Moving South on Lake Michigan

After Arcadia our next stop was Pentwater. The motor there was a little boisterous yet again. Even the good weather windows were sometimes questionable in October on Lake Michigan, but we had to keep moving as the weather was only going to get colder and more stormy as the season progressed. Tying up to the dock in Pentwater was a bit of a challenge as most of the docks were underwater due to high water levels on the lake and the wind pushing even more water into the harbour. 

Although the weather was warmer in general, we were yet again encountering stores already closed for the season or with reduced opening hours. We certainly were late for this part of the country.

We heard an odd noise when turning the steering wheel as we were docking. After some investigation, we were rather shocked to find out that a bolt which basically holds our steering together was loose and the nut had come off! It would have been a major challenge if we had lost the steering while surfing waves on Lake Michigan. We were glad we found the loose bolt while at a dock.

Our next stop was an anchorage in White Lake, which is connected to Lake Michigan by a short channel. We had good weather that day, but, by the time we had anchored, it was very windy and wavy out on the big lake. A couple of hours after we arrived, another looper came in and they had a really rough time out on the lake and in the channel - we were glad our timing worked out.

After White Lake we motored to South Haven where we were met at the dock by seven other loopers. It was lucky they were there as Ruth had to put Geru into the smallest slip yet (it was 16' wide for Geru's 15'3" width!). It was a great time catching up with old friends from Charlevoix and meeting new ones, but our visit was a bit short. We rushed off the next day to Michigan City as we saw another good day for moving before we'd be stopped by weather yet again, and the harbour in South Haven looked like it would be somewhat unprotected in a blow.

We stayed in Michigan City for four nights hiding from the very windy weather out on Lake Michigan. The marina in Michigan City was great - we had the best sleep in a while as there were no waves at all in the harbour. The part of the town we were able to walk to from the marina wasn't much, though. We had to take an Uber to get to a grocery store.

After a smooth motor across the bottom of Lake Michigan, which was getting increasingly industrial, we were met by lots of pleasure boats and our first tows and barges as we entered the Calumet River, just south of Chicago. Our destination was Crowley's Yacht Yard, which is a huge operation where a lot of the Chicago boats are stored over the winter. Geru's mast was unloaded there to be trucked to Mobile, Alabama. We didn't want it sticking out behind the boat for all of the locks down to the Gulf of Mexico - the Canadian locks were enough. Crowley's was quite the efficient operation - we have never seen boats de-masted or hauled out so quickly!

Next up was the big city of Chicago...

Travelling south on Lake Michigan

High water in Pentwater

Anchorage in White Lake

Beaches along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan

Industry as we approached Chicago

Mast removal at Crowley's Yacht Yard

Geru at Crowley's Yacht Yard

Waiting for Weather on Northern Lake Michigan

Our trip onto Lake Michigan started out very much like the rest of the lake would go - waiting for weather. Our first day of waiting was in Mackinac City. We spent the day walking the streets in amazement at the contrast from the remote closed-down Canadian towns to the crazy busy tourist shops there - what a change! It felt like we had turned a corner as it was finally warm, there were lots of people around, and we had the border crossing behind us.

Our first stop on Lake Michigan proper was the beautiful town of Charlevoix. The town fronts on a small lake protected from Lake Michigan by a narrow inlet. The marina is right downtown next to a great waterfront park. The eastern shore of Lake Michigan is (mostly) one long beach so we enjoyed our first beach walks of the trip.

Charlevoix was our next delay of waiting for weather. The temperature got colder while we were there as well and the marina was slowly preparing to shut down for the season. We didn't really mind being held up in Charlevoix as we were able to see just about all of the  "Mushroom Houses" build by Earl Young for which the town is famous. We were also able to order some boat parts and install them on Geru.

After being in Charlevoix for seven days, we got a bit of a weather window. We were anxious to continue south, so we left on a day which was rather boisterous for our trip to Leland. Leaving the harbour through the channel was quite the ride and it was pushing our comfort zone, but Geru was handling it well. We arrived in Leland after surfing the waves down the lake under engine. We were the only boat to arrive that day... We guess the kiteboarders on the beach were a sign! Leland is a small town which still has its old fishing shacks along a salmon fish run into the harbour - it was a great second stop on Lake Michigan.

Our next stop was Arcadia where we stayed for two days to wait out some more high winds. Farther south, flooding and a loose bolt awaited us...

Round Lake in Charlevoix

A Charlevoix Mushroom House

Beach in Charlevoix

Waiting for weather in Charlevoix

Leaving Charlevoix

Salmon run in Leland

Dunes on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan

North Channel in a Flash

Little Current is the gateway into the North Channel. Because it was getting colder and we saw more and more stores and restaurants closing up for the season, we moved along the North Channel as quickly as we could.

After waiting out rough weather in Little Current, we had two good days of travelling alongside Moon Dance, a trawler we met in Little Current, and made it to Meldrum Bay. When we woke up the next morning, there was some fog. After some discussions we decided to leave as we could see far enough that we wouldn't hit anything and we thought it would be better back out in the North Channel. Oh, were we wrong, as was the weatherman! The fog was just as thick out in the more open water and it didn't clear until the end of the day. We followed Moon Dance closely as they had radar and AIS.

We arrived at Drummond Island, which is in the US, in the late afternoon. Our check-in with US customs turned out to be pretty quick and straight forward, which was a relief after the stressful day in the fog.

We left Drummond Island headed to Mackinac City. We had expected to anchor along the way, but the weather turned out to be better than forecast, so we continued on, making for a long, but good day to the end of our passage of Lake Huron.

Next up for us was to travel the length of Lake Michigan.

A lighthouse in the North Channel

Geru in the North Channel

The end of the season in Meldrum Bay

Following Moon Dance in the fog

Geru in the fog

The Mackinac Bridge dividing Lake Huron 

and Lake Michigan

Squeaky Fenders in Not-So-Little Current

Little Current is a town on a narrow pass marking the northern end of Georgian Bay and the beginning of the North Channel. A lot of water flows through this passage...

We had planned a stop at Little Current as the winds were picking up and a few days of rain were being forecast. We thought it would be a restful stop to do some grocery shopping and boat chores. We couldn't have been more wrong. We did get groceries and some laundry done, but found that Little Current should really be named Big Current. The boat felt like she was at sea while at the dock with the addition of squeaking fenders keeping us awake at night. The videos below tell the story.

Little Current

Sounds at Little Current

Georgian Bay and First Loopers

Shortly after we arrived in Midland we met our first fellow looper, PIA, who was still travelling south at this late point in the season like us. (A looper is a boat who is doing the Great Loop around the eastern part of North America. We are loopers for the Canadian and US portions of our trip.) PIA amazingly also has the same plan as us to continue south once we get to the Gulf of Mexico.

We spent four days in Midland at Bay Port Yachting Centre and did all the cruising chores: ordered parts, did laundry, changed engine oils and got groceries before heading out into Georgian Bay.

When leaving Midland one has to cross a large stretch of open water before being able to tuck into the protected small craft channel winding its way through the islands on the northeast shore. We left with some trepidation as the weather was beginning to turn, but we didn't want to be stuck in Midland for the full weather system. It turned out to be the right decision as we had a flat calm motor through light rain showers under a grey sky.

Throughout Georgian Bay we felt that time was nipping at our heels as more and more services and stores were closed for the season. Some nights were getting very cold and there was more fall colour in the trees. The one advantage of being there at this time of year was that we had no issues finding dock space. We also often found ourselves completely alone on the water. With it being so quiet, Georgian Bay felt very remote. It was the first time on this trip we felt we needed to be completely self-sufficient, which had become a way of life for us on our last trip.

We spent a cold night at a marina in Britt on Byng Inlet - and they actually had bear-proof garbage cans! To Geoff, Britt felt like one of the northern Canadian communities he had visited on canoe trips many years ago.

On our way to Killarney, we travelled through Collin's Inlet which is a narrow passage with granite rock faces on either side. We had heard it was spectacular and it was!

After spending two nights in Killarney, we went to "the pool" in Baie Fine. The pool is an amazing sheltered anchorage with an almost mystical quality located at the end of a long bay. Baie Fine is one of the largest freshwater fjords in the world and features white quartz cliffs on one side and pink granite ones on the other. From the pool we took a short dingy ride and hiked up a trail to Lake Topaz, which is a hidden lake in the mountains famous for the colour of its water. We were there on a cloudy day, so unfortunately didn't get to see the full colour effect.

From Baie Fine we headed to the misnamed town of Little Current...

Small craft channel on Georgian Bay

Passage on the small craft channel

Collin's Inlet

Collin's Inlet

Lake Topaz

Trail to Lake Topaz

Geru in "the pool"

Baie Fine

Locks, Dams and a Dentist on the Trent-Severn Waterway

After a great stay at the very modern and large Trent Port Marina, we started our trip up the Trent-Severn Waterway. We expected it to be similar to the Rideau, but it really wasn't. The Trent-Severn moves through a variety of geographic regions and you encounter many different landscapes. There were narrow passages through swampy lakes surrounded by tree stumps, the open waters of Lake Simcoe, buoyed channels around huge boulders (some above, some below the surface requiring sharp turns with the boat) and narrow rocky cuts with overgrown vegetation. There were also the not-for-the-faint-of-heart lift locks and marine railway. We spent quiet nights at remote lock stations, but also ended up inadvertently in the middle of Pirate Days in Orillia.

Just as we left Trenton Ruth lost a filling while eating a granola bar. And so began the search for a dentist who would take Ruth on short notice. The weekend was coming up and we had no luck as we passed a couple of the larger towns. Finally, we were successful in Peterborough where the local dentists have a dentist-on-call system. We did a bit of sightseeing by taking public transit to the dentist office on the edge of town. Ruth had her tooth expertly fixed by a dentist who is a sailor himself (thanks, Dr. Vander Velden!).

We were worried about the stony section starting north of Peterborough as we met a boat who had their trip cut short by running up on a rock. We have a lot of experience with shallow waters, but it has always been sand or mud bottoms which are fairly forgiving if you make a mistake, but contending with underwater boulders was another thing altogether. It turned out that it was no problem as the channels were well buoyed, but you needed to pay attention. This was our first introduction to this bouldered type of landscape that we knew would be the norm in Georgian Bay.

We went through the last lock of the Trent-Severn  - the 43rd - at Port Severn on September 2nd, and started into the fabled Georgian Bay...

Sydney lock and dam

Healey Falls locks

Geru at Ashburnham lock in Peterborough 

Peterborough Lift Lock

The Trent Canal

Lake Simcoe

Kirkfield Lift Lock - our first Trent lock going down!

Big Chute Marine Railway

Little Chute

Engine Troubles and Lake Ontario

As we started the engine at the bottom of the Kingston Mills lock for our final portion of the Rideau Canal, Ruth noticed that the engine didn't sound right, so we shut her down and investigated. It turned out that the alternator bracket was no longer attached correctly to the engine and was rattling itself loose. After some contemplation, we put a quick fix in place using a wire wrap tool (thanks for the tip, Roger!) that we felt would get us to Kingston.

Once we started calling for a marina in Kingston, we found out that everything was full as it was a poker run weekend. When hearing about our engine troubles, Kingston Marina gave us a spot in a back corner usually reserved for their working boatyard. So we finished the Rideau Canal hobbling into Kingston Marina.

We spent three days in Kingston repairing the alternator. This was the first time we fixed our boat again underway and we were able to do it ourselves, so it was a good confidence boost.

To get from the Rideau Canal to the Trent-Severn Waterway, the route goes along the shore of Lake Ontario from Kingston to Trenton. This involves a few sections where the shoreline is exposed to Lake Ontario's wind and waves. We went out on a day that turned out to be way more boisterous that forecast. We almost turned around, but decided to press on, giving Geru her first test in bigger waves since her renovation. As in the past, Geru handled it better than we did, although we did end up tying an extra line on the mast lying on deck as we were worried about it moving around.

We spent a day in Picton waiting for the winds to calm down before a nice day of motoring to Trenton.

Alternator repair

The source of the problem

Lake Ontario

Leaving Picton

Rushing the Rideau Canal

Our first day on the water took us from Marina Leblanc to the Ottawa flight of locks at the start of the Rideau Canal. Going through the locks, we were one of the day's tourist attractions. Lots of people were standing around taking photos and videos of the boats. We docked on the canal in downtown Ottawa across from the National Arts Center (NAC). We certainly noticed the bustle after our previous quiet nights at Marina Leblanc. We ran errands from the boat walking the familiar streets we walked hundreds of times over the last ten years, but this time coming home to Geru on the canal.

Because we are running six weeks late, we could not take the slow trip down the Rideau Canal we had originally planned. We managed to take a breather on a mooring ball at Colonel By Island in Big Rideau Lake for two nights, but otherwise it was just a flurry of buoys and locks. We did, however, really enjoy some of the scenery, especially the narrow cuts with overgrown vegetation in the southern end of the canal.

We went through the last lock of the Rideau Canal - the 45th! - at Kingston Mills on August 14th, and then the engine adventure started....

Ottawa flight of locks

Geru in downtown Ottawa

Going by Carleton University in Ottawa

Entering the Smith Falls lock

A narrow spot on the canal

Pastoral landscape

Geru at the bottom of the Kingston Mills locks

We Have Left!

We have finally dropped our dock lines and left!

Leaving the dock at Marina Leblanc

Leaving the harbour

On the Ottawa River

Moving Aboard

Over the course of about three weeks we moved onto Geru. It was a rather strenuous and stressful time as we were running against the clock of losing the apartment at the end of July. We started by taking car loads each day, but in the end we ran out of time and had to rent a van to be a storage unit for a few days. To top things off, we were moving aboard during a heat wave!

Because we ran out of time to sort through things, Geru is crammed full and it will take quite a while to get through it all.

Storage under the bed

Temperature while moving aboard

Our storage van

Geru is now officially our home (turning in the keys to the apartment)

All moved aboard!