Day #43: Hopewell Bay, Shawanga Island

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Fear of the unknown, that's what today was all about.  The weather forecast was for bad but improving conditions.  One cruiser left at 7am only to be turned back by high winds and seas.  The weather bouy in the middle of Georgian Bay, our only source of real-time information, showed the winds at 15kts, half of last night's peak.  If the winds would drop to 10kts we'd have a chance to get underway today.  The go/no-go decision would be made at 11am. 

Bucolic Byng Inlet

Why 11am?  I'm sure there's a good nautical reason but, the fact is, 11am is marina check-out time.  Cruisers are a frugal lot and $60 is $60!

Heading Out of Byng Inlet and Into the Frying Pan?

By 11am the winds had dropped to 11kts.  Close enough.  I undid the lines and Bicki took us out.  It was a quiet crew that headed down Byng Inlet.  But, we persevered.

Windswept Pines Always Point Inland

From a mile away we could see waves crashing on the rocks.  Our imaginations made the waves bigger.  But we persevered.

Finally we were in it.  Last night's 6' seas had decayed into large, lumpy masses.  White spume, like fireworks, erupted wherever sea and stone collided.  But still, we persevered. 

Refuge at Last--Pointe Au Barile Lighthouse

At last, the Pointe Au Barile Lighthouse welcomed us back to calm waters.

Thanks to the Small Craft route Nellie had front row seats to some great fireworks.  She was thrilled.  Her crew would have been happier in the nosebleed section; and we will persevere to get them next time.

The Setting Sun in Tonight's Quiet anchorage

Byng Inlet to Hopwell Bay on Shawanag Island

It was only 33 miles from Byng Inlet to our anchorage in Hopewell Bay but, oh what miles.   Our total mileage is now 1667.  DBH

Day #42: Wright Marina, Byng Inlet

Weather Closes In Causing 6' Waves

Unfortunately the weatherman was spot on.  A low pressure area moving through brought strong winds.

Morning Coffee at Anchor While Pondering Our Choices

It appears the winds may last for several days.  We could stay at anchor.  Or, we could move to a marina.

Wright's Marina is Just 1/4 mile from Our Anchorage

Clay Encapsulated Anchor Chain

With as much rock as there is in Lake Huron, it's a pleasant surprise that the anchorages have clay bottoms.  The advantage of clay is that anchors set well in it.  A disadvantage of this clay is that its soupy top layer encapsulates the anchor rode and cleaning the rode really slows anchor recovery. 

Broken Props and Shafts Litter the Boat Yard

Trick question: how do marinas in the 30,000 Islands area of Georgian Bay make money?  Answer: from repairing running gear.  Two boats are currently on the hard at Wright's getting fixed.  Each found a rock that took out not only the prop, but the strut and shaft too.  Ouch.

Pretty Scenery on the Walk Ashore

Nellie travelled a whole 1/4 mile today to Wright's Marina.  It seemed like an unnecessary luxury, paying for a slip.  Then again, listening to the wind howl this evening tells me it was the right decision.  Holding at 1634 miles.  DBH

Day #41: Byng Inlet

Morning in Our Bustard Island anchorage--Ahh...

To get the blog out last night took three trips to the dinghy deck.  There, and only there, did my phone get one bar of signal.  I complain only to make a point: how good the 4G coverage is in the North Channel and Georgian Bay.  It's totally spoiling being in a remote anchorage and yet having internet access.  While up on the dinghy deck holding the phone as high in the air as possible, I heard a loon call. I also looked up to see an incredibly bright Milky Way.  Should I find it troubling that in the quest for Internet I'm finding nature?

Nellie Has to Suck it in to Make it Through these Narrow Channels

Changing water levels are always of interest to mariners.  That's why on the ocean they pay attention to the tides; on the rivers it's the pool height and; on the Great Lakes it's the difference from the low water datum.   Lake Huron's agreed to low water datum is 577.50 feet, which is the Lake's height above sea level.  Lake Huron's charts indicate water depths assuming this height.  But rain can raise, or drought can lower the water level, so it's up to the prudent mariner to know the Lake's current height (580.71 feet) and adjust accordingly (add 3' to all the charts depths). 

Evening in Our Rabbit Island Anchorage--Ahh!!!

The 6000 mile Great Loop can be done in one year.  Nellie's been at it since 2015, is about halfway around and, as of today, has logged 6013 miles.  No one should be surprised by the slow pace.  After all, Nellie's crew is 17 years into building a house and it isn't done either ;-)

Where's Nellie--The Big Picture

Bustard Island to Rabbit Island, Byng Inlet

Nellie is three miles up the Byng Inlet and anchored on the north side of Rabbit Island.  We're hoping the Rabbit will provide some cover from tonight's forecasted winds.    It was 33 miles to the good today, upping the total to 1602 miles.  DBH

Day 40: Bustard Island, Georgian Bay

Looking SE into a Very Open Georgian Bay

They say war plans rarely survive first contact with the enemy.  Likewise with our cruising plans.  Our leisurely day was blown away early with a Coast Guard high wind warning.  Rather than a open water run we opted for the better protected Small Craft route.  What a fortunate turn of events that turned out to be.

Typical View Along the Small Craft Route.

The Small Craft route morphs the 140 mile long Georgian Bay into a 200 mile long rock-dodging fest.  But, oh what scenery.  With high winds predicted for the next few days, we'll gladly risk the rocks on the inside to avoid the big waves on the outside.

Little Current Light House

The town of Little Current is on the eastern side of the North Channel.  According to the Canadian charts it's name is a misnomer because the current can be as high as 7kts!  I'm happy to report that there was little current today.

Mini Nellie Mapping our Route

Coming into our Bustard Island anchorage we spotted some folks swimming and sunbathing.   Nothing out of the ordinary really, until we realized the air temperature was 69°F and the water was 67°F.  How cold are the winters up here that this seems warm to them?

Great La Cloche Island to Bustard Island

It was a long 71 miles today.  The North Channel is in our wake and we're now in Georgian Bay.  Playing in the rocks is fun, but today's ten hours of constant vigil takes its toll.  The 2017 trip total is now 1602 miles.  Tonight Nellie's in a very pretty anchorage in the middle of Bustard Island.  DBH

Day #39: Mosquito Cove, Great La Cloche Island

Fox Island's Graduate Course in Gunkholing

To quote from the Well-Favored Passage, page 49, "We rate Fox Island Harbour the most difficult to locate and approach that we have experienced in the North Channel."  Guess where Nellie went today...  Yup ;-)

The lower line in the photo above shows Nellie's path into Fox Harbour.  Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones willing to dodge rocks.  Six other boats had beaten us to the punch.  So much for solitude.  Rather than settle with the herd we elected to move on. 

While heading north along Fox Island we read about another anchorage called Eye of the Fox.  It's review included this, "... only for the more adventurous small boat."  Heck, we're adventurous, but what's a small boat?  (You can see our trail into the Eye of the Fox in the photo above, it's descending from the upper left.)

With Bicki on the bow as a lookout, we crept ever so slowly towards the 25' wide opening into the Eye.  The lookout always points towards danger so the helmsman can concentrate on steering away from it.  Passing through the entrance Bicki's arm looked like a windmill in a hurricane--there was danger everywhere.

Once in we anchored and used the dinghy to check the pond's water depths.  It was mostly shoal.  The only good water was where we were. 

Eye of the Fox is the smallest anchorage we've ever been in, it's definitely the best protected and, we were alone.  Perfect right?  Actually, no.  Having gotten in, we were now worried about getting out. 

No sense in putting things off.  Up came the anchor.  We assumed our positions.  And, Nellie slowly and carefully slid out of the eye. 

My lesson learned?  May you get what you want, and want what you get.

Gore Bay, Manitoulin Island to Mosquito Cove, Great La Cloche Island

Today's expected short trip got rather longer, 36 miles in all, after we balked at the first two anchorages.  Tonight's anchorage on Great La Cloche is huge and we're happy to be sharing it with only two boats.  Nellie is now 1530 miles into this year's journey.  DBH

Day 38: Gore Bay

Trying Out New Chairs for Nellie's Salon

Met some friendly, local cruisers in Gore Bay today.  When I asked how they navigate through these rock infested waters the answer surprised me.  "Everybody hits them.  What you don't want to do is get stuck on top of them."   Why?  Because if you get stuck on the rocks it takes a big boat to get you off, and there aren't that many big boats around here.  Great, something else to worry about...

Nellie in the Gore Bay Marina

Today, for the first time, we set foot on Manitoulin Island.  Manitoulin is the world's largest freshwater island and is the divider between the main body of Lake Huron and the North Channel.

Leroy Cove to Gore Bay

It was a quick and windless 21 miles from Leroy Cove to Gore Bay.  We reprovisioned, did the wash, and took on water.  Tomorrow we're back to the islands.  The cruise total is now 1494.  DBH

Day 37: Leroy Cove Day Two

A Dewy Morning

Courtesy requires visiting yachts to fly the host country's flag.  As with all things nautical there are a million rules.  For Nellie it's simple, the courtesy flag goes on the starboard flag halyard.

The Canadian Courtesy Flag on Nellie's Starboard Halyard and the LNVT Burgee on Her Port Halyard

We knew we had a Canadian courtesy flag aboard but look as we may we couldn't find it.  Three days before  entering Canada we gave up and bought another one.    Two days after arriving in country we found not one, but two stowed Canadian courtesy flags.  So, Nellie now has three flags.

I know you're asking, how in the world could you have three?  Well, we bought the first in 2006 when Nellie  visited Vancouver Island.  It was stowed in 2007 while we were in Alaska.  Unable to find it, we bought a second Canadian courtesy flag for the trip back from Alaska. Apparently, sometime thereafter, we found the missing flag because the two were stowed together.  Are you starting to see a pattern here? 

There's only one way to break this cycle.  In six weeks, when Nellie goes on the hard in Ontario, we'll give all three Canadian courtesy flags away.  Why?  Because if we don't: in the Spring we won't be able to find them; knowing they're onboard will make buying yet another flag exasperatingly irritating; and, when the three flags do show up we'll be mad at ourselves yet again.  Yup, give the flags away.  When the time comes buy a new one.  Never before will $8.40 have saved so much.

1761 English Map of the North Channel

The red arrow above shows where Nellie is this evening.  It's interesting that on this antique map the North Channel is labeled, 'very little known'.  That's us, going where few 18th century adventurers dared go ;-)  No miles on Nellie today.  Holding at 1472 miles for the journey.  DBH