Meldrum Bay, eh?

When the winds finally showed a calming trend, we headed out of Detour for Meldrum Bay (which Phil calls Mulder Bay). Actually, almost everyone headed out of Detour on the same day.

Harbor Island
On the way to Meldrum Bay (which Phil calls Melrose Place Bay), we did a side trip to Harbor Island. We had considered anchoring here for a night but decided to do a quick check of the area instead and perhaps anchor here on the way back. It's a beautiful anchoring spot with an inner and outer harbor. We found that we would be able to anchor in either location (the current water levels in the inner anchorage are greater than the charts indicate). While at our brief
anchorage, we saw a deer and two sandhill cranes.

Moving on beyond Harbor Island, we encountered wind that was at the higher end of the ranges forecast and coming from our stern. That gave us a nice little push and allowed Meridian to surf a little. However, this also required more handling to keep Meridian from turning sideways and catching the waves broadside (definitely not fun).

All the stern wave action we were taking caused one of our dinghy davits to break free from the swim platform and go diving into Lake Huron. Unfortunately, there was no opportunity to yell "davit overboard" and toss a life preserver to Mr. Dinghy Davit, so we bid him farewell somewhere, we think, around Mississagi Strait.

With the davit gone, one side of the dinghy was dragging in the water and occassionally attempting to do some surfing itself. This was not a good situation as it was placing extra stress on the other davit and the securing lines, risking a "Mr. Dinghy Overboard" event. So it was Bernie, the Zen Knot Master, to the rescue. With the agility of a newborn giraffe (note significant sarcasm), she crawled across our spacious and scary aft deck, somehow strung a line through the dinghy handle, and valiantly secured the dinghy with a - TAH DAH - Clove Hitch with two Half-Hitches. Of course, not too long after that, we turned into the shelter of Meldrum Bay (which Phil calls Mulholland Drive Bay).

It was hard to believe the two sections were even connected but we were relieved to be in calmer waters. Entering Meldrum Bay Marina is quite the experience. Each dock has a HUGE steel casson at the end of it. The docks are not the traditional slips we're used to. They are docks that you tie up alongside. Depending upon the length, two or three boats can fit on either side of the dock.

The dockmaster, Bill and Evelyn (from the sailboat Inua, who left Detour AFTER us but arrived BEFORE us -- certainly because we stopped at Harbor Island -- yes, that must be the reason) helped us tie up. In the future, when we visit Meldrum Bay (which Phil calls Milky Way Bay), we will probably hang some fenders low off the side we're tying up on to make it easier to keep Meridian off the docks.

Although very small, Meldrum Bay (which Phil calls Macaroni Bay), has an inn/restaurant (Meldrum Bay Inn), a small general store/post office, nice marina staff, a museum (The Net Shed), and, of course, a Canadian Customs Phone.

Checking in with Canadian Customs was painless. Phil provided our Coast Guard registration number, passport information, and ATF information. Bernie's approval was initially on hold due to all the herb plants she was bringing into Canada, but she was eventually cleared. They do laugh at when you tell them about the safety flare guns on the boat, even though all our rule books stress that we should declare them. They didn't deem our alcohol amount worthy of a duty fee, so we were good to go.

Meldrum Bay Inn (which is a wi-fi hot spot) has a brief menu but all the food is quite good. We had dinner there with Bill and Evelyn and can recommend the Whitefish, Smoked Trout, Fish and Chips, and BBQ Chicken. They had an incredible Broccoli Soup (big chunks of tender broccoli) as a soup of the day.

For a to-go dessert, we had a Butter Tart. The Butter Tart is a tall tart filled with buttery caramel, nuts and brown sugar. We think this is a creation of the fabled Meldrum Bay Pie Lady (who sold pies out of her car every afternoon) but are not sure. Doesn't matter, the Butter Tarts are amazing.

The general store/post office has a little of everything: alcohol, first aid supplies, pantry items, local jellies and jams, dairy and some packaged meat and cheeses.

The marina has a vintage lounge. Unfortunately, the historic building which currently houses the lounge and marina office is in danger of being re-done. Hopefully, they just restore and reinforce it as it is a quaint old building.

We were planning on leaving on Tuesday, July 15, but a questionable weather forecast "kept" us enjoying Meldrum Bay (which Phil calls Malted Milk Bay) for another day. We took advantage of the stay to (a) make cookies (b) attach a new Dinghy Davit and (c) christen the Kayak (which, according to some faint and barely readable markings on its hull is apparently named Joe Vazzano ;) )

The maiden voyage of the Kayak went well -- no one got soaked, no one got hit with a paddle, and we didn't turtle ourselves.



We paddled around Meldrum Bay (which Phil calls Margarita Bay) and found some stone pilings. We believe these to be ancient Jenga games, abandoned mid-game when Blueberries came into season. They were so interesting (to us at the time) that we almost ran the Kayak aground in fascination.



Phil likened Meldrum Bay (which he is FINALLY calling Meldrum Bay) to the towns in Northern Exposure or Men In Trees. Everyone was friendly, perhaps uniquely quirky, and welcoming. Oh, and they do end their sentances with an "eh?" But I think it may be just for the tourists ... eh?

Touring Detour, Michigan

After leaving Cedarville, we continued sliding through the last part of "The Snows" on our way to Detour Village, Michigan, a 27 nm trip. Waves were in the 3 - 4 range but coming from southeast. It was particularly turbulent when we got to the entrance to Detour -- where the St. Mary's River meets Lake Huron. This area is marked by the Detour Reef Lighthouse and, remarkably, there was a boat tied up to the lighthouse!


The area has quite the interesting names for islands. Here, for example is Frying Pan island. Of course, it's really supposed to be Saute Pan island but ...

As we were entering the Detour Marina, they radioed us to change our slip assignment. Apparently, upon seeing that it was THE Meridian and HER crew, they wanted to put us in a slip that had not boats in "striking" distance. Really it was due to the strong wind gusts that were accompanying us in. The dockhands at Detour are very experienced, professional, and highly skilled. They worked hard at getting us into our slip.

Once settled in, we were able to enjoy the "Freighter Show" that passes by regularly. Since Detour is on the St. Mary's River, which connects Lake Huron and Lake Superior, freighter traffic is pretty heavy. Our favorite was this lime green one with the fluorescent orange stripe.


Detour is not a big town, but it has the basics within walking distance of the marina: Sune's Grocery Store, North Country Outfitters (charts, boat, camping, fishing and hunting supplies), Timberdoodles (specialty food items, art, cards, gifts) and a few restaurant. A ferry shuttles cars and people between Detour and Drummond Island. They even have a shoe tree. This is becoming a trend -- South Manitou had a bottle tree, if you recall.

The restaurant we frequented while in Detour was the Mainsail Cafe. It is a restaurant with a bar that also serves ice cream. It is quite the experience to sit at a bar eating an ice cream cone. (It is also quite the experience to be told "Sorry, miss, I can't sell you this beer because it is only 11:30am. Can't sell you this until noon." Too embarrassed to return, Bernie made Phil go back to get the Bell's Oberon.) The Mainsail Cafe also serves locally caught fish and we'll personally vouch for the broiled whitefish!

Across from Detour Harbor is a statue of The Passage Keeper. This had been a cottonwood tree that had been hit by lightening. The owners had a chainsaw artist carve The Keeper in the trunk.

Detour Harbor also has a resident otter family. They played on the docks one evening to an audience of boaters.

We stayed in Detour for three nights. A little longer than expected but strong winds (20+ mph with 30+ gusts) were forecast, and experienced, in the area. A few sailboats had attmepted to leave (they had schedules to keep), but returned after encountering very rough waters! We took the conservative approach and stayed -- nothing wrong with hanging out on the aft deck watching the freighters go by.

While in Detour we ran into (figuratively, not literally) Bill an Evelyn in their sailboat Inua. We had met them "way back" in Leland and it was nice to see them again. They, too, are headed for the North Channel for a few weeks of cruising.

On Monday, July 14, the forecast seemed good for a trip to Meldrum Bay, where we would check in to Canadian Customs and, perhaps, finally get "there".

Sliding through "The Snows" (Les Cheneaux Islands)

Well after the wild ride to St. Ignace, a good breeze was making us nervous. However, we "sailored up", fueled up, pumped out, and sailed off for the "real" start of our cruise. (Like the stuff we'd been doing so far was just practice?!?) We left under intermittently overcast and sunny skies for the 25 nm trip. The seas were somewhat kind to us. Bernie didn't notice anything as she has decided to spend her cruising time practicing different knots. She was so intently working on the clove hitch with two half-hitches that she didn't notice any of the 4 foot waves. She started spouting off about the zen of knots and Phil just kinda tuned her out as he was focusing on the zen of waves.



But soon enough the entrance to "The Snows", the abbreviated name of Les Cheneaux Islands, was in sight and we started our trip. There are several interesting aspects of Les Cheneaux Islands. The constant flow of small boat activity (the residents' mode of transportation); the little islands (like Dollar island, pictured here) and the boat houses with old, but exceptionally maintained, wooden boats; the narrow channel and the constant chirp of our depth sounder alerting us to the shallowness of the area. We used both GPS and the charts to make sure we wouldn't miss a critical turn - especially knowing Meridian's propensity for exploring reeds and cattails ;)

Oh and the wildlife is abounding as well. We saw our first moose. It seemed a little stiff but it was probably still trying to thaw out after the long cold winter.

There are two small towns in the area: Hessel and Cedarville. Hessel has a big wooden boat show festival in August and is, by all accounts, a great little stopping point. We chose Cedarville, also a great stopping point, because our cruising guides hinted that we might be too long for Hessel's Marina. The Cedarville Marina was a tight fit for us as well but they have knowledgeable and helpful dockhands to help. They also have very economical rates: $28! That's almost as cheap as anchoring!

We had dinner at Pammi's Restaurant, yummy sweet treats at the Hightop Bakery and visited the Cedarville Maritime Museum. The Cedarville Maritime Museum has some nice displays of the nautical history of the area.

Early wooden racing boats (the first jet-skis?)


Every year at Hessel's Wooden Boat Show, they auction off a cedar strip canoe. Here is the builder working on this year's prize.


The Cedarville Maritime Museum has a collection of the Wooden Boat Show Posters


We're off to Detour Village, Michigan now. Maybe Detour Village is where the cruise really starts.