Under gray and rainy skies, we pulled anchor and motored north to our favorite cruising grounds, the North Channel. We pass Strawberry Island Light.
We just missed the hourly opening of the one-lane Little Current Swing Bridge, which is the only bridge accessing Manitoulin Island, the world’s largest fresh water island. We idled around, and finally it was time to pass.
A couple hours west of Little Current we anchored for the night with three other boats in Clapperton Island. The evening’s pink glow and the song of the Canadian Warblers lulled us to sleep.
As we leave in the morning, our neighbors are still lounging around.
This very tight passage, called Little Detroit, is one of the few places in the North Channel that was carved in the rock by humans.
Little Detroit is very narrow, but almost 30 feet deep. Boats are required to give a Securite’ call on the VHF radio, so they won’t meet head on in the cut.
Jerry’s unflappable at the helm in this tight situation.
Later, if you have any question about the direction to take, this painted boulder clarifies the situation.
This is Whalesback Island, namesake of the Whalesback Channel part of the North Channel. Does it look like a whale’s back to you?
One of the nicest anchorages in the North Channel, and one of our personal favorites, is Bear Drop Harbor.
The tall pink granite rocks line virtually all sides of the harbor, for maximum protection from wind in all directions.
After a brief passing shower, our neighboring trawler must have had a pot of gold aboard, as she was at the end of a rainbow.
We stayed two nights, serenaded by the whippoorwills.
This allowed us time to explore the area by dinghy.
We think the North Channel has some of the most beautiful views in the world.
These views continue at sunup, just before 0600 hours. Neighbors were still sound asleep, but we’ve got a long run to the Straits of Mackinac.
As we exit the North Channel we pass Detour…..
…..and the thousand-foot freighter Burns Harbor, on her way to Superior, Wisconsin, where she’ll pick up a load of taconite ore.
The Detour Passage Light marks this important shipping channel.
We overtake this Cal33 under spinnaker power.
Our harbor for the night is well protected Government Bay, in the Les Cheneaux Islands on the eastern end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We stopped here over 30 years ago on our sailboat Cygnet.
Next morning, we are up early and off to Mackinaw City. Our five neighboring boats were still sleeping.
As we drew abeam of Mackinac Island, the Coast Guard approached and asked us if we had been inspected recently. We showed them our papers from our Memorial Day Weekend inspection on the Hudson River, and that was our “get out of jail free card!” Off they sped to inspect someone else.
As we cruised by Mackinac Island, we saw the Mackinac Island light,
the Round Island Light
and the iconic Grand Hotel. We’ll be back later in the season for a visit to the island.
We love the Mighty Mackinac Bridge, which seems to be a fitting symbol for the state.
As we approach Mackinaw City, we see the retired Coast Guard Cutter and icebreaker Mackinaw, now a museum. In the harbor here, Monarch will spend about a week, while we visit Marty’s mom and other relatives during the holiday. Stay tuned for further adventures as we head toward Lake Superior.
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