I returned home on Sunday after spending the last 30 nights on board. I spent the first 2 weeks working from the boat at Centerpointe Marina (one of the nicest marinas I've been to) in Sturgeon Bay WI during the week and single handing the boat to various marinas in Door County where my wife would meet the boat. On July 29 my wife and I left Sturgeon Bay at 5am headed 130nm northeast for Mackinaw City where we planned to meet our friends and stay the night before heading up to the channel the next morning.
Leaving Sturgeon Bay - Lighthouse
Heading into the sunrise
It was my first time going under the Mackinaw Bridge. Very pretty and with the exception of the ferry traffic the straits were fairly calm.
After meeting our friends and talking it over we decided that since it was only noon and the seas were so calm we would just take on fuel and continue on the additional 102nm to Gore Bay Ontario where we would check in to Canada and get a good nights rest.
Unfortunately the seas only remained calm until we turned east out of false detour channel where we met 4-5' following seas that we had to run the last 35nm in. After already covering nearly 200nm this is the last thing that I wanted however the boat did great and the ride wasn't even that uncomfortable.
Although our anchor did get a cleaning at times (sorry about the picture quality taken with an ipad).
We were happy to finally get into the protection of Gore Bay.
The next day was one of the nicest days I've had on the water. It was extremely calm so we decided to take a things slow and enjoy the ride on our way to Baie Fine
I think mother nature was repaying us for the day before...
On the way to Baie Fine we went through little current. Which as we found out on our run home is actually a bit of an oxymoron because there can be quite a bit of current at times.
Of everybody that I spoke to prior to making this trip the one spot that everybody agreed was a "must visit" was Baie Fine/the pool. The charts looked a bit daunting as there are many rocks awash etc. that must be avoided but it was fairly well marked and well worth the journey.
Just into Baie Fine
Entering "the narrows" on the way to the pool. The other boat we were traveling with lost and had to go first ;-)
Once through the narrows we found a nice place to anchor. I dropped the bow anchor and as any self-preserving captain would do, sent the admiral swimming to shore to tie the stern line to a tree.
Secured and enjoying a few days at anchor
The highlight of Baie Fine was taking the dinghy back to "the pool" and making the 25min hike up to Topaz Lake. Topaz lake is a "dead lake" (no algae/seaweed/fish etc) which made it extremely clear and an excellent place for a swim. Although there is no life in the lake, due to our sick sense of humor, we have been sure to tell other people around our YC to be sure and bring a fishing pole and plan on spending the entire day catching fish...
After a few days we left Baie Fine and headed 20nm south east to Kilarney. It was a bit windy which along with the unconventional traffic made waiting at idle 25 minutes for the fuel dock a bit interesting.
Our last night in the North Channel was a quiet night spent at Drummond Island Yacht Haven. The quiet was much needed due to the fact that we may have gone a bit overboard at the bars the night before in Kilarney after being anchored out for a few nights.
A very well kept old boat that was also visiting Drummond.
The trip back to Milwaukee WI was fairly uneventful with the exception of one passage south from Charlevoix MI to Frankfort MI. They had forecasted 1-3' waves out of the south building to 2-4' in the afternoon. We left at 730am for what should have been approximately a 2 hour run. For the first hour the waves were approximately 3' which wasn't an issue however the last 20 miles were probably the roughest water I've been in on a boat. We ended up running 8-10kts into 6-9' seas the entire way. On top of this we ran directly through a small squall(you can see it on my radar screen on the second picture) that we would have otherwise been south of had we been able to maintain a decent cruising speed. We never felt unsafe however it was quite uncomfortable.
A few pics I took during periods when it calmed down enough to hold the ipad
After reading about all of the charted and uncharted rocks and hearing lines like “you haven't been to the north channel if you haven't touched bottom" etc, I was a bit nervous about the trip. I knew it would take me out of my comfort zone. However as long as you keep your head about you and take things slow as needed it was not as difficult as I had expected. Overall it was an excellent trip and we'll likely do it again. We covered nearly 1000nm, stayed at more than a dozen locations and put nearly 52 hours on the boat.
max
Leaving Sturgeon Bay - Lighthouse
Heading into the sunrise
It was my first time going under the Mackinaw Bridge. Very pretty and with the exception of the ferry traffic the straits were fairly calm.
After meeting our friends and talking it over we decided that since it was only noon and the seas were so calm we would just take on fuel and continue on the additional 102nm to Gore Bay Ontario where we would check in to Canada and get a good nights rest.
Unfortunately the seas only remained calm until we turned east out of false detour channel where we met 4-5' following seas that we had to run the last 35nm in. After already covering nearly 200nm this is the last thing that I wanted however the boat did great and the ride wasn't even that uncomfortable.
Although our anchor did get a cleaning at times (sorry about the picture quality taken with an ipad).
We were happy to finally get into the protection of Gore Bay.
The next day was one of the nicest days I've had on the water. It was extremely calm so we decided to take a things slow and enjoy the ride on our way to Baie Fine
I think mother nature was repaying us for the day before...
On the way to Baie Fine we went through little current. Which as we found out on our run home is actually a bit of an oxymoron because there can be quite a bit of current at times.
Of everybody that I spoke to prior to making this trip the one spot that everybody agreed was a "must visit" was Baie Fine/the pool. The charts looked a bit daunting as there are many rocks awash etc. that must be avoided but it was fairly well marked and well worth the journey.
Just into Baie Fine
Entering "the narrows" on the way to the pool. The other boat we were traveling with lost and had to go first ;-)
Once through the narrows we found a nice place to anchor. I dropped the bow anchor and as any self-preserving captain would do, sent the admiral swimming to shore to tie the stern line to a tree.
Secured and enjoying a few days at anchor
The highlight of Baie Fine was taking the dinghy back to "the pool" and making the 25min hike up to Topaz Lake. Topaz lake is a "dead lake" (no algae/seaweed/fish etc) which made it extremely clear and an excellent place for a swim. Although there is no life in the lake, due to our sick sense of humor, we have been sure to tell other people around our YC to be sure and bring a fishing pole and plan on spending the entire day catching fish...
After a few days we left Baie Fine and headed 20nm south east to Kilarney. It was a bit windy which along with the unconventional traffic made waiting at idle 25 minutes for the fuel dock a bit interesting.
Our last night in the North Channel was a quiet night spent at Drummond Island Yacht Haven. The quiet was much needed due to the fact that we may have gone a bit overboard at the bars the night before in Kilarney after being anchored out for a few nights.
A very well kept old boat that was also visiting Drummond.
The trip back to Milwaukee WI was fairly uneventful with the exception of one passage south from Charlevoix MI to Frankfort MI. They had forecasted 1-3' waves out of the south building to 2-4' in the afternoon. We left at 730am for what should have been approximately a 2 hour run. For the first hour the waves were approximately 3' which wasn't an issue however the last 20 miles were probably the roughest water I've been in on a boat. We ended up running 8-10kts into 6-9' seas the entire way. On top of this we ran directly through a small squall(you can see it on my radar screen on the second picture) that we would have otherwise been south of had we been able to maintain a decent cruising speed. We never felt unsafe however it was quite uncomfortable.
A few pics I took during periods when it calmed down enough to hold the ipad
After reading about all of the charted and uncharted rocks and hearing lines like “you haven't been to the north channel if you haven't touched bottom" etc, I was a bit nervous about the trip. I knew it would take me out of my comfort zone. However as long as you keep your head about you and take things slow as needed it was not as difficult as I had expected. Overall it was an excellent trip and we'll likely do it again. We covered nearly 1000nm, stayed at more than a dozen locations and put nearly 52 hours on the boat.
max
