Merrill decided to break from the group and hit some ports on their own – we planned to meet up with them later on. The gang decided to go down Collins Inlet to another island anchorage. While weather had been just about glorious during our trip so far, the morning we left Killarney to head to the inlet proved to be windy – which created some turbulence in the water. While Ruff Life was the last one out of Killarney, as soon as we hit those waves, we put the throttles down and got going! We ended up passing the other 3 boats in the group, but as everyone assures us – because all boats are different, each Captain has to find the right speed/course for his boat to make for the best ride. So, we got on top of the waves and our 4 mile ride was over in 10 minutes. We waited in the inlet for the others to catch up – they were going pretty fast too – I think WaterKraft tug is on plane…
After cruising through a narrow inlet (more like a cavern), we popped out in pretty calm water, but still very windy. We all scouted around for some protection, and ultimately anchored out on the North side of Beaverstone Island. The other 3 boats all have 100% chain for anchor, while the Ruff Life is only equipped with 20ft of chain. Ruff Life set the bow anchor and took a stern anchor to shore, and the other boats set bow anchors and swung with the wind. We were snug as a bug all night as the winds picked up a bit.
The island had a ton of blueberries! Scot and I picked about 2 cups of little berries and the begging for blueberry pancakes in the morning began!
Goodbye Killarney...
WaterKraft on plane...
Nikki on WaterKraft is spying on us...
Tug "Jenny Jo" - George and Mary Jo
Ocean Alexander - "O B QUIET" Steve and Chris
We had lots of horse flies - but had to capture this picture of a dragonfly eating one!
Loving his day at the helm!
Backyard view at anchorage
Where's Waldo? She was happy to be on shore taking a nap on a rock!
Steve & Chris on O B Quiet - they invited everyone over for happy hour - I owe Chris a jar of olives!
Nikki & Ben from WaterKraft - Ben would later blame me for Nikki's hangover!
Finally - blueberry pancakes before pulling up anchor!
July 27th, 2010
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Laura |
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We left Covered Portage Cove this morning and headed to the town of Killarney to hook up with our friends from Sturgeon Bay, WI. We weren’t in any need of provisions or pump out, but we used the pitstop to get a load of laundry done – and what better day to do so – we had muggy/cloudy conditions! The town is pretty small, but has a nice charm to it. We ate dinner with a big group of friends at a real restaurant. After “preppy camping” for a week, we were ready to have someone else make our meal and clean it up! We had a really good time and had some martinis at the bar afterward – they tasted like tootsie rolls! Not sure if it is the bugs, too much sun or too much drinking, but we were in bed before 10pm!
Sportsman Inn - Killarney
Ruff Life at dock...hooked up to AC!
The Sturgeon Bay gang - happy hour before dinner
Scot and Ben - happy trails....
Nikki and Chris
Ben & Nikki - from WaterKraft
July 27th, 2010
Posted by
Laura |
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Once again, we found ourselves a nice little cove to tuck into for the day. Ruff Life scoped out the anchorage and radioed back to Merrill with the “all-clear”. We hear there is an abundance of blueberries on the island, and I brought pancake mix! We took a dinghy ride around and found some great little swimming holes that we played around in. We didn’t make the hike for the blueberries as we touched base with our friends, WaterKraft who are out in their tug and would like to come back to this cove with us and go for the blueberry hunt. We got our first rain shower when we woke up Thursday morning. We had had our canvas off for 8 days, and we managed to put it all on with about 2 minutes to spare! The downpour allowed for me to get out on the deck with my Magic Eraser and work on some of the dirt and bug marks! I didn’t have to use my fresh water supply to spiffy up the Ruff Life! Off to Killarney to meet up with our other friends from Sturgeon Bay.
Ruff Life at anchorage
Hmm...floating trash? Nope...
...that trash was marking these big rocks underwater!
More dingy rides...
Love the water color in the background...
We were a little too far away to get a really good picture of this Beaver - but we could hear him chewing for hours!
Sharing our grill with Merrill
July 16th, 2010
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Laura |
Extended Cruise, Lake Crossings |
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Because the North Channel is full of islands, we have lots of choices for our next anchorage. We chose Heywood Island. Upon approaching the anchorages, we saw several other boats already anchored – this always gives great comfort to know that other boats can “make it” in the coves. We passed through 2 “pools” of anchorages and decided to go to the 3rd and final pool of the island. We came across our first “dead head”, which we thankfully missed. A “dead head” is a submerged log that is vertical in the water. One end is buried in the mud below, and the other end is floating up toward the water line. Another boater had made an attempt to mark the log with a plastic white bottle, but the white bottle was not floating on top very well, so it made it very hard to see. We missed the dead head with only about a foot to spare – and, unfortunately, we didn’t get a picture! Once we safely navigated to the anchorage spot, we radioed back to Merrill, and they made their way through the passages. Heywood turned out to be a great anchorage for us. The water was nice and Janie swam to shore at her convenience. The sunset was gorgeous. Off to Covered Portage Cove tomorrow….
Janie assuming the position after arriving at Heywood Island
Mirror image of the Merrill
Ut oh - someone could end up in the water....
Sunset in Heywood Cove
July 16th, 2010
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We left Gore Bay today and headed to Baie Finn – specifically, MaryAnn Cove. The route was a little tricky for us novice north channel boaters, but with me on scout at the bow and the captain using his electronics, we not only managed to not hit any submerged boulders, we didn’t even SEE any! The North Channel waters are covered with rocky areas – and in fact, have a rock named “cash flow rock” for the simple reason the rock has caused more damage than any other! It creates a generous “cash flow” for the local marine service shops – so, we hope to avoid that route! There were several boats in this anchorage and it got more crowded on our second day. One boater advised that they saw a bear walking along the rocky cliff the night before…so, we broke out Janie’s “cow bell” and put that on her neck – she is none too happy to where such a hideous necklace, but we would hate to update the blog with a bear attack – so, little miss sassy britches is wearing it!
Welcome to Baie Finn
The "noise maker" necklace!
Scot trying to catch dinner...but ultimately...
Filet Mignon and asparagus for dinner...
Dinghying around the coves...
- Steep rock climbing!
Swimming in Baie Finn
July 16th, 2010
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Extended Cruise, Lake Crossings |
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We couldn’t ask for better weather. No fog, no waves, warm temps and an abundance of sunshine! We left St. Ignace this morning and made our way to Gore Bay. The water was calm enough to cruise at a nice slow speed, but we were anxious to get our engines going, so we put the throttle down and smiled at the success of getting on plane in a few seconds, vs. a few miinutes! Merrill is meeting us in Gore Bay, Canada today. This is our first time in Canadian Waters (see chart below where we cross the red line in the water) – and first time checking into Canada. We pulled into Gore Bay, and Scot went to the marina house to use the pay phone to call Canada Customs and tell them we are here. It was a pretty uneventful check in – mostly just hot! This will be our last night in a port for a while as we plan to anchor out the next several nights.
"Michigan / Ontario" - we just crossed the RED LINE into Canada water!
Scot on payphone in Gore Bay - letting Canada know we are here!
July 16th, 2010
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Extended Cruise, Lake Crossings |
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Our traveling companions, Merrill, left this morning and the Ruff Life stayed in port to wait for the Volvo mechanic. Around 4 pm today, we received two new Volvo turbo fuel sensors!! He also replaced the trim tab system, but to no avail – we can now get on plane (turbo fuel sensor), but still can’t trim the boat. So far, weather has been cooperating and we haven’t missed trim tabs too much – yet….
We met a nice couple on The Nanny¸ Ed & Nan, who have been traveling the North Channel for years. They live on their 50ft Sea Ray all summer long. They gave us a lot of useful tidbits and we had a nice dinner with them at The Village Inn – no, not the chain restaurant from down south. It is a local joint that is known for their smoked whitefish. It was a beautiful evening. We exchanged cards, and went to bed – the Ruff Life was to be underway in the morning for our long journey to Gore Bay, Canada.
Sassy will not get her feet wet!
On the beach in St. Ignace
Steve - Volvo Mechanic - new Turbo sensors installed!
July 16th, 2010
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Today is Day 1 of our big adventure to the North Channel. We still don’t have the fuel sensor replaced or trim tabs fixed, however, after spending Monday and Tuesday on the phone with service reps in our area, we found a resource that is able to have the parts this week, and installed on Friday July 9, if we can get the boat to St. Ignace, Michigan by then! With storms all blown through and the seas calm, we decided to get up early today and start the journey. As you will see, we did run into quite a bit of fog, which kept us going slow, but calm seas made for a fantastic ride. It was approximately 112 miles to Charlevoix, Michigan. We will stay here one night and depart Thursday for St. Ignace, MI (approximately 60 miles). A storm looks to be blowing through in the middle of the night tonight, but tomorrow should be calm again. Our friends from the marina are traveling with us for these next two days – Merrill is a Cruisers powerboat that can travel the same pace as the Ruff Life. Since we have a few boat issues 
, it is a great comfort to know that we will not be crossing alone!
Ruff Life is underway!
Do you see the bridge? We don't either!
We are finally on plane and leaving the fog bank behind!
Someone named their boat after the black dog...
Dinner in Charlevoix with Merrill and mileStone
July 9th, 2010
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Laura |
Extended Cruise, Lake Crossings, Maintenance |
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The weekend after Labor Day proved to be the best weather of the summer (so far). Just before we threw lines off the Ruff Life on Friday around 1pm, we discovered that the Nordic Tug (Water Kraft) a few slips down from us was also headed to the same destination! After some short conversation we decided to hook up in Menominee for cocktails and dinner. My dinner weighed about 15 pounds, so, we had leftovers all weekend!
Saturday morning, we headed to Chambers Island and tossed the hooks in the water. We took the dinghies to shore and played in the water until we were out of cocktails! Janie was spoiled by the Water Kraft and received some cheetos (hand fed to her while she was lying in the sun). We then headed to Cedar River and stayed at a very quiet, but beautiful marina. We took dinghy rides up the river, but the only wildlife we saw was a turtle…which, I suppose, was better than seeing a snake!
On Sunday morning, we scrubbed down our hull (when was the last time I did that!), which required a Blue Moon by 10am. We left Cedar River for the 35 mile trip back to port – we came across some freighters on the bay, and we had to get on the stick to get out of the way.
We had a wonderful time with Water Kraft and we all commented that sometimes the best times are had when no plans are made…we are glad we saw them leaving when we did!
Fun in the sun!
Umm...who's driving the boat?
Showing off the Ruff Life wine glass!
Ruff Life at sunset in Cedar River
Water Kraft at sunset in Cedar River
This freighter was bearing down on us...
Water Kraft just made it! (not really, deceiving pic!)
Ben & Carol, this pic is just for you guys!
September 14th, 2009
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Ben, Carol, Blake and Pogo (the dog) drove up from Pensacola, Florida to Sturgeon Bay on July 18 to have a 2 week vacation with us. After they recovered from being road warriors (they drove 20 hours non-stop), we loaded them onto the Ruff Life and started our journey across the big pond. The Ruff Life carried 5 people and 2 dogs safely across Lake Michigan. Ports visited (in order): Manistee, MI; Frankfort, MI; Leland, MI; Elk Rapids, MI; Travers City, MI; Boyne City, MI; and Charlevoix, MI. We were very fortunate and had really nice water for about 90% of our travels. Here are some pictures of our most excellent trip! Enjoy!
The Journey Begins again...
Me and Scot on the bow
Ben, you won't float the same in Lake Michigan as in FL - we are unsalted!
Wine Tasting in Style - we rented a LIMO!
Ben & Carol in front of Mawby Winery - my favorite!
Halle & Blake enjoying sparkling grape juice in the limo!
Pogo and the rest of us - enjoying the fruits of our wine tour!
Ruff Life speed on the way to Traverse City
Carol & Ben
Broken Toe in Leland, Michigan
Lobster dinner in Frankfort!
Scot is jealous of Ben's hat...
Blake and Halle in Manistee
We crossed thru the Mac Sailboat Race - beautiful boats
Manistee, MI Lighthouse
August 3rd, 2009
Posted by
Laura |
Extended Cruise, Lake Crossings |
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