Travels of "At Last": August 2015

August 18-19, 2015

Leaving Little Current and passing by our anchorage at Picnic Island

After getting our mail, we leave the wall in Little Current, ON at 10:45 am and plan to travel as far as we can today, weather permitting. The day is a bit overcast, but the ride is smooth and we decide to anchor in the Benjamin Islands again. The anchorage is almost empty with only 4 or 5 other boats. Because there is so much room, we do not anchor Mediterranean style. It is very quiet here today. We take a dinghy ride and Dave proclaims the fuel tank problem has been fixed so we do not need to worry about stalling every few minutes when we are out on our “mini-cruises”. The rest of our day is uneventful. We swim, have dinner and head to bed early. The next morning we awake to gray skies, more rain and a forecast for windy weather, so we decide to stay anchored in the Benjamins for one more day.

August 20, 2015

We leave early in the morning. We make our way along McBean Channel where we pass through Little Detroit, a blind dogleg. We continue until we reach Whalesback Channel.

Passage through Little Detroit

Whalesback Rock

The wind has picked up so Dave decides to continue to the left around Turtle Rock to an anchorage in Beardrop Harbour. When we arrive there are about 5 other boats.

Traveling to Beardrop
(Notice the trees all bend to the east due to high westerly winds.)

Entering Beardrop

We set our anchor and settle in. This is a scenic anchorage and given the name, I hope that I will finally see a bear, but I have no such luck. Later in the day, we meet Bill and Barbara, fellow loopers. They have been traveling every summer for the past nine years. Their boat is “High Spirits” and Bill invites us aboard for cocktails. He even offers to dinghy us over so Dave doesn’t have to lower our dinghy. Later in the day, the weather turns nasty with lots of rain and wind, but it lets up in time for Bill to ferry across the anchorage to his boat for an enjoyable evening. We decide to travel together tomorrow to Blind River if the weather improves.

August 21, 2015

We leave early and follow “High Spirits” to Blind River.

Heading to Blind River

The ride is basically smooth with a few bumpy spots as we head into the marina. After a pump out, we head to our slip where we fill our water tanks and have breakfast. In the early afternoon, we walk to town. Although one of our guidebooks describes this town as the metropolis of the North Channel, we find it to be a bit run down with many empty storefronts. We do find the Irish Tavern that has a separate entrance for men and women, but it is closed.

Blind River

After lunch, Dave and I head back to the marina while Bill and Barbara walk to the grocery store for some supplies. Back at the marina, I do a load of laundry and later in the afternoon, we join the crew of “High Spirits” aboard “Chloe’s Cruiser” where we meet other boaters, Loopers, as well as two couples who dock at Blind River Marina. After cocktails and conversation, we head back to “At Last”. Later in the evening Bill and Barbara stop by to say good-bye. We plan to leave in the morning for re-entry into the USA.

Sunset in Blind River

August 22, 2015

We depart for Drummond Island, MI at about 7:18 am. The beginning of the ride is a bit bumpy, but after an hour or so, it smooths out.

Crossing the border into the USA

We clear customs at about 1:45 pm after the customs agent discovers that I have not signed my passport. Imagine…I went back and forth to Europe last September and I entered Canada in June and no one noticed that my passport was unsigned…..so much for close attention to security.

Drummond Island, MI

We had thought we might stay at Drummond Island or go to DeTour Village, but after checking the extended forecast, Dave suggests we continue to Mackinac Island. The next few days are going to be cold, wet, and very windy so we decide it will be best to be “stuck” in a place like Mackinac Island rather than somewhere else.

Florida Coaster at Customs Dock, Drummond Island, MI

We leave the customs dock at 2:30 pm and continue on the waterway. The water is a bit rougher than earlier, but again, after a while the ride becomes much smoother.

74-foot-high DeTour Reef Light

Another Reef Marker

As we get closer to Mackinac Harbor, the AIS indicates a freighter, the Robert Blough, is making its way toward the bridge. Looking behind us, Dave sees that the ship is on the exact same course as us. It is very large looming in back of “At Last”. Even though we probably have enough time to make the turn into the harbor, Dave decides to slow down and turn in order to follow behind the freighter, which he does quite successfully. Later we learn that the crew from "Liberty" observed the whole thing.

Freighter "Robert Blough" off the stern of "At Last"

We have made a reservation for the Mackinac Island State Dock for Sunday, but they do not have any room for us on Saturday night so when we arrive, we anchor out near the docks.

Mackinac Island

The holding here is said to be poor and there are lots of wakes from other boats as well as the many ferry boats which enter the harbor on a regular basis until after 11:00 pm. It has been a very long day…we traveled over 80 miles in almost 12 hours today. Although the wind picks up, we remain securely anchored throughout the night.

August 23-26, 2015

At around 9:30, we make our way to our slip. “Camelot” (Ken and Lois) and “Sequacious” (John and April and the kids) are docked right across from us. They have been here since Friday. We also meet Lisa and Jim from “Liberty”. They are not Loopers. They live in Wisconsin, but boat in Lake Michigan and enjoy meeting those of us on the Great Loop.

“Mackinac Island is very quaint. It is like stepping back in time to the early 1800s. It is an historic waterfront village with horse-drawn carriages, Colonial homes, an historic fort, lots of shops, pubs, hotels, bed and breakfasts and FUDGE. The only mode of transportation allowed on the island is by horse, bicycle or foot. No motor vehicles are permitted. Ferry traffic is always present. The island was once a commercial depot for fur trappers and traders. Fort Mackinac, overlooking the Straits of Mackinac, was originally a British outpost until American troops captured the island 20 years after the Revolution. War broke out between the United States and Great Britain in the summer of 1812. Under the cover of darkness British soldiers landed on the north shore of Mackinac Island, dragged their cannon to the high ground behind the fort, took positions in the woods and prepared to attack. American soldiers, completely surprised and outnumbered by the British invasion, quickly surrendered without a fight. Two years later, American soldiers tried to recapture Fort Mackinac but were badly defeated in the only battle ever fought on Mackinac Island. Today, it is the home to military reenactments, bugle and drum corps music and cannon demonstrations.”

Mackinac Island

Bikes, bikes, bikes

Street-side parking

Carriage

On Sunday, Dave and I take a carriage ride around the island. Mackinac Island Carriage Tours is the world’s largest, oldest and continually operated horse and buggy livery. It owns approximately 100 freight and passenger carriages, which are powered by over 400 horses. Our narrated tour brings us through historic Market Street, the Governor’s House (summer residence), the Grand Hotel which boasts the world’s longest veranda, the Wings of Mackinac (a butterfly garden), the Surrey Hills Museum, the Mackinac Island State Park with Arch Rock and finally, to Fort Mackinac where we tour the fort until a torrential downpour strikes. We head into the village where we have a late lunch at The Little Pink Pony.

Touring Mackinac Island

The Grand Hotel

Surrey Hills Museum

Carriage Driver

Sam, Silver, John

Signage along the tour route

Fort Mackinac

Soldier in period costume

Original thatched roof

Market Street

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we spend time walking in the village, checking out the shops, buying a few things and meeting and talking with other boaters.

Views from Fort Mackinac

The Harbour

Fort Mackinac viewed from "At Last"

Each morning we all meet at a little coffee shop near the dock. Because the weather is rainy, windy and cold, there is not much movement at the dock. Most boats stay until the weather report improves. On Wednesday morning, we wake up to a cruise ship, "Saint Laurent" at the ferry dock. It will probably be very busy in the village today. “Camelot” decides to leave on Wednesday, but the forecast for Thursday is for sunny skies, warmer weather and especially, little wind with one foot waves. We plan to leave tomorrow, as does the crew of “Sequacious”.

More Mackinac Island