New B adventure in Lake Huron/North Channel

[River Cruiser]

Some pics from last year:

Lighthouse S. Manitou

Sunrise at South

Wreck ran aground 1960

About 30' of water

Docked at Beaver Is.



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[MicHome]

Originally Posted by FamilyVan

Mic, you don't really want to head out and hope to download important publications out there. You want a good route plan before you leave on the trip. Take a month before you leave, each evening study your charts and sailing directions.

Relying on the interweb out there is a risk few on here would be comfortable with taking.

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This is exactly what I have been thinking!!! I am already studying areas and water depths on Active Captain....Am hoping to buy real charts soon!
Ps....Skipper Bob & Ports that I ordered just came in the mail today, I have had a hard time getting my face out of them!!!

[MicHome]

Scott & River Cruiser, Thanks for the beautiful pics of your trip....Makes me jealous that you have been where we WANT to be!!!

[Dave the Canuck]

Hey Mic

I've done the Channel in both Power and Sail. Power is less stable but you get there and out of possible trouble faster and with the shallower draft, can squeeze into places where sail dares not. As mentioned earlier, little or no cell/internet, which is great. For news and to stay in touch, a lot of cruisers listen to Cruisers Net on channel 71 each morning at 0900. Roy Eaton out of Little Current does a great job with news/weather and the popular boat check-in. Great time to have your coffee. If you plan to be on the hook a lot, ensure that you have adequate battery capacity and are comfortable managing it. Get those paper charts, keep a weather eye, don't hit the hard bits and have fun. Attached picture is the anchorage at the Benjamins shot from South Benjamin.

[Mike OReilly]

What Dave says

I recall anchoring at the Benjamins one time and watching a good sized black bear ripping apart a rotten log to get to the grubs. We were hanging within 20 feet of shore, so had a great view. Beautiful.

[MicHome]

Love the pics of the Benjamins and the bear story! Really like the Skipper Bob book I got. have been following along on Active Captain as I read through it about different areas....So I guess you could say I am cruising in my mind!!!
I am hoping since we are taking a Navigation class on 4/9 there will be charts for sale that we can look at and possibly buy if we like them.
Just called our marina at Duncan Bay and the harbormaster Larry just said they still have 3 feet of ice so probably no one will be getting in until May....Talk about SPRING FEVER>>>Oh well, gives me more time to read and get more great information form all of you!!
Also checking in on Navionics Charts since that is the chip in our GPS. Jim K highly recommended them so we are checking into that option.
So much to learn....

[grandview846]

We sail out of Little Current on the North Channel. Our boat is a modest 26 foot Grampian but a great a little boat. We've roamed from Spragg down to Bayfield and Britt, where we had a slip for two summers. We also kept La Boheme in Killarney for two seasons.

I was new to sailing 7 years ago and I have always relied on my trusty handheld Garmin 76C GPS. I love charts because you can lay them out to see the big picture. And the Ports Book contains invaluable information. But in my experience you must use the GPS as your Bible: the accuracy of these devices is amazing and there are rocks everywhere. In fact, though still working fine, last year I relegated my handheld to backup status and purchased a Garmin chart-plotter.

That said, all the channels are well buoyed and in most cases there are ranges to guide you into port. I strongly recommend that you make it to Little Current; and a few days on the hook in the Benjamins were the highlight of our sailing summer last year. Hope you make it up our way this summer !

[FamilyVan]

Originally Posted by grandview846

We sail out of Little Current on the North Channel. Our boat is a modest 26 foot Grampian but a great a little boat. We've roamed from Spragg down to Bayfield and Britt, where we had a slip for two summers. We also kept La Boheme in Killarney for two seasons.

I was new to sailing 7 years ago and I have always relied on my trusty handheld Garmin 76C GPS. I love charts because you can lay them out to see the big picture. And the Ports Book contains invaluable information. But in my experience you must use the GPS as your Bible: the accuracy of these devices is amazing and there are rocks everywhere. In fact, though still working fine, last year I relegated my handheld to backup status and purchased a Garmin chart-plotter.

That said, all the channels are well buoyed and in most cases there are ranges to guide you into port. I strongly recommend that you make it to Little Current; and a few days on the hook in the Benjamins were the highlight of our sailing summer last year. Hope you make it up our way this summer !

Grampians are fantastic great lakes cruising boats. I was expused to sailing on my dad's 1974 Grampian 23. We cruised all over Lake Ontario, Thousand Islands and Georgan Bay, there were 5 of us, mom, dad and 3 brothers. I sold my 1974 Grampian 30 to a friend in 2013 when I bought my Fantasia.

I miss the simplicity of my Grampian almost every time I go out. Great boats.

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[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by FamilyVan

Grampians are fantastic great lakes cruising boats. I was expused to sailing on my dad's 1974 Grampian 23. We cruised all over Lake Ontario, Thousand Islands and Georgan Bay, there were 5 of us, mom, dad and 3 brothers. I sold my 1974 Grampian 30 to a friend in 2013 when I bought my Fantasia.

I miss the simplicity of my Grampian almost every time I go out. Great boats.

OK, I gotta contribute to this thread-drift . My previous boat (pictured in one of my photos in an earlier post) was a Grampian 34. It was(is) a centre-cockpit ketch model. They also made a sloop version using the same hull. Both are pretty rare.

The Grampian-34 is an amazing cruising boat. Tons of space, large aft cabin with a big double bed, 7' of headroom in the salon, good motion in ugly seas, and the ketch rig made it incredibly versatile and easy to manage. All Grampians were made very solid, and easy to maintain. Not fancy, but well made. And despite their looks, the ketch is no slug, especially with wind on the beam. The 26s are also surprisingly fast boats.

I love my current sailboat and wouldn't go back, but in some ways the Grampian is a superior boat for our cruising plans.

[Jim Krause]

Here are a handful of pics from last year.

[River Cruiser]

Great pics! I really need to make it up there in my boat so I can linger as long as I want.


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[Mike OReilly]

Nice pics Jim. I remember anchoring in Covered Portage Cove and doing that hike/climb to get that great view.

P.S. What a great place for a piper .

[MicHome]

It will take us greenies a while to feel comfortable enough to cruise all the way to Little Current but I am sure some day we will.....What a beautiful area!! I am sure as great as the pictures are, there is nothing like being there!!

[Jim Krause]

Ah - Thanks. I'm glad you like the pics. MicHome - You can't go all the way up to the NC without stopping by Little Current :-). It's a sweet little town and the heart of the cruising community up there- and you can sit in on one of Roy Eaton's famous 9AM CruiserNet broadcasts out of the Anchor Inn. Of course if you go all the way to Little Current, you might as well cruise past the swing bridge and over to Killarney…..

[MicHome]

VERY cool picture of the swing bridge Jim!! You are all making us very anxious to get on the water!!
For now we will just have to be content with the Navigation class next Thursday night!!!