Anchoring in paradise

We four siblings have anchored out every night since we started! Up until they joined me, we usually tied up at a marina every few nights to plug in, wash the boat, eat at a restaurant, etc. Well, we haven't done that once. We like being out in the peaceful wilds, with opportunities for seeing animals and birds, having kayaking, swimming and dingying adventures, and feasting on creative meals (not that I have had anything to do with those! Cheryl, and tonight Janet, have kept us well fed!).

This photo shows one of the hundreds of lighthouses we have passed since entering Lake Huron. I guess it's redundant to mention the thousands of islands and rocks out here, and lighthouses have been everywhere as aids to us mariners. They certainly become the subject of photos!

Since my last blog posting, we've criss-crossed the North Channel four times - north shore, then to the south shore, and vice versa. In a northern village named Spanish, we all walked two miles to reach a grocery store and restaurant...but the book said it would be a half mile. Luckily, a kind woman noticed our bags and offered to drive us back to the boat. Her car held only four, so I got my exercise jogging back. At least I can always jump into the water when I get hot. And tonight, Rick initiated jumping in from the flybridge.

We anchored not too many miles west of there, and the next morning we crossed back to the south side of the channel in a pretty thick fog. I had my radar operating, not only for myself but also so that other boats with radar would more easily see me. We finally reached Gore Bay, passing close to Janet Head, at the tip of a bay on Manitoulin Island (reminder: it's the largest fresh-water island in the world). But Janet's Head was typically all fogged in. Hahahahaha. By the time we docked in the cute little town of Gore Bay, the fog had lifted and we rode the bikes out to the Janet Head lighthouse for a tour. See how cool it is? The fourth generation of the family still was operating it and living there for the summers.

This is Janet in front of the sign for her Head Lighthouse.

We cruised on in the afternoon (this was Tuesday, Aug 10) farther west to Vidal Bay for the night. So, in one afternoon, we'd been in Gore Vidal bays! LOL As usual, we were pretty much all alone with beautiful shoreline and scenery all around us.

The next morning Janet, Rick and I took turns on the kayak and we were even able to paddle up a river. This picture is me on that little river.

Later we cruised to the base of the very next bay to our west, which was the final bay on the long Manitoulin Island. There, we again wanted to visit their historic lighthouse. Only this time, it was 10 miles away, so the other three went in the dockmaster's van (wasn't that nice of him to drive them, for a small price of course?), and I used it as an excuse for a bike workout. Only trouble was that I went the wrong way three times, so my total was about 28 miles instead of 20 miles, and I was sorta racing the van to show how tough I was. LOL Rick took this photo of me as their van passed me on the ride back to the harbor. So I was pretty pooped when it was all done. The lighthouse, built in 1873, was very interesting, even with sweat in my eyes! hahahaha

We puttered away from Muldrum Bay in the early afternoon and ventured through the Mississagi Straights right out into the open Lake Huron. Luckily, the weather was okay, and we turned west and eventually entered the USA!! What was funny was that our cell phones seemed to know exactly where that line on the water was. As soon as we passed over where the chart showed the border was, out there in the "middle" of Lake Huron, I had cell phone service again, and everyone else's suddenly became domestic instead of foreign.

After a nice little anchorage last night on Drummond Island, Michican, we sailed this morning on totally glassy seas in Lake Huron to De Tour Passage, where the huge Great Lakes tankers come and go to Lake Superior. We saw three of them as we were approaching, and it impressed my sibs since they hadn't seen big ships since they began 9 days ago.

At the marina in De Tour Passage, we finally filled the fuel tanks. The gauge was showing 1/8th, but it still took only 200 ("only"???) gallons even though the capacity is 300 gallons. But at $3.51 per gallon, the bill was pretty darned high. We also washed the boat for the first time in four weeks, and did three loads of laundry.

That was earlier today. We then headed north back into Canada (and my cell phone stopped working immediately upon crossing the imaginary line on the chart). We are staying tonight in a little cove on the north side of St. Joseph Island, on our way to Lake Superior tomorrow. The shore lines of the many islands are still spotted with summer Canadian cottages, and the weather has continued to be fabulous. And we four siblings continue to have a total blast.