After spending a wonderful two nights in Covered Portage Cove, we decided to head off to Little Current to replenish, with whatever people needed (A shower, Fuel, Pump-out, provisions, laundry, libations – did someone say libations?).  Landsdowne Channel was flat, and the ride north of Heywood Island persisted with a completely flat ride all the way to Little Current.

Once there, we were able to secure dockage along the wall of Little Current, right in the middle of town.  When the MnM crew was last at Little Current, all that was available in town was the breakwall, and if a space wasn’t available you needed to get real friendly with other boaters in hopes of rafting off – if they would let you.  Otherwise you might get a slip at Spider Bay marina.  Since that last visit Little Current has made significant improvements to support boaters (and pirates like us), with a series of terrific docks and facilities.

Anyhow, we all got settled in, and part of the group took over the dock we were on by setting up a cocktail lounge – yes, more drinking –  that prevented passing by all other boaters (just kidding).  Spent a great afternoon on the dock, playing back their experiences anchoring out and making plans for the coming days in the Benjamin’s.  That was followed with… guess what… dinner and more libations (I travel with a thirsty bunch!) at the “Anchor Inn” restaurant in town.

Once we left the restaurant, we did discover that there was a pirate within the group, who somehow forgot about the insignia beer glass that was temporarily placed in his pants pocket.  Hmm.. pretty big pockets.  Was it a short term memory lapse or is he a scalawag… now I’m wondering about the company I’m keeping (Funny sidebar – I went up to our waitress and asked her if they sold the glasses.  She said “we used to, but people just took them so we stopped selling them?!?!).  Hmm, what alternative is one left with?

So, tonight we rest and ready ourselves for the next long journey, less than 20 NM to our next plunder – the Benjamin Islands!!

MnM

Covered Portage Cove is about 1.5 NM from Killarney, so we got up and took a leisurely cruise to see what opportunities we had to find an anchorage. Once we entered the cove, we did some initial exploration and were able to secure an anchorage alongside a 150′ granite cliff in about 12 feet of water. Once MnM was secured, the other boats (Mystery Lady, Lil R&R, The Dealership and Fixation) tied alongside and we secured the group for two days on the hook.

What a GREAT place!! The water here is clear and warm, and within minutes the dinghy’s were launched and the exploration began. For several in the group, this is the first anchor-out for them. My suspicion is that it is a location they will think about for years to come as it’s really special.

The evening was absolutely pristine, not a sound and not a ripple in the bay. The following day was met with a lot of exploring as well as a climb to the top of the cliff to see the view, and our anchorage. Everyone is having a great time, and already starting to think a subsequent trip up this way may be in order!

So, tomorrow we will likely be heading over to Little Current to replenish and get ready for our next outing into the wilderness!

MnM

We headed out of Tobermory around mid-morning on Monday to cloudy skies but reasonable seas.  As we headed to Killarney, we decided to take a close cruise past Flowerpot Island to view the little and big flowerpot rock formations.  We assumed things were going well when we got a call from Ken on Fixation that his dinghy had slipped off of his davits.  After numerous attempts to correct issues in 3 foot rollers, he decided it was time for help.  Fortunately Ken on the Dealership was close by and lent assistance as the other boats (MnM, Little R&R and Mystery Lady), slowly proceeded north towards Killarney.  the Ken-squared dynamic duo was finally successful in getting the dinghy loaded and secure, and we then all proceeded north to our Killarney destination.

While the two hour trip turned into three, it was a great ride as the seas settled out as we approached Killarney. All had a great ride and enjoyed a day of cloud cover.

Upon arrival into Killarney, we contacted the Sportsman Inn, and were able to secure overnight dockage.  Browsed around town, and had a great dinner at the lodge while a nice downpour occurred outside.  Hopefully the rain has an impact on the forest fires that have been in the region.

Tomorrow we will be heading somewhere in the Landsdowne channel for an anchorage for the next two nights.

MnM

Date: Saturday, August 4th.

Time: Roughly 12:30 PM

We heard a distinct rumble in the distance as a fleet of pirates came closer to the port. The town was ill prepared to handle what was about to happen, when suddenly and, hmm, perhaps some warning, the first vessel came into view. It was clear, Tobermory was about to get invaded by the Algonac Harbour Club Pirates. There was no stopping their relentless advance. With Cap’n Jack leading the way, the docks were quickly overtaken by the motley crew of 8 new arrivals, for what would be a good two days of uncontrolled harbor piracy. Actually, our friends had arrived!! They left Bayfield around 7:00 AM, and had a great ride up Lake Huron.

Once settled in, the dinghy’s were launched and the fun began. I decided to take a little ride around the harbor when two of the scalawags spotted me leaving port and commandeered my vessel and my trip of solitude. Solitude? Hmm, that changed! We did a fun jaunt over to Big Tub, took a lap around the shipwrecks at the bottom of the harbor, and were heading back to town when suddenly I hear “Dare Ya?”, “I Double dare ya!!”, Two splashes later, both Melissa and Sheryl were in the water, enjoying the fresh and cool waters of Big Tub, and were laughing like crazy. All of the vacation home dwellers came out of their cabins to see what the ruckus was, and once they saw that it was a bunch of boaters in the water, quickly shuttered their doors and pulled the shades down. This left me with a question… how do these two get back into the dinghy?… Well, I guess the water was cool enough that they were encouraged to leap out of the water with one jump each. Once back on board, We took the dinghy back to Little Tub and our boats, with plans to head into town for dinner. We had a great diner and laughs on the patio at the “Crows Nest”, with a great view of the harbor as the sun set. A great way to kick off the trip of the AHC gang.

So for Sunday our plans are to do more exploring of the Tobermory area, and to start heading up Georgian Bay on Monday. We all signed an oath to leave Tobermory as we found it…. sort of.

All the best!

MnM – and the AHC Pirates!