Month: September 2023

Categories
cruising log

September 2023 Departing the Great Lakes through the Erie Canal

We started September, waking up after our first overnight passage. That morning, we went under the Bluewater Bridge, flying at 9 knots in the current! We anchored in Bassett Channel for the night, needing to find a place to recharge before carrying on. Bassett Channel was our last night in Canada. After about 6 weeks cruising Canadian Waters, we checked back into the U.S. the following day.

We entered Lake St. Clair which is where Ryan grew up power boating. We headed into Metro Beach to anchor for the night. We enjoyed walking along the park in the afternoon. That evening, we were visited by some family friends of Ryan’s- Rich and Sue Zimmer.

The following day we headed into Detroit where we had a marina slip booked for two nights. We started off with a nice sail and then the wind picked up, gusting up to 25 knots. After tacking back in forth for a while we turned the motor on to head into the river. The wind was coming directly from Detroit and we couldn’t make much forward progress tacking and avoiding the shallow areas around the channel.

In the Detriot River, we had big, sloppy waves from the wind and boat traffic. We made it into Milliken State Harbor and were thankful to be docked for the day. After chatting with the boat next door we headed to the grocery store to re-supply. Later that evening we visited with family and were brought some more groceries from Costo. On the way back from dinner we got an amazing sunset and a partial rainbow although only a few sprinkles of rain.

The following day we had more family visits and the delivery of our new mainsail from Presision Sails. This was delivered to Ryan’s mom and we had been anxiously awaiting being able to see it! After all the visits were over we settled back in, put everything away, and prepared for our journey into Lake Erie the following morning.

We woke up early and set off just after sunrise. We got great views of the Detroit skyline in the sun and then went under the Ambassador Bridge. After that, we saw the Gordie Howe Bridge which is still under construction. Part of the bridge is built on either side but it is not yet completed in the center.

We anchored at Kelley’s Island for the night before waking up early and continuing across Lake Erie. Our next anchorage was Fairport Harbor. On the way, we got hit with a big storm that blew through. We thankfully were ready, we had two reefs in the main and the staysail only up. The storm brought gusts up to 36 knots and tons of rain! It was over relatively quickly. It stole all of our wind so we were left motoring the rest of the day.
Our next stop, after another long day of sailing, was Erie Pensilvania. This brought us most of the way across the lake. In Erie, we slowed down to catch up on a few things and called the boatyard that was going to be taking our mast down so we could transit the Erie Canal. We also met some fellow cruisers from Muskegon while anchored here. We enjoyed sharing stories and future cruising plans with SV Dauntless.

After a few days in Erie, we headed on to Buffalo New York. This was the end of our time in the Great Lakes. The following day we headed down the Black Rock Canal to Tonawanda which is where our mast was taken down.

We arrived at Wardell Boatyard in Tonawanda and were told he could take our mast down that day. We quickly got the sails down and the boat ready. After a long afternoon of work, our mast was on the deck and we were prepared to head down the canal. We stocked up on groceries in town and shared a drink with SV Dauntless one last time, for now.

The following morning we left our new cruising friends and headed into the Erie Canal.

Overall we really enjoyed our time on the canal. Traveling the canal took us 340 miles, through 16 lift bridges and 35 locks. The canal is centered around tourists and pleasure boats transiting so everyone was very welcoming, helpful, and friendly. We stayed most nights for free, often with electric and water hook-ups. For more details on the canal, read our post on- Transiting the Erie Canal by Sailboat.

On the Erie Canal:

Day 1- Tonawanda to Lockport 18 miles, 2 locks

Day 2- Lockport to Spencerport 49.2 miles, 15 lift bridges. We stopped in Holly for lunch and to see the waterfall which was quite impressive.

Day 3- Spencerport to Newark 44.5 miles, 4 locks

Day 4- Fairport to May’sPoint/Lock 25 22.5 miles, 5 locks

Day 5- May’s Point/Lock 25 to Brewerton 53 miles, 2 locks

Day 6- Brewerton to Lock 20 45.5 miles, 3 locks

We were trying to stay in Rome for the day and explore the city. We ended up running hard aground and getting stuck in the mud approaching the dock. We had to drop the dinghy in the water and use it to tow Resande off the mud. We got floating again and headed off to find another place to stay the night.

Day 7- Lock 20 to Little Falls/Lock 17 26 miles, 3 locks

We went through the largest lock on the canal that day. Lock 17 rises/lowers 40.5 ft and the guard gate lifts over the boat as you exit. It is one of only two locks in North America that has this feature. This lock was the tallest lift lock in the world when it was built and is still one of the tallest today.

Day 8- Relax and Explore in Little Falls and Moss Island

We decided to take a day off and explore more around this small town. There are many historical buildings in town to see. We also enjoyed seeing the falls as we entered town from the lock. After our walk around town, we grabbed some pizza and beer for lunch at Mangia Macrina’s Wood-Fired Pizza.

The other highlight for us here was exploring Moss Island. This unique island is known for its large 40-foot-deep potholes (rock formations).

Day 9- Little Falls/Lock 17 to Lock 11, 40 miles, 5 locks

Day 10- Lock E11 to Crescent, 34 miles, 5 locks

Day 11- Crescent to Waterford, 5 locks, and the end of the Erie Canal!

We transited the Waterford Flight on the last day on the canal. This set of locks includes locks 6-2. These locks are known for raising/lowering a boat the greatest amount in the shortest distance in the world- 169 ft in 2 miles! Once we got through the locks we arrived at Waterford where we stayed two nights to relax, clean the boat, and re-provision. This concluded our time on the Erie Canal!

We really enjoyed walking to see Cohoes Falls and walking around Peeble Island State Park while we were in Waterford. Cohoes Falls is the second-largest waterfall in the state of New York.

From Waterford, we entered the Hudson River and headed south! At Catskill, we got our mast put back up and the boat re-rigged with all sails back up. It felt really good to get the mast off the deck and get back out on anchor!

Much of the Hudson is really pretty with rocky hills along the edges. We passed West Point which was very impressive to see from the water.

As we approached Nyack we got caught in a significant rainstorm! New York City saw flooding in the streets and subway with up to 10 inches of rain seen in parts of the city and surrounding area. We had planned to have lunch with a friend but had to postpone until the weather passed. With the rain came a wind that had us rocking and rolling as we were anchored along the river. As the tide and current oppose the wind the waves really stack up. We had possibly the worst night on anchor ever here! There are not well-protected anchorages along the Hudson and even a lot of the small marinas are exposed to the waves so there was nothing to do but wait it out. We slept in the aft cabin where at least it was a little quieter than in the v-berth. On the last day of September, the rain still lingered so we continued to wait it out.

Tomorrow is the first day of October and it is supposed to bring sunshine and more favorable conditions as we head into New York City!

September Cruising Stats & Spending

August 2023 Slowing Down in the North Channel

October 2023 New York City, Chesapeake Bay to the ICW

Categories
sailing

Transiting the Erie Canal by Sailboat

You have a few options when taking a boat from the Great Lakes to the ocean. You can take the Mississippi River, the St. Lawrence Seaway, or the Erie Canal. We are heading to the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean so the Mississippi didn’t make sense. The St Lawrence Seaway puts you a lot further north than we wanted to go this tip so we chose the Erie Canal.

The Original Erie Canal was completed in 1825. It was designed as a ditch filled with water. Mules or horses would walk along the towpaths on either side, pulling barges. Since the canal was such a success it was enlarged and then enlarged again to the present day canal. Today, the Erie Canal is 295 NM (340 statute miles) through the state of New York. It contains 35 locks and 16 lift bridges. The lift bridges all rise to a height of 15.5 ft.

We really enjoyed our journey through the canal! There are plenty of places to tie off for the night. Many places are free and offer electric and water. There are also many places with free pump-out along the canal. We used Skipper Bob’s Guidebook and found that to be very helpful. Many of the stops are right in town so you can walk to stores and restaurants. There are also many stops away from town if you are looking for a quiet setting.

Traveling from west to east you will enter the New York Canal System at the town of Tonawanda. Wardell’s Boatyard is where most people have their mast stepped if traveling by sailboat. The boatyard is along the canal right before the first low bridge that you won’t be able to get under with the mast up. You can tie up on the free wall across from the yard. The wall is metal and doesn’t have any cleats or bollards to tie to. There are holes near the top of the wall you can run a rope through and then back to the cleats on your boat. While here waiting for your mast to be stepped you will find a very close grocery store and wine/liquor store. Advance Auto Parts store is also close by if needed.

We were expecting to have to wait a day or so but as soon as we arrived Wardell’s said they could step our mast that day. We promptly got the sails down and everything ready. There is old lumbar from previous boats that you can use to build your mast cradle. Wardell’s staff basically found old cradle pieces that worked for our boat and put the whole thing together for us. The total cost was $10 a foot (of the mast) and $100 for the cradle.

The following day we began our journey down the canal.

Day 1: Tonawanda to Lockport

We chose to only go 18 miles to Lockport one day one. We stayed at the park on the north side just after locks 35 and 34. These two locks are a pair. You immediately enter 34 when they open the doors in 35. We found there to be a lot of current pulling our boat back and forth when the doors opened so be prepared for that. Each lock drops you down 25 ft. Once tied off along the wall at the park there is a nice walk up to town along the locks. Lockport originally had two sets of 5 locks when the canal was built. You can see one of the old sets of 5 original locks as you walk up to town. The entire town is centered around the locks.

Day 2: Lockport to Spencerport

The western half of the canal is where pretty much all of the lift bridges are located. Day two on the canal we went through a total of 15. We didn’t experience any delay, whenever we hailed a bridge on the radio they were ready and began lifting for us. We stopped in Holley for lunch and to see the waterfall. Along the south side, there is a free, wooden dock with electric and water. It is a short walk to the park to see the Holley Falls. The park and the waterfall are both beautiful. We would highly recommend this as a stop or an overnight stay.

After lunch, we continued on to Spencerport. We traveled a total of 49.2 miles. In Spencerport, you can tie along either the north or south side. North is deeper, we read the south side is about 4.5 ft deep. There is electric on the north side and bollards to tie to. The south side has electric, water, and cleats to tie to. We found a really good ice cream shop close by. There are also several restaurants in town we were told were very good.

Day 3: Specerport to Newark

The following day we headed all the way to Newark, 44.5 miles. We passed a few small towns, Pittsford and Fairport both looked very cute. We didn’t stop as we wanted to keep going for the day. The wall at both these towns has plenty of room for boats. Fairport is a popular stop and the walls there were quite full when we passed by. There is a fee to stay in Fairport.

We arrived late afternoon in Newark. Here there is a free wall, free wifi, power, water, and laundry along the north side. You should check in with the office when you arrive and they will give you the code as well as information on the town. The facilities were very clean and nice. While it isn’t the cutest town in this section of the canal we felt it was a great stop due to all the amenities for boaters.

Day 4: Newark to May’s Point/Lock 25

We chose to do a shorter day the following day, we traveled 22.5 miles and stayed along the wall just after lock 25. The wall is high and there are no services. It was quiet, nothing around but we enjoyed the peaceful evening.

Day 5: May’s Point/Lock 25 to Brewerton

The following day we got up early and went 53 miles to Brewerton. Before getting to the free wall in town we stopped at Winter Harbor Marina at their self-service gas/diesel dock. Diesel was at least a dollar less here than anywhere we had seen in a while- $3.79 a gallon. We spent the night on the south side in between the bridges. There was noise from the train when it went by and some boat traffic during the late afternoon. It quieted down in the evening and overnight. The dock is nice and has cleats to tie to. No electric or water here. This brought us past the halfway point. We entered the eastern section of the canal the next morning.

Day 6: Brewerton to Lock 20

We headed from Brewerton to Rome where we were hoping to stay the night and explore the city. Our Skipper Bob book did say to check charts as the depth had been reported as 5 ft. We checked the charts and saw shoaling from the west but right at the wall, the chart said 10 ft. When we arrived there were several red buoys on the west side, we assumed that was where it was shallow. It got shallow very quickly as we approached the dock and we got stuck hard aground. We were not able to reverse off. We had to drop the dinghy off the davits and use it to tow Resande off the mud. That did work and we were then able to continue on. We stayed the night on the wall just east of lock 20 instead. It was quiet, no services on the wall but exactly what we needed after our eventful day!

Day 7: Lock 20 to Little Falls/Lock 17

After going further than planned the day prior, we had a shorter day, 26 miles. We stayed on the wall for free just past lock 17. You can stay right in town at Little Falls but it is $1 per foot last we read. We finally ran into other sailboats transiting the canal and heading south! There were 4-5 other sailboats tied up on the wall when we arrived, still, we had plenty of space. The canal from lock 20 to 18 is shallower with a lot of shoaling. We used the following link as our guide- Eastern Canal Water Published Depths. It shows the last known depths at the North/Middle/South of the canal. We draw 6 feet and between Rome and Lock 18 we touched the bottom 3 times. We had our eyes glued to the depth sounder for most of that time since we were seeing depths 6-7 feet most of the way. The website above will at least tell you which side to favor for the best chances to get through. For the most part, it was pretty accurate. Also, they were dredging just east of Lock 19 as we went by, we had to pass close to the dredging equipment on the north side, and it was easily 9-10’ the whole way to the lock. Generally, wherever there is a river confluence, there is usually a bad shoal on the side of the river.   

Lock 17 is the largest lock on the canal. It lifts or lowers 40.5 ft. It is also one of only two locks in North America where the guard gate lifts over the boater. You will get wet as you leave the lock and pass under the gate.

Day 8: Rest and Explore in Little Falls

We decided to take a day off and explore more around this small town. There are many historical buildings in town to see. You will also cross over the river and see the falls as you enter town from the lock. We really enjoyed lunch at Mangia Macrina’s Wood-Fired Pizza. We highly recommend it if you stop here! In town, you can also find groceries, wine and liquor, and a hardware store.

The other highlight for us here was exploring Moss Island. This unique island is known for its large 40-foot-deep potholes (rock formations), the island is covered in dwarf oak trees. It’s beautiful to hike through. You can see glacial striations in the rocks in some places on the island. Some of the rocks are tagged with graffiti which is unfortunate but overall still well worth a visit!

Day 9: Little Falls/Lock 17 to Lock 11

We traveled 40 miles on this day. Much of it through rocky hills, very pretty. The locks along this stretch are all adjacent to dams as the canal runs through the Mohawk River. The lock walls are also much shorter and curved. We found our fenders weren’t helping when we approached the locks (they were too high with these lock walls). In Lock 12, we scratched the boat while grabbing the lines in the lock. We significantly lowered the fenders after that! We stayed along the wall on the north side at the top of lock 11 that night. There is electric but no water or pump out available.

Day 10: Lcok 11 to Crescent

We waited until the fog lifted and then headed off. This section of the canal was very pretty with rocky walls along either side much of the way again. The lock walls went back to what we had experienced originally, taller and not curved making it easier to approach without scratching the boat. We had a slight delay at lock 7 due to a mechanical issue but they quickly got it fixed and we were on our way. We made it 34 miles to Crescent where we tied up to the free wall for the night, no services here. The following day we finished the last few miles of the canal!

Day 11: Crescent to Wartford

We transited the Waterford Flight to finish off the canal. You do need to arrive at this section at least 90 minutes before closing time for the day as you can’t stay in between these locks. This set of locks includes locks 6-2. These locks are known for raising/lowering a boat the greatest amount in the shortest distance in the world- 169 ft in 2 miles! Before getting to lock 6 you will arrive at Guard Gate 2. This gate is typically closed so you may need to call on channel 13 to have it raised. Once it was up the first lock quickly followed as was ready for us. The locks are so close that once you leave one the next lock will likely be ready for you to enter. We had two other boats with us and in total, it took us about 90 minutes to complete the flight.

We landed just after lock 2 in Waterford where we stayed for two nights to relax, clean the boat, and re-provision. The fee here is $10 a night and that includes electric and water. You can pay an additional $5 for the bathroom/shower code. The grocery store in town will allow boaters to bring a cart back to the docks and they come by to pick them up every so often so you can leave the cart by the visitors center when you are done. The grocery store here was very well stocked! one of the best we had seen since we left our home port. There is a farmers market on Sunday mornings right along the waterfront which we were very glad we could catch.

The other highlights for us near Waterford were Cohoes Falls and Peebles Island State Park. Cohoes Falls is the second-largest waterfall in the state of New York. It is 2.7 miles from the waterfront and we found the walk to be well worth it! Peebles Island is very close to the waterfront. You can walk the perimeter trail of the island. You will get great views of the river along the way. The total perimeter is 2.4 miles.

Helpful Hints When Transiting The Canal:

  • Use gloves when locking, the lines are slimy. We had purchased these gloves for sailing in cold weather but they also worked great for the locks. The longer length of them kept us clean and they wiped off well once we were through the canal.
  • There can be a strong current in between the double locks (35-34) when the doors open after the first lock. This is the only double lock set. We had no trouble with any of the other locks.
  • All bridges and locks use VHF channel 13. They will likely ask you how far you are going each day and let the upcoming bridge or lock operators know so they are ready/expecting you.
  • The bridge operators often operate more than one bridge so you may have a short wait.
  • There won’t be anyone in the lock to help with your lines. The locks all have ropes you can grab onto and hold as you rise/lower. A few of the locks will also have cables. The lines have weights on the bottom but aren’t connected to the bottom of the lock
  • Significantly lower your fenders after Lock 17. The walls are angled differently and much lower so on our boat when we went to grab the lines our fenders (which were in a good place for all previous locks) were not protecting the boat. We didn’t lower our fenders after lock 16, not sure if they would all be this way and we scratched the boat.
  • You really need a couple of larger fenders but the ball fenders aren’t necessary. A few people we talked to were going to buy ball fenders specifically for the canal but if you have larger fenders you will be fine.

Take your time and enjoy your trip down the canal!

Categories
cruising log

August 2023 Slowing down in the North Channel

default

August started with us in Sault St. Marie needing to re-supply after our journey through Lake Superior. We spent one night in the marina on the Canadian side. We got groceries, filled our water tank, washed the boat, and got rid of trash. From there we headed back down the river and then east towards the North Channel.

We planned to really slow down in the North Channel. We want to enjoy our time in the Great Lakes as much as we can before we leave and head for the ocean!

After a quick stop in Milford Haven for the night we continued across the channel, officially entering the North Channel anchorages! We dodged squalls all day, getting rain and some distant thunder and lightning. Our first anchorage in the North Channel was Turnbull Island. We met several other cruisers here since there is a nice beach with picnic tables, a fire pit, and grills. We shared some of the delicious walleye that a neighboring boat had caught that day. Cruisers who had traveled the North Channel several times before shared their favorite anchorages with us and other important intel on the area.

While in Turnbull we finally blew up our inflatable paddle boards and got into cruising mode! With all the anchorages in the North Channel being so close together we kept them inflated for our entire trip, giving us another way to explore!

From Turnbull, we headed to Beardrop Harbour. This was one of our favorite stops in the North Channel! We found plenty of blueberries here! We made pancakes, waffles, and blueberry muffin top cookies with our loot! Beardrop is a huge anchorage with access out into Whalesback Channel. We did a ton of paddle boarding while we were here and had great weather!

Our next two stops we okay anchorages, pretty but not the best compared to what we knew was ahead of us. We did one night in Moiles Harbour and one night in Eagle Island before heading into the Benjamin Island group.

We loved every island in the Bejamin group. South Benjamin is by far the most popular but the island group includes Fox Island, North and South Benjamin, and Crocker Island. We visited all of them! Fox was our first stop and it was stunning! We did our first stern tie here and found the island to be full of little channels perfect for paddle boarding.

North Benjamin is more heavily wooded but we still found some rocky shoreline to explore.

South Benjamin was also great for paddle boarding and walking up the rocky hills for great views of the anchorages below. The rocks in this island group are pink quartz which is different from the rest of the North Channel. While in South Benjamin we met another boat planning to leave the Great Lakes and head south this year. We spent a great afternoon chatting with them and their kids aboard their boat SV Keilani. We look forward to seeing them again as we both head south.

Our last stop in Crocker was also a very pretty anchorage. Here we even saw several minks running and swimming along the shore right next to where we stern-tied.

It had been just over two full weeks since we provisioned in Sault St. Marie so we were in need of groceries and filling our water tanks. In Lake Superior, we filled our tanks with lake water while underway but we didn’t feel as good about that in the North Channel. The water isn’t as clear and there is significantly more boat traffic. We stopped in at Little Current where you can tie up to the marina wall for free as long as you’re not spending the night. We got a spot, filled the water tanks, emptied our trash, and then headed to the grocery store. After getting our groceries back on the boat and put away we walked to lunch. We had delicious fish and chips from The Port (a small shack/foot truck-like place). After lunch, we waited for the next opening of the swing bridge so we could head out to our next anchorage. The swing bridge opens every hour, on the hour, for 15 minutes.

There was a pretty big blow and storm forecast for the next day so we tucked into Mary Ann Cove which is inside a fjord called Baie Fine. This anchorage was super protected from the wind and the waves. We waited out the wind and explored Mary Ann Cove. There is a great hike up Casson peak right from the cove. The views were amazing!

Once the wind died down and the weather cleared, we headed up the fjord to The Pool. This anchorage is a highlight of the North Channel and we had been looking forward to it for a while! The anchorage is beautiful. You can hike to several lakes from the anchorage as you are within Killarney Provincial Park. The highlight is Topaz Lake! We had the lake to ourselves when we arrived. We dove into the clear water and saw a huge, terrifying snake on the rocks along the shore!

While at the pool, we celebrated Erika’s birthday with grilled swordfish that we had picked up on our most recent grocery run.

After the pool, we headed to our last North Channel anchorage, Covered Portage Cove. This place was also stunning, with tall, white cliffs. We hiked to the top of the hills and enjoyed paddling around the anchorage here. We talked with some fellow cruisers and soaked up the last of the North Channel! It was beginning to feel like fall weather and we knew its just about time to start making miles south!

Before officially leaving the North Channel, we spend the night at the Killarney Mountain Lodge. We were told by several other cruisers it was a nice spot. The marina stay includes access to their pool, sauna, and free laundry. We used all the amenities and enjoyed dinner at the restaurant by the pool while waiting for our laundry. After dinner, we walked the property and then tucked in for the night. For more details on our adventures in the North Channel, you can read our post-World-Class Cruising in the Great Lakes.

The following day we headed into the Georgian Bay. This was our first open water, wavey passage since before we entered the North Channel. We were hoping to be able to sail however the left-over swell from the day before was still relatively high. We were beating directly into 3-5ft waves with not enough wind to power through without the engine to help. We motor sailed east and entered the Bad River Channel.

The Bad River anchorage was recommended to us by other cruisers we met in the North Channel. The anchorage is super well protected. We spent two nights here. The Devil’s Door Rapids are right next to the anchorage. With a motorized dinghy, you can get past the rapids and then explore the river and smaller channels. Our dingy, Caribe ended up taking us over several sets of small rapids. This was a really cool stop and we had a lot of fun exploring here!

From the Bad River, we crossed the Georgian Bay towards Tobermory. We had a wavey sail across. We sailed dead down-wind in 4-7 ft waves. We arrived at Windfield Basin anchorage after the crossing. This was the narrowest channel we have ever entered. We arrived with waves crashing along the shoals on both sides. Once inside it was completely calm. This anchorage itself doesn’t have much to explore. We spent the night, walked to the lighthouse the next day then headed off.

We had a perfect sail to Dunk’s Bay with sunny skies, calm seas, and 10-12 knots on the beam. Dunk’s Bay is beautiful. There are cottages along most of the shore so it is difficult to explore here by land. Last year we were in this area with our teardrop trailer and we were surprised at how much private land is on this Peninsula around the National Parks. We paddled around in the crystal clear waters and were able to explore the coast this time around!

The following morning we headed into Tobermory. On the way, we went by FlowerPot Island to get a view of the flowerpot rock formations along the shore. We got a slip in Little Tug Harbour for the night. Here we stocked up on groceries and enjoyed a beer and some food at Tobermory Brewing Company.

From the marina, we also took our dinghy over to Big Tub Harbour. Big Tub Harbour has two shipwrecks that lay in very shallow and clear water. We weren’t able to explore this harbor last year when we came with the trailer. We would have had to pay to take a tour or rent kayaks to get to the shipwrecks. This year, with our dinghy and paddle boards we were able to visit for free. The area right over the wrecks is restricted, and no motorized boats are allowed. We tied Caribe (our dinghy) up to a mooring ball right in front of the restricted area then paddled directly over the wrecks. The larger of the two is in very good shape! We were really glad we got to see them this time around!

From Tobermory, we headed back out on anchor at Cove Island. There was some weather forecast to come through so we left the marina early in the morning to get tucked into our anchorage before the wind and rain. The anchorage on the island is well-protected in all directions. The island itself is heavily forested and also part of the Five Fathoms Marine Park. We waited out the weather here for two nights before taking our weather window for a big push south.

On the last day of August, we left our anchorage and began our first big passage. From Cove Island we took off, all the way down Lake Huron.

This was our first overnight passage. We sailed 173 miles south. We started with no wind and big swells left over from the high winds the day before. The waves calmed down and we got enough wind for a pleasant sail all afternoon. Overnight we had calm seas and low winds so we motor sailed until morning with a full moon overhead.

For more details on hours sailed, motored, how much spent and more statistics check our post – August Cruising Stats.

September will have us picking up the pace to make miles out toward to Ocean and then South!

July 2023 Lake Michigan to Lake Superior

September 2023 Departing the Great Lakes through the Erie Canal

Categories
cruising log

August 2023 Cruising Stats & Spending

default

416 Miles Traveled
206 Sailing
210 Motoring

In the North Channel, most of the anchorages were very close together. We didn't put many miles under the keel once we got to the North Channel Cruising grounds. The majority of the miles in August were at the beginning of the month (Sault Ste. Marie to Turnbull Island) and the end of the month (Killarney to Bad river, and South to Port Huron). We were able to sail about 50% of the miles we traveled in August.

27 Nights on Anchor
3 Nights At Marina
1 Night on Passage

We spent 3 nights at paid marinas in August. We started the month at a Marina in Sault Ste. Marie after 2 weeks in the Lake Superior Canadian wilderness. We decided to spend the money on the next two, but they were voluntary: Killarney Mountain Lodge was recommended by many cruisers, and was a refreshing stop. Tobermory was the last one, and it was a choice we made so we could spend some time in the town, stock up on groceries, and get a permit for the Five Fathom Marine Park. We could have done this all by dinghy, but we liked the town and taking the dinghy would have been a long 4+ mile ride each way. We ended

53 kWh of Solar Generated

In the month of August, we generated 53 kWh of solar, or 1.77 kW/day on average. Overall we've been able to keep up with the power loads, but we've had to go into power management a few times (turning off Starlink more hours per day and using the electric kettle less). The lowest our batteries got was 52%, which was due to 2 full cloud days with minimal solar. We're starting to see our solar output reduce with the shorter days, so we're being a bit more mindful than we were in July

$1,911 Total Spent
$61.64 Average Per Day

Groceries, non-food, and fuel were the top three categories in August. Since we landed in Sault Ste. Marie on August 1, all the expenses from that day hit in August. We bought about $192 in Fuel that day, which was the fuel we used while we were in Lake Superior (this is about 2/3 of the fuel we spent money on in August). Non-Groceries is a catch-all category for things that aren't groceries, but not for the boat. For example, the Coco Coir we use for our composting toilet or cat litter. We made a big Amazon order that we're shipping to our parents in Detroit which we needed several items that will set us up well for the next few months. Groceries were more expensive in Canada than we were anticipating, as the small town grocery stores are generally more expensive.
We did add a new category, which is 'YouTube Related" which is a catch-all for expenses related to doing our YouTube content. This month we bought a new hard drive and a full-year subscription for Artlist music. They aren't necessarily Cruising expenses so we wanted to split them out.
September will be a very expensive month. We're going to motor a TON with the Erie Canal and rivers, plus we need to unstep and step the mast for the canal. Fortunately, we should only have to pay for about 3 nights at a marina/mooring, but we'll see!