August 2023 Slowing down in the North Channel

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