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
 |
| Taxi Cab |
 |
| Police Bikes |
 |
| Beautiful Flowers |
 |
| B & B |
PUBS
Wednesday Morning
 |
| The Cruise Ship "Saint Laurent" |
