I have been wanting to sail the North Channel for some years and 2018 will finally be the year!
My vacation is already set for July 20th thru August 4th.
My plan is to arrive July 22nd at a location to be determined, and depart August 3rd.
Of course, if someone wants to catch up with us or leave early, that is their prerogative.
Anyone interested should start researching and plan accordingly.
As the date gets closer, I'll post where I intend to launch.
I myself will be sleeping aboard among the many islands with a stop or two to re-provision.
Carl,
I admit to being geographically challenged. Is North Channel lake St. Clair, Chicago sewer drainage, or between the North of Ireland and Scotland?
I cannot find it on my Barnegat Bay NJ chart.
Regards,,
so bob isn't the only new jerseyian with a sense of humor?!
the north channel is in lake heron between canada's mainland and manitoulin island.
the waters themselves are in canada and anyone interested in sailing with us would need a passport.
does canada allow new jerseyians within their borders?
I will keep an eye on this post as it progresses and may be able to join.
I am already in Canada (check)
I am already on Lake Huron (check)
I have a Com pac Eclipse with good trailer (check)
Now all I need are some holidays......
I'd love to go back to the North Channel. I did a solo two week trip up there in 1998.
Took the Chee-Chee-Mon ferry from Tobermory to Manatolin Island then launched from Spider Bay Marina in Little Current. Sailed west to the Benjamin Islands and that area for a week and then back to Little Current and explored east from there for a week.
I have a SunCat now. Back then I was in a SeaPearl.
Ron
I'm planning on going on the trip and will be sailing a Suncat. I would appreciate any advice that any of you may have for such a trip such as recommended boat equipment and places to launch from and sail to. I just checked my passport and it will still be current next July. Yes!
Chris (Second Wind)
I have never been to the North Chanel but have read and heard it's a beautiful place to sail. Have no idea on where to launch at coming from Iowa. Looked at a map and found DE Tour Village, Michigan. That's a 11 hour drive for me, but think it would be worth the trip. Any one out there have a better idea on where to launch and where to go from there?
ROGER
i have always been interested in the north channel, but a hell of a drive dragging my boat.
Most groups going to the North Channel launch at the town of Spanish. It's west of the prime small boat cruising grounds, but not too far.
The other great place is Little Current. Spider Bay Marina is very welcoming, and puts you about 13 miles from the Benjamin Islands, an easy one day sail. Then coming back to Little Current you can resupply there and then head east to explore that part of the N. Channel.
Ron
Kick,
You can always pull the boat to our house, rest a day or two, and then we leave together
as wonderful as that trip sounds, i better decline. im thinking that i might make a trip to kentucky lake and stay aboard for a few days. a little warmer for swimming as well
I have cruised the North Channel for the last 10 years. The first 2 years were with my son in a Sun Cat and then a couple of years with a Horizon Cat. I now have a Seaward 23 and have been single-handed the last 2 years. It's difficult to enjoy other areas after cruising the North Channel.
I have launched from Spanish Marina which has has a great marina but I much prefer launching from Spider Bay Marina because it's more centrally located to the prime cruising spots and the town of Little Current is larger than Spanish.
The trailer-sailors group sponsors a 2 week-cruise every year during the beginning of August and will show you the "must see" anchorages and how to cruise the North Channel. Greta group, highly recommended.
Here is a link to my Georgian Bay Cruise which ended in the North Channel.
http://www.rahnlawton.com/styled/index.html (http://www.rahnlawton.com/styled/index.html)
I have the dates marked off on the calender and it sounds like a fun trip. It will be a little bit of a drive for me but the pictures look unbelievable. Hope to stay at least ten days or more after such a long drive. This trip, the CLR and a few couple day trips to some local lakes should fill in most of my summer. Hope to see a few of you there.
ROGER
I'm glad your planning on going Roger. Thanks for the info/photos Rahn.
Great! This should fun. Plan for biting flies. Screening is a must have. I'm thinking of picking up a cheap kayak to tow along for getting into tight places.
The trailer sailors assc put together a list of items for this trip, including advice on crossing the border and what is needed. I'll dig out an old "clippersnips" and copy it to here.
Looks like I'm out again this year. Have a Nimble Nomad chartered on the Erie Canal for 2 weeks - overlaps this trip.
Ron
i started reading Well-Favored Passage, a cruising guide to the north channel. lots of good info.
chris, you may want to travel through Tobermory, the dive capital of Canada and take the ferry to Manitoulin Island.
roger, depending on how far north you are, you could come east on route 80 and spend a night or two at our house before heading north. google: Somonauk, IL
google maps is showing a 12 hour +- drive from our place, so i'm thinking 2 days.
Carl,
I didn't realize there was a ferry from Tobermory to Manotoulin Island? Cool! It may be fun to go home that way and head south through Canada. I will most likely be taking I-75 up all the way through Michigan. Once I get to the upper peninsula I will most likely be heading west to Marquette, Michigan. My cousin from Virginia will be traveling with me and he wants to go to Marquette because our grand parents grew up there. They were there until like 1920 or so and then they moved to California. My cousin is into ancestry stuff and I guess we still have some relatives there and of course grave yards. I will also need to get my boat wet in Lake Superior for the first time since I'll be there anyway.
Are you thinking Little Current may be a good meeting up point?
Chris
Second Wind
I still have those dates marked off on my calendar. Just name a meeting place and I'll be there. Thanks for the invite but for now I'm thinking about driving strait through. Wounder if there is any safety gear we need that is not required hear.
ROGER
I'm leaving Friday morning and plan on arriving Saturday afternoon. I personally do not have any particular destinations I need to see. I'm the kind that goes without making reservations and makes do when I arrive. However, when trying to meet up with others it's best to have a plan.
I've made reservations at the Spanish Marina for Chris, Roger and myself for Saturday July 21st. We can met there and spend the night at the marina before venturing out the next morn. If we need to stay longer, or need to wait for another to arrive, the marina can accommodate us. I talked to Ben there and he was very friendly and felt they would have plenty of parking for our rigs. Cost to launch is $6+tax and $5 per day for parking. Spanish is on the main land and located in the Whalesback Channel about center of the North Channel. With 2 weeks allotted, we should be able to sail just about anywhere we decide to go.
I have a guide and a general map of the entire area, but we'll need to purchase charts.
Google Earth is great for exploring sailing areas before leaving. Also the Trailer/Sailors organization has a Facebook page with more info on the North Channel than you can get anywhere else. They have been sponsoring a trip up there for several decades.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/503731162986282/ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/503731162986282/)
Sounds good to me. Looks like I'll drive most of the way Friday, spend the night some where, then arrive at Spanish on Saturday. Have a throw line on order and received TrakMaps #562 North channel nautical chartbook today. It's 12" X 18" has 38 pages and was $69.99 from TrakMaps. The pages are plastic and it just covers just the North Channel. Going to the CLR next week so won't be online for the week. Looking forward to this sail so keep in touch.
ROGER
i checked the trailer out to make sure it's ready.
purchased a 15 watt solar panel to help out the batteries. (going to bring those 8 year old batteries to NAPA to have them checked and replaced if necessary)
once again i'm in the middle of re-wiring the boat to simplify things.
another year where other expenses took the new sails fund so i'll be sailing with the old "bed sheets".
ordered more teak to trim out the interior and putting together an order for Defender.
picked up a new Garmin for the truck, programmed it for the Spanish Municipal Marina, and it shows a 10 1/2 hour drive.
joanie is picking up my passport from the safety deposit box this afternoon while i rummage through all our boating equipment and supplies to see what "necessities" i need to bring.
found the ports to be leaking around the glass so i removed them and will re-seal them.
flushed out the water tank.
washed all the running rigging.
checked all the standing rigging.
"dry sailed" in the driveway.
tested the VHF radios, chartplotter, and lights.
the hard part will be coming up with a menu for 2 weeks. :<
WE NEED TO EXCHANGE CELL #s TO CONTACT EACH OTHER IN CASE OF VEHICLE TROUBLE OR DELAYS.
Sounds good!
a coupon for 20% off 3 items at NAPA came in the mail just in time to replace the deep cycle batteries.
purchased the same group 31 batteries as the old ones for $10 less than i did 8 years ago.
all the wiring has been checked and redone.
installed 2 adjustable reading lights. wow! what a difference, i can actually see in the cabin at night!
replaced the port's glass with new tinted glass.
took the truck to the mechanic to have it checked out.
picked up an oscillating fan from wallyworld.
waiting on a delivery of no-see-um netting for the frame i made for the forward hatch.
teak boards won't arrive in time to trim out the cabin. (better for me, i'd just saw off another finger tip the day before the trip)
spent many, many an hour looking at the North Channel on google earth.
boat is provisioned and attached to the truck.
waiting for the grass to dry from an afternoon sprinkle so i can mow before heading off to bed for a very early morning start for Spanish Ontario.
chris is also leaving tomorrow and roger is already on his way.
we'll meet up in Spanish on saturday or sunday or when we all arrive.
Best of luck to the three of you on this grand adventure! I'm sure you're all pretty excited to get underway after all the planning you've done.
I love seeing CLR friends getting together as well.
Can't wait to hear about it when you return!
Have fun!
Thanks Salty! I'm guessing we will have a few stories to share about our adventure to the N. Channel while sitting on the dock at the 2019 CLR. I don't know about this. A couple of weeks with crazy Carl and Roger might be very interesting.
Cheers,
Chris
"Second Wind"
if you get back
Im at the canadian border waiting for chris who is about 3-4 hours behind me. This will give me time for a nap. I cant get a hold of roger, so he may already be at the marina without cell service.
So far no bad luck. Ok, i did take the wrong exit and it cost me 10 minutes. Then i left my phone in a McDonald's bathroom, that cost me 40 minutes. Then the trailer licence plate holder broke and i almost lost that.
FINGERS CROSSED THE BORDER OFFICERS DONT RECOGNIZE ME AND I ACTUALLY GET INTO CANADA!
Carl: We're praying that they just let you back into the US!! ;)
i would say be careful but----those who know carl----well. just take a lot of pictures. and i for one vote to let carl back in to the us----if it comes up for a vote.
I second that!!
With all of his digits!
arrived home at 1am this morning. i have tell ya, those suncats made a huge impression up there! everywhere we sailed, roger and chris were asked about there "lovely little boats". all in all it was a great trip with great weather, great sailing and, to my surprise, only one night of trouble with mosquitoes!
i'll try to write something up with pics after i clean out the boat.
here is a quick synopsis of our trip...
roger arrived at Spanish Ontario on thursday, while i waited for chris in sault ste marie as he was only 2 hours behind me. we ate dinner and then slept in our boats at a rest stop before crossing into Canada the next morning. friday afternoon we met up with roger who was already in the water and ready to go. after launching our boats we into "town" for dinner.
roger quickly made a friend while chris and i gave them plenty of space. saturday morning we left Spanish for crocker island with roger, who had charts in the lead. and so it would be the entire trip that roger would out sail us by several miles. what he didn't know is we let him. this left us a worry free entrance to an anchorage carefully picked out by roger.
listening to the "cruisers net" on VHF channel 71 every morning gave us weather, local news, and international news. the weather had been very hot and dry the preceding weeks and there were 65 wild firs burning closing several areas to camping and boating.
the town of "Little" Current is somewhat misleading as the current is quite strong. we stayed at the free docks near the swing bridge and found free public bathrooms with showers at our disposal. i, of course, had o/b troubles but they were easily fixed with a new fitting on the fuel line. we attended the cruisers net get together and met some interesting sailors. some have been going up therefor over 40 years.
an overnight on snug harbor before heading to Killarney for fish and chips and restocking our stores. we helped an elderly sailor rig his McGregor 26 for a meet up with the trailer/sailors, but a collision with a power line sent his mast crashing down. luckily no one was injured and the only damage was a broken fore-stay. the incident bothered me and i thought about him for the next couple days. i kept imagining his wife suggesting he was getting too old for such a trip and after this, she would implore him to sell his boat.
somewhere along the way chris lost his dingy and went searching in vain for it. i lost a cushion, my dingy, and a hat, but i was fortunate enough to recover them all.
i snorkeled almost every day as the water was clear and cool, but not cold. we had breakfast on the beach one morning where each supplied something and we all helped with the cooking. just after cleaning up, the rain came and i sat in the cockpit enjoying it.
our last night the wind suddenly picked up and unnerved roger and i to the point we moved our boats from the shallows near shore into deeper water with a good 12:1 scope. i set my alarm to wake me every half hour to check my position, but after 2am it became apparent the anchor was firmly in place.
we were hoping for a spirited sail on our last day and boy did we get it! i'm not a good judge of wind speed and i put a reef in when i saw the conditions after leaving our sheltered cove. however, without enough speed to combat the waves, shook out the reek and unfurled half the genny. the waves were around 4' and breaking. horses were running ahead and the wind was abroad the port side. for the 1st hour we were the only boats out and i began thinking we missed something on the radio. i kept my radio on channel 16 and an eye on chris and roger who both looked like they where out for a pleasant morning sail. then the wind subsided but the waves did not. we were at the end of a very long fetch and i had to let the genny out to gain any steerage to keep the boat's bow at an angle to the waves. motoring wasn't an option as the prop would be out of the water more than it would be in. surprisingly not a single wave made it's way over the bow and the water i encountered was a little drizzling rain. 6 1/2 hours later we entered a large bay and we left the waves behind for good.
after breaking down the boats we showered and said our goodbyes and "see you at CLR next year"! roger was of course the 1st to leave with chris and i leaving together. chris's plan was to stop for the night in Sault Ste Marie and i was going to drive until tired.
as i crossed the Mackinac bridge i was thinking i needed to bring a bucket to keep my extra rode in so it wouldn't get tangled when it me.
i had left my dingy on the dock in Spanish. inside it was 150' of 1/2" anchor rode, 75' of 3/8" running rigging, a hand bilge pump, and the oars. with all the construction and only a 90 kph (56mph) speed limit i figured it would take me 5 hours round trip to retrieve it.
i wasn't keen on driving back so i called the wife for her input. "well, you haven't used it much in the 9 years since you bought it, and you want a kayak, so just replace it with a kayak when you get home". gotta love that woman. i drove straight through arriving home at 1am friday after waking at 5am thursday. i was tired. i spent 10 1/2 hours friday cleaning out the boat and scrubbing the road bugs off.
my neighbor had already mowed my lawn so that was taken care of.
i called the marina in Spanish and explained i wouldn't be coming back for the items and that they were his for the keeping. he said he would keep until i returned nest year. i explained i wouldn't be returning, and he said he would keep them for someone i may know to pick up when they are up there. i once again told him they were now his. he thanked me, and said he would keep them in storage at the marina "in case you return some day". not many places you find a gentleman like that!
and now, a couple of photos from the trip...
more photos...
and more photos...
and more...
and a couple more...
Gentlemen, I'm ENVIOUS!
Good show!
Great write up! Makes me want to do that trip some day. Maybe bareboat charter, from where I am I don't want to tow.
I must say, I am a little disappointed. For a guy with a reputation for entertaining and comedic missteps at group sail events, I had gotten the popcorn out for a break in the summer boredom. Murphy must have left the building.:)
Quote from: brackish on August 13, 2018, 10:00:18 AM
Great write up! Makes me want to do that trip some day. Maybe bareboat charter, from where I am I don't want to tow.
I must say, I am a little disappointed. For a guy with a reputation for entertaining and comedic missteps at group sail events, I had gotten the popcorn out for a break in the summer boredom. Murphy must have left the building.:)
I'm with you Brackish. I was expecting a wheel to fall off the trailer at the bare minimum, preferably while crossing the mighty Mackinac Bridge, or even 16 feet out of the driveway. But no, not even a cut finger let alone a rigging failure. I'm a little disappointed, too, to be honest.
Seriously gents, you done good! Raising my glass to you all. Glad everyone made it home safe and a good time was had. Hope to see you all at CLR next year. I mean, I'll still stay a good distance from Carl but still see him. How tall is your mast again? :)
well to be honest, i did omit a few things, but only to keep the narrative short.
the 1st morning i managed to pour boiling water on my toes causing a huge blister that ruptured the skin and kept bleeding all over the boat. forget to bring sunscreen and i was hot pink by the 3rd day with a nose that felt like dried leather. i stepped on a wet cockpit cushion, slipped and fell. this produced a nice bruise along my ribs and a bruise and lump on my leg. i lost my spatula overboard after our pancake breakfast. while at the spanish marina i showered, laundered all my clothes, and then while closing up the boat to go into town for dinner, the gas cap popped off and landed in the water. i decided the easiest way to retrieve it would be to get in the dingy. well, the dingy didn't like that idea and slid out from under me as i attempted to board it. into the water i went, fully clothed. another shower, wet clothes hung and contents of my wallet laid out to dry. purchasing a few items at a store i had to convince the cashier the money was wet from from a dunk in the lake and not a$& sweat.
so, as past CLR attendees can attest to, not bad for a two week trip. i've had more mishaps in a weekend trip and certainly more during CLR, and many of those were within view of "credible" witnesses.
Well, your well-founded CP19 Miss Adventure sure lives up to her name, and you lived to tell another tale.
All this misadventure gives you plenty of stories for the grandkids.
We're all praying the curse didn't infect Chris and Roger. Or is it (gasp!) inheritable?
P.S. Glad the mighty Mack didn't commandeer any trailer or boat parts. Just a dinghy commandeered in Michigan. I think we should be able to daisy chain it back through members in the forum. Talk about Good Karma...
well to be honest, i did omit a few things, but only to keep the narrative short.
so, as past CLR attendees can attest to, not bad for a two week trip. i've had more mishaps in a weekend trip and certainly more during CLR, and many of those were within view of "credible" witnesses.
Thanks for this additional information. I was concerned that the earth had tilted slightly on its axis. Now I know all is right in the universe. Particularly since you did put "credible" in quotations when describing those that had reported on past events.
Hi I just bought 2006 Sun Cat. I was actually reading today this article about the North Channel.
http://smallcraftadvisor.com/our-blog/?p=3388
I am in Florida so alittle to far me but it really does look beautiful up there.
I may be dating myself. Have cruised the North Channel in a Com-Pac 16, with a fleet of 6 other 16's and a few 19's. This all happened in the 1980's. Used to be a group, Midwest Com-Pac Association, based in the Detroit area. I still have extra burgees. Launched from Spanish. Watch out for the mosquitos at sunset. Spanish to Little Detroit, Boulder Bay, Oak Island, Clapperton Island, Little Current and most liked, the Benjamins, pink sand beaches surrounded by rocky but safe anchorages. A fold out rock anchor a must.
In years since have returned in larger boats, but in that case, you spend more time looking out for rocks. The Com-Pac is the vessel to use.
This should be on the bucket list for any Com-Pac owner.
You will not be disappointed.
Still own my 1981 Com-Pac, along with several board boats and a C&C-38-3.
Welcome Soilgod! Can I shorten your handle to All Powerful Dirt? Glad to see you finally posted here.
TG
Thanks Admiral Tim.
I have a great history with the Com-Pac. My kids grew up weekends somewhere on the 16, they in the berths, Mom and Dad under a pup tent in the cockpit, Good times. Just use Soilgod, there is a story behind the nick name. Dirt is what you get under your fingernails.
My best to you and the others.