Reflections

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…

- or what I've learned after 450 miles sailed this summer and 7 weeks on board Reflection. Calm - Air is still, water like glass. 0-3kts Beautiful way to start a day. Out on deck, cup of coffee in hand marveling at the mirror like reflections. Slight Breeze - Start to feel air on your face. 4-8kts Enjoy the cool breeze from the cockpit watch the water come to life. Nice Breeze - Brim of hats start to move, ripples start on the water. 8-10kts Start to think this is going to be a great day to sail. Cruising Breeze - Sweet spot for sailing. Decide to take off on a passage. Secure hat on head, unfurl and adjust the sails all the way and sit back knowing the free, fun, fuel for your boat is doing all the work. 10-15kts Reefing Breeze…

July 17, 2026 The smoke rolled in to Northport on Tuesday morning. At that time, we thought it would be short lived, but now realize that it's going to hang around and continues to worsen. Now storms are moving in making our anchorage in Northport very lumpy. So, we surrendered and moved this morning to a slip at the Marina where we'll hunker down (enjoying the Leelanau Township Library) and run the AC at night to keep some of the smoke out of the cabin. We booked 6 nights as the situation is not improving anytime soon according to reports. This is the first time we are not sure about making it to the North Channel. We certainly do not want to be there with this thick smoke and with so many fires burning across Canada and Minnesota. It's not hard to imagine…

This morning the blue dragonflies came. They came by the dozens and landed on our dinghy, came through the back door and checked us out. There are the first we have encountered - are they after the midges covering our boat? They look like they are searching for something.Many of them seem to have found what they were looking for - a mate, others seem obsessed with an unwritten agenda Closer to shore I watched these two flitting around. Dragon flies

To be sure, a Great Lakes passage is short. You’ll only make a multi-day passage if you sail the lake in the long way. Ocean passages can be measured in weeks. As I write, the nearest land is 18 miles away or about three and half hours at our current speed. A look in any direction, as far as you can see, is water. I’m on watch. With 9 knots of wind from the north, we’re making 5.4 knots on the rhumb line (93º True) to the tip of the Leelanau peninsula. We left Pedersen Bay around 5:30am CDT. It’s about 35 miles or seven-ish hours until we get to Leelanau. We’ve come about 25 miles in the five hours since we weighed anchor. The wind was light at first, so we had the sails up, and the motor running at 1700rpm.  That…

We love seeing Eagles. I'm still amazed at the comeback Eagles have made following the DDT disaster. When growing up in the 60's and 70's I never experienced the delight of seeing an eagle soar, the dark body and the white flash of tail. It wasn't until I went on a mission trip to serve in Alaska at Echo Bay Bible Camp that I saw my first eagle. We always take it as a good omen when we are greeted by eagles. In fact, one just flew over our bow this morning in Detroit Harbor. They are enormous birds. Their wings have a unique swooping motion. Neither hurried, or awkward as some ducks. Just strong and purposeful. Onboard, we have a photograph of an eagle taken by Nathan Landick, hanging near our table. Nate take amazing photos of wildlife. He has a knack…