Whose up for the North Channel?

[crazycarl]

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.

[crazycarl]

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.

[hoddinr]

Looks like I'm out again this year.  Have a Nimble Nomad chartered on the Erie Canal for 2 weeks - overlaps this trip.

Ron

[crazycarl]

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.

[Christopher]

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

[rogerschwake]

  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

[crazycarl]

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/

[rogerschwake]

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

[crazycarl]

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.

[Christopher]

Sounds good! 

[crazycarl]

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.

[crazycarl]

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.

[Salty19]

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!

[Christopher]

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"

[kickingbug1]

if you get back