August 24, 2009

We did spend Tuesday in Manistee---it was a walking, shopping, ride the 'Dial-a-Ride' bus, enjoy visiting with the other boaters kind of day. When you start to move about at 11 it doesn't take long for the day to go by. We finished Tuesday off with dinner for 4 on YA's fantail and enjoyed dessert and a beautiful sunset on CAROLYN ANN's flybridge. Wednesday we were underway at 7:30. That is A.M.! Doesn't happen often but we set out to cross Lake Michigan, and wanted to take advantage of the morning calm. The first part of the 60 mile trip to Manitowoc, WI was a sort of roller coaster ride—a very TAME roller coaster, but up and down enough that the floor rises to meet your step. After noon, however things calmed down, and the biggest excitement was when we passed (and paused to rescue) a bag of 12 balloons. Four of them were already broken, and they added color and fun to our swim platform until we were able to trash them in Manitowoc. As we approached the harbor, the BADGER, one of the last car ferries powered by coal, was departing for Ludington, MI. We learned that this is the last year of it's environmental reprieve, and soon it will stop leaving the big black cloud of smoke we saw. Stormy weather was predicted (we saw only 5-10 minutes of rain just as we were walking to town) and we planned to spend the day sightseeing. The nearby Wisconsin Maritime Museum turned out to be a delightful place. Fred, the tour guide, took us through the USS COBIA, a WWII submarine. Our Fred augmented his narrative. We spent awhile playing in the excellent Children's corner where we were sorry the kid's bibs didn't fit us as there was a great assortment of water toys! Ice cream seemed like a good idea post museum, and just up the street was a cute little 1950's ice cream and candy store. They also served sandwiches so we stuffed ourselves, and headed back to the boats. A nice day. On Friday we headed south. Lake Michigan is interesting. We've decided that when the forecast says 1-2 foot waves, they really mean 3-4---at least. We pounded into the waves at 7.5 knots for a couple of hours before slowing to 6.5 for a bit smoother ride. As we turned the corner into Port Washington we were surprised to see HEMISPHERE DANCER, the first Great Harbour trawler built by Mirage. So very shortly there were three Mirage boats in a row, and we enjoyed an evening of visiting with Joe, Punk, Karen and Jim. Saturday morning Fred and I checked out the Farmer's Market in downtown Port Washington—beautiful produce just a couple of blocks from the dock. Nice. Then we were off. Again the weather reports were a tad off. 4-6 foot waves in the morning, dropping to 1-2 in the afternoon. We found just the opposite as we motored along---the morning ride was calm and lovely—albeit cold. 54 degrees in the morning, and by afternoon, after we'd passed Milwaukee and turned into the Racine harbor, it'd warmed up to 58! Karen and Jim from HEMISPHERE DANCER generously loaned us their slip for overnight. The Root River runs into town and we were at it's mouth, just before the drawbridge. Sunday morning I found a Unitarian Universalist Church within walking distance—The Olympia Brown UU, named for the first female minister in the US. Ms Brown served this parish for many years in the 1800's. Upon my return, we dawdled at the dock a bit, chatting with other boaters before getting underway for the 27 mile run that took us across the state line to Waukegan, IL. And Waukegan is where we are, and will be all week. We're telling ourselves that we can see the skyline of Chicago off in the distance, and will be heading in for some city time soon. For now, the worker bees are doing the service that YA so richly deserves. Her engines have run beautifully for over 1000 hours and need some TLC. Larsen Marine is the gi-normous yard we're calling home. It is HUGE! Oh, so many machines at play---remote controlled travellifts, a swarm of golf carts—every one with the name of it's driver stenciled on the front—and more activity than you can shake a stick at. So we send greetings from slip 16 in Lot 17 at Larsen's. Keep smiling, and enjoy the summer, which seems to finally have arrived! Fred and Linda

August 17, 2009

Monday, Monday...........Last week was our first in the US and we waited until after 9am--until we had the Mon. edition of USA Today before we headed into Lake Huron. We also were giving the early morning fog a chance to burn off...and it did. Very nicely. The Lake was most pleasant. Minimal waves and not much traffic. Not much ability to view the lovely scenery, either--cloudy and foggy, but spectacular! There was enough traffic, though, that the 3 spaces we'd heard were available at the Mackinac Island Marina were gone by the time we arrived at 5pm. We were re-routed to the Arnold Transportation Docks (called locally the 'coal docks' although there seems to be no rationale behind the moniker) and left to fend for ourselves. (Them: “If we don't like where you dock, we'll ask you to move”. Us: “Could you give us an idea of where you wouldn't like to have us?” Them: “Just tie up anywhere. We'll sort it out later.”) Turned out we chose a spot that was ok until we left Wed. a.m., and we had plenty of company in our commercial zone. We loved it! We were perfectly positioned to discover how the Island works. In the 1800's an ordinance was passed by the powers that be that no 'horseless carriages' would be allowed to operate on the island as they would most certainly scare the horses. The law stands, and only horse drawn conveyances and bicycles are permitted on the streets. So in the mornings, we watched the Arnold Transport boats bring Cisco and another delivery company 18 wheelers to the end of the dock where a days goods were off-loaded onto horse drawn carts. Last part of each load was palate after palate of hay bales. Not only the locals and the 'fudgies'(the local term for tourists) have to eat, each of the 450+ horses on the Island must be fed! We got up close and personal with a few of the horses---took a carriage ride around the island. The largest portion of the island is a Michigan State Park (formerly a Nat'l Park, but handed over to the locals). Additionally, there is a summer home for the Governor (who, we're told has visited twice this summer), and the main down town area—replete with tourist stores, ice cream and fudge. This is really gross, but the children of the island (they have one K-12 school that graduates from 2-9 students/year) created an information book and in it assured us 'fudgies' that there is absolutely NO connection between all the fudge and the, well, you know, of all the horses. YUK. Who'd a thunk there was, until it was suggested! In answer to the question “Do you ever get used to the smell?” the children answer “What smell?” Sitting loftily on the west side of the island, is, of course, the Grand Hotel. We (silly us) didn't think to lunch there. I hate to admit it, but I guess we were put off by the rules and fees. $7.00 to walk on the longest covered veranda anywhere---$10.00 to look around inside the hotel, (we later learned the fee would be applied to the lunch tab) and a suit and tie for dinner... sigh. We entered the Grand not at all. Did gaze at and photograph the exterior, tho....and one evening we watched “Somewhere in Time” the movie with Christophher Reeve and Jane Seymour that is romantically set in and around the hotel. Nice. Note: Hollywood was given special permission to drive actual automobiles on the island during the filming. Some 500 people live on the island year round, and it is interesting to note that an ice bridge connects the island to the mainland, usually by January. Then residents can walk or snowmobile to Mackinaw City or St. Ignace. These 2-3 months of winter are the only time of year that residents are not bound by ferry ($24 round trip) or airline ($49 round trip) schedules. They all save their Christmas Trees and give them to the Coast Guard, who “plants” a trail across the ice—so no one gets lost crossing to the mainland or coming back. Amazing! A tourist guide reported that the history of the island comes down to the three F's. Fur, Fishing and Fudge. Fur trapping predominated until the supply was exhausted, fishing took over briefly until it was recognized that tourism was much more lucrative, and fudge became the big seller! While we passed on the sweets, I did my part to bolster the local economy by tracking down t-shirts for the grandchildren, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. By Wednesday it was time to move on, and off we went, under the Mackinaw Bridge, where the painter in an inverted cherry picker waved at me as I snapped his photo, to Petrosky, MI. This is a cute little town with a historic district and an enclave of Victorian houses listed in “1000 places to visit before you die” (I don't have the book, but Punk on CAROLYN ANN does, and she is a great fan of Victorian Homes) Fred and I did other chores while she and Joe bicycled to the Gas Light district. With our holding tank not only empty, but rinsed clean, and a fresh new loaf of homemade bread in the larder, we believed the weather reports that said 1-2 foot waves and off we went! That is how we learned that Lake Michigan 1-2 foot is about 4-6 by our measurement. It was a rock and roll ride to Leland, MI, and that is where we spent the rest of the week. Weather window, it's called in the vernacular. Leland, like most stops along Lake Michigan, is called a Harbor of Refuge. That means that the marina can't turn away a boat when the weather goes bad. Every slip in the marina was filled. YOUNG AMERICA and CAROLYN ANN were rafted together and took up only one space, and a sailboat was 4-point tied between the rows of docks. We rocked and rolled in the harbor to such an extent that for 2 days there was no question of “should we stay or go?” It was simply “NO WAY!” And we loved Leland and arrived in time for the annual sidewalk sales. It's called 'Fishtown, USA'--a self proclaimed “quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem”. We had delicious dinners at the Bluebird restaurant, shopped at the mercantile (fabulous grocery story hidden in a strange square and very unassuming building) and commisserated with the other boaters (as many as 9 Loopers) who were staying on until the winds died down. Today, Monday, was calm. Rainy, but calm. We had a very nice 9am-5pm run (remember that a day on the boat is an hour in the car?) for about 65 miles down the shore to Manistee, MI. Fred literally squeezed YA, our 16' wide home, into a slip so narrow we couldn't use fenders and listened to the painful rubbing sounds as we slid between the pilings in a 16' wide slip. Shades of Long Island! After our early evening walk along the beautiful RiverWalk, we had dinner and watched the parade of boats coming into the river after dark. We assumed they were fishing boats, and had this confirmed when Gary and Trina brought the FIDDLER CRAB into the slip next to us. They'd caught a steelhead trout and 2 huge salmon! “No luck involved here”, Gary said as he showed me the temp guage (the big guys swim in 54 degrees and below—over 100 feet down in the 250 foot depths of Lake Michigan) and the weights and poles and lights and other paraphenalia that pretty much guarantee them a good catch! The RiverWalk has conveniently located fish cleaning stations—one we saw also has a picnic table next to a sign proclaiming that the Ice Cream Store is OPEN! So here we are, and here we will remain for a day or so. I'm hoping to be able to post this and add photos. In Leland both cell phone and internet connections were spotty (to be kind). So until next time, off I go, wishing you and yours good health and much happiness laced with laughter! Linda and Fred

more pictures will follow............

August 10, 2009

Everyone tells us that this is the very strange summer in Canada. Temperature rarely goes above 22 degrees (Celsius—that is about 70 Farenheit). When it gets that high, it's pleasant. Not summery, but pleasant. Many of the days, like today, have been overcast, chilly and grey. Don't mean to whine, just explaining. Around 11 am last Monday we left Kllarney, and set out across Fraser Bay toward Little Current. It was the first Monday in August, so the quarry on George Island was still as the workers had a holiday. By the time we reached the single lane swing bridge that connects Manitoulin Island to the mainland—and when it opened in 1964, brought auto traffic to Killarney, 8 boats were in line to enter the North Channel. Little Current is the first stop in the North Channel, and it is an adorable town. Main Street looks not unlike the discarded set for an old western movie. We found a slip at the SpiderBay Marina, and then took the dinghy down for a ride in the harbor, and stopped to visit Joe and Punk on CAROLYN ANN. Tuesday found us in town. Looked for American charts to no avail, (although we somehow neglected to stop in Turner's, the widely acclaimed chart store....duh) then checked out the grocery and ice cream stores. Took fish and chips home for lunch, as the wind whipped and blew. There were whitecaps in the mooring area, and we simply hunkered down to ride them out. Next day the wind was slightly better (20-25 kn., rather than 30) but not enough to send us out of our protected harbor so we stayed put. And listened to the wind blow. It is amazing that we can spend a whole day in our 37x16 foot home and neither trip over one another nor be bored out of our skulls, but so far so good! On Wednesday evening we went for a walk on the dock and were looking over INVICTUS, a very handsome aluminum boat when its owners came home and invited us aboard for a tour. We then reciprocated and had a great visit. Thursday we left at 9, even tho the west wind was on our nose enough that we used windshield wipers constantly to remove the spray. Turning into Mudge Bay brought some relief and at 11:30 we tied up at the town dock of Kagawan. Walked down the road to Bridal Veil Falls, (very nice, and lots of brave children playing in the chilly water). Crossed over to the Esso station where Tweebles Tea House beckoned us for lunch. Cute little place and we left sated and carrying a scone with Devonshire crème and jam. Mmmmmmmm. Breakfast! We returned to town via the trail that follows the Kagawan River and discovered that the ice cream truck had arrived at the dock in our absence! I wandered over to the local museum and gift shop before we took up the lines and headed north to the Benjamins. That same pesky west wind was now on our port side, and the 3-4 foot waves gave us a bit of a roll as we approached Clapperton Island. In the lee of the island the ride smoothed out, only to get much worse (or so it seemed) as we crossed the open water that is dotted with rocks with names like Secretary Isle and Sow and Pigs (as the name implies, there are several). We rounded the tip of South Benjamin where we saw CAROLYN ANN along with 18 other boats already settled into the anchorage between South and North Benjamin Islands. They say the most fun of anchoring in the Benjamins is watching the late comers try to find a place to drop the hook. We did our share and provided a bit of entertainment as we roamed about looking for just the right spot. Everyone needs room to swing—except those who are tied to rocks on the shore, as were the boats who became our three nearest neighbors. On Friday we had a two dinghy parade as the Picas and the Mangelsdorfs took advantage of a warm sunny day and explored the Benjamin islands. It was great to get up close to the rocks and inspect the many colors, textures and fissures they contain. We found boats tied to shore in places that one would never suspect would work, and we found a beach (often used by others as evidenced by the campfire rings, benches and outhouse) for our picnic lunch. We built a fire for roasting the Picas hot dogs, and thoroughly enjoyed basking in the summer sun. Fred spent much of the late afternoon taking photos of the boats, and Joe and Punk invited us for dessert—Joe had picked wild blueberries and Punk made a dee-lish cobbler! A lovely day. On Saturday we discovered that the beautiful days come in a run of one. We were back to the grey and gloomy weather, but set out for Gore Bay. By 11:30 we were ashore there, and by one we were underway again, with no new charts, but an appreciation for yet another little summer town and the hardy folks who live there. Next stop was dictated by weather. We were headed west toward the US of A, and the south wind was giving us a pretty rocky ride. We decided not to cross the Lake Huron inlet so turned south into Meldrum Bay. We answered 'yes' when asked if we'd like shore power, and so were told we'd have to negotiate the 'irons'. Turns out the lovely docks we saw in the pictures of the marina were anchored at the far end by iron 'boxes'. Apparently an icy winter tipped the boxes, leaving ragged, rusty sharp edged messes at the foot of each dock. We slid between and tied up, and as we were hooking up our power, another boat came in next to us. Hadn't seen a soul for a very long time on the water so I asked where they'd come from. The joys of a swift Sea Ray. They were in Detroit Frisday afternoon and at the foot of Lake Huron Sat. am. Travelling at 30 knots they crossed the whole Lake in a day. And not a terribly long day, at that. It's clear that with such a short summer season, it works well to get to the ports you want to visit in a hurry. Else you'd not get to them at all during the average vacation. We toured the Meldrum Bay general store (in about 2.5 minutes) and had a very nice dinner at the Inn. And that is it for Meldrum Bay. From the rusting 'irons' to the signs warning 'Don't drink the water”, Meldrom Bay seemed a bit like the forgotten port. Sunday morning we woke to a dramatic thunderstorm--—simultaneous lightning and thunder with a deluge of rain! It didn't last, though, and we crossed the Mississagi Straits (where Lake Huron enters the North Channel) without incident. At 12:52 we crossed the border into the US of A and at 3:30, tied up at Drummond Isle Yacht Harbor, Michigan. The nice man from Customs made a house call for us, and we went to the Marina office to pick up charts (finally), a USA today (we've really missed the puzzles!) and the mail from home that Kris and Molly sent to us! So a nice quiet evening at home brought us to Monday, yet again! Next stop is Mackinaw Island, and we'll be back next week to catch up! Be well, smile a lot, and do enjoy each day!!! Fred and Linda

August 3, 2009

Left Port Rawley Bay on Tuesday last; proceeded back past Henry's, and on through some skinny channels to the west side of Parry Sound, the body of water. Hee, we headed to, and tied up in, Parry Sound, the town. The largest town on the east side of the Bay, with 6500 residents, Parry Sound was named for an arctic explorer, Sir Wm. Parry. The harbor is busy with excursion and cruise ships, and a large Coast Guard station. Right next to the marina, we found the beautiful C. W, Stockey Performing Arts Center which shares a building with the Bobby Orr Hockey Museum. We spent a delightful hour+ on Tuesday afternoon listening to the music of Brahms, played by Paul Stewart., a Canadian concert pianist, and Mendelssohn, played by the Leipzig String Quartet. The quartet's performance piece was shifted from the advertised program by the fact that when they arrived in Toronto (from a performance in Tokyo) on Monday, not all of their luggage arrived with them. So they played a different selection, for which they had the music, wearing the clothes they had--jeans and t-shirts. We were happy that we arrived during the 30th anniversary of this 3 week concert series, now in its 7th season in the new theater that is acclaimed as accousitcally one of the best concert venues, not just in Canada, but in the world. Hey, you never know. From Parry Sound we made an overnight stop in Killbear so we could check in with Will, the Weather Guy. We'd decided to cross the Bay and acquaint ourselves a bit with the Bruce Peninsula. As the Bay can kick up some pretty hefty weather conditions, the local knowledge recommendation is to check in with Will before setting out. He and Fred agreed that we had a perfect day, and off we went for the 5 hour open water crossing. The sun shone, waves were low, and except for one black cloud that appeared out of nowhere and blew by while I was at the helm (of course) the day was lovely. The Bruce Peninsula is the end of the Niagara escarpment. It's possible to hike the Bruce Trail, if you're so inclined, from Queenstown on the Niagara River in southern Ontario near the Falls, to Tobermory at the tip of this peninsula. We chose to stop first at Lion's Head, a former fishing village (pop. 500) tucked into the limestone cliffs and located on the 45th parallel—1/2 way between the Equator and the North Pole. We were a day early for their August festival, but met a pair of young ladies who were practicing their sand sculpture (on the surprise sandy beach) for the next day's contest. The people were friendly and we were told by one long term resident that she doesn't know what the life after this will be like, but she is sure that for many years, she has lived in Heaven. Nice. From Lion's Head we headed 30 miles or so along the peninsula, to the end of land, where Lake Huron rushes to make it's connection with the Gerogian Bay. Here is the end (or beginning) of the Bruce Trail, the 900 km. hiking trail mentioned above. In the Visitor's Center I found a pair of bronzed hiking boots donated by one of the many hikers who have walked from Niagara. Tobermory is a delightful stop for boaters, hikers and tourists, with lots of restaurants, gift and upscale craft shops and, of course, fish 'n' chips and ice cream! The Chi-Cheemain (Ojibwa for “big canoe”) Ferries can carry up to 638 passengers and 143 vehicles (each) to and from nearby Manitoulin Island, the largest fresh water island in North America. As the only other access to Manitoulin is a single lane swing bridge at Little Current, traffic is constant on the ferry. Also, glass bottomed boat tours are available to see the more than 22 wrecked ships that lie in the waters near Tobermary. The wrecks also make this a very popular destination for divers. Interestingly, more divers have lost their lives in these waters than sailors going down with the ships now being investigated by the curious. I did a very mini hike into the woods to the Visitor's Center, where I met up with some of the animals of Canada (they were stuffed, of course, but we've not seen a single walking critter) and also marveled at the descriptions of the work of the glaciers—solid granite to the north, and here, on the south side of the Bay, sand-pebble-grapefruit sized rocks of limestone, and deep caves complete with stalagtites. Separating these two disparate land forms, the crystal clear emerald colored and very deep waters of the Georgian Bay. As we left Tobermary we passed by Flower Pot Island, where, for no apparent reason, various sized rocks have piled themselves into very unusual—yes, flower pot--shapes. East winds gave us a serious boost along the Bay, and we soon found ourselves negotiating the rocky entrance to Killarney, the gateway to the North Chanel. Until 1964 Killarney was only accessible by boat, so most of the village's businesses are situated along the long channel. Logging and fishing have been replaced by tourism as the main source of business here. The first Monday in August, we learned, is a Canadian holiday. One explanation we were given (tongue in cheek?) is that July has Canada Day, and Sept. has Labor Day, so the first Monday in August is given to the country as a summer holiday. Banks, government offices and many businesses are closed, and many towns, Killarney among them, hold festivals with parades and fireworks. Lucky for us Monday was 'travel home' day, so there was dockage available. We immediately did the obligatory tourist stop at Herbert's Fisheries, a red trailer with a take out window and picnic tables for fish 'n' chips. Just can't get excited about putting vinegar (white or malt) on my french fries, but I did give it a go. Have not yet, though, attempted the culinary delight called Poutine. This Frech-Canadian dish contains cheese curd, french fries and gravy. We were told by one hardy Canadian (as he sprinkled malt vinegar on his 'chips', that sometimes nothing else but poutine will do. So far, not for me. And so, it's goodnight for now. 'See' you next week as we continue our exploration of the North Channel. Be well. Linda and Fred