Anderson Bay

We took a day off from travelling yesterday and decided to spend some time cleaning the decks.  It started out as a gray day but son the sun was out and it was hot.  The water temperature is back up to 76 degrees so all is well. We are the only boat in the anchorage but we are back into cottage country so there is no going ashore. 
A bald eagle, geese and gulls came to visit and the lady who owns the beautiful cottage nearby. Jerry tried his luck at fishing but it appears to be little ones only.
Today we woke up to thunder and rain but it should clear up.  We will stay again today and head out to George Lake tomorrow then on to SSMarie.

Captain swabbing the decks

Bald Eagle

St. Joseph Channel

We have completed the third leg of our journey by leaving the North Channel at Thessalon and entering into the St. Joseph Channel.  We are slowly making our way to Sault Ste Marie.  This is not part of the Great Loop but we have extra time and we understand that it is a better place to get a cruising permit for the US waters than at the smaller crossing at Drummund.  More on that when we know for sure.
We are anchored in Anderson Bay 28 miles east of SSMarie and may stay here for the day (N46 19.592" and W083 57.700').  It is cloudy and 20 degrees so if we get bored we may just leave and head to SSMarie today.
The water is in the mid 70s again so there goes my theory about Lake Superior cooling things down.  Perhaps it is because Thessalon was open to all of Lake Huron and it was deeper water.  One more of my theories.
The scenery is much like the North Channel here with some granite cliffs and mostly coniferous trees. No fish although the ports book says there are all kinds. The water is not as clear as in Georgian Bay and the beginning of the great channel.  To this point the crew of the North Star felt that the best cruising is from Parry Sound to the Benjamin Islands in the North Channel. This is where there are the most bays and coves to tuck into and the water is really warm and clear. The best places to reprovision are Parry Sound in Georgian Bay and Little Current in the North Channel.

Lake Huron on a calm day

Another beautiful anchorage at Picnic Island

Enterance to ST. Joseph Channel

Fogged in Thessalon

We woke up to black fog and absolutely calm waters.  We needed to go back to town so we decided to stay for the day since the fog did no clear up until after noon.
We rode our bikes and  shopped some more and spent some time at the library in the air conditioning. We came back to stay at Bullhead Bay for the night. Today is sunny and calm so we will head out to our chosen anchorage west of Bruce Mines.
 

Thessalon Marina at 12:00...black fog

Thessalon

We arrived at the Thessalon Marina in the rain after a calm foggy crossing. The Marina is empty except for 5 seasonal boats. The Municipal marina has all the right amenities and they do let you tie up for the day to reprovision.  They do not let you use any of the facilities unless you are staying overnight.  They also have a basin that some boats anchor in.  We found a more private anchorage just a mile away at Bullhead Bay (N46 15.381' and W083 31.875').
There is a Valu-Mart in town as well as some nice little shops.  We rode our bikes through town and found a nice junk shop where we picked up a few items.
We didn't see any wildlife other than cormorants and beavers.  It appears that our swimming days are at an end with the water temperature of 63 degrees. It could be the cold water from Lake Superior coming in to cool Lake Huron down this far west. Nice clear water and a hot day but no swimming, we don't like it.
Today is sunny and calm so we are off to an anchorage west of Bruce Mines.

Thessalon Municipal Marina

Bullhead Bay Anchorage

The last of the bass

Dinghy ride in Bullhead Bay

Blind River

We left Turnbull Island after a nice calm night.  All the boats had turned completely around on their anchor.  Good thing it was a nice sandy bottom for good holding.
We went 10 miles to Blind River where we tied up at the government dock which is reserved for fishing boats.  It is a solid concrete wall with nice steel bollards.   Two old timers drove up to us immediately to ask about our trip and North Star.  They told us that the two boats at the dock were theirs and only two other fishing boats were expected to come in today so we could stay as long as we wanted.  Good, we only wanted to go reprovision and get propane. Blind River has everything you need.  A good Value Mart grocery store, an M&Ms for ready made frozen food, beer and liquor store and a dollar store.  They also have hardware, Bargain Shop and Tim Horton's. We reprovisioned and went to wait out the rain in Timmy's. Nice to be back to civilization.
We thought we were going to be asked to leave by the OPP that pulled up but they were interested in a motorist who was parked at the dock.  A couple in a motor home pulled in for the night and we stayed as well.  We spent the better part of the evening at the Public Library.
Today we left in calm water and fog to go to Thessalon.  This is the most exposed part of Lake Huron as we are leaving the North Channel.  We would rather be in fog than wind since it gives us a chance to practice using the radar.  The radar is showing that we are pulling our dinghy.  It works!

 fishing boat dock in Blind River

Leaving Blind River in the fog...the Marina

Turnbull Island

It is a beautiful calm morning in the anchorage on Turnbull Island (n46 09.262' and W082 45.633').  We got here just before the winds pick up yesterday and spent a bouncy day with 20 knot west winds right into the anchorage. The forecast was for calm overnight and they were right. The water temperature is down to 71 degrees so we have reached the end of the comfortable swimming for this year. It will get cooler the further west we go.
Not much to do at Turnbull Island, a short walk takes you across the island to a nice colouful rocky sandy beach.  We rode around all the little islands  in the dinghy and trolled but no fish.There is a sandy beach close to where we are anchored but it was too windy for a campfire. We had a lot of fun watching a couple who were trying to get into their short kayaks in the waves and high wind. He never did make it in.
Today we are leaving the wilderness and going to Blind River.

Anchored at Turnbull Island

Hard to capture choppy water on camera

wrong wind for this achorage

John Harbour

We spent a relaxing day at John Harbour yesterday.  It was over 30 degrees and hotter with the humidex so the perfect day for swimming and walking in the shade. Jerry fished all day but did not catch anything.  I went in search of blueberries but the season must be winding down.  We had a couple from Quebec join us at our campfire and they say that the opposite shore is where the best pickings are. We still have some from the last anchorage and we find them small and a little tart.
A bald eagle was perched near the boat for several hours yesterday and today there are two loons swimming around. An other couple sighted a bear on the shoreline here but we did not see it.
Today we are moving to Turnbull Island which is 10 miles from here.  We are gradually heading towards Blind River.

Calm water at John Harbour

Campfire at John Harbour