AquaFennatic Great Loop Blog: Benjamin Island to Oak Bay, North Channel

July 27^th – I was in the man cave this morning to investigate the port engine battery charging issue and I found a ground wire that was connected to the alternator that had a loose connection between the wire and the connector. I re-crimped the connector and it appears the problem has been fixed. My fingers are crossed that this is the last time that I need to deal with this issue. We went for a dingy run to the south side of the Benjamin Islands and visited a nice beach and continued on to find boats anchored in a secluded area protected by rock islands. We pulled the dingys on shore and went for a walk on the rocks and the view was breathtaking. We then used the dingys to check out an anchorage at Croker Island and returned back to the boats. Donna and I went for one last snorkel before they leave us tomorrow morning to go south. We also played one last Golf card game and Donna once again broke one of our records which happens to be her record for highest score. The new record for highest score is 126 (previously 105). Donna has set the bar for both the highest and lowest scores that we’ll monitor as we play this game with others during our trip.

July 28^th – We were up early this morning to help both “Overdoo” and “Worth the Wake” depart for their next destination on their way back home (Baie Fine). We really enjoyed our time with them and it was sad to see them leave. The winds were coming from the NE and were forecast to be from that direction for the next day or two thus we decided to move since our anchorage wasn’t protected from an East or NE wind. We moved to Oak Bay which is just 10 miles North West of the Benjamin Islands. A few minutes after dropping anchor we were met by a woman (Elaine) in a kayak from a cottage across the bay that came to invite us to cocktails at 5pm. Apparently most of the other boaters in the bay have known each other for years and I can understand why they would return to this bay since it is beautiful and regular gatherings are held at a cottage in the bay. It was hot when we arrived so I went swimming - the water temperature is 75 degrees F. We went up for cocktails at Norm & Elaine’s cottage at 5 pm with all of the boaters from the other 8 boats. She introduced everyone by boat name and name. She introduced us as new loopers and asked that everyone provide us with some advice. We learned a bunch at this gathering and one nice couple (Mike & Karen) offered to give us a guide book for Lake Michigan. Such a lovely bunch!