After finishing up our final days of work and emptying out our house, we moved aboard Resande full-time with our cats on 6/30/23. Jackson very quickly took to boat life, and Daisy took some time to adjust but they are now both doing very well.
On July 5th, 2023 we left the dock in Muskegon after breakfast and mimosas at the marina with family and friends. We sailed in very light winds for 2-3 hours then motored to get into port before a storm rolled through. We made it to Pentwater and anchored for two nights, waiting out some strong north winds.
From Pentwater we sailed north to South Manitou Island where we met up with the crew of Kasablanca. They were returning to Muskegon from a year off, cruising to the Bahamas and back. We got some great intel and a few random things we may need along the way. From there, they sailed south and we continued on. After a brief stop in Glen Arbor, we continued onward to Beaver Island.
The sail to Beaver Island featured strong winds and big, confused seas between the islands as we went downwind. Once we got to Beaver Island the wind really picked up. We saw 48 knots of top wind speed that night. Our anchor dragged after becoming fouled in the grassy clay bottom. We got it re-set and thankfully, it didn’t drag again. We enjoyed a few days on Beaver Island, walking around the town, visiting the marine museum and nearby nature preserve. We enjoyed a beer at Whiskey Point Brewing and grabbed some whitefish from the grocery store to grill up in celebration of our first week off the dock. Beaver Island was the first new place we had taken Resande, it was very exciting to be out of familiar waters and exploring new places!
From there we sailed under the Mackinac Bridge, stopping in St. Ignace for the night, this was our first marina stop as there is nowhere nearby to anchor.
From St. Ignace, we made two short stops- Government Bay in the Les Cheneaux Islands and Drummond Island before heading up the river to Sault Ste. Marie MI.
The trip up the river had us fighting the 2-3 knot current and at times wind up to 23 knots on the nose. The first freighter we passed tossed such a wake we nearly lost all speed as we hit the waves.
Sault Ste Marie was another marina stop for us. We watched the largest freighter in the Great Lakes go through the locks here and picked up a much-needed carburetor rebuild kit we ordered for our dinghy engine. Ryan had rebuilt several times since leaving the dock without the needed parts to keep it running, but some of the parts were worn out and needed to be replaced.
The following morning we cleared into Canada and went through the lock on the Canadian side. This was our first-ever experience going through a lock! We were raised up 21 ft and finally, we made it into Lake Superior! We then made our way North to Batchawa Bay, our first anchorage in Lake Superior.
After feeling a bit burnt out, having been moving so quickly to get up to Lake Superior, we spent one night in Batchawa Bay and then one night just 5 miles away in that same area in Harmony Beach before heading further North.
Our next stop was the first real wilderness Northern Lake Superior spot we visited and it did not disappoint! We stayed the night in Sinclair Cove which is a stunning little anchorage! We hiked to the Agawa pictographs and watched a bald eagle hunting from a tree near our boat for the evening.
From there we continued hoping along the northern coast of Lake Superior. Gargantua Harbour was our next stop. During our sail to Gargantua we learned that our house was officially rented and we got final confirmation that Erika’s student loans were officially forgiven! Our plan was all falling into place!
We stayed in Gargantua for two nights, taking time to explore the shipwreck, what remains of a ghost town, and hike part of the Lake Superior Coastal trail- Gargantua Bay to Warp Bay. The hike is most scenic towards the end when you reach the waterfall and then continue on to Warp Bay.
From Gargantua Harbour we headed to Brule Harbour which we had read was one of the prettiest anchorages in the area. Fog rolled in as we were approaching but thankfully it was clear coming into the anchorage itself. We were so glad it was clear because the narrow entrance was amazing to go through and the anchorage itself didn’t disappoint either!
We stayed here for two nights. While anchored here, we took a trip to the nearby Old Woman Bay. Here we got a close-up look at the cliffs that come right up to the water and had a beautiful hike. We also met our first cruising boat in Brule, a steel tug boat from the Georgian Bay.
From Brule, we continued north to Otter Cove. We stayed in Otter Cove for three nights. We had one day that it rained constantly so we mostly stayed inside and worked on boat projects. Once the weather cleared, we explored Old Dave’s Harbour, Otter Island, and Cascade Falls. We had an amazing sunset while we were here and just really enjoyed our time in this beautiful place!
Otter Cove was the furthest north we ventured. We didn’t have the weather window we wanted to continue north. The next anchorages were supposed to be very deep with not a lot of room and we didn’t see any marked hiking trails near the next several anchorages. After much debate, we made the decision to head south. Quebec Harbour on Mitchipicoten Island was our next stop.
Quebec Harbour welcomed us with quite a blow the first night, we saw gusts into the mid-30-knot range. The next two days were also a bit windy but we were still able to get out and explore with the dinghy. There are three visible shipwrecks in this anchorage as well as an old, abandoned fishing village. We also enjoyed a hike to the old lighthouse on Davieaux Island which is at the entrance to the anchorage.
July ended with us continuing south, we landed back in Batchawana for a night before heading back into Sault St. Marie. This time we stayed one night on the Canadian side. Back in a marina we finally got to empty our trash, clean the boat up a bit, and reprovision with groceries again. Next up will be the North Channel!
For details on hours sailed, motored, how much spent and more statistics check out our post- July Cruising Stats.
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