SUn Cat/ Trader Update 8/15/07 - North Channel and Macinaw Island

We are back in the US after a fun trip up the North Channel of Lake Huron. The Flotilla broke up after the outstanding fireworks show last Sunday night and we headed out on Monday to the Benjamin Islands accompanied by Larry and Lola on Lola Marie. The forecast that day was for fairly strong winds but much of our route was behind islands and we generally saw seas on 2 feet or less.

We anchored between north and south Benjamin islands with about 30 other boats (it was a Canadian holiday). The anchorage was surrounded on 3 sides with high granite islands covered with pine trees and it was neat to see the boats anchored with one end riding on an anchor and the other end tied off to a rock or tree ashore. (We didn’t try this!).That afternoon we hiked one of the islands. We discovered the scenery was great but there were no blueberries. Happy hour was with Jim and Joan, and Lola and Larry on Christine that night.

Sailboats moored to shore

The anchorage at the Benjamins from the top

Christine under way in the north channel

Early the next morning, the wind changed direction and the anchorage became somewhat less comfortable. I awoke about 2AM to find the sailboat that had been ahead of us was now about a boat length behind us and he was slightly aground. We were in about 15 feet of water and the anchor was holding well so I decided to stay put until daylight when we moved over a bit to get further from the rocks. We did some more hiking that day but were chased back to the boats by a thunderstorm, after which the wind died. Lola served the six of us an awesome brownie desert after supper.

The next day we did a dinghy expedition to Fox Island which is the northernmost of the Benjamin Islands. It was pretty and very well protected anchorage with some goodhiking and a few small blueberries. That evening we had a campfire on the beach with eight other looper boats, complete with hot dogs and s’mores. Great Fun!

From the Benjamins we motored up to Beardrop Harbor, another beautiful, protected anchorage. To get there, we passed through Little Detroit channel. This channel was 75 feet wide, a couple of hundred yards long and had a sharp turn at one end that prevented one from seeing what was coming. Boats about to enter put out “security” calls and we passed through safely. Once at beardrop, we hiked to the top of several of the surrounding islands and got some great pictures of the anchorage. Beardrop was our furthest point north on the trip at 46 09.7 degrees north.

It was time to leave Canada so the next day (Friday), we went to Drummond Island, Michigan where we cleared in through US customs. After a quick shopping trip Sat. morning we went to Government Bay in the Le Cheneaux islands for an evening and then went to Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island the following day. We did not expect to get a slip at the marina there and were very pleased when we did as the forecast was for strong winds and there was no place to anchor.

The marina with fort in background

The Yacht Club

We spent the rest of Sunday as well as Monday and Tuesday at Mackinac Island playing tourist with lots and lots of other people. The island does not permit any automobiles or trucks so people get around either in horse-drawn wagons or bicycles. (There seemed to be thousands of bicycles everywhere!) We took a horse and buggy tour, walked to the two forts, skull cave, and the Grand Hotel. We also took a bike ride completely around the island, accompanied by Bob and Sharon from Catch Me if you Can and Jim and Joan from Chistine. During that tour we climbed up to Arch Rock, saw the Devil’s Kitchen and the site of the British Landing and then had a nice lunch at the Grand Hotel’s Gatehouse restaurant. Last night we had a nice dinner with the crews of Time Out, Wonderland, Grand Start and Mascot.

This morning, we got up at 0615 and are headed down Lake Michigan to Charlevoix. If we have cell coverage, this may be sent underway! `

Having a great time

Steve and Jean
Aboard M/V Sun Cat
Somewhere on Lake Michigan

Pictures from Mackinac Island:

Arch Rock

Joan, Jean and Sharon on our circumnavigation by bike

The Grand Hotel and its "taxi"

The Main Street - no cars on island!

Another look at the "taxi" to the Grand Hotel

Update 8/27/07 - West side of Lake MichiganCharlevoix

Hello to all,

The last week or so has been the most affected by weather of the whole trip but it has still been fun. After our stay on Mackinac Island, we went to Charlevoix, Michigan which is a neat resort town. The trip there was one of the longest we’ve had since New Jersey since we did around 57 miles that day. It turned out to be the best travel day for that week as we spent the next two waiting for the weather to improve.

Charlevoix Marina - under construction but the docks were new

Entrance to Charlevoix headed  in

During that wait, we got a good look at how rough Lake Michigan can get. The wind was very strong out of the Northwest and the waves were 4 to 5 feet. Fortunately we were in a harbor where we were well protected from the wind and waves and during that time we walked and biked around town, visited with friends and generally relaxed.

From there we went to Leland which is another resort town. We toured “Fishtown” which is the equivalent of their historic district. Fishtown consisted of a series of very old buildings which originally housed services for the local fishermen. Today they are restaurants and tourist traps. We also walked around town a bit. One of the interesting situations we now have is that there are a lot (somewhere more than 50) loopers presently on Lake Michigan. We seem to hit the marinas in groups of 8-12 and require more space than they often have. Sometimes there is a place to anchor and much of the time there is not. The solution is that we sometimes wind up rafting on the dock. In Leland, they put us across the end of the finger pier which means only 3 feet of the boat was in contact with the dock and we had a boat rafted to us as well.

Some people have the strangest dinghies!

And unusual lawn ornaments

Leland Harbor - note boats across end of dock!

From Leland, we went to Frankfort and then Luddington. At Frankfort, we did a long beach walk as well as a short tour of the town. The beaches here are fine sand and the real treasure is when one finds stones that contain prehistoric fossils. We didn’t find any of those but I did find one that I’m pretty sure is an arrowhead. Luddington is an industrial town that was clearly in transition. We did find a good brew pub where we indulged in some of the local brews with our friends George and Marion on Time Out. After Luddington, we went to Pentwater which is another pretty resort community. We spent 2 days there waiting for the winds to drop down during which we did a beach walk, toured the town, toured the museum, shopped and socialized with friends.

The following day (Friday), we set out for Grand Haven but wound up putting into White Lake as Lake Michigan became rougher than we wanted to deal with. On White Lake are the communities of Whitehall and Montegue and we spent 2 days walking, biking and socializing there. The railroad line that runs through both towns has been turned into a bike path which is over 15 miles long and passed right outside of the marina. We also went to the Farmer’s market (our second or third this week) and went to the museum. On Saturday night we had a pot luck dinner with the crews from Sweet Dreams, Sunrise, Gypsy Time and Just Us.

This side of Lake Michigan reminds me a lot of the New Jersey shore. There are long sandy beaches punctuated by inlets to what are often resort towns. In addition, at each inlet there are large clusters of small fishing boats. One of the loopers counted over 30 boats in front of him at one point. In addition to the fresh water and no tide, the inlets have less current in them than New Jersey and the water is generally much deeper with depths of 100 to 200 feet a mile or two offshore being common. It also seems that more fish are being caught.

Lake Michigan shoreline

A tribute to Luddington's Lumbering history

As I write this, we are crossing Lake Michigan to Wisconsin and are about 20 miles from White Lake and 50 from Racine. The ferry from Muskegan to Milwalkee just crossed to the south of us and we should be well south of his path by the time he comes back this way. We are planning to be in Chicago for around a week over Labor Day weekend which should be a lot of fun.

The last coal powered freighter  on Lake Michigan leaving Luddington

Some happy fishermen in Pentwater

Sweet Dreams coming into Pentwater

Looper happy hour in Pentwater

Railway station and bike path in White Lake

The preceding was written on Sunday (yesterday). We reached Racine about 5PM yesterday after an absolutely awesome crossing of the Lake. We had a following swell of less than a foot and very little wind which meant no chop. We are now about 70 miles from Chicago and should have some protection from the winds the rest of the trip.

Having a great time.

Steve and Jean
Aboard M/V Sun Cat

Update 8/11/07 - Georgian Bay of Lake Huron

Our 22 boat flotilla rafted at Port Rawson Bay - Sun Cat is the 8th boat from right

Point Au Baril Lighthouse- the original light was a barrel!

11 mile dinghy flotilla to moon river falls

Collins inlet - Georgian B

For the last week we have been traveling with 21 other boats through the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay, Lake Huron. The weather has been beautiful and the scenery is gorgeous. The landscape is a lot like Penobscot Bay, Maine - Granite Islands covered with mostly pine trees with camps and homes throughout. The water is quite different however as it is fresh, not salt, warm enough to swim, has no tide, and is very clear. One can see bottom in 20 feet of water.

The navigation is different also. We have been following the small craft channel through the bay. This has taken us through some very narrow spots with the sides of the boat just about touching the navigation marks on each side and the rocks very close and clearly visible.

Our first stop last Friday was an anchorage at Port Rawson Bay where we made a raft of the 22 boats in one corner of the bay. Quite a sight! The water was warm and we were able to swim off of the boats. The following day we took a dinghy excursion to moon river falls – 11 miles one way. It was quite a sight to see 15 dinghies in convoy. We knew our 4 HP engine would be too slow so we rode with Larry and Lola from Lola Marie with their 40 hp engine. The falls was beautiful as was the scenery on the way in.

Moon River Falls

Sunday and Monday were spent at Parry Sound. Parry Sound was the home of hockey great Bobby Orr and we visited the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame as well as the local museum. We also climbed the fire tower which is now open to the public and provides as great view of the surrounding area. Our leaders, Karen and Bob, put on a wine and cheese party that evening and a good time was had by all!

Kaos, Time Out and Transition underway

Dinner at the German restaurant, Killbear Marina

 Honga is lead boat - The rocks were left to starboard

On Tuesday we traveled only 12 miles to Killbear Marina, stopping for a swim along the way. That evening we had a group dinner at the German restaurant located at the marina. The next day we wound our way through various channels through the islands to Byng Inlet where we stayed at Wrights Marina. The entertainment that evening was a pot luck dinner. We definitely have a lot of good cooks in the flotilla.

Thursday was the longest day -65 miles, much of it through open water. Our destination was the village of Killarney where we stayed at the Sportsmen’s Inn and Marina. Many of the boats had dinner at Mr. Perch – a restaurant in an old school bus that does several million dollars of business each year. We walked around town and had an ice cream.

More scenery from our bow

On the way to Killarney we passed through some of the most dramatic scenery yet as we went through Collins Inlet. Collins inlet was more like a canyon than any other place we’ve been and went on for about 10 miles. It was good traveling however, since except for the inlet the water was generally deep from shore to shore. We all kicked up a lot of mud on the way in as that was very shallow- plus or minus 5 feet!

The next day was a short 20 miles to Little Current where we are staying for the weekend. This is their Haweater Festival weekend and there is a lot going on. Yesterday we went to the Farmer’s Market, then watched the cardboard boat races which were a hoot. After that we went to a classic car show. Most of the cars were from the 50’s and 60’s and we enjoyed them very much. Last evening Bob ans Karen put on another wine and cheese party and we followed that with desert and coffee on Lola Marie. Today we are getting a bus tour of the island (Manitoulin Island) and there is a big fireworks show scheduled for tonight.

The week before this we spent in Penetang, Ontario at the AGLCA Rendevous. This included classes on what to expect on Lakes Huron and Michigan and the Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers as well as numerous social events. We also toured Discovery Harbor, which is a recreation of the British Navel base of the 1800’s in Penetang and we also took an evening dinner cruise on the Georgian Queen.

In all its been a fun two weeks!

Update 7/25/07- The Big Chute

Peterborough lift lock

Hello to all,

Narrow Trent Canal following a catamaran

Scene along the Trent Severn- notice space
between markers and shore

We completed the Trent Severn Waterway on Saturday. It was a great trip. The last section was just beautiful with rivers lakes and sometimes very narrow channels running between granite shores covered with pines and many camps. If this sounds familiar it was similar to Penobscot Bay without the tide and with fresh water that you could actually swim in.

After Orillia, we stopped at Lock 43 - Swift Falls. This was a beautiful spot with a significant drop in elevation- 47 feet. There is no public access and the lock staff comes to work by boat.

The Big Chute - a waterless connection between Lakes Ontario and Huron

The next day we went to Lock 44- the big chute. This is not a lock at all but is actually a railroad car which lifts your boat out of the water and transports it over land about 200 yards down to the next section of the waterway. We tied up to the dock there and then, because the weather threatened, decided to stay for the night. The next day was very windy so we stayed one more day, observing how the wind and current affected the loading of the boats and doing some needed cleaning.

The next day (Saturday) we awoke to find the blue line (where boats waiting to go through tie up) already full of large boats so we got into line as soon as the first boat moved. The trip on the rail car was somewhat thrilling but uneventful and the remaining trip to the last lock ws through some of the prettiest areas we had yet been through. However, when we got to the last lock it was backed up horribly and we had to wait over 3 hours to get through it. We spen that night anchored at Beausoliel Island (another of the Canadian Parks) with 60 or 70 other boats.

Time Out entering the Big Chute

Mascot and Sun Cat in the Big Chute

On Sunday, our next door neighbor, Dan Tipton and Merideth's cousin Lois delivered donuts from Tim Horton's to our boat and we enjoyed a cup of coffee with them before heading into Penatang Harbor where we have been for the last few days attending the AGLCA Rendevous with about 60 other boats which are doing the loop at this time.

Tomorrow is a day for provisioning and on Friday we start a trip through the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay on a Flotilla of approximately 25 boats.

Still having a great time!

Steve and Jean

Update 7/17/07 - On the Trent Severn

Hello to all.

We are presently in Orillia, Ontario at approximately mile 199 on the Trent Severn Waterway. Its been a varied trip up the waterway with lots to see and some very narrow and shallow spots. In the process, at Balsam Lake, we reached the highest point (above Sea level) anywhere in the world that a boat can travel under its own power.

After my last update, the next stop was Cambellford. There we visited the Chocolate Factory and the Military Museum. The Military Museum is a private collection of airplanes, vehicles and equipment of all kinds from WWI though the 1970’s. In addition, in the body shop across the way they manufacture cars to order. These cars have modern running gear but classic bodies such as 1957 Chevrolets. The bodies are copies custom built out of fiberglass. Very interesting!

From there, we stopped at Lock 17-Healy Falls which is peaceful and remote. We walked over to see the falls and enjoyed a quiet evening there. After that it was Hastings for the weekend. Hastings is a nice small town where the lock is located right in the middle of town. We enjoyed the farmer’s market and the Legion Yard sale and walked around quite a bit. Jean leaned about Poutine – a local dish consisting of French Fries, cheese and gravy and we had a nice fish and chips dinner with Ron and Angela from Jolly Tolly.

Sure hope they open they bridge!

Our Anniversary - Hastings Ontario

After 3 nights in Hastings we went to Lock 19 which is near Peterborough. We walked into town to find the Chamber of Commerce and Boaters World and to see the marina since we were staying at the lock. The next morning we went to the Peterborough lift lock where our youngest son Bill joined us. After a tour of the visitors center we went up the lock and proceeded on, finally stopping a lock 26 (Lakefield) for the night.

The pans of the Peterborough Lift Lock

The Peterborough lift lock is the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world. You drive your boat into a pan about 6 feet deep and large enough to accommodate approximately 6 boats like Sun Cat. A similar pan is 65 feet above and next to you for the boats going down. Each pan sits on a large column that essentially is a hydraulic cylinder like we steer the boat with. When the boats are loaded, the gates are closed and an extra foot of water let into the top pan. This makes the top pan 130 tons heavier than the bottom pan and a valve between the two columns is opened and the top pan comes down and pushes the bottom one up. Simple but still amazing!

After the lift lock we traveled through 5 conventional locks in the next 7 miles before stopping at lock 26 for the night. Bill got a quick but intense lesson in locking that day!

The next stop was the village of Buckhorn. Buckhorn is small and we walked around a bit. We did find the bakery and got to try some (more) local bread. After that it was on to Bobcaygeon, which was very busy. We walked around quite a bit, found the bakery again and also toured the museum which was primarily about the town’s start as a lumbering center.

Bill & Jean in Buckhorn

After that it was on to Fenlon Falls which is a very active tourist town with a pretty waterfall. We stayed at the top of the lock next to a very pretty park but right near the center of everything.

Docked in Fenlon Falls

The next day was probably the hardest we had. We went through our last “up” lock at Rosedale and went out into Balsam Lake which is 840 feet above sea level. Then we went into the Trent Canal. This was a real nail biter. It was so narrow we could not have turned the boat around if we wanted to and there were few places wide enough to pass another boat. The sides were rock lined and the whole canal was only 6 feet or so deep. We then started down beginning with the Kirkfield Hydraulic lift lock which is the second highest lift lock in the world. However for us it was a down so we drove into a pan which was over 50 feet above the canal below. That was followed by two lakes both of which had only narrow shallow channels with lots of weed. The second (Canal Lake)had so much weed we had to stop several times to reverse the props to clear off the weeds. We then went through a series of down locks, stopping at lock 39 for the night. Lock 39 is a quiet park setting with nothing but farms around it although we did get some train noise.

Sun Cat at Lock 39

After that it was 3 more locks and then across Lake Sincoe, arriving at Orilla on Sunday afternoon. That evening we attended at “pot luck” with other loopers including Sea Knight, Irish Eyes, Sue Sea Q, Restless Spirit and Sequel. We also took Bill out to dinner to celebrate his birthday. The next day we rented a car and drove him back to Peterborough to get his car for him to start his drive home. It was nice to get in a visit with him and he was a big help going through the locks.

Today we are going to get the bikes out and play tourist. We're continuing to have a great time in Canada and are looking forward to the AGLCA Rendezvous coming up.


Steve and Jean

M/V Sun Cat