Cruisers’ Net Rendezvous at Little Current 8-23-11

We’re here in Little Current for the Cruisers’ Net Rendezvous. Every morning at 9 a.m. we listen to the Net on Channel 71 and get the latest news, sports, local happening and call-ins from boaters throughout the North Channel. It is hosted by Roy Eaton. He is a retired school principal, an avid sailor, member of the Little Current Yacht Club and a shining example of Canadian hospitality. He watches over North Channel boaters like a guardian angel by keeping us all connected through the Net, offers his personal phone number to boaters in case our families back home have to contact us with an emergency and provides his home address so that our needed boating supplies can be delivered there.

Roy and the Net are also about having fun. The Net hosts an “Appy Hour” every Friday in July and August from 3-5pm at the Anchor Inn which even provides free hor d’oeuvres. We have not been far enough east this season to attend these but we are here for the end of the season Cruisers’ Net Rendezvous.

Roy organized a great line-up of excursions and classes for us. Roy is a lifelong resident of the area, and gave a very interesting presentation on the Trent Severn Canal, Georgian Bay and the North Channel, providing lots of local information and stories. Most boaters never see the mainland side of Manitoulin Island and Roy arranged for some tours, complete with his friends and LCYC members providing transportation. I chose to go on the Pepper Point Garden tour. As boaters, we see lots of wilderness up here but it was great to see the home garden of Jean and John Narozanski. We also visited Ten Mile Point Gallery which features First Nation art works. We learned more from a local expert on First Nation and Inuit art through a presentation about the vitality of their work. Bob went on the tour to a local fish farm, and will certainly consider buying such products now that he’s seen how clean the process is.

No rendezvous is complete without a potluck feast. There was plenty of food and good cheer and 124 boaters had a great time. There was no charge for any of the above activities, and Roy even arranged for the Little Current Municipal dock to give a 2 for 1 day price for the event.

Roy is such a modest man and always gives credit to others when praised. He is the inspiration for all of this and we are very grateful.

Covered Portage 8-20-11

We’ve saved some of the more spectacular anchorages for last. Here we are at Covered Portage. We have been told that this little hide-away can hold 40 boats during the busy vacation weeks of July and early August. Imagine our surprise when we tucked past the rocky entrance to find ourselves alone in this paradise.

We were here for 3 nights and shared the anchorage nightly with only 6-7 other boats. Kids of all ages love this little anchorage. It inspires the imagination and you feel like you’re in Neverland without Captain Hook and the ticking crocodile.

This little anchorage has a lot of trails to explore. Here’s Mollie being line leader and she was doing pretty well until she veered into the woods after a pesky chipmunk. There is a great panoramic view from the top of the south trail. We noticed that some of the other trails here are now marked “Private” and we hope that this trend does not continue. There is a well-marked trail on the north side which leads you up and along the cliff tops back out to the entrance.

It’s hard to leave paradise but we know that we will be back here again next year.

Heywood Island, Browning Cove 8-18-11

We’ve been in Little Current for the past two days getting chores done as well as reconnecting with boaters we’ve met at anchorages and meeting some new and gold Loopers. We’ll be back in Little Current for a Cruisers’ Net rendezvous next week so I will take pictures then.

We joined the boat parade as the Little Current Bridge swung open to allow east and west traffic. Some of the cruising books and even the bridge sign note that the bridge stays open for 15 minutes on the hour, but it is really only 3 minutes and boats really hustle or have to tread water for another hour.

Our 8 mile trip today brings us past the gleaming Strawberry Island Lighthouse. The grounds and tower is closed so the best view is from the water.

Here we are in Browning Cove on Heywood Island. It is a low well-treed island which shelters a large bird population, including eagles, but they must be napping this afternoon. Tomorrow morning should be a treat. I wish my camera could capture the teal blue color of the water here as well as the hills of Killarney in the distance. This is a great place to dinghy around 3 bays and Mollie definitely had a good time.