Thursday, 8/9
The crews of Puffin and Catnip Too were preparing for departure from Killarney when the Catnip Too crew discovered an engine oil leak. Glenn helped them troubleshoot the problem to a leaking seal from the raw water pump housing. After adding about a quart of oil, we ran the engine and felt that we could get Catnip Too to Little Current, a town where she could get repaired. Having decided to spend another day at the Sportsmans Inn Marina, Glenn purchased internet access and worked on the Puffin blog site. For dinner, we had an inpromtu potluck at the marina picnic area with the crews of Catnip Too and Knot Home. That evening we were invited aboard Knot Home, a huge 48' sundeck trawler which really felt like a "home
" complete with couches, recliners, flatscreen tv, full size frig, stall showers, covered sundeck, ice maker,etc., etc., etc. Many of the boats doing the loop are much larger than Puffin, but a few area about the same or smaller and most of the vessels are powerboats. While the bigger boats are envious, we feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to do this.
Friday, 8/10
We awoke to a beautiful morning and soon after breakfast, we departed for the town of Little Current instead of our previous plans of another anchorage. The departure from Killarney defines the beginning of the North Channel, a long strip of water defined by Manitolin Island to the south and the shores of Northern Ontario to the north. The big waters of Lake Huron lies to the south of and separated by Manitoulin Island. Little Current is a neat town with many amenities such as an ice cream shop that makes the yummy stuff on this island of Manitoulin.The island is accessible by car via a swing bridge located at the entrance of Little Current. Most boats have to wait for the hourly opening but not Puffin, she just steamed right under, no problem! Little Current, named by the natives because the water of the North Channel flows into Georgian Bay thru a narrow channel along which the town is situated. The North Channel cruising area as opposed to the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay is similar to the Pacific Northwest as the islands here are in clusters separated by larger bodies of deeper water. The myriads of buoys are absent as is the small craft route.(no more yellow brick roads) We acquired a slip at the new town docks, while Catnip Too tied up at her close by homeport marina where a mechanic friend confirmed our diagnosis and repaired Catnip Too's problem.Royce and I spent the afternoon touring the town and reprovisioning.
Saturday 8/11
This morning, we met up with Catnip Too and headed for Kagawong, a small community and marina at the head of Mudge Bay where we were greeted by the owners and good friends of MaryLou and Joan. It just so happens that the same ice cream is offered at the marina store and so that was the first order of business! The docks of the marina were originally built for ships where a past railtrack connected it to a paperpulp mill which made the paper for the Sears Roebuck catalogs. The mill was powered by a waterwheel from the nearby river and later the mill
was converted to a create electric power for the island of Manitoulin. It is now restored as an artist studio and civic office. That evening we along with other cruisers were invited by Bob and Wendy, the owners of Kagawong Marina, to join them for dinner at a cafe located at a nearby town.
The crews of Puffin and Catnip Too were preparing for departure from Killarney when the Catnip Too crew discovered an engine oil leak. Glenn helped them troubleshoot the problem to a leaking seal from the raw water pump housing. After adding about a quart of oil, we ran the engine and felt that we could get Catnip Too to Little Current, a town where she could get repaired. Having decided to spend another day at the Sportsmans Inn Marina, Glenn purchased internet access and worked on the Puffin blog site. For dinner, we had an inpromtu potluck at the marina picnic area with the crews of Catnip Too and Knot Home. That evening we were invited aboard Knot Home, a huge 48' sundeck trawler which really felt like a "home
" complete with couches, recliners, flatscreen tv, full size frig, stall showers, covered sundeck, ice maker,etc., etc., etc. Many of the boats doing the loop are much larger than Puffin, but a few area about the same or smaller and most of the vessels are powerboats. While the bigger boats are envious, we feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to do this.Friday, 8/10
We awoke to a beautiful morning and soon after breakfast, we departed for the town of Little Current instead of our previous plans of another anchorage. The departure from Killarney defines the beginning of the North Channel, a long strip of water defined by Manitolin Island to the south and the shores of Northern Ontario to the north. The big waters of Lake Huron lies to the south of and separated by Manitoulin Island. Little Current is a neat town with many amenities such as an ice cream shop that makes the yummy stuff on this island of Manitoulin.The island is accessible by car via a swing bridge located at the entrance of Little Current. Most boats have to wait for the hourly opening but not Puffin, she just steamed right under, no problem! Little Current, named by the natives because the water of the North Channel flows into Georgian Bay thru a narrow channel along which the town is situated. The North Channel cruising area as opposed to the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay is similar to the Pacific Northwest as the islands here are in clusters separated by larger bodies of deeper water. The myriads of buoys are absent as is the small craft route.(no more yellow brick roads) We acquired a slip at the new town docks, while Catnip Too tied up at her close by homeport marina where a mechanic friend confirmed our diagnosis and repaired Catnip Too's problem.Royce and I spent the afternoon touring the town and reprovisioning.
Saturday 8/11
This morning, we met up with Catnip Too and headed for Kagawong, a small community and marina at the head of Mudge Bay where we were greeted by the owners and good friends of MaryLou and Joan. It just so happens that the same ice cream is offered at the marina store and so that was the first order of business! The docks of the marina were originally built for ships where a past railtrack connected it to a paperpulp mill which made the paper for the Sears Roebuck catalogs. The mill was powered by a waterwheel from the nearby river and later the mill
was converted to a create electric power for the island of Manitoulin. It is now restored as an artist studio and civic office. That evening we along with other cruisers were invited by Bob and Wendy, the owners of Kagawong Marina, to join them for dinner at a cafe located at a nearby town. Sunday 8/12
The early morning hours of Sunday brought in a stiff breeze which persisted and increased thoughout the day, reaching strenghts of 30 plus knots. At one point the local police boat was summoned to rescue the people on a small boat that lost power and eventually capsized. Fortunately, all were safely retrieved although the boat was still reported missing. Needless to say, we were not going to be leaving Kagawong today! During the day, Bob and Glenn drove to Gore Bay for design consultation on Bob's trawler.(A busman's holiday for Glenn) Later, Bob shared some local sights and history with Glenn.
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