The village of Killarney is the beginning of the North Channel. Not a lot of difference in it and Georgian Bay, different colored rocks!!! Of course there are more anchorages than we could ever try so that is nice. Here we chose Covered Portage Cove----along with a bunch of other cruisers but there was room for all including a 100ft mega yacht. Pat defines a "yacht" as any boat that requires a crew (paid).

From the anchorage it is a quick dinghy trip to town. Lets see, Catholic Church, fish and chips shop and ice cream. Oh, and several boat yards and marinas for those so inclined.There is a grocery store, small and very expensive.

The next stop was Baie Fine (pronounced finn) a short 17 miles. Just the right number of miles to make in a day. This is the fjord like bay with rocks all around and lots of " Christmas trees". This is the scenery that one comes to Canada for. We anchored in a small cove just off the channel several miles in. That channel will get and keep your attention, narrow and lots of rocks, real close. Cruising along a rock cliff 20 feet off the beam with rocks awash off the other beam. Gawd are we having fun yet?

Took the dingy to the "pool" at the end. Very scenic. We did not go up there in the boat as it is somewhat small and I did not know how many boats were there and I do not care to set a bow anchor with a line to shore.

On the way back to CCRIDER we spotted a full-grown Black Bear swimming across the bay. Of course I turned to go toward him for a few pictures. THE WIFE became hysterical saying that the bear could get in the boat!!!!! I got some pictures of the bear and should have taken a couple of Pat. Those would have been good! The poor bear was way more afraid of us than Pat of him.

The next day as we were leaving the anchorage in Baie Fine; recall the rock situation and navigation challenges supra, after going about a mile the computer went down. Ok, it was I thought, the inverter, but anyway.

I am watching for the rocks and telling Pat to get my tools out of the drawer. You know, the parallel rule, divider, pencils and triangle. Lets see, the last time that I used that stuff was in the eighties, before the computer nav. Program, chart plotter or any of that stuff!!!!!!

Visually we got out of the long narrow bay and finally into open water. Of course, by now it had started to rain. Once we got into the large bay I really had the opportunity to NAVIGATE. Of course I still had the two GPS' so it was not like the " very old days" but fun, nonetheless. It actually was as there was no serious danger. There was a little rain as mentioned but visibility was good with moderate winds.

After we got in Pat mentioned just how intense all of that was. Rocks, fog and rain have that effect!

All ends well, it was neither the computer nor the inverter--- it was the 12v receptacle in which the inverter was plugged. Of course I did not have time to run that down until we docked in Little Current.

Confession:

I got out the reliable voltmeter and checked the connections in the electrical cabinet and the fuse and the wires to and from the fuse and the NEGATIVE connection, all OK. Pulled the plug of the inverter and re inserted in the 12 receptacle and nothing. Went to the auto parts store across from the dock and purchased an inverter. Plugged it in and it did not work??????? NOW I check the wires going into the 12v receptacle and they are OK. Get the drift, the receptacle was bad. Back to the auto parts store for that. It matches my mount, well almost ---- after a bit of modification we are in business. Of course I now have a spare inverter!

As Captain Sterling says," Cruising is the opportunity to work on your boat in exotic places."

I mentioned getting into Little Current, Ontario after the forgoing episode. There is a bridge there that all of the cruise guides say " Opens on the hour for 15 minutes". This includes Skipper Bob, Waterways Guide, and Ports Guide. The sign on the bridge has the same message Don't you believe it. The truth of it is that the time of opening is reckoned from the minute that the vehicle gates close. The bridge then takes 7 minutes to open and 7 minutes to close-----as they say, " do the math".

If you are not at the bridge and ready to transit during that ONE MINUTE then you missed it. Do not expect any exception to this rule. I spoke to the bridge tender and to Roy who runs the Little Current Cruisers Net about this and both confirmed it. He is now making a clarifying statement on the VHF net every morning. Maybe the cruise guides will see this and make the correction. At 9 am sharp be sure to tune into the Net on VHF channel 71 everyday during the season.

We actually tied to the wall at Little Current for two days waiting on weather and talking boats with a number of " E-Buds" and others who stopped by and that is always enjoyable.

The next stop was Croker Island in the Benjamin Islands. Looking at the entrance on the chart is scary. Fortunately, I might add, as usual, looks can be deceiving as it was not difficult; entry simply requires strict attention to detail. The preferred anchorage had several boats so I opted for the other side and went into the South Benjamin's anchorage. Good choice. No one was there so we took the primo spot and the other 8 boats that showed up later took what was left. Did I mention that we anchored at 11 am and that was after spending 30 minutes or more looking at the first one?

We then sampled the Kirke Islands in Whales Back Channel. According to the books few cruisers use this, as it is not as "scenic" as others in the area. OK, it aint but only because there are so many great ones around. The bottom has good holding, 10 ft deep and a steep rock wall right in front of you with good wind protection! Put some real miles under the keel on that day, 19.5.

Another long day after that one to Beardrop Harbour, 13 miles. What a grand place just beautiful. A "don't miss" for sure. Here we are positioned to, unfortunately, return to the good ole U.S. of A. We will cross the North Channel and arrive at the North end of Drummond Island in Michigan. I must add at this juncture, when the weather co-operates.

After several days we attempted to go to Drummond but the wind and seas kicked up more than forecast, big surprise there. We detoured and headed up the Serpent River via the South Passage from the Channel and on up to Nobles Island where we anchored for the night. The next morning the weather was still no good so we moved down to Navy Island anchorage to be in a better position to leave-whenever that may be. It is an excellent place to wait, wind protection in all directions and very scenic. Like so many anchorages in this area the entrance is NARROW. It looks narrow on the chart and is but wide enough again; one must pay attention to detail. We got in at 10 am and two boats came in by 11. Another good reason to do short days!

On the third try we finally caught a good as in fantastic weather day to cross THE North Channel to Drummond Island, Michigan. Ten mph + wind predicted but it was flat calm all the way.That is where we are today, Back in the USA and out of the North Channel. Only spent 10 days in the channel but we still have a long way to go back to Geneva.

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Those of you who are keeping up with our trip know that we are doing the Circle in more than one year, (we are in our third). We are returning to Geneva, NY in September for the winter and Geneva is about 1,100miles from the top of the North Channel. Therefore we must factor in time to run the length of Lakes Huron and Erie plus the canal back to the yard. Winter storage, this year, in Georgian Bay or the North Channel would really make sense. We know that we have only scratched the surface of the cruising opportunities in this area.

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Ruminations on this reach.

At one point we were being overtaken by a, well I guess he calls it a trawler style, throwing quite a wake. I called him twice to no avail. I then stepped out of the pilothouse and motioned for him to slow. He immediately sped up; I mean he was really digging a hole. His fuel! I thanked him for the courtesy and he said that, " You should get to the other side of the channel." He obviously has no knowledge of the Rules of the Road regarding Burdened and Privileged vessels. I can't make this stuff up.
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We watched a 40 ft. Sea Ray being docked or the captain was trying anyway. First he had, as THE WIFE says, " weenie fenders", and then he is approaching the dock at a very steep angle WITH the current and wind. Finally on the third attempt with help from 3 marina employees he made it. His poor wife was so frazzled I really felt sorry for her. She was on the bow throwing lines----and pulling them back as they fell short and into the water. Did I mention that this was an along side dock?
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For this area we have the large flat charts and a Richardson's Chart Book. If you have ever used a chart book you are aware of having to move back and forth through the book as you progress on a course of any length. This can be a pain. What I do is make a list of each page number in order of use and refer to this as I turn the pages. This really takes the hassle out of the procedure. On flat charts after I lay out my course I place the number of the next chart to be used on the course line. That brings up the fact that I have always laid out courses on my charts and make all kinds of notations as to anchorages, preferred routes; navigation aids and whatever else I think may be of benefit to me, or someone else using my charts. Pat calls them marks; I call them, chart enhancements.
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Before we left on this trip we laid all of the charts out in order of intended use and NUMBERED EACH SEQUENTIALLY. We placed a corresponding number on the cruise guides and other materials so that we could easily put our hands on what we needed for each area. Also, there was no way that we could remember what we had for any leg. This way we gather all of the applicable numbered materials. We also divided all of it into groups of time of use and placed each stack in separate large flat hard plastic covered containers that easily store under the bed.

More North Channel