Killarney to Mackinac - The North Channel

One of the many things we have learned on our adventure is that we can’t control the weather. Our trip from Killarney through the North Channel was affected by strong winds but we made the best of it. We are now in Makinaw City, Michigan and will leave tomorrow to begin our 300+ mile trip down Lake Michigan to Chicago.
When we entered the Georgian Bay channels, we became aware of many stone figures on the rocks. We have since learned that these figures are known as Inukshuk and were originally made by Northern Canadians to serve as guides pointing the way to return home. They are now abundant on the shores of both The Georgian Bay and North Channel - this picture was taken somewhere on the Georgian Bay of a stone figure pointing the way. Most everywhere we traveled in the Bay and Channels, the Inukshuks were around every bend. However, we continued to rely on our Chartplotter and paper charts to guide our way.
We left Killarney on Thursday, July 30th and traveled 12 miles in the small craft channel and headed north another 6 miles to one of the most beautiful side trips we have made on our trip. Baie Fine is described as the closest thing to a fjord we will ever see. We traveled 10 miles through Baie Fine to an anchorage known as The Pool. The weather was ideal and the site was breathtaking. The 3 pictures below are the entrance to Baie Fine, anchored in the Pool, and a

cottage we were anchored close to that is owned by The Evinrudes (as in outboard motor!). We took the dingy to shore for exploring (Pia hiked a couple of miles to another smaller lake that was turquoise in color) and blueberry picking as well as a ride back down the entrance to The Pool.

Friday morning we retraced our journey back to the small craft channel and arrived in Little Current on Manitoulin Island just in time for the Haweater Weekend festival, an annual homecoming event for locals that featured parades, fireworks, water competition, live entertain, etc. We, along with “Dar Sea” and “Meander” departed Little Current on Sunday with intentions to travel 15 miles to Kagawong to visit the water falls, have lunch, and travel across the Channel to an anchorage in The Benjamin Islands. Mother Nature and the wind had another idea! Because of strong winds, we stayed in Kagawong overnight and traveled to Meldrum Bay on Monday – a trip of 40 miles – again with intention of a one night stay. We were “trapped” in Meldrum Bay for 3 nights along with 7 other looper boats. The picture to the right is of all the loopers having a happy hour in the "clubhouse" at the marina. The village of Meldrum consists of an Inn – with a great restaurant – and a small general store with very limited provisions. (and nothing else, but a few local homes, and a one room museum, in the old net shed !)
Although the forecast on Thursday was still “iffy” with winds, ALL the looper boats decided we had enough of Meldrum and left at 6 AM in a flotilla headed for Drummond Island and US Customs. As we departed the Bay, the winds and waves were real choppy but finally smoothed after a couple of hours. We arrived in Drummond late morning, cleared customs after lunch, and continued our trip another 7 miles to DeTour Village at the entrance to Lake Huron where we walked into town for some much needed re-provisioning. It felt good to be back in the US after 2 months in Canada. As stated in our last posting, we really enjoyed our time in the beautiful country and would recommend trips to Canada to anyone.
Friday weather could not have been more perfect for our trip across Lake Huron to Mackinac Island at the beginning of Lake Michigan. Winds were calm, the entire Lake was smooth as the sun warmed the cool nighttime temperatures. This final picture is of the "flotilla" of loopers as we departed DeTour Village into Lake Huron at the lighthouse. We arrived in Mackinaw City Marina early afternoon with plans to spend the weekend in this area – including a day trip to Mackinac Island. Tomorrow, August 10th, we will leave to head south (the first time we have traveled south in a long time) down Lake Michigan. With good weather we should be in Chicago in 7 – 10 days with plans to travel home for a couple of weeks to visit family and friends. Chicago is the half way point of our trip and we look forward to the second half of our journey down the inland waterways to the Gulf of Mexico.