Cove to anchorage in “the Pool” at the east end of Baie Fine - August 13, 2012

We had a great trip from our anchorage in Covered Portage Cove through Baie Fine to another anchorage at the far eastern end of Baie Fine called “the Pool”.  Baie Fine follows a geologic fault line and is a fjord-like bay almost ten miles long between high quartz mountains.  It is another one of those “must see” spots in the North Channel.  We had heard some reports that the Pool has very high weed growth this season and is unsuitable for anchoring.  Then there are reports of people anchoring without any problems.  We decided to check out the Pool, see if there was room and try to get our anchor to set.  There was plenty of space, we found a spot we liked and we got the anchor set on the first try.  Bob and Ivy from Karma were with us and they got their anchor set as well.

After grabbing a quick lunch we launched the dinghy and headed to shore for a hike to Topaz Lake.  It was a vigorous hike up and over a large hill to get to the lake, but the view was breathtaking and well worth the hike.  Fred and I wore our swimsuits and dove in for a VERY cold swim – as we were quite warm from our hike, the water felt great!

Back on Boreas we spent the remainder of the day and evening relaxing.  A few showers blew through, but nothing serious.  We had hoped for clear skies tonight as there was a meteor shower going on, but unfortunately we had full cloud cover.  It was another peaceful night at another spectacular anchorage.

            Miles: 22.6      Bridges: 0        Locks: 0

this is the same rock where you can see the Indian Head profile - what a
difference the correct angle makes

heading into Baie Fine

Baie Fine - it is amazing how the pine trees cling to the rocks and seem to
grow where there can't possibly be any place for their roots

the spectacular quartzite rocks that line Baie Fine

Topaz Lake - very blue, very cold water

Topaz Lake

Boreas at anchor in "the Pool"

after a rain shower, the many colors of the rocks really show through

Day 403 – Killarney, Ontario to anchorage in Covered Portage Cove - August 12, 2012

It was an extremely short trip today – just 2.5 miles from Killarney to one of our favorite anchorages in Covered Portage Cove.  Yesterday when we came over in the dinghy there were four boats anchored in the outer harbor and another nine boats anchored inside.  However, when we arrived this morning there was only one boat anchored outside and just two on the inside.  So we picked a spot that looked good, set the anchor and then dropped the dinghy so we could tie a stern line to shore.  Bob and Ivy on Karma are traveling with us for a few days, so Fred helped get their stern line to shore as well.

Once the boats were settled, we decided to head to shore for a hike, hoping to get to the top of the rock cliffs on the south shore of the anchorage and look down onto our boats at anchor.  Along with Bob and Ivy from Karma, Jim and Gloria with Buddy from Crawdad (Gold Loopers who keep their boat up the river from us in Bay City) also joined us for the hike.  We landed the dinghies and headed up a trail that took us to the north shore of the anchorage, but it wasn’t the path Fred and I had taken years ago when we were anchored here, so we went off trail looking for the path we remembered.  It was a good hike with plenty of ups and downs and lots of scrambling over rocks.  After an hour or so of hiking, we finally found the trail Fred and I remembered.  Everyone was game to see where it led, so off we went.  More uphill climbing took us to the south side of the anchorage, but we could not find a way to get close enough to the cliff edge to actually see the cove below – we were all very tired by this point and decided we’d seen enough so we headed back to the dinghies.  We found our way back down to the shore, but discovered we were quite a distance from where we left the dinghies.  Fred volunteered to hike back to the dinghies and then run a ferry service to get everyone back to their dinghy.  Instead of doing the ferry rides he hopped in our dinghy and towed the other two behind him – it was really quite the picture (which I unfortunately didn’t get because Fred had the camera).  Six very tired people got in their dinghies and headed back to their boats.

Although we didn’t have much sun today and the skies weren’t very blue, it was still a wonderful day and evening to be at anchor in a truly beautiful spot.

            Miles: 2.5        Bridges: 0        Locks: 0

Can you see the profile of the Indian's face in the rocks?

Boreas at anchor in Covered Portage Cove

the beautiful quartzite cliffs on the north shore of Covered Portage Cove

part of the hiking path we walked on

the "gang" waiting for a rescue from Fred

Covered Portage Cove

two otters entertained us with their rock climbing and swimming

sharing Covered Portage Cove with an otter

Days 401 & 402 – at Roque’s Marina, Killarney, Ontario - August 10-11, 2012

We ended up spending two more nights in Killarney waiting for weather.  We didn’t really do much while we were here, mostly staying on the boat and relaxing.  We took a few walks through town and a dinghy ride to Covered Portage Cove where we hope to anchor once we leave Killarney.  We also met André, Lisa, Luc and Pierre the crew of Sea Hunt IV – they just started their Loop in southern Lake Huron.  We spent time with them talking about what they would encounter over the next few months and some of the things we enjoyed as we started our Loop last summer.  It is great fun to share stories about our adventures with other Loopers.
 
            Miles: 0           Bridges: 0        Locks: 0