Friday, July 27, 2012

Baie Finn to Beaverstone Bay

From Baie Finn, the most popular spot in the North Channel to Beaverstone Bay in Georgian Bay which is the beginning of primal. To get there we passed through Killarney with its circus atmosphere, cruised through Collins Inlet and eventually spent three nights in Keyhole due to weather. We are back in civilization again as I write this sitting at the Town Dock in Little Current. I think I will have to ponder a bit more before I can try to explain Killarney, Collins Inlet and Keyhole.


The Narrows in Baie Finn


Topaz Lake in the Blue ridge of the La Cloche Range (It is really that color)


Looking pretty scrawny after swimming in Topaz Lake


Leaving Baie Finn


Beaverstone Bay where we turned around and headed west again.


The Killarney Lighthouse


The Georgian Bay coast feels remote.



Noon


Getting here was stressful. I admit to a slightly hysterical nature but still to go from McGregor Bay around McGregor Point and then through two other rock infested channels (one at Frazer Point and the other a sharp left turn about 8 miles east) as we made our way to the Narrows in Baie Finn did not help the situation. And the situation was anchoring on the side of a sheer rock wall just west the Pool.

The Pool is the legendary dead end in the North Channel where Mr. and more long term, Mrs. Evinrude had a modest cottage perched on a rock with their 100’ yacht slung off the side. The Pool offers numerous anchorages but it has been relegated to transient use only due to a thick layer of hair like weeds that makes it a dubious place to anchor. So, we arrived at a shallow crevice along the south wall and I drop the anchor once, twice and again until I had done it five times. Finally exhausted and with the advice of a fellow cruiser I decide to live with my position against this considerable cliff.

We arrived at the wall at 1:00 PM and on many days I have a problem around noon. It is a tendency to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). This has been an issue since 1978 when I became a vegetarian. It is important for me to eat lunch. I understand this, but while I have some OCD tendencies lunch is not one of them. At home I usually remember to eat and I am not often anchoring off a rock wall in Chicago. The daily change in routine while traveling throws off my equilibrium.

The most common result of not eating is a mild delirium. The lower the blood sugar, the worse the confusion. This sugar known as glucose and it is the brain’s fuel; deprive it at your peril. It is a common complaint of over treated or under fed diabetics. I have probably treated thousands of diabetics and it is common to have a few in crisis due to low blood glucose. Thankfully most of the time it is easy to correct. In the worse case an ampule of D50 is injected directly into their blood stream. This provided a jolt of glucose to get the brain back on track. For most orange juice and something to eat works well enough. I am fond of espresso and a glazed donut, but that is another story.

When cruising on Carrie Rose we tend to leave early. Summer weather, at least on the water, is better in the morning as the local weather patterns reset themselves overnight. The sea and the wind are calm. Throughout the day both build, so we like to be off the water early, either anchored in a snug spot or tied to a slip.

On many occasions this habit of early departure has us in port around one in the afternoon. Since I start to prepare for the destination with about an hour to go, I get busy and forget to eat. The consequence is low blood glucose that often coincides with the end of the journey. Just when I need to be at my top, I am at my bottom. The job gets done but sometimes an irrational decision made in bad temper stresses both Charlotte and I.

This is not a best way to function. I eat once we settle in but my brain comes back online in grumpy mode. So I get squirrelly, have to work extra hard to compensate for the lack of brain power, upset my mate, and then spend the next few hours contemplating why I keep doing this. All for the lack of a granola bar!

For two days and nights I kept an eye on that wall expecting the worse. Carrie Rose did her best to tease it as she swung pass again and again. It never moved, but finally we did . . . to Killarney.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

North Channel Mandalas


Crooked Arc Cove in MaGregor Bay, Ontario



East-West Channel in McGregor Bay, Ontario



Mind blowing detail!



The Narrows in Baie Finn, Ontario




The Tree in The Narrows in Baie Finn, Ontario

This may require some explanation. Once the anchor is set we look for landmarks to confirm we are not moving. This quick positional reference is useful in case the anchor drags, which by the way is a real drag!



And just for the heck of it, the quartz rock that makes up the Blue Ridge of The La Cloche Range on the northern shore of Baie Finn, Ontario




Friday, July 20, 2012

East in East-West Channel


A surprise reveals itself on further inspection. Of course it was interesting from the start, but then we ventured with the dinghy—this time without the motor—into the back bay; an ancient Chinese landscape appears. Packs of lilies float: some just opening, some majestically white with yellow stamens, and below in the tannin-tinted water their siblings start to unfurl and head for the surface.

A loon’s plaintive call breaks the silence, but plaintive makes it sound trivial. It is not. The call is from the main channel where our unpopulated boats swing at anchor. Where is he, oh there he is. He’s just come around a large bare round light brown rock, islet really. Another cry and then he submerges and is lost. Later in the day he will surface outside my pilothouse door larger than life for loons are big birds. This one is at least a yard long, black and stealthy, white priestly collar but with the red beady eyes of a vampire.

The wind gusts from the NNE. We are protected here and barely feel it, but the dinghy does. It pushes us down into a small bay, though not before I misjudge the bottom and put another ding into my Chippendale-like dinghy. I resign myself to this for it verges on stupidity to bring a varnished wood boat into a land of rocks.

This is not a Japanese garden. It is definitely Chinese. The rocks jut out over the water and are made up of vertical striations. Moss and lichens populate every groove and in the low spots the remnants of Spring’s iris cluster together. These rocks have grottos and caves in miniature. And though it is peaceful here I can feel the violence of their birth. The molten lava may have cooled billions of years ago but I can still feel the heat. I can see it flowing. Hear it hiss as it hits the water.

It feels violent, an odd reaction to have in such a peaceful place. I feel the earth move without it moving. I feel the lava flow without it flowing. In a few places I see glaciers scrap the surface of the volcanic rock smooth. This is a godly place. It is a place to feel the earth’s origins.

Quiet


N46° 04.03’, W081° 33.69’—For a moment it was quiet, completely quiet. Not even a bird. Not a ripple in the water. Not a rustle in the trees. The quiet was overwhelming. My senses want to fill in the void. But there is nothing to work with. The space between my ears intensifies. I tell myself not to panic. Soon there will be noise, but there isn’t, so I calm down and watch the silence. In the distance an otter is diving and surfacing. His head is the only thing out of the water and I can see his whiskers move as he munchies on whatever otters munch on. I have to backtrack and say that diving is too active of a word for how the otter arches its back and slides into the water. But that is not correct either. It is already in the water and is going from a nose to a face and then a glistening back and then all that is left to disappear is the tail. A large raptor flies over but there is no noise associated with its transit. Nothing breaks the silence until dinner. And now that that is over I hear the clock tick off the seconds of my life and a white-throated sparrow calls, but now he has even stopped—well almost. Carrie Rose silently sways at anchor maybe 20 to 30 degrees. Occasionally Charlotte turns a page and I feel that my mind needs a sound even as it hopes for silence. No Mozart, no Bach and certainly no Bruckner or Mahler. Sibelius may be acceptable; somehow he captures silence in sound. Then I hear a grunt from the shoreline. An odd bird circles above, a bit like the nighthawks I never see anymore in Chicago. A flutter of wings, and then a short glide and intermittent call; a distinctive call but a call I cannot now describe. Twilight comes and still it is quiet. I have a friend that sailed around the world and recently brought his boat to a marina in Brooklyn of all places. I asked him what is it like and he says, “The noise is deafening.” After today I understand.

Remedial Rifle

McGregor Bay, Ontario

In the North Channel of Lake Huron cruisers gather for cocktails on rocky outcrops in the late afternoon to plan the next day’s cruise or to simply kibitz. It was at one of these paseo’s that I heard about “remedial rifle” in response to my tale of laziness in high school Spanish class. I appeared to struggle with Spanish vocabulary and verb tenses while in reality ignoring them completely. In response to my feigned sincerity I was sent to spend Saturday mornings with a Spanish tutor instead of watching my favorite cartoons for the remainder of the semester. My well thought out plan backfired.

In a similar vein the dean of our cruising gaggle explained how he and his basic training mates shot up the shooting range one day and were sent to remedial rifle as punishment. Consequentially he became a marksman. The concept makes me chuckle.

When I think of it, it was suggested that I take remedial reading the summer before high school. The class was taught at St. Gregory’s High School, a short bike ride from my home. What I remember of that experience is sitting in a sweltering classroom with a frustrated teacher who threatened to shut the windows if we did not behave. This demand was too good to be true for any red blooded American goof off and so we pushed her over the edge, and then watch her sweat as the room became hotter and hotter. Images of Sir Alec Guinness in The River Kwai come to mind.

We reveled in our prankster-hood. Another memorable event that summer was the doing of my fellow classmate Larry. He plugged the drain the library’s sink (it is anybody’s guess why the library had a sink) as it closed for the day and turned on the spigot. Oh boy did that caused a mess.

But it wasn’t all mischief on our part. An affront to my self-esteem occurred at the bike rack in full view of the other remediates. I unlocked my bike while making wisecracks about the rest of them when a pigeon took aim and landed a big juicy turd on my head. It took the entire summer to live that down.

In the fall I matriculated to St. George High School, a bastion for kids from the middle of the middle class. It was a great school and perfect for me. There was just enough school spirit to make it fun without the pressure to excel like at the Jesuit St. Pat’s. The Christian Brothers were not frustrated like the nuns that taught me in grammar school. They actually seemed to enjoy themselves and once when I screwed something up my penance was to clear the beer cans out of Brother Ed’s room.

I was more involved academically there. Not a star but at least for once I was trying. After my freshman year it was deemed that I would benefit from speed-reading, which of course was held in the summer. I cherish summer. If possible summer should not be wasted with work and school. So here I was reading the equivalent of Hemingway’s Old Man and The Sea every two days. As per usual I could only tolerate so much education and instead of participating migrated to the back of the class to read Hot Rod magazine. Despite my best efforts to derail a positive outcome, I learned not to read faster but to comprehend more of what I read.

Years later, when I became a professional student that one thing got me through several decades of higher education. I am grateful to the Christian Brothers for their ability to keep things light while cunningly educating us. They understood the concept of remedial rifle and it still makes me chuckle.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

A Few More

A few more picture before we disconnect for a few days while traveling into McGregor Bay.



HORS D'OEUVRE


WEST WINDS!


DINGHY ENVY


HOW DID THAT GET THERE!


HOW DO THESE GROW THERE!


DR. NELSON CAUTIONS ME NOT TO SAUTE THIS IN A LITTLE BUTTER.


NATURAL ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM




Friday, July 13, 2012

Full Circle

The Nordic Tug Fleet

Not a lot of water under the keel since I last wrote, but many ports of call: Thessalon to Long Point Cove; Long Point Cove to John Harbor; John Harbor to Gore Bay; Gore Bay to Eagle Island; Eagle Island to Matheson Island; Matheson Island to Timkin Bay in the Bay of Islands; Timkin Bay to Sturgeon Cove.

We checked in with Canadian Customs at Thessalon. A phone call to CANPASS brings a pleasant voice that welcomes Carrie Rose back. Canada’s main concerns are guns (including pepper spray), booze and tobacco. Since we only have a couple bottles of wine and four cans of beer we are of no threat to Canada’s financial stability and are given our Canadian Release number immediately. It is an eleven-digit number that needs to be displayed at all times.

Standing in the harbor office waiting to pay for my slip I eavesdrop on the other captain’s interactions with customs. The first reads a long list of wine, beer and spirits with an accounting of the exact size of each bottle and the amounts, in milliliters of course, remaining in each bottle. The next captain owns up to what sounds like a lot less to me, and is then informed he has too much wine and will need to pay tax. While he searches for his charge card, mumbling quiet expletives to himself someone on the other end realizes that the clerk who’s fiduciary responsibility it is to collect the tariff is at lunch and the entire process is dropped. The enforcement of the alcohol tariff appears to be somewhat arbitrary. Oh Canada!




WEST INTO THE COVE


THE WAY OUT

We left in the morning on a 38 nm run straight east to Long Point Cove (LPC). LPC is a tiny secluded patch of water that has the distinction of being sonically challenged. A large lime plant sits unseen on the mainland. It crushes rock 24/7 and thus there is a constant din. But due to LPC incredible beauty this flaw is easily over looked. For many boats coming from the west LPC is the start of their North Channel adventure. It is a convivial anticipatory crowd despite the fact that it can get quite crowded.




JOHN HARBOR EAST ANCHORAGE


BLUEBERRY MANIA

We are off the big water and no longer need to put in long days cruising to the next refuge. John Harbor is a scenic seven nm from LPC. After a peaceful sleep we awake late, have a leisurely breakfast and take our time washing mud off the anchor. The three of us glide the hour and a half it takes to drop anchor in a passage between John and Dewdney Islands. Here Charlotte and I pick our first ever North Channel blueberry at Dolly’s secret location, a short dinghy ride from where we anchor. That night’s dinner consisted of blueberry pancakes. Here we met Monique and Bernard who cruise up in their sleek dinghy, and Sue and Mike who spend the summers sailing and fishing. It is a small world in the channel and we will meet up with them again before too long.



SEA GULLS HITCHING A RIDE INTO GORE BAY


LOOKING NORTH OUT THE GORE BAY ENTRANCE


BREAKFAST GUEST

Nordic Tugs are well thought out for wilderness cruising. They have lots of fuel, water, a large holding tank and space for stores. But it is time to head for civilization, so our next stop is across the channel to Gore Bay. Gore Bay is located at the southern end of a steep sided V-shaped bay where it always seems to be windy. Pizza, fresh local fish, ice cream, groceries, hardware, etc., etc., are easily available. This is the second year that Charlotte has purchased local art from the Gore Bay Art Museum. Unfortunately most cruisers miss this little museum. We fill the fridge and the water tanks, pump out the head and wash the boat for the first time since she was launched in May. It is nice to have a clean boat!




ALBIN & CO. PASSES THE ISLET


5:30 ON THE ROCK

Two days later we head north to Eagle Island. We’ve come full circle for on the way to Eagle Island we pass the site of last year’s breakdown. Nobody says a word, maybe out of respect or maybe superstition. Charlotte and I give a nod to the site and moved on.

Eagle is a large harbor with a perfectly placed islet in the center. It has a view of boats cruising east or west through McBean Channel, a major North Channel thoroughfare. The second day we are there the sailboats that shared this harbor with us overnight leave and we tugs have the place to ourselves, quite a sight. We meet on the rocks at 5:30 for cocktails after a day of swimming, blueberry picking and napping.




A FUN RIDE


A FUN HIKE


SUNSET


A WINDY MOONRISE

The weather has been splendid. Each day I watch the barometer rise, but that is to change. To say that Canada’s weather forecasts are terse would be an understatement. I feel lost without the wealth of raw data available from NOAA.

Matheson Island is our next destination. A small narrow island with a bit of sand connecting its two halves it is completely exposed to winds from the NE. We decided to anchor here because there is no mention of a NE wind in the forecast and none of us have ever been there before.

To enter the anchorage we motor around the eastern most point of the island and spook a Bald Eagle, which takes off over the pine trees and quickly disappears. Its erratic depth makes for difficult anchoring; one moment you are in 12 feet, the next in 30. We compromise and all end up too close to the island. Another boat comes in to join us but decides there is not enough room to anchor safely and leaves for nearby island. Then Mike and Sue, the avid fisherman we met at John Harbor, come around the corner and decide to stay.

Once we settle in Dave dinghies over with a plan to hike to Lake La Cloche. The mainland is close so we dinghy over to a small river hidden in the reeds that leads to a waterfall and a mile long trail to the lake. The lake is named after the quartz mountains that surround it. The wind increases while we hike and leads to a rollicking ride home through the waves. Charlotte hoots and hollers each time a wave breaks over the bow sending spray into her face.

Later we gather in the sailboat’s large comfortable cockpit and eat freshly caught Northern Pike simply prepared. We head back to our boats and settle in for the night. At around 0ne in the morning a rush of wind from the NE awakens us. The boats swing around to face the wind with our sterns precariously close to the shoreline’s underwater rock shelf. The wind begins to whistle through the antennas and I see whitecaps racing by. Carrie Rose starts to hobbyhorse and I know that there will be no more sleep tonight. I turn on the GPS to check if our position has changed and thankfully it has not.

Though we sail to the right and left with the anchor chain stretching and groaning we do not move. Charlotte is up now and both of us sit in the pilothouse to wait the wind out—ready to act if need be. But we need not. After several hours the wind quiets and we head for our bunk, but I keep one eye open until morning.




GLACIAL GROVES


UNTOUCHED SCENERY


TIGHT SQUEEZE

Our next harbor is Timkin Bay deep in the Bay of Islands. We weave through one small passage after another replete with cottages posed on inaccessible rocks in a similar vein to Alcatraz. The area has opened up to cruisers since the Canadian Hydrographic Service published a new chart of this area in 2001 replacing one that was drawn in the 1800’s. We pick our way east, then north pass an intersection of sorts by Battleship Island and then make a sharp left turn towards Cow Island, which is not really an island and into Timkin Bay, which does not exist on the chart.

First we anchor north of Cow Island but due to a persistent west winds we move to the lee of a real island and sit there for three days. Dave goes fishing, Bill and Jo wander in their dinghy, and Charlotte and I de-clutter our boat, take sun-showers and make pizza for everyone one night. On Monday Dave decides to take all forty magnificent feet of Sir Tugley Blue into tiny Whitefish Falls so we can see the Whitefish Falls art show. I am sure the town will be talking about his boat for the rest of the summer.

Tonight it is margaritas on “Blue” and tomorrow we will reverse the trip into the Bay of Islands and head for Bell Cove just short of the Waubuno Channel. Then to Little Current for a few days before venturing further to the east towards Georgian Bay.




A PICTURE IS WORTH . . .

But why are we sitting in Sturgeon Cove, because the one spot to anchor in Bell Cove was taken by a large yacht. Sturgeon Cove is well protected and beautiful (I am sure you’re sick of hearing that). It is directly east of Bell Cove. All we had to do was come out and hang a right into Sturgeon Cove, but wait, if it were only that simple. The entrance is described as “tricky” in pamphlet NC-28.5 of Great Lakes Cruising Club Port Pilot and Log Book.

For an area replete with rocks, shoals, reefs and narrow channels a word like tricky gets your attention. The previous week’s destination planning discussions seemed to cement the point that 1/3rd of our threesome had no intention to return there. But while you’re on the water it pays to be flexible. The radio buzzed between us and we backtracked out of Bell, formed ranks and set up to enter Sturgeon Cove.

The entrance has a series of ranges that consist of white triangles painted on rocks and trees. Following these gives one the sensation of The French Connection’s car chase in slow motion. We head straight for one set of exposed rocks, turn sharply left to avoid the submerged rock shelf on our left and head directly for the rocky shore only at the last moment to make a 110 degree right turn into the cove. Of course this all takes place in a manner of seconds. Once in it took four attempts to set the anchor in the proper position. I admit I was rattled.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Passage

We are in Gore Bay, ON. Been on the hook for a few days without telecommunications. I type this by the graciousness extended to us by the Gore Bay Library. Passage is a long story about a passage, which is what we have been doing a lot of. The weather has been fine as has our company: Sir Tugley Blue, Dolly and occasionally Jenny Jo. Connect again ASAP. Enjoy!

DeTour Passage

Crossing into Canada

Fun in Mackinaw City

The Nordic Tug Crowd

The Nordic Tugs

Long Point Cove



Passage


For the reader who has never piloted a small vessel from one point to another I thought you might want to spend the day with Charlotte and I as we make a passage from Governor Bay, MI to Harbor Island, MI on northern Lake Huron. Come along with us on Carrie Rose, our 32-foot Nordic Tug and two other tugs. I will say nothing of the years it took to obtain and prepare the boat (and crew) for this trip but only of the process itself. My first thought was to simply sketch the transit, but I am convinced that the fun is in the details, so here goes.

The process starts the day before the voyage. Once we are tucked away for the night—anchor set or tied to a dock—we begin to consider options for the next day’s cruise. Many factors influence this: weather, distance, safety, stores, fuel, our fellow boaters and location, location, location. Charts (paper and electronic), cruising guides, past log notes, recollections and scuttlebutt (a sailor’s word for gossip) are reviewed.

The first consideration is should we even go. If we are in a beautiful spot, why leave. If the weather is iffy, why leave. If we are tired, why leave. The prejudice is to keep moving. It is hard to ignore and on the Great Lakes it is often justified. We motored day after day, twenty-two in all, on our way to Lake Huron from Chicago. At first because the weather cooperated and then because we needed to stay ahead of ill weather that was to bring high winds and waves. In more hospitable climes we might have lingered a little longer in each port but this was not to be. When there is a window of opportunity dive, or rather drive, through it.

Government Bay, MI is a lovely anchorage in the Les Cheneaux Islands or as they are locally known, the Snows. Carrie Rose was anchored in the northwest corner of the bay to cushion herself from blustery NNW winds. Her big Bruce anchor was securely set into mud eighteen feet below the keel and with 70 feet of chain attached to the bow she wasn’t going anywhere.

Since the weather was fair we decided to head east towards De Tour Passage in the morning. The wind was forecast to be light and build to 10 to 15 knots from the west as the day progressed. This meant we would be traveling in a following sea. With the wind behind us we glide. It is definitely preferable to pounding into heavy seas as we did last year. So as far as the weather was concerned it was a go.

The first destination considered was a small cove in Whitney Bay on Drummond Island, MI. To get there we have to avoid several reefs, points of land and one very large lighthouse. As we were not traveling alone the consensus was to skip Whitney Bay in favor of Harbor Island, MI. This lengthened the trip by about 8 miles (for the purpose of our discussion distances stated are nautical miles). To reach Harbor Island we need to round the before mentioned lighthouse and travel north through De Tour Passage. But I get ahead of myself.

I have a night-before-cruising-ritual. I study the charts, and on the chart plotter and/or the MacBook Air’s navigational program create a route for the next day’s journey. It is how I familiarize myself with the path ahead. The route, while not automatic, keeps me engaged and though not cast in stone often takes me precisely where I am going. To do this I need to create waypoints. Waypoints are specific locations defined by their latitude and longitude. I follow them across the seascape. They are identified on the charts and represent turns, hazards, navigational aids, harbors, etc., etc. I have navigated this way since GPS became available. It has its good and bad points but overall I doubt many cruisers would go back to the not so distant pre-GPS times, so let’s keep those satellites flying!

In the morning I wake a little edgy. It is hard to enjoy breakfast. I have some tea or coffee, the usual toast with peanut butter and jelly but I am more focused on the day ahead. The first task, that is after I rid the boat of the overnight spider carnage, is to go into the engine room. This is a familiar space. It is not big but it is efficiently laid out. I look in the bilge to make sure no new fluids have appeared overnight. I scan the engine’s coolant level; check the oil and the fuel filter. Then I chill out and just look at the valves, hoses, pumps, and all the components that make us a viable boat. Once I am satisfied that the engine room is in order I move to the pilothouse.

Departure is usually 8 or 9 AM. Today we have 28 nautical miles to travel, so 9 o’clock is a reasonable time to leave. The boat is made ready. This means securing every object that might fly through the air or slide across the floor. Even on calm days experience has taught us that we never know what awaits us on the water. The fewer surprises the better.

Now in the pilothouse I take the covers off the instruments. The Furuno radar and the EchoPilot forward-sounding depth sounder occupy the space to my upper left. Directly in front of the wheel are the engine instruments, another depth sounder, the rudder angle indicator and various switches for windshield wipers, heat, anchor and running lights, and the bilge pump. To the right is the single handle topped with a maroon knob that controls the throttle along with forward and reverse. The next level forward has a portable VHF radio, two ancient Garmin GPS’s, a fan, and a small chawan (tea bowl) in which I store pens, pencils, a knife and the family band radio along with whatever insects that have manage to crawl in and die.

In front of this is an empty space where the computer resides and beyond that the regal Ritchie compass reigns over all the electronics. Directly above and a little to the right are two VHF radios and a defunct Loran-C. Despite the above there is still space for charts to the right and the left. There is more below. The bow thruster control, the generator’s gauges and start switch, DC and AC electrical panels, and an inverter to keep the computer charged. It is a lot of equipment to deal with and we have a simple boat compared to most.

But this must be getting boring. Let’s see if we can get Carrie Rose moving. To leave the anchor has to be raised. I go to the back of the boat and fetch the hose that attaches to the wash down pump. I use this to wash the mud and debris that collects on the chain and the anchor. They live down the little hole into the bowels of the boat. It is best to clean them to keep the boat from reeking. As 9 o’clock approaches I remember that I am not travelling alone and the other two boats are following a similar process. It is time to start the engine and energize the bow thruster. The gauges are scanned for any abnormalities and once the oil pressure alarm turns off we are ready to go.

Maybe I should stop here and explain what a bow thruster is. Whoever the person was to think it a good idea to drill a hole sideways through the front of the boat is on par with the person who realized that airports could be made into shopping malls. A bow thruster does just what it says; thrust the bow to the port or starboard. For a barely maneuverable boat like mine it was a revelation. It is used at idle to control the boat while docking or turning in tight channels. It also helps when in reverse. Without it the boat goes where it wants but with it I can put it where I want it, within reason that is. I do not want to sound too cocky should the marine deities or gremlins hear me and choose to put me in my place.

So, now it is finally time to raise the anchor. It should be firmly dug into the bottom after spending the night holding us in place. It should not want to come out. I take the supplemental line off. This line stretches and acts as a shock absorber to take the strain off the chain’s attachment to the bow. Then I make sure I am clear of the chain and the windlass, and start to shorten the chain. It is done in spurts. A little chain and the boat moves forward, a little more and a little more until the anchor is out of the water and stored on deck. Now the boat is free of its earthly attachment. I tidy up and we are on our way.

Today we head southeast between Government Island and Coryell Island into an area called Scammons Harbor. There are compelling stories associated with these names but that is for another time, another place. I think a primer on navigation is in order here. It will be short in case your eyes are beginning to glaze over.

The rule on the water is Red-Right-Returning. So when you are entering from the “sea” the red markers are on the right or starboard, and that is the side of the boat you keep them on. The green markers are on the left or port. Port and starboard are easily differentiated if you remember that port has four letters and so does left. Of course this would be way too simple a concept not to mess with, so sometimes there are black markers and sometimes the green is on the starboard. Eternal vigilance, or in a secular turn of phrase, situational awareness are the words to live by when on the water.

We make our way into the channel and pass red buoy “4” on our port and green can “3” on our starboard as we head out to the sea. Once in the lake we round Boot Island and point the bow east. Out in front of us are Surveyors Reef, Tobin Reef, Pomeroy Reef, and furthest south, the daddy of them all, Martin Reef. Martin Reef makes its presence felt with a 65-foot lighthouse. Do not think of these reefs in the contexts of the South Seas. Great Lakes reefs consist of rock not coral.

Our path is between Surveyors Reef and Tobin Reef. Tobin Reef is marked with green can “1”. For anyone who has done wilderness backpacking the buoy system, made up of green cans and red nuns, is similar to the cairns and tree marks you follow in clearings or in the forest. From one the next should be visible. This is not the case for the open lake but in any confining waters this is how it works. They are described on the chart but like any other system changes are made.

Before the Internet revisions were published in Notice To Mariners, in the Great Lake’s Pilot and of course on new charts. It was a cumbersome process to procure the data and transfer it to your charts. And as Murphy’s Law dictates the one buoy pivotal to the cruise is the one that had its number or location changed. With the advent of the web much of this hassle has been circumvented. If I could figure out how to use the computer the information would be updated automatically.

I forgot to tell you that the electronics are on, displaying our location on the small black and white chart plotter’s screen and in full color on the computer. The radar is making its customary whine as it spins above me. It has different settings depending on the distance, the wave conditions and the detail needed. Usually only one radio is on and it is on scan mode. It toggles through pertinent channels and stops when someone speaks on one of them. There are no private calls; we listen to what everyone is chatting about. Sometimes it is pure voyeurism but mostly it is instructive.

The autopilot keeps me on course within reason. I correct for the influence of the wind and waves. I could automate this function but I like keeping us on track. It reminds me of the constant futzing involved with sailing.

As I have been talking we have passed Martin Reef and are now headed towards St. Vital Point. Once around it we are only a few miles from the DeTour Lighthouse that marks the entrance to DeTour Passage. We have come up on a friend in a sailboat that left much earlier in the morning. While our boats are not fast with a cruising speed of around 7 to 8 knots we best most sailboats. We have the luxury of leaving later and arriving earlier, but then we also have to spend the day listening to the drone of the diesel rather than the wind in the sails.

While I have been whiling away the time the waves have built. This is brought to my attention as a particularly large one picks up the aft end of Carrie Rose and sends her surfing along the top of it. It passes under us with a hiss and I decide to pay closer attention. There are whitecaps behind us, so the predicted 15 knots of wind has arrived. The autopilot works well but as we close on the DeTour Passage Lighthouse I decide to take over the helm. I do a better job of anticipating the waves and keep us on a truer course.

One of our mates radios to inform us that a freighter is heading out of the passage into the lake and that there are two more following behind that one. The first is long gone by the time we reach the lighthouse and we do not see the others until we are well into DeTour Passage. DeTour Passage runs north and south, and is a favored course for large, often 1000 foot, freighters and bulk transports. They ferry coal, limestone, taconite and who knows what else up and down St. Mary’s River to the locks at Sault Ste. Marie and into Lake Superior or the reverse into Lake Huron.

If you remember I discussed riding the waves when they are behind us, well now we need to change course from easterly to the north and thus the waves are on our beam. This is uncomfortable and anything we failed to secure earlier in the day lets us know. We round the 74 foot lighthouse and head for red buoy “4” to steer clear of the oncoming ships which materialize before us. They are enormous. The first one, the James R. Barker, is one of the largest on the Great Lakes coming in at 1004 feet long, 105 feet wide and 50 feet deep with the Hon. James L. Oberstar, a diminutive 8oo feet, close behind. To make matters more interesting the DeTour Passage Ferry decides to cross in front of us. As my mother use to say, “Never a dull moment.”

At times like this I follow the rules of the road and stay out of the way. We pass Cab Island and Barbed Point, Frying Pan Island and DeTour Village, Black Rock Point and Pipe Island Shoal. Once through DeTour Passage we veer right to red nun “2” off of Sims Point.

Now we see the beginnings of the thousands of islands that we will encounter this summer spent in the archipelago known as The North Channel. I look out and see rocks and conifers. It is hard to tell where one island ends and the others begin until we are close upon them. Electronics while helpful can overload the senses. I take a deep breath and go back to the paper chart. We pick our way through the islands, checking them off as we pass until we reach the outer harbor of Harbor Island. To reach our anchorage for the night we took a sharp right through Bow and Surveyors Islands, passed above Gull Island and avoided the Harbor Island Reef.

Now a transition takes place. At one moment we are cruising and then suddenly we need to anchor. We try to anticipate this but it always comes as a surprise. Most anchorages are small spaces that may or may not be inhabited by boats that came before us. I slow and peruse the scene. Where to place the anchor presents us with a series of complicated equations. The major one is that the wind’s direction may change, so what could be an easy decision with the wind blowing in one direction gets dicey when you start to think about 360 degrees. We also need keep clear of the other boats and make sure we are in the proper depth of water.

I try not to hurry the process but I also do not want to over think it. I know if I get it wrong I can always lift the anchor and move to a safer location. Charlotte takes the helm once we have decided and I walk to the bow to prepare to drop the anchor. Carrie Rose is stopped and I, of course making sure I am clear of the chain and other rotating machinery, give the anchor some slack and a gentle nudge over the side.

The anchor and chain are oversized on Carrie Rose so I let out 4 feet of chain for every foot of depth. Most of the other boats let out more. The chain is painted red every ten feet for the first thirty feet and then changes to yellow until it reaches seventy feet. The rest of the connection is made up of several hundred feet of triple twisted nylon line or rode as it is known in the business. I use predetermined hand signals to have Charlotte reverse the boat to make sure the anchor is firmly set and will not break loose should the wind increase.

The passage is complete when the engine is turned off. Thanks for joining us. I left out few things, like the strong west wind and the confused seas that greeted us at Black Rock Point. No sense in getting queasy only a few miles from our destination. I log the time, distance and engine hours. Turn the electronics off and switch the boat’s batteries to the house setting. This is to prevent discharging the starter battery overnight and not being able to start the boat on another glorious cruise!