We broke up this drive by driving after my meeting and
stopping in Monroe, Michigan for a few hours of sleep. We went through customs in Port Huron again
without even handing the officer our Nexus cards. We are assuming that they can read them from
far away with some type of equipment.
We stopped for lunch again in Cooktown and got into Parry
Sound around 3:30—enough time for a fast run at the grocery and the car to get
back before 5:00pm.
This area of in Georgian Bay is called the 30,000
island. For a little folklore:
The
Legend of Kitchikewana - Once upon a time, so goes a legend of the Huron Indians of
Northern Ontario, there was a giant God by the name of Kitchikewana who stood
guard over the whole of Georgian Bay.
The legend says he was a violent god, prone to frequent tantrums - and his size made him a feared figure among the Ouendat (Huron) pantheon. He was taller than two huge mountains (the giant pine trees came only up to his knees) and he wore a necklace of tree stumps, He also wore a headdress which had thousands of bird feathers and his robe was made from 600 beaver pelts.
Kitchikewana was the son of the Great Spirit Manitou. The assembly of Huron Gods one day decided that enough is enough and it was time to get Kitchikewana to calm down. A strategy was devised - the gods will find a suitable consort for Kitchikewana.
So they gathered together all the beautiful girls of the surrounding regions. One of them was almost celestial in appearance and Kitchikewana liked her a lot. Her name was Wanakita, daughter of Musquakie, a northern chief, and Kitchikewana proposed to her.
Wanakita's reply was a resounding "NO" - to the dismay of the gods. She said she had already given her heart to a warrior in her tribe. Kitchikewana was shocked - his anger rose and bubbled over.
It is said that the earth shook and the skies darkened and the world cowered in fear. Wolves howled in the distance and other wildlife scattered and hid in their dens and in holes deep underground. Not a bird flew in the sky. Kitchikewana slammed the palm of his hand onto the ground - there was a thunderous explosion - and he picked up a massive clump of dirt and threw it in a rage. The dirt scattered and thus was born the 30,000 Islands.
The five finger marks in the ground became the five famous bays of the north - Midland Bay, Penetang Bay, Hog Bay, Sturgeon Bay and Matchedash Bay.
Then, hearbroken and tired, Kitchikewana lay down on the ground and fell into a deep and eternal sleep.
The legend says he was a violent god, prone to frequent tantrums - and his size made him a feared figure among the Ouendat (Huron) pantheon. He was taller than two huge mountains (the giant pine trees came only up to his knees) and he wore a necklace of tree stumps, He also wore a headdress which had thousands of bird feathers and his robe was made from 600 beaver pelts.
Kitchikewana was the son of the Great Spirit Manitou. The assembly of Huron Gods one day decided that enough is enough and it was time to get Kitchikewana to calm down. A strategy was devised - the gods will find a suitable consort for Kitchikewana.
So they gathered together all the beautiful girls of the surrounding regions. One of them was almost celestial in appearance and Kitchikewana liked her a lot. Her name was Wanakita, daughter of Musquakie, a northern chief, and Kitchikewana proposed to her.
Wanakita's reply was a resounding "NO" - to the dismay of the gods. She said she had already given her heart to a warrior in her tribe. Kitchikewana was shocked - his anger rose and bubbled over.
It is said that the earth shook and the skies darkened and the world cowered in fear. Wolves howled in the distance and other wildlife scattered and hid in their dens and in holes deep underground. Not a bird flew in the sky. Kitchikewana slammed the palm of his hand onto the ground - there was a thunderous explosion - and he picked up a massive clump of dirt and threw it in a rage. The dirt scattered and thus was born the 30,000 Islands.
The five finger marks in the ground became the five famous bays of the north - Midland Bay, Penetang Bay, Hog Bay, Sturgeon Bay and Matchedash Bay.
Then, hearbroken and tired, Kitchikewana lay down on the ground and fell into a deep and eternal sleep.
We ate down the street and then stopped at the PS Performing
Arts Center where there was a group playing music, mountain country, and then
strolled along the bay walk until the bug of the day became too invasive.
In the morning, we headed to Watson’s cottage on Beacon
Island just outside of the inner bay.
John came out to lead us in and Connie stood on the back waving.
We spent three relaxing days enjoying the beauty of the
area. We took their boat ride around the
adjacent islands and stopped for a visit at the Spoon Cottage.
The sunsets were magnificent and changed color every
evening. It was good to just hang out
and catch up, eat and try new drinks. We
were outside most of the days and headed inside when those blessed mosquitos
started to visit. Ken and John took our
boat to the marina for fuel so on Saturday morning we were all ready to head
north. John and Connie were heading home
in the afternoon.
Traveling in this area requires tireless attention to
markers. Here the channels get skinny
but you will hit rock instead of mud like you find in the south. We threaded our way to Britt to take a look
and stop for lunch. Before we headed to
Henvey Inlet to anchor out, Ken was smart enough to check the anchor mechanisms
and discovered that the “up” connection wasn’t working. We decided to go up the river to Wright’s
Marina for the night.
We were helped tying up by the harbor master and a couple of
the other boaters. One Canadian couple
who is thinking about buying a Mainship came aboard to check out the layout of
the boat. Several of the local boaters
are thinking about doing the loop in the next few years.
I saw another Looper boat down the way so after spending a
few minutes talking to the nightly gathering of boaters, we headed down to the
other end of the marina where we found Emmy and Reggie traveling on M.E. Lou II
from Mississippi. We swapped boating
stories, especially some that come with doing the Loop. It was interesting to hear their take on some
of their stops.
In the morning, the locals helped Ken put some notes on our
charts about the anchoring spots in this area.
They are very helpful and interested in the loop adventures. Two couples are seriously considering it down
the road. The Wright’s Marina mechanic
was able to find the problem with the windlass and we were ready to take off
and anchor if needed.
We headed out to either anchor in Henvey Inlet or Bad
River. We could anchor or there were
supposed to be some recently placed clips in some of the rock walls at a noted
location at Henvey Inlet. We headed that direction to do a drive-by and see if
we could find them.
We found the rings—now get ready. This required a flat wall, which was there,
no underground rock, which is what appeared, Ken’s ability to get close enough
AND my ability to get off the boat and tie the mid-tie cleat fast enough. Then I needed to grab the bow and the stern
lines BEFORE the boat moved too much.
Sounds simple in retrospect. I
had a hard time tying back to the boat because of the distance between the
rocks, very varied, and the boat. I
couldn’t reach either line and ended up yelling to Ken to get down and throw
the lines. All in all, we could do it
better next time.
All tied up nice and snug in a beautiful location without
one other boat going by all night long.
We settled down for our 4th meal in a row on the boat. For us, that is unusual. That is not unusual for this part of the
country since we are in an area that is very lightly populated thus not as many
sources of food and drink ! The next
morning it was light enough at 4:30am to walk around and see where you were
going !
We headed out on very flat water about 6:30am toward our
stop in Killarney. We expect the weather
to really kick up tonight and tomorrow so we need to be at a marina and tied
up. We caught up to E&MII coming
out of their anchorage in the Bustard Island and followed them until we turned
off up Bad River.
We wanted to anchor in Bad River and see the Devil Rapids
but instead we did a drive by and took some pictures. This area would make a beautiful anchorage
with good protection on a normal night.
We then headed toward Killarney via the Collins Inlet which had
spectacular rock walls surrounding the narrow channel. We pulled in to our slip next to E&MII
for probably a two night stay.
Killarney is one of the oldest villages in Northern
Ontario. Georgian Bay and Killarney Provincial Park are both next door to this
quaint fishing village. Friendliness and old world charm make Killarney Village
a place that will make you feel at home. It’s a thriving community whose docks
harbour rustic fishing boats and elaborate yachts.
Historically,
Killarney was named Shebahonaning, an Ojibwa word for ‘safe canoe channel’. As
far back as 1615 Samuel de Champlain and Etienne Brule were the first Europeans
to travel these waters. By 1759, this was a major water route for the French
fur traders, commonly known as the Voyageurs.
We quickly headed down to the famous Fish and Chips
restaurant and got lunch. Back to the
boat for hang-out time. We had dinner
with Reggie and Emmy from MEIII up at the Sportsman Pub and then back to their
boat for “story time”. They started in Mississippi this year and have
kept up a pretty fast pass. As with us, they are ahead of the pack though
theirs is a choice and ours is a necessity.
We had a lot of wind and waves the following day and so did
not take the dinghy to see Covered Portage Cove. We walked around and hit all of the
highlights of the town, got the scoop of economy, schools, etc. from the owner
of the Pine Tree Inn. We went to the Killarney Mountain Lodge for dinner and
were transported back in time. It’s a
lovely lodge with new docks and a perfect view.
We headed out in the morning to Little Current. On the way, we drove north and hung out for a
bit in
In Covered Portage Cove.
What a beautiful anchorage. I saw
a bear going down to the water’s edge but by the time I got the camera up, he
must have heard our noise because we went running back up the
mountainside. This area is surrounded by
high walls of quartz which is a dramatic shift from the granite that has been
under and around the boat up to this point.
We made the “on the hour” swing bridge into Little Current,
our first stop on Manatoulin Island (the largest fresh water island in the
world), right behind MEII and slid in to our slip without any trouble. We headed out to check out the small
town. We had lunch at the Anchor Inn
which during July thru August sponsors a radio program and happy hour for
boaters. Again, our timing is off for
these events. I hit the health food
store and then hiked to the grocery for a few provisions. First time ever that I haven’t filled up my
backpack and made it uncomfortable to walk back ! Ken spent all afternoon doing laundry. He had accidentally left a whole bag of
clothes on the boat when we went home last time.
Manitoulin Island /ˌmænɨˈtuːlɨn/ (originally Ekaentouton) is a Canadian lake island in Lake Huron, in the province of Ontario. It is the largest freshwater lake island in the world.[1] In addition to the
historic Anishinaabe and European settlement of the
island, archeological discoveries at Sheguiandah have demonstrated Paleo-Indian and Archaic cultures dating from 10,000 BC to 2000 BC.[2] The name of the island
is the English version, via French, of the old Odawa name
"Manidoowaaling",[3] which means "cave
of the spirit", named for an underwater cave where a powerful spirit
dwells[citation needed]. By the 19th century the Odawa
"l" was pronounced as "n". The same word with a newer
pronunciation is used for the town Manitowaning (19th century Odawa
"Manidoowaaning"), which is located on Manitoulin Island near the
underwater cave where legend has it that the spirit dwells. The modern Odawa
name for Manitoulin Island is Mnidoo Mnis[4] (Spirit Island).
The next morning, we went up to the local coffee shop and
had a nice conversation with a couple of local men about boating and Manitoulin
Island. In these small towns, people
must recognize you as strangers because we often have some great and
interesting conversation when someone asks us “where are you folks from”. They kept a map on the wall with stars on the
places that customers were from. Our
home was piled high but it was amazing that people from all over the world had
come to this location!
Back to the boat and “goodbye” to Emmy after Ken makes her
come out in her pj’s—Reggie appears to be still sleeping. They heading to an anchorage tonight and then
to Drummond Island on Friday. We are
taking a much slower path through the North Channel. We head out for the 15 mile trip to Kagawong,
just west on the same island.
Kagawong, meaning in Ojibwe “where the
mists rise from the falling waters”. The
historic village of Kagawong is one of Manitoulin’s most picturesque – in fact
it does have good reason to declare itself “Ontario’s Prettiest Village”, as
the town sign suggests. Part of Kagawong’s appeal lies in its geography. The
village is built into a valley with its downtown sitting adjacent to the waters
of Mudge Bay. The North Channel lies in the distance. The trail and
flower-lined Kagawong River flows into the bay from spectacular Bridal Veil
Falls. It is from this stroke of nature that the village takes its name. All this natural beauty may be thought reason
enough for the town’s existence, but it was as a fishing and timber centre that
it was first established. The falling and flowing waters of the Kagawong River,
now appreciated for aesthetics, were once harnessed to drive the machinery of
the Kagawong Mill. The mill, built in 1925, produced paper for a U.S. firm
before being converted in 1932 to generate hydro-electricity until its closure
in 1949.
We checked in and had nice conversations with the dock
master and young man with an interesting tattoo. The young man has worked as a dockhand for
three previous years and missed his job so when he saw us coming into the bay,
he ran down to help us in. We headed out
to walk the trail to the Bridal Falls along a beautiful section of the Kagawong
River. We stopped to visit the St. John
the Evangelist Anglican Church built in the 1880’s and spent time reading the
history of this little church. For the
story of the pulpit: http://continuouswave.com/north-channel/kagawong.html
We then passed the Heritage Mill, which now houses the
museum and an art gallery, on our way to the trail and falls. The falls were magnificent due to the large
amount of rain and snow that this area had recently. A local grandma and granddaughter were also
visiting at the moment and shared some local information about the area. Evidently, the waters are not too cold for
kids. After finding lunch at the food
trailer across from the falls, we headed back to see the museum and art
gallery. The museum was filled with
artifacts depicting the last hundred years of white settlers. Ken bought the DVD of the documentary “detailing the complex history between the
Anishinabek, the French, the British, and the settlers, who have all shared the
Great Manitoulin”. There is a great
deal of native population in this area and they have their own system of
government and schools.
The art gallery had good local art and the owners, husband
and wife, are both artists. We discussed
their need for better signage since we almost missed this stop. We had a
conversation with a couple walking a dog who owned the local B&B, Maple
Tree Cottage. We learned a bit about
their business and customers (a lot from Europe) and they led us back for a
tour of their home. There was a couple
from Britain who had returned again for stay and had been out today touring by
car.
Dinner on the boat and ice cream (Ken talked the young dock
hand to open back up for ice cream) on the picnic table to watch the sunset.
Off for the short run to Gore Bay. We only had about 15 miles to travel to the
small village of Gore Bay. Population
just over 900.
The Town of Gore Bay, located on the
North Channel of Lake Huron, is nestled between two splendid, tree-covered
bluffs. Incorporated in 1890, Gore Bay is one of the larger communities on
Manitoulin. Gore Bay is the judicial centre of Manitoulin, and one of the
island's commercial and professional centres. A quick geography lesson
will tell you that Gore Bay is located on Manitoulin Island, which is part of a
chain of islands located in the northern part of one of Canada’s Great Lakes,
Lake Huron. Manitoulin is said to be the largest fresh water island in
the world and Gore Bay is located approximately midway along the north shore of
the island.
We visited the Farmers Market right off the docks and bought
a few sweets. We then headed up to Main
Street to check out downtown. We heard
music so hoofed over to the site of a barbeque and slowly figured out that it
was for an attached nursing home residents.
Other people were there so we deposited out donation and both had one of
their sandwiches for lunch.
We struck up a conversation with neighbor boaters who have
done ¾ of the loop. Their missing piece
is Chicago to the Tennessee River. The
live in Goderich (one of our stops on the drive to Parry Sound) and keep their
boat here. We’re thinking that the other
¼ probably won’t happen. The piece of
the Loop from Chicago to the Tennessee River does not seem to be the favorite
of most of the people we’ve heard from…..I’m still hoping that’s wrong.
We walked down to have dinner at Buoy’s along the marina
walkway and had a nice dinner overlooking the marina. The high granite walls surrounding the bay
are very pretty and offer good protection from the winds.
In the morning after Ken went to the marine store for a few
things, we headed downtown to the museum and art exhibit in a building attached
to the County Court building. The museum
is in the old jail and the exhibits were attached in a very nice addition. We then walked down to the end of the marina
to the Marina Depot where local artists have their studios and work. We talked to a few of the artists who had
their studios open.
We headed out for the 15 mile trip to Turnbull Bay to anchor
for the night. We have only seen a few
boats out on the waters this entire leg so when we turned into Turnbull and
there were 4 or 5 boats already anchored, I was really surprised. We found a spot and after dropping the anchor
twice found it holding and settled down.
We took the dinghy out for a tour around the little islands, hit the
rock bottom once, but then used the Blue Charts phone app to see where to stay
away from the low water.
We had a very quiet dinner and peaceful night except for the
mosquitos that had gotten into the boat and buzzed around our heads all night….the
only negative is those bugs.
Another beautiful morning.
We headed out of the anchorage toward Blind River Marina (on the
mainland). These last two trips have not
followed a channel nor a voyage path. We
have followed a pink marker on our paper charts. I usually have this anyway but
these two trips have been so short that Ken didn’t bother making a “route”. We entered the marina with help from the
staff and I took a shower. Upon exciting
the head, I hear Ken talking and see that there are customs agents on the dock. I hurriedly got dressed and went
outside. We gave them our identification
and they proceeded to ask the standard questions. They searched the boat for “contraband” and
then we had a nice conversation with them about the North Channel towns and
marinas. We also met a sailor down the
dock who had done the Loop a few years ago.
We shared info about favorite locations.
We walked quite a way into town to find some lunch. We had
to ask someone for a recommendation because there didn’t appear to be much around.
After walking back to the marina, we saw the Looper sailor and started a
conversation. The gentleman with him had just opened a small art gallery and
asked if we had gone into it on our walk.
We had not, so conversation went on about galleries and ideas, etc. He soon came to our boat and offered to drive
us to the gallery, so off we went. It was a small space with a variety of art,
mostly from Australian artists and they had just opened in the last couple of
weeks. After he took us back to boat, we hung around to read, etc. Later we walked up to the marina café for
dinner.
Headed the 40+ miles to the small town of Bruce Mines on the
mainland. These towns on the mainland
are right off of Route 17 which goes along the north shore of Lake Huron and
then north east to Sudbury. This is
probably the smallest marina that we have been to recently which means we are
one of the bigger boats. Lunch, walk,
visit, nap, ice cream, walk….the museum was closed so no info about the
town…cocktails, dinner, walk…whew, exhausting day. We made reservations for Sault St. Marie for
Canada Days and then a train tour on the Algoma Central Railway…more info to
come.
Named after
James Bruce, who was appointed as Governor General of Canada in 1846, the town
of Bruce Mines (otherwise known as the “Jewel of Lake Huron”), was first
established in that same year as a copper mining area by John Keating, Indian
Agent, after exploration with Arthur Rankin, a land surveyor. Keating
began mining in December, employing skilled Cornish miners who had recently
emigrated from England. The Huron & St. Mary’s Copper Co. was formed
to manage the miners.
The Bruce Mines changed ownership several times between 1847 and 1944, when they were decommissioned. Flooding and cave-ins in 1876 ended the 30-year period of active mining history. In the 1870's, agriculture and logging prospered in the wake of uncertainty with the mines. The Township of Plummer Additional became incorporated in 1891 while Northern Ontario's first town, the Town of Bruce Mines was officially incorporated in 1903. Several attempts to re-open the mines in the early 1900's saw only limited success by Mond Nickel, who shipped the quartz-copper flux ore to Sudbury. Mond Nickel shut down the Bruce Mines in 1921.
In 1846, the first copper mine opened in Bruce Mines. Miners from Cornwall, England emigrated to the area to work the mines. The mining companies quickly built wharves and docks in the bay to handle the influx of people and materials. Two of the mine managers built their homes at the entrance to the main dock property. They made sure that only approved boats used the docks. The mining companies did not allow any stores to open in their town. All of the miners and their families were forced to purchase from the Company Store. The Marks brothers from Hilton Beach would load a barge on St. Joseph Island and bring fresh produce, meat and lumber to the miners in Bruce Mines. They were not allowed to land on the dock, so would anchor their barge in the middle of the bay and the people of Bruce Mines would row and paddle out to buy merchandise from them. Eventually they opened one of the first mercantile stores in Bruce Mines. A Company tugboat, the "E.P. Sawyer" was a familiar site in Bruce Mines. This tug was used to move barges around the bay from the different mines located in Bruce Mines. Passenger vessels, such as the "Caribou" and the "Premier" also stopped on a regular basis in Bruce Mines. These vessels brought much needed cargo and passengers to the area. The "Premier" burned and sank at the dock in 1923. Divers later recovered the propeller and salvaged the metal from her boilers.
We left in the morning for Richards Landing
on St. Joseph Island, the 2nd largest fresh water island in the
world. We headed “downtown” and found a
few places for photo’s in this charming little town. The weather was great and the season has
begun. There were finally a lot of
people moving around. When you stop in
these marinas/towns you can’t help but worry how they can possibly keep
businesses going on such a short season.
The Bruce Mines changed ownership several times between 1847 and 1944, when they were decommissioned. Flooding and cave-ins in 1876 ended the 30-year period of active mining history. In the 1870's, agriculture and logging prospered in the wake of uncertainty with the mines. The Township of Plummer Additional became incorporated in 1891 while Northern Ontario's first town, the Town of Bruce Mines was officially incorporated in 1903. Several attempts to re-open the mines in the early 1900's saw only limited success by Mond Nickel, who shipped the quartz-copper flux ore to Sudbury. Mond Nickel shut down the Bruce Mines in 1921.
In 1846, the first copper mine opened in Bruce Mines. Miners from Cornwall, England emigrated to the area to work the mines. The mining companies quickly built wharves and docks in the bay to handle the influx of people and materials. Two of the mine managers built their homes at the entrance to the main dock property. They made sure that only approved boats used the docks. The mining companies did not allow any stores to open in their town. All of the miners and their families were forced to purchase from the Company Store. The Marks brothers from Hilton Beach would load a barge on St. Joseph Island and bring fresh produce, meat and lumber to the miners in Bruce Mines. They were not allowed to land on the dock, so would anchor their barge in the middle of the bay and the people of Bruce Mines would row and paddle out to buy merchandise from them. Eventually they opened one of the first mercantile stores in Bruce Mines. A Company tugboat, the "E.P. Sawyer" was a familiar site in Bruce Mines. This tug was used to move barges around the bay from the different mines located in Bruce Mines. Passenger vessels, such as the "Caribou" and the "Premier" also stopped on a regular basis in Bruce Mines. These vessels brought much needed cargo and passengers to the area. The "Premier" burned and sank at the dock in 1923. Divers later recovered the propeller and salvaged the metal from her boilers.
We had dinner at the new restaurant at the marina overlooking the St. Joseph Channel. We stayed in the morning especially to see their Canada Day Parade which was a parade of tractors…..many restored to pristine condition.
We headed out for the scenic trip to Sault Ste. Marie around 10:00am and arrived around lunchtime. We took the longer route up the St. Joseph Channel through Lake George around the top of Sugar Island and then into the St. Marie’s River to the Roberta Bondar Marina.
Roberta Bondar (born December 4, 1945) is Canada's first female astronaut and the first
neurologist in space. Following more than a decade as NASA's head of space
medicine, Bondar became a consultant and speaker in the business, scientific,
and medical communities. Bondar has received many honours including the Order
of Canada, the Order of Ontario, the NASA Space Medal, over 22 honorary degrees
and induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.[1]
We made landing in
time for the Opening Ceremony at the RB Park for the Canada Days
Celebration. They had a list of musical
groups playing at the Pavilion next door until the fireworks later. We had a nice lunch at Fluid, walked up the
boardwalk and down Queen Street. Later
we walked to the Museum of Art and their sculpture Park. Most places were closed today since it’s
Canada Days. We sat on the boat for
dinner listening to music from both sides and watched their fireworks out in
the river after dark. The next morning, we took the Agawa Canyon Train Tour north 114 miles along Lake Superior. The landscape is rugged and beautiful. There was a TV monitor with information about the history and relevant sites. The train stops in the Agawa National Park after passing two large waterfalls viewable from the train. We only walked a sort distance before we gave in to the mosquitos and returned to the train for lunch. We got back to the city about 5:30pm. The Soo is striving to be the Renewable Engery Capital of North America…..one of the bits of info from the train.
Early the next morning, we headed out to Michigan with a stop for breakfast and an art show at St.Joseph Island—Richards Landing. Blueberry pancakes and Poutine Benedict made for a couple of waddling boaters. We didn’t buy anything at the art show so Ken donated the remainder of our Canadian money to the historical society. Off to the USA !
We headed south on the St. Mary’s River in the shipping channel to the west of St. Joseph and Drummond Islands to the Detour Village on the mainland of upper Michigan.
We were able to travel all through the 30,000 islands and North Channel while carefully keeping in the tight channels and avoiding the rock bottoms UNTIL we left Canada and hit bottom on the confusing entrance to Detour Village Marina. Luckily, we were able to back out of it with “still runnable” damage to our props.
We visited with a boating couple on a Sea Dory, who seemed enticed by our journey and would like to make some longer boat trips. We found a local restaurant for dinner and ice cream and walked back to the boat to watch our second set of fireworks celebrating our 4th of July.
We left early in the morning and headed out into Lake Huron to St. Ignace—slowly, so as not to vibrate the shaft and cause more problems in the boat. St. Ignace began our introduction back into a much more touristy area. They had a nice boardwalk around the bay, which we walked, with a lot of ferry traffic. There were a number of restaurants and shops all filled with people. We visited the St. Ignace Ojibwe Museum and learned more about the history of this area and the culture of the Ojibwe people.
Off in the morning for a short but slow hop to Machinaw City across the Straits of Mackinac and into our slip at Straits State Harbor. We spent the next two days cleaning all of the ground in bug parts along with general dirt off of the outside and inside of the boat. In between cleaning jigs, we found food and liquids in abundance. This city is filled with very touristy shops—fudge, ice cream, taffy, and t-shirts, etc. The US Coast Guard Icebreaker is berthed here but we didn’t take the time for a tour--yet.
United States Coast Guard ICEBREAKER MACKINAW WAGB-83, known
as the “Queen of the Great Lakes”, was built as part of the war effort
during World War II to meet the heavy demands of war materials and transportation
during the winter months. Decommissioned in 2006, she now resides at her
namesake home of Mackinaw City, Michigan.
Ken took a shuttle to
pick up a rental car and we headed home early in the morning. The boat will be hauled out and checked while
we are gone….and hopefully repaired by the time we return
