Long Point Cove to Blind River Marina, North Channel, ON - Aug 13, 2016

Aug 10^th – There’s a Heat Warning today with stronger winds and gusts.  We stayed anchored in Long Point Cove which offers great protection from the strong winds.  We went for a hike on the rocks and the poor blueberries look small and dry ... probably since there has been no rain here for some time.  We were extremely hot from our hike thus we tried to cool off by going for a dingy ride outside the bay, however we quickly turned around since the waves were building due to the strong winds.  Most of the sailboats left the bay during the day and now we’re down to only 3 boats.  During the last week or so we’ve noticed that there are a large number of commercial jets flying back and forth through the North Channel.  We’ve seen as many as 5 jets at the same time.  We also saw a couple shooting stars and we hear the show is going to get better over the next few days.

 

Aug 11^th – Guess what ... that’s right ... there’s another Heat Warning today with light winds.  I don’t remember a summer where we’ve had so many hot days in a row.  We've stayed anchored in Long Point Cove and went swimming multiple times in 78 degree F water!   A few boats arrived in the bay today and everyone had the same idea ... in the water to cool off, out of the water to relax, and repeat.  It’s hard to believe we are in the North Channel since I don’t remember the water ever being this warm.  We went for a short hike however it was too hot on the shore since there was no breeze at all.  We then went for a dingy ride to the mine in Spragge to take a closer look and it also helped us cool off after our hike.  There’s not many good anchoring options West of here thus we may stay here one or two nights and then go to Blind River before crossing to Drummond Island for our entry into the US on August 15^th.  I believe our travelling pace will pick up once we enter the US.   

Aug 12^th – Today is much cooler and the winds have picked up again.  We are still in Long Point Cove just relaxing since it’s a grey and windy day.  We plan to go to Blind River marina tomorrow for a couple of nights before we go to the US border.  Amanda wrote her last exam at University of Waterloo today and she is now officially completed her 4A term.  She only has one more work term and then one school term to complete her University degree.  Just thinking about it makes me feel old ;) 

Aug 13^th – We woke up to cool weather with rain and winds this morning.  We’ve been really lucky so far since we really haven’t seen much rain.  It was our last day in Long Point Cove and we were moving slowly in the morning to wait for the rain to let up before we left for Blind River Marina.  It continued to rain as we traveled 15 miles to Blind River and we encountered a following sea which continued to build as we got farther away from our anchorage.  We arrived OK and docked in a slip which was small for our boat, however it will do for the night.  It stopped raining thus we walked into town to look around and do some shopping.  We may only stay here a night and then move to Drummond Island which is about a 45 mile run tomorrow (ie. Cross the US border). 

Aqua-Fennatic anchored in Long Point Cove

Long Point Cove

Out for a hike in Long Point Cove

The monkey likes to be carried everywhere ;)

The view on the outside of Long Point Cove

A statue of a howling wolf in Long Point Cove

Our son Sean used to pick these for Maria when he was much younger!

Dingy ride through a channel to Long Point Cove

Our boat is long for its slip in Blind River Marina

A fountain we saw during our walk to Blind River

Gore Bay to Long Point Cove, North Channel, ON - Aug 9, 2016

Aug 6^th – After Maria read our blog she told me that I forgot to mention the deer and the fox that we saw during our hike.  Also I missed mentioning the well deserved frozen yogurt that we enjoyed after our hike.  I guess I should check with her and the monkey before I post my blog in the future ;) 

Aug 7^th – It was a cooler day with fairly strong winds.  We felt like we were starting to grow roots in Gore Bay thus we left early in the morning to anchor in John Harbour which is approximately 18 miles NW of Gore Bay.  After we anchored we decided to move due to the winds and guess what ... we moved again because of the winds.  All 3 spots were within John Harbour which is a large anchorage that seems to be a regular getaway for boaters that keep their boat in Gore Bay.  Our 3^rd spot in the bay seemed to be the most protected from the winds and the gusts that we were getting from the west.  I used the dingy to choose our final location in the bay based on the wind forecast for both today and tomorrow. There was only 1 other boat anchored in the bay and they were fairly close to us.  Our anchor dragged a bit during the day due to the gusts, however I think it dug itself deeper so it should be good to hold us for the rest of our time here ... however we’ll be monitoring it closely.  Maria felt like comfort food today so she made curry chicken with shrimps for dinner which is one of my favorite meals!

Aug 8^th – It was a beautiful sunny, hot day with LOW winds (finally).  We went for a dingy run to check out some of the neighboring bays, however we didn’t get as far as we wanted since the waves from the North Channel were still larger than we expected ... probably due to all the high winds we’ve experience over the last number of days.  I went snorkeling while Maria rowed the dingy behind me.  We then decided to sit on the front of the boat to catch some rays and the breeze kept us comfortable ... without it we would have been Hot Hot Hot!

Aug 9^th – There was another Heat Alert today with a good breeze.  We travelled 7 miles from John Harbour to Long Point Cove.  I went swimming multiple times (the water temperature is 76 degrees F) and Maria went swimming as well ... that’s a clear indicator that it was hot.  We went for a dingy ride to the North Channel Yacht Club which is in Spragge ... It wasn’t a very large place and accommodates mostly sail boats on mooring balls as well as on floating docks.  On the way by we had to pass a mine which Maria thought looked like sand castles built by giants!  Apparently there are great hiking trails in this area, however it was too hot to hike.  This seems to be a very popular spot for sail boaters to anchor.  We were only one of two power boats and there were 7 sail boats.         

Checking out the anchorages in John Harbour

Anchored in John Harbour

Sunset in John Harbour

I hope this Seagull is sitting on a pile of rocks and not a pile of Seagull Poop!

It's beautiful here

Do you see an "A" in the sky ?!

Sand castles made by Giants ... This is what Maria has told me ;)

Still in Gore Bay, North Channel - Aug 6, 2016

Aug 4^th – Heat Alert and strong winds.  We stayed at the Gore Bay Marina today since it was a very windy day but it was also very hot and sunny.  And guess what ... more swimming to keep cool.  We walked into town to do some shopping and I decided it was time to get my hair cut ... everything turned out fine ;)  We met Gold Loopers from Canada, Pat and Lynn from “Adamant I” and they will be crossing the US border on the same day as us.  From what I gather Lynn was involved in the production of the Canadian Yachting Magazine. My brother’s in-laws, Ken & Trudy from “Another Dawn”, stopped by for a visit and gave us a jar of Hawberry Jelly (Yum!) and we chatted for a while about various things.  Afterwards Maria and I went out for dinner at Bouy’s Eatery and sat on the patio overlooking the bay.  Maria was lucky enough to get the last 2 pieces of Whitefish for the day and believe it or not she said she enjoyed the food and the atmosphere more than Gilles in Snug Harbour.  (One of her favorite restaurants).  The monkey went out to dinner as well, however all he got was a picture with me and our server!  Poor monkey J

Aug 5^th – It was a bit cooler today with strong winds from the West.  We stayed in Gore Bay Marina since the winds continued to howl.  We went to the farmers market in the morning and bought some fresh Whitefish, Trout and Smoked Fish Spread directly from the Purvish fisheries truck and bought some fresh veggies from the local farmers.  Maria did some laundry and made some fresh bread and then we walked into town and along the new breakwall to get some exercise.  We talked to a number of boaters on the dock and many of them provided us with useful information that we’ll be able to use during our trip.  My brother’s in-laws, Ken & Trudy, had to leave earlier than we expected to drive south to see a trawler.  Maria was baking a fresh loaf of bread for them for our visit today, however they had to leave before it was ready.  For dinner we pan fried white fish and made a salad with the farm fresh lettuce and veggies.  It was both healthy and tasty!   

Aug 6^th – Another day with strong winds from the West.  We stayed in Gore Bay Marina once again and it’s cooled off a bit so we decided to do some hiking.  We walked up to the Look-out on the other side of the bay and then we walked to the Gore Bay lighthouse.  In total we walked about 11.5 km.  Afterwards we met Bill and Shawnie from “Adriana 1” who have completed the Great Loop a number of years ago.  Bill told us some great stories about their trip and also gave us their Lake Michigan Chart Books to help us with our trip.  We really enjoyed their company and Bill’s stories about their travels including the 3 months they spent in the Bahamas.    

Info on the new Breakwall in Gore Bay

Gore Bay Breakwall

Our server at Bouy's Eatery with the monkey ;)

Gore Bay Marina from the Lookout on the other side

Looking out to the North Channel from the Lookout

Inukshuk we encountered during our hike

The Gore Bay Lighthouse

A Bomb Shelter ... What!?

Farmers Market in Gore Bay every Friday morning

Beardrop Harbour to Gore Bay, North Channel - Aug 3, 2016

Aug 1^st – It was a hot and sunny day in Beardrop Harbour thus we did all of our boat chores in the morning and enjoyed the afternoon sun on the front of the boat with margaritas.  I swam to a rock and back while Maria rowed the dingy along side.  After my swim she wanted to do some more rowing thus I went along for the ride and tanned on the back seat while she rowed around the bay.

    

Aug 2^nd -   Heat Alert today!  We are still in Beardrop Harbour enjoying the beautiful weather.  The Loopers that we had met in Oak Bay have left for Drummond Island in the US.  Today we met a Gold Looper (a Looper who has completed the Great Loop), Steve from Barefoot Shoes.  His last completed Loop was in 2009 and he’s looking at starting again next year.  We haven’t seen any rain for a while thus we decided to rebed a few of the fittings in the hardtop today since we noticed that a couple of fittings were leaking during the last heavy rainfall.  After our job was completed I went for multiple swims to keep cool.  Later in the day Maria used her bread machine to make pizza dough to make panzerotties.  She filled them with hot Italian sausage, mushrooms, red peppers, grilled chicken breast, zucchini, cheese and lightly covered the shell with garlic avocado oil and we baked them on the BBQ.  They were amazing! 

Aug 3^rd – Another Heat Alert today!  We left Beardrop Harbour and traveled 21 miles to Gore Bay to get fuel ($1.10 / L for diesel), water, pump out, dingy gas and dump our garbage. We decided to anchor in Gore Bay and we will pull onto the dock tomorrow morning since the winds are supposed to be bad for the next couple of days.  We had a great view of all the boats coming & going from Gore Bay Marina plus we were in a great spot to go swimming, however the winds really picked up in the afternoon thus I was afraid I was going to get blown away from the boat.  As a backup plan I asked Maria to come get me with the dingy, however she wasn’t too thrilled about that.  While we were anchored out we had visitors in a dingy that said “Are you Mike Fenn?” ... I was thinking “how do you know my name??” then we quickly realized that they’re my brother’s in-laws, Ken and Trudy Price.  They heard about our trip and we had a brief conversation, however we had to cut it short since we were in the middle of eating dinner.  We’ll catch up with them tomorrow when we move to the dock so we can go into town to load up on supplies before we move on. 

Beardrop - Rowe Boat on the left & Over Ice on the right

Margaritas on the front of the boat while catching up on her phone

Can't everyone float on their back like this?

Our view in Beardrop Harbour

What a peaceful evening

Who wants a BBQed Panzerotti?

MMM, MMM Good!

Can you see Woody Woodpecker in the clouds or are we going crazy?

The Gore Bay Light House

A fishing  boat coming into Gore Bay

Oak Bay to Beardrop Harbour, North Channel - Jul 31, 2016

July 29^th – It was a very quiet and calm night (perfect for sleeping) and we both slept in this morning.  After breakfast we went for a dingy run towards Spanish, however we both forgot our wallets so we turned around since we weren’t sure if we had enough fuel to get back.  We checked out a few anchorages in the area and we’re impressed by the number of options ... they seem to be endless!  It was a relaxing day and I accomplished a few boat related things.  Once again we were invited to cocktails at 5pm and this time the monkey decided to go as well!  After cocktails and dinner a nice couple (Mike and Karen) came over to our boat to give us their Lake Michigan guide and walked us through the ports as well as anchoring options along the Michigan side of the lake.  We learned lots during their visit.

July 30^th – Another beautiful day in Oak Bay.  Three Looper boats pulled in today thus we decided to stay another night.  We met Scott and KC from “Jet Stream”, Robert and Brenda from “Over Ice” and Mike & Leann from “Rowe Boat” plus others from 12 boats in total at cocktail hour at 5pm at the cottage.  I found out that this anchorage is documented in Active Captain thus it seems to be a well advertised place.  No wonder boats are constantly trying to get in here to anchor.  Scott from Jet Stream is a Pilot ... and so is Robert from Over Ice – His brother chops the wood and his job is to Pile it ... LOL!  Most of these Loopers are heading into the US the first week of August.  We plan to enter by August 15^th since this is the day our health insurance kicks in and it's also the start date of our US Cruising Permit, however I’m sure we’ll catch up with them again at some point.

July 31^st – We visited a number of people in Oak Bay to say goodbye and then travelled 21 miles via McBean Channel to Little Detroit and entered Whalesback Channel and then arrived at our destination - Beardrop Harbour.  Two of the Loopers that we met also left for Beardrop Harbour as well and the 3^rd Looper decided to go to Blind River since he’s hoping to enter the US at Drummond Island tomorrow.  This anchorage is very beautiful, large and busy.  There were at least 2 other Loopers that we haven’t met yet in this bay as well.  We sat on “Over Ice” with 2 other Loopers eating watermelon which was great since it was a hot evening.  We then went on a dingy ride with 2 other loopers to see the sunset.

Sunset in Oak Bay

Oak Bay from the dock of the cottage

Cocktails - Norm (the cottage owner) has the monkey on his shoulder

Norm's wife is at the far right of the picture

Looking into the cottage from our boat

Beardrop Harbour

The two loopers are left of our boat in Beardrop Harbour

Over Ice

Rowe Boat

Do I need to tell you who this is ;)

Sunset in Beardrop Harbour