Whose up for the North Channel?

[crazycarl]

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!

[Bob23]

Carl: We're praying that they just let you back into the US!!

[kickingbug1]

   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.

[Bob23]

I second that!!

[Tim Gardner]

With all of his digits!

[crazycarl]

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.

[crazycarl]

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...

[crazycarl]

more photos...

[crazycarl]

and more photos...

[crazycarl]

and more...

[crazycarl]

and a couple more...

[Floridagent]

Gentlemen, I'm ENVIOUS!
Good show!

[brackish]

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.

[Salty19]

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? 

[crazycarl]

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.