Took us awhile to get our weedy anchor up this fine morning, but we succeeded in leaving the weeds behind.
We left the beautiful anchorage at Baie Fine to head out of the Pool and wind our way thru the channel fjord 9 miles and out into Frazier Bay.
An hour later we were at the narrow channel entrance to Baie Fine, going behind an island and hugging the shore til we came to the bigger water.
Then we headed around Little LaCloche Island and left the white domes LaCloche mountains behind.
Our cruise took us past Heyward, Strawberry and Great La Cloche islands on our way to the small town of Little Current.
Little Current is a misnomer as the town is located on a narrow channel connecting Georgian Bay and North Channel, so a lot of water flows through this channel. That means there can be quite a current!
On our way we saw a bald eagle fly right in front of us and dive for a fish and take off again. Wow, that was quite a sight! Wished I was fast enough to get a picture.
Passing Strawberry Island and its lighthouse, we turn into Little Current Channel which has a 16.8 swing bridge which we just squeezed under with 6 inches to spare. The bridge tender told us we were braver then he was to try it.
Little Current is a small town known for its boat works and marinas. The south shore of the channel is filled with marinas.
Little Current is the biggest town on the whole of Manitoulin Island - the largest freshwater island in Canada. So everyone comes here to provision, the boaters and cottagers.
Note: Manitoulin Island is the land which separates North Channel from Lake Huron and the island is known for its hiking, fishing, lakes and nature trails.
Once settled in out slip, we took on the chore of laundry. That completed we met, up with other boaters for lunch at a very popular burger place. The burgers were so big Bill and I split one.
Since we were close to the grocery store, we tackled that task next. We now have food for the next three weeks, as we plan to travel the North Channel's northern shore which is pretty remote over that time frame.
Back at the dock, we saw the MV Varlabania, Cheryl and Pete, who helped us last year in Charleston replace our windlass. Was good to see them again. As they live in Wisconsin, they gave us helpful tips on on their home waters of Lake Michigan.
After a quick dinner, we joined several other Loopers for a walk to get ice cream. Was a real treat and also good company. We figured we'd walk off the calories on the way back to the boat.
Day 72 August 1. Lay morning in Little Current and on to Louisa Island. 11 miles. Total. 3679
Today was a morning to catch up on cleaning and the blog. We've been packing in so much each day, it is nice to relax a bit more. There is so much to do and so many nice people.
We walked around town and peeked into some of the store and then stopped to enjoy a sausage made locally for lunch.
There is a small downtown with everything from book shops and novelties to local artwork and T Shirts and of course, restaurants and ice cream. Further out of town are grocery and hardware stores.
After we picked up the odds and ends we needed, we left Little Current and moved the boat over to the city dock so we could get a pumpout. We are now fueled, watered and supplied for the next leg of our journey. So we left the docks at Little Current and headed out the Little Current Channel.
Waubano Channel ends at the Main Passage which runs along the north shore of North Channel. We took a slight detour to check out an anchorage on the north shore of Greater LaCloche Island called Bell Cove. This anchorage is mostly forested gravelly shoreline.
We decided to continue on to Louisa Island- one of the islands that are just off the North Channel northern shore.
We anchored with three other sailboats and a small motor cruiser with a great view of the mountains. If the skies stay clear should be great star gazing.
