Lake Huron: Lion’s Head to the North Channel and Back

By Tod Mills, M17 #408, BuscaBrisas, (galley model)

Setting: This trip took place in the eastern portion of Lake Huron. Lion’s Head is a village of 500 on the eastern side of the Bruce Peninsula, which separates the main body of Lake Huron from Georgian Bay. I sailed with my dog Bilbo north from there to the eastern end of the North Channel, which is the channel between Manitoulin Island and mainland Ontario.

It was rather warm when I was setting the boat up, and the marina was bustling with locals who had been out fishing for lake trout. Had to move three times while setting the boat up to let someone in or out of a parking space, it was that crowded. Bilbo took advantage of this time to bark his head off at every dog that happened by (I think every dog in town was there!). I got all the lighter stuff aboard the boat, leaving the 23 gallons of water and the ice chest to load after the boat was launched. Finally, I was ready to launch but had to wait another half hour while the ramp cleared.

I carefully backed down the ramp and the boat started to float free of the trailer when WHAM! there was a noise and the winch disappeared from view. "Hmmm", I thought, "I wonder what THAT was?" Very carefully, I turned off the ignition, put the truck in first gear, set the parking brake, and walked around back. The winch and the vertical tube it mounts on were dangling from Busca’s bow eye. There was a gaping square hole in the top of the tongue tube where the winch tube was. A bystander said "Wow" and I said, "Yeah, never had THAT happen before." Another bystander told me there was a guy in town with a welding shop. Since it was Sunday I decided to wait until I returned to take care of it, so I pulled the trailer out, loaded the remaining items onto Busca and parked the truck and trailer in the town lot a half-mile away (free parking!).

The reason I chose Lion’s Head for starting point was that it was the northern terminus on an earlier trip in my Thistle and I wanted to pick up where I had left off.

Got the water packed away under the v-berth, topped off the cooler with fresh ice, and away we sailed, just before sunset.

The air was light but I set only the 109 since it was nearly dark. We ghosted away from the village. Some miles away I thought I heard thunder. (This is a theme: when I was here in my Thistle I also heard thunder-like noises which were apparently exploding artillery from a nearby military base). This time the thunder turned out to be fireworks! I was far away, but they were still pretty to watch. Later, the moon rose in an orange orb. Every few miles I would record the coordinates from the gps.

It was well after midnight when we cleared Cabot Head and altered course to the northwest. Wingfield Basin is on the northern side of Cabot Head and is a well-protected anchorage with a dredged channel on an otherwise inhospitable coast. When the range lights inside the basin came into view I lowered the sails, started the outboard, and crept slowly through the dark into the basin keeping the range lights aligned one above the other. I quietly set the anchor (11# Bruce) and Bilbo and I were soon asleep.

Left Wingfield Basin headed WNW along the Bruce Peninsula on a port tack beat towards Flowerpot Island and Tobermory but shortly decided to bear off towards the night’s anchorage: Club Harbour. Winds brisk, a little too much sail up for a beat with the 109 and a reefed main. Waves occasionally hitting 3’, mostly less. Skies start out clear but quickly cloud up, and then clear at anchor. Dist: 26 nm.

The morning sun awoke us and I noted that I had forgotten to bring my boarding ladder. (one reason I plan to replace it with a bolted-on model). Fortunately, I did bring a tiny inflatable Sevylor dinghy with me, and I dug it out of the cockpit locker to pump it up. A high volume pump made the job go quickly. I towed the dinghy one day when I had a very short run and the wind was light. All the other days I deflated it, rolled it up, and stuffed it in the port locker.

Today was windier and turned grey soon after I started out beating along the coast towards Tobermory. Thinking I might be able to catch the Flowerpot Island area in better weather on the return trip, I bore off to the north and passed just east of Bear's Rump Island then north east around to Club Island. On that course the sailing went quickly and easily. I passed a sailboat motoring directly into the wind. The spray flying back to his cockpit and the crew looked miserablein their foulies. The approach to Club Harbour looked to be as straightforward as the last, but as I neared, I noted hippity-hop sized boulders that appeared to be just under the surface of the super-clear water. My notes all pointed to plenty of clearance and the fish finder backed them up, but still I was a bit nervous seeing the rocks. I normally sail in comparatively silty waters where I would not have been able to see the bottom. Ignorance IS bliss!

The anchorage had about a dozen boats in it and Busca was clearly the smallest. No sooner had I set the hook than one of the other cruisers invited me over for freshly baked cookies, but with Bilbo along I had to decline (he would've barked his head off if I'd left him on the boat and I couldn't very well take him with me).

Instead, we went directly to shore: Bill jumped from BuscaBrisas into the dinghy (every time, I hoped he wouldn't puncture it!) and I slowly rowed ashore for our exercise. Getting back aboard the boat was no problem for him; I held the dinghy tightly against BuscaBrisas and he climbed aboard.

After rowing Bilbo ashore for our morning walk we got a pretty late start (got to be a habit leaving around ten) in very light air. Then it died completely and the water was glassy calm. So we motored. And motored. A couple hours anyway. When we reached Cape Smith the wind filled in for a good reach up to the eastern end of the North Channel. I was able to sit back and relax while the sheet-to-tiller steered for me; one of the few times on the trip when I didn't hand-steer. Rounded the Burnt Islands and then ducked between Badgeley and Harris Islands into Lansdowne Channel then dropped the sails and motored through the narrow opening into Snug Harbour. The opening looks pretty wide, but the eastern half of it is very shoal with solid rock. It was a very peaceful night and there were six boats in the harbor, all sailboats.

Spotted a bald eagle next morning. Bilbo and I explored a bit, climbing to the top of a neighboring rise. The terrain is rugged and rocky; not suitable for farming

We hiked back down to the boat and Bilbo hopped into the dinghy. I had to ask him to get out so I could launch it first. It was a tight squeeze for the two of us in the little dinghy and he had to sit a certain way so that I could row.

The light was pretty good, so I took a few pictures of BuscaBrisas at anchor. The anchorage is about 27’ with a nice mud/soft clay bottom. It’s well protected from all directions and easy to get into (just keep to the west side of the channel). Most of the boats had left by this time and the wind was just right for a run through the narrow exit so I hoisted the main and weighed anchor. With just the main up and sheeted in and the helm free Busca slowly tacked back and forth barely moving while I stowed the anchor. Outside the harbor I hoisted the jib and away we went west down Lansdowne Channel.

Lansdowne Channel narrowed up, so I motored a little ways then turned to thread my way through Hole-in-the-Wall. I wouldn’t have risked attempting to go through there since the charts showed the narrow gap to be full of rocks, but I was armed with local knowledge. Last winter I had joined the Great Lakes Cruising Club and their Port Pilot and Log books detailed a safe pathway through. I never had less than five feet of water even though at one point Bilbo probably could have leapt ashore…from either side of the boat. It was quite a thrill going through there. In the picture below, there is actually a small anchorage on the other side of the rocks. After that the navigable channel narrows again…underwater…and the course follows an "S" shape.

After clearing that, we sailed north across Frazer Bay. Frazer Bay is pretty wide open with only a couple shoals and the water averages about a hundred feet deep. I set up the sheet-to-tiller and relaxed, not really watching my course or looking at the charts. I mistook McGregor Point for Frazer Point. I wanted to sail between the two points into Baie Fine. Baie Fine is about nine miles long and a mile wide. I almost missed it.

A little ways in is a neat little cove named for the daughter of the founder of Zenith. Marianne Cove is about 15 feet deep with good water depth near to shore, so many people will put out a bow anchor and tie the stern to a rock or tree ashore. I followed the examples of my neighbors. After tying up, we rowed a short distance to a hiking trail that leads to the top of Frazer Bay Hill. Below is a panorama of the view. Frazer Bay is to the left. Baie Fine is the narrow "fiord" to the right. McGregor Bay is to the far right.

After In the morning, a fox trotted along the water's edge. At one point it came across a snake. The snake repeatedly struck at it, but each time the fox jumped back. After about four strikes, the fox decided to go around. The snake was near a neighboring boat's line ashore, so I warned them of it. A week later I met that same boat, a trimaran, back at Wingfield Basin. (Saw the same boats at different anchorages several times).

After our usual leisurely start, we sailed east down Baie Fine to the Narrows, then, not knowing quite what to expect, motored down the Narrows to the Pool. The Pool is considered the cruising "Holy Grail" of the area. I guess in recent years it’s been getting pretty weedy, but fortunately I didn't have any difficulty setting the anchor. Spent two nights there and hiked back to Topaz Lake. Thought about hiking around the lake but I didn't have any food with me and the terrain looked pretty rugged on half of it, so I settled for just going halfway around (and back!). Got a good downpour while at anchor, the only rain of the whole trip. I ran out of ice today and decided to "rough" it for the rest of the trip with no ice rather than go into Little Current.

Sailed back out Baie Fine (motored through the Narrows since the wind was nearly on the nose) and headed over to Heywood Island, home of Browning Cove. Looking back, I noticed two forest fires, one on Frazer Point and one on McGregor Point. The people on the trimaran later told me that the water bombers flew right over them real low and slow. They said the plane picked up water from Frazer Bay, and then circled around to dump it on 3 minute cycles. I wish I could have seen the action.

At Browning Cove I anchored in the narrows (w/ bow and stern anchors). Sheared the outboard pin with the anchor line. The dinghy made changing it easy enough though and I managed not to drop anything in the water! As a precaution I pulled in closer to shore so the water would be shallow enough to dive. Climbing back aboard BuscaBrisas I forgot to tie the dinghy and it slowly drifted away. I lunged for it and grabbed it just in time! Later I sheared another pin as I was approaching the trailer. I shifted at slightly faster than idle speed and that was all it took. ugh!

Sailed lazily around Strawberry Island and then back over to Lansdowne Channel (got to sail the channel this time) because I wanted to spend the night in Snug Harbour again. I wasn't sure how much trouble I would have getting my trailer repaired and didn't want to cut it too close in case of poor weather, so I decided to start the trip back Monday morning.

Spent all day sailing along Manitoulin Island. [Note: At 30 miles by 80 miles, Manitoulin Island is the largest island in fresh water in the world. It’s big!]. Rattlesnake Harbour is on the north end of Fitzwilliam Island. It is a big, deep anchorage that can really house a lot of boats. Apparently someone is getting ready to log the island or something, judging from the activity I saw. We rolled in just before sunset.

I planned to take the "adventurous" route between Wall Island and Fitzwilliam instead of sailing way out around Wall Island. There is a rather narrow channel bordered by Fitzwilliam to the west and the Wall, an underwater rock ledge extending out from Wall Island. On the east side of the Wall are depths of 150’. The Wall itself is 2’ deep, and then there is the channel that is about 25’ deep. I motored out of the anchorage and since the wind was practically nonexistent around the northeast tip of Fitzwilliam. After I cleared the Wall, I set the main and 109%. It wasn’t long before I swapped jibs to the 155% which I poled out. Ghosted along on a broad reach at less than a knot for a couple hours on nearly glassy water.

Then the wind filled in lightly, moving me at a couple knots...on a beat.... then a wee bit more and it was 3 knots...and then 4. At that point it held steady and we were scooting along beautifully. I wanted to sail directly over Anderson Ledge, which has about 10 feet and is out in the middle of the mouth of the Bay. With the help of the gps I got near, and then spotted it with the color change in the water...sailed right over it...so cool!

After the ledge, we headed for the Gig Point Light on Cove Island and around the north side of Flowerpot Island past these "flower pots"…

After that we were off to Wingfield Basin on an easy wing-and-wing run at 4 to 5 kts.

Today’s trip was different. Reefed main and 80% jib, a long hard beat through sloppy 1'-3' waves back to Lion's Head. I was tired and sore when I arrived. The trimaran (36') left at the same time, but on a reach. They were quickly out of sight. Pic below shows the spray flying across the deck. Only a couple of times did they reach the cockpit.

If I pinched at all, my speed dropped to less than 3 kts, but by watching that I didn't pinch, Busca made 4 according to the gps. I’m sure I could have benefited from new sails; mine are kind of blown out.

Fixing the trailer turned out to be really quick and easy, because the welder had a slip in the marina and the harbor attendant said she'd seen him around and would send him my way next time she saw him. I took a slip for the night (Can$1/ft. The ramp was Can$5. The parking was free!). Next morning he had me road-ready in 45 minutes, and for really too cheap.

All in all it was a mighty nice trip, just not long enough, of course. I would have liked to make it west of Little Current in the main part of the North Channel, but between a late start and my trailer troubles I was a bit shy of time. I am glad I picked up at Lion's Head; next trip I'll have to put in at Little Current to allow more time for gunkholing.

Notes:

1. For this trip I modified the original factory rudder (I had bought a second one so I’d have an original style rudder). I was concerned about damaging the rudder and/or transom by grounding on solid rock. The rudder as it came from the factory is vertically adjustable but even in the "up" position it hangs below the bottom of the fixed keel by several inches. I trimmed about 10" off the bottom so that when the rudder is "up" it is a few inches ABOVE the bottom of the keel. While it worked out okay, it was not without a noticable loss in windward performance, so it was far from the ideal solution. I plan to continue using the factory arrangement except on trips to the North Channel where a grounding would likely have serious consequences. I was considering a kick-up type rudder but didn’t get it made before the trip; sawing off some of the rudder was quick and dirty. I only hope Jerry Montgomery and Lyle Hess can forgive me for doing this to their creation. J
2. I used the battery almost exclusively for the fish finder. I used the navigation lights only briefly and didn’t use the interior cabin lights at all. In the anchorages I found that about half of the boats showed no anchor light. The one night I entered an anchorage after dark there was a nearly full moon so I had no trouble seeing the unlit boats. Had there been no moon or if it had been overcast then that might have been a problem.
3. I’m looking into using LED lighting to lessen my power draw. I wouldn’t have minded reading a bit before bed and it is often too bright to read in the sunlight, plus there is scenery to be seen.
4. Once again my ice lasted 5 days. The key to long-lasting ice is starting out COLD. I had bought a bag of ice the night before to chill a cooler-full of Gatorade. It was entirely melted the next morning of course, but the Gatorade was now pretty cold. I then filled up before leaving and it was that ice that lasted. I’m sure that if I had frozen the Gatorade before leaving then the cooler would have lasted more than 6 days.
5. I was amazed at how much fits into the M17 port cockpit locker. I had two 8x20 fenders, two seat/throw cushions, a danforth anchor w/ rode, a folding grapnel anchor with rode, the Sevylor dinghy, the air pump, small oars, tiller extension, my trash, an extension cord, and a few other odds and ends. There was still plenty of room to spare.
6. I kept my Bruce anchor in a milk-crate inside the cabin under the cockpit. That arrangement worked well and I think that will become my standard. Perhaps I’m flirting disaster, but I’ve always had trouble with coiled line tangling hopelessly. Maybe it’s because I’m left handed and coil it backwards (?), but at any rate I started feeding the anchor rode into the milk crate in a random pile and lo and behold I never had another significant tangle. The rode on this anchor is too long to fit on a cord spool. My little grapnel has a shorter rode and I keep it on a spool, which works nice.
7. I brought entirely too much water with me and came back with 14 gallons left. (At first I thought I brought back 13 gallons but when I cleaned out the boat at home I discovered yet another one). This time I bought another brand of bottled water with heavier jugs, and it worked better, but I still got a little leakage. Too much the dog food as well. Bilbo just can’t eat 40# of dog food in a 1 ½ weeks no matter how much he tries. J . Oh, and propane. I cooked one big meal per day (boiling water for spaghetti, etc) and one bottle lasted the whole trip. Two of the bottles would have been plenty even if I had cooked more.
8. The solar shower warmed water pretty well but it cooled down too quickly before I was able to use it. Maybe some sort of insulation for it once it’s hot would help. I’ll have to try that.
9. When beating in chop the companionway hatch tended to creep forward with no hatch boards in. To stop that, I pressed the tail of a jib sheet between the hatch and the wood retaining strip.