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Some thoughts on this trip. This is the first trip where I wish I had my own truck and trailer. I ran out of time to see as much of the North Channel as I had hoped. Some of that was weather days. Much of that was 'rest' days to let the bad discs in my neck not get to be real problematic. I...

Just as Apple weather app had forecast, it was a narrow weather window that would lead to winds picking up through the day. As I idled into Straights State Harbor, this little Easter Kingbird took a short ride. I saw so many birds on this trip that I couldn’t ID. Lots of Sandhill Cranes and...

Really wanted that rest day in Hessel, but weather still said I had a few hours of calm water before it picked up a lot. And, unfortunately, I had a truck and trailer to meet in two days. The north winds brought another cool early morning. Early morning making my way through Les Cheneaux. It...

Next stop is Hessel Marina in the Les Cheneaux Islands. Was hoping to take a rest day there to see the town. Weather says otherwise. Tomorrow is N 10, picking up to 20. I can, hopefully, hug N coast of Lake Huron as much as I dare. Next day is flat in early morning, then picking up S 15-20 for...

Rest day in Bruce Mines was mostly rain and T-storms. Lucky to have chosen that as a rest day in a motel. Tomorrow is forecast to be winds NW at 10 with light rain and T-storms ending early morning. So I adjust my route to DeTour to hug the east side of some big islands, hoping to knock down the...

Continuing on from Blind River to Bruce Mines. Kinda scary. That white is a blanket of fog over the land. Hope the water is cold enough to keep fog off. Running through my head what I would do if caught in a fog out here. Not much to do but idle along and follow protocol on horn and VHF. And...

Blind River to Bruce Mines. Thought about stopping at Thessalon, which is 9 miles closer than Bruce Mines and would be someplace new. But Bruce Mines has that little hotel and restaurant adjacent and I could enjoy a rest day. Also, Bruce Mines is very close to a more protected route back to...

Continuing from Spanish to Blind River. Back around Round Island… Eerily close to an outcrop full of cormorants (pic zoomed in to show blurry corm Tied up at the great floating docks (every stop in Canada had floating docks) at Blind River City Marina.

Spanish to Blind River. I would have thought backtracking would be less impressive. Not so. Just about everything looks new to me coming from the opposite direction. Only difference is I have a bit more confidence navigating some of the marina channels! Heading west in Whalesback Channel. Nice...

Unfortunately, between weather days and ‘rest my neck’ days, I’m running low on time. I’m not going to make it to Little Current and Killarney. Worse, with the long range forecast of NW winds, I’m not going to be able to follow the southern shore of the North Channel back. So I’ll backtrack...

Whalesback Channel has to be my favorite of cruising grounds. Beautiful, mostly protected and with so many side bays that I didn’t have time to explore. But fishermen told me fishing is great there. following pics are of Whalesback Channel. My one pic of Spanish Muni Marina was too large to...

Continuing to Spanish. Approaching the west facing side of Round Island. So called because you have to decide how you’re going around it. The South Passage takes us around the south side. Looking back at the east face of Round Island. Again, I was in about 70’ of water as I rounded the...

All marinas say they have WiFi. Problem is, it doesn’t reach the boats! Blind River to Spanish. Took the South Passage after talking with dockmaster. Most scenic (i.e., most islands and rocks) and most protection from west wind. Unlike FL, cold fronts stay around for awhile up here. I’ve...

Still on the way to Blind River… Once past the islands, it got a bit bumpy. I run at first light as that seems to be the calmest seas. I run at my most efficient speed for the day, if I can. Fuel is expensive in Canada! Didn’t know Canada had two suns? At least it was a following sea this...

Been a while since I’ve had working WiFi. So I’ll do a bit of catching up. Went from Bruce Mines to Blind River. First half was winding through some beautiful islands, second half was open water. A cold (to me) front had come through that I was not prepared for. A few days ago in DeTour, it got...

And once through that channel, start looking for the next one. They’re all deep, some are fairly narrow and they’re all solid rock. But it’s a beautiful boat ride The last 9 miles is mostly open water with small, scattered islands. I didn’t see a single other boat on my trip here. I...

I chose a route that winds through islands rather than open water. Saw lots of Canada geese (surprise), sandhill cranes and osprey. GPS says there is a channel through the islands. I don’t see any channel or channel markers. Oh, once you get lined up the channel opens up.

Early morning start from DeTour, MI to Bruce Mines, Ont. CA. Take most advantage of calm water. Approaching a series of islands. Around sunrise I crossed the border. Since I had 5 bars on my phone, I called Customs. They politely thanked me for letting them know and said to call them back...

WiFi is slow here, so may have to limit to a few pics at a time. View of some Canadian islands from DeTour marina. Crawled in to get a look at AC. Cabin temp was 89 when I was ready for bed at 9 pm, when it’s still full light. My alarm is set for 4:30 am. (Make coffee, brush teeth, set all...

Hopefully, will head to Bruce Mines, Canada early in the morning. Right now I’ve got to go look at the AC. Stopped putting out much air about an hour after turning it on last light. What little air it puts out is cool. And cooling water flow remains strong. Not looking forward to getting my head...