[Rhodes22-list] North Channel and the Search for Internet Access

[Julie Thorndycraft]

North Channel and the Search for Internet Access



A while back I mentioned that we had sailed the North Channel and Slim had 
requested the 'story'. Here it is with my apologies for the length - it was 
a two week trip and that's hard to cover without some length.



Background

The North Channel is located on the Ontario side of Lake Huron just east of 
Sault Ste. Marie. It provides a combination of wilderness sailing along with 
quaint small towns and facilities. The overall trip was organized by the 
Trailer Sailors, who've been sailing these waters annually for many years. 
At first we were concerned when we learned that there were 40+ boats signed 
up but we learned very quickly that various groups split off for days at a 
time to explore other areas.



The Trek

In our usual fashion, we left late - 24 hours late to be exact and we ended 
up going through the Twin Cities during the heart of rush hour on Thursday, 
July 14th. We drove late on Thursday and made it as far as Marinette, WI. We 
literally got the last room available as there was a huge bass fishing 
contest starting that weekend. We got up early the next morning and 
continued our journey with one stop at an internet café so Dan could take 
care of some 'work'. We arrived in Spanish about 5:30pm on Friday. Total 
miles: 670



Spanish, Ontario

The little town of Spanish has your basic services but they have a gorgeous 
marina with plenty of space for rigging, storing trailers, and a great 
launch ramp. We got the boat rigged, dropped her in the water, and got done 
just in time to catch dinner before they shut down for the night.



The next morning we walked up to Le Belle Abri for a fabulous breakfast. We 
had homemade croissants, bread, muffins, and fresh preserves. Our gracious 
hosts then provided us with doggy bags to take the extra muffins and rolls 
for the next morning. This was all for a great price of $8 Canadian.



We spent Saturday night in the Spanish Marina as the rest of the Trailer 
Sailors arrived and launched their boats. Dan and one of the other Trailer 
Sailors worked to patch a 1" hole in our dinghy that a mouse had created. I 
got the remainder of the groceries and gear loaded on the boat and then 
removed what I thought might be 'extra'. I also got to watch the show as the 
different boats got launched. There were Rhodes, Precisions, a Flicka, a 
bunch of MacGregors, and a few unique models that I had not encountered 
previously.



Day One

On Sunday we all departed from Spanish and sailed east just over 7nm to 
Eagle Island. The most common anchoring method used in the North Channel is 
to drop an anchor off the bow and tie your stern to shore via a rock or 
tree. The next morning brought a change in weather with predictions of a 
storm and a falling barometer. Opting for a more protected position we 
relocated to the other side of the bay and waited for the storm to hit. 
After an hour of nothing, the skies started clearing, and we all headed out 
to our next destination of Sturgeon Cove on the island of Great Cloche. This 
was a 16nm run with part over fairly open waters. We had good winds and kept 
pace with a Catalina 25 at 5+ knots for most of the afternoon.



Day Two - The Storm

As the afternoon progressed, it was clear that we should've paid closer 
attention to the falling barometer. With the winds increasing, we strapped 
down the bimini, reduced sail, lowered the boom into the lower position, and 
put on our life jackets. As the sky got darker and the winds increased, we 
opted to furl the sails and fire up the iron genny in hopes of reaching the 
Cove. Unfortunately the storm had other ideas. Just as we turned upwind to 
keep the wind on our bow, the gusts hit and we were knocked down with bare 
poles. Exciting is an understatement. And there was no time to be scared, 
just scramble to the high side as fast as possible. But the Rhodes is 
designed well and it did what it should - it rounded up into the wind and 
popped back up. We did take on a great deal of water, both over the side and 
under the pop-top.



At the time of the first wind, there were about six boats all trying to make 
it into the rocky entrance of Sturgeon Cove. Those who were closest to us 
confirmed later that our mast was indeed parallel with the water. Estimates 
after the storm were that the winds were pushing 50 knots.



We would've both been happy to have the excitement end at that point, but 
the dinghy had other ideas and decided to go sailing. As it whipped around 
in the air (it's an 8' Avon dinghy), it finally landed upside down. It then 
started diving, making it impossible to maintain our forward momentum even 
with the motor running full throttle. Once again we were pushed around and 
knocked down a second time. Again the Rhodes recovered but we were forced to 
run with the wind until the storm passed. With rain so hard we could not 
see, we kept our fingers crossed that we did not hit any rocks.



Many thanks go to fellow Rhodes owner and trip organizer, John Travis, who 
turned his boat around and offered his assistance as we struggled to get the 
dinghy right-sided. He then escorted all of the remaining boats into Bell 
Cove, which did not have the same treacherous, rock-infested entrance as 
Sturgeon Cove. We stayed two nights in Bell Cove before heading on to Little 
Current.



Day Four - Little Current

First thing to know about Little Current is that the current is not little. 
It is wind driven and the water is pushed through the channel that divides 
Manitoulin Island. When it's bad, the channel markers have a significant 
lean and the current makes getting past the swing bridge quite interesting. 
We stayed at Spider Bay Marina for two nights. The rest of the Trailer 
Sailor group either took advantage of the facilities and then continued on 
or stayed one night at the Marina. It appeared to be pretty consistent that 
after three days on anchor, all of the boats needed to pump-out and stock up 
on food.



Dan was still trying to wrap-up details for the magazine and internet access 
was critical. He spent a great deal of time at the Anchor Inn which had 
everything: beer, wireless internet access,  and food. You can check it out, 
if you wish at http://www.anchorgrill.com/. They have a patio cam and a port 
cam so you can see the 'live' view. While Dan was working I occupied my time 
by reading a book and getting a pedicure. One of us needed to preserve the 
idea that we were on 'vacation'.



Day Six - Snug Harbour

The rest of the Trailor Sailors were targeting Covered Portage, our next 
stop was Snug Harbour, which was which is a beautiful, deep-water bay. After 
a nice sail (about 13nm), we got tucked into a good spot and spent the 
afternoon swimming and relaxing. The entire area is very conducive to 
sailboats and at any given harbor; the sailboats would either equal or 
outnumber the powerboat/trawlers. The next morning we did a hike across the 
peninsula to a fossil beach where we found numerous Inuksuit statues. These 
are man-made rock piles that are stacked to symbolize a man and to serve as 
direction guides.



Day Seven - Killarney

We caught up with some of the Trailer Sailors in Killarney, where the main 
street is really the waterway. Killarney is a crossroads and allows boaters 
to cut through rather than go all the way around Manitoulin Island. The 
largest marina, the Sportsman, can accommodate 140 transient boats on two 
sides of the waterway. They have a small pontoon that runs back and forth 
called Tinker Bell. Killarney was as far east as we were traveling. Due to 
nasty headwinds and predictions of bad weather, we stayed two nights at 
Killarney. The marina also had wireless internet access that was accessible 
even where we were on the far shore. Dan was able to continue his work while 
sitting in the cockpit. I went hiking with friends and explored the little 
town of Killarney.



Day Nine - Little Current, again

The next day we left for a quick stop at Covered Portage, where Dan went 
hiking and we had lunch. We then we headed straight into the wind back to 
Little Current - once again so Dan could get internet access, the magazine 
was going into final edits and he needed to be available or be without a 
job. It was not the best day as we motored 19nm into 3-4 waves with the wind 
on our nose. We made it to the Swing Bridge at Little Current just in time 
for the 4pm opening and motored at full throttle to get through the opening 
against an extremely strong current.



Day Ten - Exploding Boats

I guess things had been too calm for too many days. At about 9am we heard a 
loud boom and then a few minutes later heard a May Day stating that there 
was a boat on fire on Dock 2 at Spider Bay Marina. Since we were on Dock 4, 
it had our attention. We could see black smoke pouring out across from us - 
please note that the gas dock separated us from Dock 2. The marina staff 
reacted quickly and closed the marina, evacuated everyone off of all boats, 
and scurried us back to a shelter by the road. There were people in their 
pajamas and it had started raining. Some of the staff from Discovery 
Charters brought over blankets from the storage building and we all watched 
and waited as the flames shot up 30 feet or more. We learned later that 
mechanics had been doing some battery work on a 40' Carver when one of the 
batteries exploded. Amazingly, no one was hurt. The boat burned down to the 
waterline. The boat next it also caught fire and was also totaled. The fire 
department used dinghies to move as many of the other boats away from the 
fire to prevent further damage or exploding diesel tanks. There were two 40' 
sailboats that received significant damage - their masts were charred all 
the way to the top - I'm sure that their radar was no longer functioning. 
The town of Little Current did a fabulous job responding and providing 
shelter for everyone evacuated. They took them to a community center and 
provided hot food and coffee. We opted to walk into town for breakfast. By 
mid-afternoon, we were allowed to return to our boats and by 4pm they 
re-opened the marina although the burnt hull was still in the water.



Day Eleven - Croker Island

>From Little Current, we sailed to Croker Island which was about 14nm. While 
at Little Current, we spent some very enjoyable time with a couple spending 
their summer sailing on their 34' C& C. They were also heading to Croker and 
said they would save us a good spot. When we arrived, we found them tucked 
stern-to against a steep cliff and tied to shore. We snuck in right beside 
them and found it to be an extremely protected anchorage. We went for a hike 
up the cliffs, where they showed us the safe paths and the blueberries. We 
were able to hike across the top of the cliff so we could see out into Gore 
Bay and over to the Benjamin Islands. The view was spectacular. We returned 
to our boat and had a joint dinner with our new friends. This was to be our 
last night so we made a sincere effort to clear out the last of our food, 
alcohol, etc.



Day Twelve - Croker part two Thursday

The next morning we headed out to return to Spanish. We were now ahead of 
many of the trailer sailors by a day but I wanted to get back in time to 
relax before returning to work. The winds were quite strong from the SW and 
we attempted to take a shortcut through the Benjamin Islands. This is an 
unmarked channel with rocks that requires one person on bow watch and one at 
the helm going very slow. With crashing waves on the far side and a 
significant crosswind, I voted not to proceed. Dan reluctantly agreed 
knowing that we would have to go around the southside of the Benjamins and 
the waves would be on our beam as they came across Gore Bay. We made it past 
the south side of the Benjamin's and started heading north. We were about to 
raise sails when the sky ahead of started darkening and quickly. It was 
still quite a distance off but it was in the direction we were heading. When 
lighting flashes started, we turned around and headed back to Croker. Our 
friends on Magic Carpet were pleased that we returned based on the weather 
they were seeing from the top of the cliff. Once again we got tucked up 
against the cliff. The first storm just grazed Croker Island around 6pm. It 
got extremely dark but ended up moving more towards the north. The storm at 
1am was a different story, and several boats that were across the bay from 
us had problems dragging anchors and getting pushed aground.



Day Thirteen

We left Croker at 7am and started sailing west. Distance was about 12nm. We 
had beautiful winds and almost kept pace with another sailboat who was 
motoring back to Spanish. We caught up to him at Little Detroit where we had 
to motor through the cut. Little Detroit is a very narrow channel that can 
only handle boats going in one direction at a time. You must announce your 
presence on the VHF and indicate which direction you are heading. A short 
while later we were back at the fuel dock in Spanish, taking advantage of 
their pump out. Dan retrieved the trailer and we were able to motor straight 
onto the trailer from the fuel dock - we were out of the water by 11:15, 
just in time to catch the last of the breakfast served at the marina. We 
spent the next few hours tearing down and clearing items off of the boat. 
After stopping for ice cream at Le Belle Abri, we finally hit the road 
around 5pm. We expected a short drive, just to get through customs at Sault 
Ste. Marie.



For those interested in sailing the North Channel:

Well-Favored Passage by Pixie Haughwout and Ralph Folsom - excellent!

Ports: The Cruising Guides for Georgian Bay, The North Channel, and Lake 
Huron



Julie

s/v Blue Loon
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