Reflections

September 9, 2026 We left Mackinaw City early Sunday morning to get ahead of the screaming winds that started last night. We had a lovely sail from St. Ignace to Straits Marina in Mackinaw City. So clear, gentle wind but with only 6 miles to go we were in no hurry. We tied up and had lunch then headed over to visit the Coast Guard Ice Breaker Mackinaw that is now a museum. Harold will probably write about the visit and his time spent on the ice breaker back in the 80's. On our way to Mackinaw Mary and Linda joined us for dinner and stayed overnight to walk the bridge in the morning. We started our bridge walk around 8:30 am. The weather was picture perfect. High 60-low 70's, sunny, clear. The water was turquoise to azure blue and the Mighty Mac…

We have a trip to the Annapolis Sailboat Show planned for October and need to invest in a new mainsail and a new foresail. The ones we have are the originals - 19 years old! Even though I replaced the sacrificial cloth on the foresail a couple of years ago, all of the sailing this year has stretched it so badly we simply cannot trim it properly when we reef. It just flops and flaps at the roller furling unless we have a broad reach with the entire sail out. In all fairness, it suffered greatly in Green Bay during the 50 MPH wind/thunderstorm. So much wind and so much flogging! Our mainsail is of the same vintage and is showing it's age by fraying at the edges. It's better than the foresail, but we know it's also tired. So after nearly 20…

It's official, the spiders are multiplying and spinning their webs and are out of control. Big ones as big as a quarter with big behinds, long skinny ones, little ones no bigger than a freckle. They are everywhere outside the boat. They especially seem to like all of our navy canvas and the nooks and crannies from the zippers and pockets. Every morning, I swiffer or microfiber and everyday more seem to move in. I'm thinking it's a loosing battle! As if spiders and webs weren't enough, they poop - dark black staining poop. Thankfully, they are still under control inside with only a few interlopers. They are difficult to photograph. This is one of dozens at work last evening. Today there was another swarm of September (or May?) flies. They were attached to the screens, the boom, the mast, and dinghy. One…

St. Ignace, September 3, 2026 Finally we have some semi reliable internet connection so an update is in order. We traveled from Thessalon to DeTour where we stayed Aug 29-Sept 2. I thought it would be fun to stay to watch the freighters pass through - and the day we arrived we could see them clearly. After that, we could only hear the booooooooops of their fog horns going off. We couldn't see a thing there was so much fog. For three days we were socked in. We did take some nice walks, had a good whitefish sandwich at the Mainsail and went to the local fishery for some fresh white fish fillets. I can't think of whitefish without remembering Uncle Frank. Every summer he would take Gram, Phil and I up north to Paradise. He would take us to the fishery north…

August 28 We arrived in Canada on July 29, and we leave tomorrow August 29. We have visited six towns: Thessalon, Tolsmaville, Meldrum Bay, Spanish, Blind River and Gore Bay. Tolsmaville on Cockburn Island is the smallest, with a year-round population of one - and he’s retiring as island caretaker. Historic one room School at Tolsmaville Bay. We have had meals out in Gore Bay (poutine and fresh whitefish), Blind River (pan-fried whitefish). We have been to one brewery - Split Rail. The Independent grocery stores in Thessalon, and Gore Bay were excellent, with high quality meat and veg. Spanish and Meldrum Bay had glorified convenience stores, and we got what we needed but not so great. Canadian boaters were amazing. Power, fishing, jet skis and dinghies would slow right down when passing. The only boats that threw up a wake had US…

August 23, 2026 We've have a slip at the Gore Bay Marina on Manitoulin Island. Nasty wind with rain has kept us here for four days, maybe five. It's a pleasant place to be. Gore Bay has a wonderful boardwalk that follows the shoreline around the bay and connects to the Harold Noble Trail that leads up to an impressive overlook. From the top of the bluff we were able to see our boat, the town of Gore Bay and out into to North Channel. Our first night in town we had dinner at The Purvis Fish Company Restaurant where fresh caught (we came into the bay behind the fishing boat - The Purvis) whitefish was on the menu. Harold had the Fish and Chips and I had the fish tacos - both were amazing. Saturday we provisioned at the local Independent Grocery…

For breakfast we usually have oatmeal with fruit and nuts. Sometimes yogurt, granola with fruit. Harold makes amazing french press coffee. Lunch, if we are sailing, is usually a wrap of some kind. Turkey, ham, cheese, egg salad, tuna salad with chips (they taste so good on the water and are nice and crunchy!) with apple or orange slices. Dinner last night was a burrito bowl. Red Lentil Curry, BBQ Chicken thighs, Porkchops, Beef Stew, Lemon chicken, Bean Soup and Beef Macaroni with spaghetti sauce are some of our favorite entrees. It's so nice to have a fridge and freezer. We can stock up about a weeks worth of meat - freeze it and bring it out later in the week. There's plenty of room for veg we stock carrots, celery, romaine, red and yellow and green onions, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower. Our fruits…

We woke up this morning to rain and wind. The blue calm water anchorage of yesterday replaced by angry grey clouds, and howling wind causing the waves to kick up. I've just spend the last 30 minutes watching the wave/weather/shoreline/pounding rain and listening to the wind howl as we swing around. I'm amazed that Reflection is not bobbing around just gently riding over or through the waves because we are headed into the wind. We knew that this anchorage is not protected from the south west - and yes that's exactly the direction this morning. I'm eternally grateful for Big Mama and her amazing holding power. We are firmly anchored and I'm glad because resetting in this kind of weather would be miserable! In short, the weather and wind predictions for today were incorrect. Yesterday, it looked like a good day to try…

August 10, 2026 For the last two weeks we've enjoyed exploring the North Channel. We picked up Mary in Thessalon two weeks ago. It was so nice to share this part of the trip with Mary. Starting with a crossing over to Cockburn Island, Tomlinson Harbor, then to Meldrum Bay, back across to Turnbull Island then Bear's Butt Bay on to Spanish, through Little Detroit channel, to Oak Point (beautiful but way too many deer flies!!!) then back to Meldrum and Cockburn. We are crossed back over to Thessalon yesterday to return Mary. The North Channel is lovely. We've enjoyed the sunrises, the sun sets, being at anchor and looking for eagles, otters, fish, cormorants, loons, rocks, trees, and of course gazing at the water surrounding us. The weather continues to be wonderful - sunny and warm days with calm cool nights. We've…

Under The BridgeJuly 26, 2026We left Beaver Island after three days of bobbing around - in the slip during the Concerning Wind to Too Much Wind (see Marcia's wind chart for details). The marina had bicycles free for marina guests and we took advantage of this to explore the island by bike - rode to the hardware store, out to the lighthouse and around the point, and out to dinner at the Shamrock. I also did laundry and read a page turner of a book, American Dirt by Jeanine Cummings. If you want a captivating book from start to finish that illustrates the plight of immigrants/immigration/deportation and the heart wrenching reasons why people leave their home to seek life somewhere else, this is for you. It's a story of resilience and perseverance.This morning we set off at 8:00am for St. Ignace. We had…