The North Channel & Lake Huron

 

Little Current, Ontario

Little Current represents the start of the North Chanel. Opinions differ since some believe it starts at Killarney.

We spent the night at the Town Docks and walked a few blocks to Orr’s Valu-Mart to restock some provisions.

Being Tuesday, the Anchor inn was closed, so we walked up the hill to Elliott's for dinner. Next morning, prior to departure, it was time to catch up with the laundry & later reward ourselves with  breakfast at the Anchor Inn, located downtown, across from the marina. The Anchor Inn no longer has rooms for rent but is a quaint, maritime themed restaurant & pub. After a good, substantial breakfast, we were ready for the departure to Croker and the Benjamin Islands for a few days.

Croker Island, Ontario

S. Benjamin Island, Ontario

During our afternoon dinghy explore, we encountered a Massasauga rattlesnake swimming in narrow, shallow channel amidst the rocks. 

We chose this deep anchorage because it offered a protected, well sheltered overnight stop for all but a south wind. As usual, we checked the wind and weather forecast before dropping anchor. What a surprise! Weather was not as forecast, and winds blew in from the SSW and the rollers coming in off Lake Huron had the entire anchorage rocking and rolling all night. 

With little sleep, we pulled the anchor at first light and departed in search of calmer waters.

Eagle Island

On arrival this morning we were greeted by five loons swimming around our boat. They stayed on the surface long enough this time to get some photos before diving under water.

The north-east side of Eagle Island provides a large, protected anchorage, providing, shelter from strong, gusting winds from the west and northwest. 15 boats in the anchorage but still plenty of room for many more..

Moiles Harbour – John Island

An enjoyable, tranquil and well protected anchorage, with an interesting past.

About 1890, the four Moyles brothers, residents of Saginaw Michigan built a large, well-equipped sawmill in Detour Michigan. Securing raw materials, combined with escalating operating expense, the mill quickly found itself in financial difficulty. 

Bart Moyles was a clever, unscrupulous lawyer who devised a plan to save the mill from its creditors. The brothers planned to steal their own mill and transport it by water to Canada. Every piece of the mill was dismantled and transported across the border and into Canada, where it was erected on John Island in the North Channel of Lake Huron. 

The mill was later sold. In April 1918 it was totally destroyed by fire. The island became known as John Island, named after John Moyle, the devious lawyer.

Today the island is uninhabited, except for a YMCA summer camp.

                                    

Beardrop Harbour 

Beardrop Harbour is located to the North of John Island. The harbour is created between two large islands and provides plenty of room to anchor.  

The land around Beardrop Harbour is now owned by the Serpent River First Nation. Since this has historically been an anchorage for pleasure craft, this tradition will continue. The First Nations ask that no trash is left behind and no fires are built on shore. 

We spent two peaceful days here and enjoyed our dinghy explorations.

 

Cockburn Island - Tolsmaville

Tolsmaville used to be an important logging area, with a thriving population and lots of shipping traffic. Today, the summer population is about 200 people and only one or two remain during the winter months.

Tolsmaville is very rustic and posses its own cuteness. There are no services here. Everything has to be shipped in, including groceries and other fundamentals.

This is the emergency services building, complete with the rules of the island posted on the boards on the side of the building. Someone has a sense of humor here. Note the old flashing lights from an old police cruiser, mounted on top of the building.

There is a functioning, although somewhat rustic heli pad at the base of the road, for emergency, medical evacuations.

Dawn departure, heading out in the open waters of Lake Huron. Hoping for light winds and calm seas all the way to Rogers City, Michigan.

Rogers City, Michigan

Our crossing from Cockburn Island was smooth sailing for most of the way. We were grateful to have traveled when we did, since the wind came up the next day and howled for the next four days, creating rough seas, which would have meant a lumpy, uncomfortable ride.

We opted to stay put until conditions calmed down. This was a comfortable marina and a quaint town to explore.

Rogers City has done a great job creating wonderful park amenities around the beach areas and marina.

As we walked the area, we were pleasantly surprised to see so many beautiful, well-manicured yards. 

Pride of ownership was evident everywhere.

Checking out the stormy seas. The water here is crystal clear and very reminiscent of the Bahamas.

Glad to be tucked safely in harbor.

Our stay in Rogers City, Michigan, on west coast of Lake Huron is technically the end of our 2024 travels. 

It has been a constant challenge finding internet with sufficient strength to upload my photos and publish this blog. As a result, what follows will be a photo dump of some of the places we have visited while waiting to pull the boat after Labor Day. 

After attending the American Tug Rendezvous in Elk Rapids, Michigan, we will be making our way to Cheboygan, just south of Mackinaw Island, where the boat will be stored in an indoor storage facility for the winter.

This lovely shot of the boats in Elk Rapids was shot by one of the attendee's drone. Our boat is the one with my hand drawn, squiggly, blue arrow.

We enjoyed a tour and tasting at three wineries outside of Traverse City. Grand Traverse Chateau was a favorite of the group.

Another couple of windy, stormy days, when we were happy to be safely tied to the marina dock. With fall rapidly approaching, the wind and storms are more frequent.

Suttons Bay, Michigan

Suttons Bay is a small, charming, tourist town with an artistic flair.

We treated ourselves to a delicious, gourmet dinner at the Wren Restaurant. The above was my devilled eggs topped with salmon and whitefish caviar. Below is part of my dessert, house-made chocolates. They were so scrumptious, I ate two before thinking to take a picture.

Charlevoix, Michigan

We spent one day anchored in Charlevoix Harbor. Charlevoix is known for its mushroom houses, or Hobbit houses as they are sometimes called. They are the work of Earl Young, an eccentric, local arhitect who built30 of these very unique and one-of-a-kind homes, 28 of which are still in use today.

Les Cheneaux Islands, Michigan

Les Cheneaux Islands are comprised of 36 islands, just northwest of the Mackinaw Bridge. It is an area we hope to explore next summer.

This home is located on Dollar Island. The rambling home occupies every square inch of the small island. To say it is very unique is an understatement. It even has its own tree room, with a tree growing up through the center of the home. Dollar Island was originally purchased for $1, hence the name. the house and property are now for sale for $850,000.00. Oh by the way, it is only accessible by boat.

This majestic sailboat cruised past while we were at anchor

A family of swans swimming in the Cedarvill Harbor. The youngsters are still ugly ducklings, with feathers all stubby and brown!

This concludes our 2024 summer adventures. Thank you for following.