Little Current to Key Harbour

Little Current to Key Harbour track.

Left Little Current at 8:18am with clear sunny and light wind conditions. Stopped at Killarney at 10:25am to see the town by foot and also sample the noted fish n' chips shop located in a converted red school bus. Arrived at Key Harbour Lodge at 3:30pm.


Another typical coastline among the 30,000 islands in these neck of the woods.


Marker announcing entrance to Killarney.


Rich securing dock line at Killarney public dock.



Key Harbour Lodge. Chris, the owner, was nice enough to allow us to stay overnight. He doesn't really get an transient boaters at this docks. He has showers but Tamara and James reported they were marginal at best (temperature-wise). When I when up to attempt a shower I did not see any hot water at all so I showered aboard.


Key Harbour Lodge dock; with entrance in the background.


Tamara and James behind the Key Harbour lodge cottages; as you can see the complete area is solid granite rock.


Blueberry bush growing somehow in this granite shield rock. Not many berries since we understand the neighbors have been picking them recently.

Thessalon to Little Current

Thessalon to Little Current track.

Left Thessalon at 7:50am. Wind 0 knots but 47F. Followed our track on the Garmin gps chartplotter to get out of the harbor and its entrance back to the North Channel deep water. Then a slow cruise eastward in the thick fog.


Foggy and chilly morning in Thesslon.


James coiling power cord for storing away so we can leave asap.


Motoring at 6.5 knots in the North Channel in pea soup fog. Luckily it burned off around 10am.


Typical rocky shore in the North Channel.


Narrow channel in the Little Detroit Passage. Cruise guide recommend to call on VHF channel 16 to announce your imminent arrival thru the passage as both ends have blind curves.


Rich and Tamara at Little Current's Spider Bay marina.


Little Current town docks on along the small craft channel.


James aboard Pecan in Little Current's Spider Bay marina.


By chance, we met with two Canadian couples each cruising on their respective Rossies. Jan and Steve of Jessie M were out cruising in the new 2008 RF-246. Beautiful boat with an excellent aft cockpit enclosure.


Barbara and Dave on Robert Sidney had just pulled their 2002 RF-246 out of the water after spending several months cruising the North Channel. Nice F250 long-bed tow vehicle. Dave was a wealth of knowledge on the Rossie with a good number of thoughtful suggestions to enhancement our use of the boat. Did you know about stuffing a large sponge up under each of the port and starboard gunwales in the cockpit (where the space enters the pilothouse) to prevent mosquitoes and other flying insects from getting inside the boat?

Mackinac Island to Thessalon in Ontario

Mackinac Island to Thessalon track.

Left M.I. on a bright blue morning. Arrived in Thessalon, Ontario, Canada at 4pm. Made a fuel stop at our last U.S. stop in Drummond Island's Yacht Haven marina at 1:20pm.



Arriving in Thessalon we see that this municipal marina was closed for the season. I called Canada Customs from the outside pay phone (they have a free 800 number, thank goodness) and after 10 minutes we were all checked into the country and issued a customs number 20092450274 that we have to display on the port (window) on the boat. So we 'scored' one freebie--no charge for this marina with 30amp power and water. A good start as we entered Canada.
After a short walk into town, we were able to change $50 cash into Loonies at the bank and we bought a few items in the local grocery store. James did get hungry after our regular dinner aboard Pecan so we got him a pizza from the local pizza shop/bakery/breakfast diner in town.