Blue View, Be Aware of Big Currents in Little Current Manitoulin Island

I would like to tell you about our home port. If you have been reading our blog, you are probably aware that we are from Northern Ontario, Canada.  Our sailing grounds are Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and the North Channel, also known as the Caribbean of the North. Our home port has been Little Current, Manitoulin Island for over ten years. 

No matter where you will go, you most likely will have to deal with currents one way or the other, but myself and many local boaters often say, Little Current was wrongly named, it should have been called Big Current. We have often sat on our boat, watching various boats coming into the town docks without being aware of the currents, which can sometimes be as much as two to three knots.  Also, the wind will change the direction and strength of the current or be in the opposite direction to the current. All this I can assure you can spell disaster.  We have seen boats side swipe other boats, dingy's literally explode on their davits as other boats hit them and sadly people break legs trying to fend their boats off others, It is not a pretty sight. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you this to scare you off or tell you to avoid Little Current.  On the contrary, hundreds of boats dock safely every summer in Little Current.  I write this in the hope that this will help you in some small way, so you can enjoy our great port. This is an amazing town and is a must stop for any boaters or Loopers. 

As you can see on the pictures I included, Little Current channel runs East to West or West to East. The city walls runs the same and the docks are running South to North with fingers East to West.  

 There are more docks now than in this google earth picture

I won't tell you how to dock your boat as they all react differently and each skipper knows his own vessel. But, here are a few tips I use to make my docking easier. 

First, thing I suggest you do is, find the current buoy J44, near Goat Island Point, this buoy base has the shape of a boat hull and turns to point at the current. 

Second, check your gauges and the difference between your water and ground speed. 

Third, check the wind direction and speed. In the Great Lakes area, we have prominent westerly wind, but as you know weather changes and we can have an Easterly wind with a Westerly current. Or visa versa. 

Fourth, call any Little Current marina on channel 68 as they have staff that will gladly help you at the dock.  

Fifth, and lastly we are all told "go slow when docking” well this doesn't always apply in Little Current. Some boats are so slow they forget the current is on their beam, it overtakes them and they end up against the fingers or worse against other boats. 

As an end note, Little Current is a  great place to replenish, take in the sights and relax. Here is a short list of amenities I suggest:

Once you pass through the swing Bridge on the East side of Little Current that opens all summer on the hour from 7 am to 9 pm, you have Little Wally's Dock Service for fuel, pump out and boat equipment. There are two grocery stores in town, a liquor store, beer store, a pharmacy for your headaches after visiting the previous two.  A top notch hospital. Several restaurants and bars including my favourite, the Anchor Inn. The town docks has 70 floating finger slips, plus 20 on the wall. Three marinas; Boyle's, Harbour Vue, Spider Bay with transient slips and repair facilities. We also have our own cruiser's net broadcasted by Roy Eaton from the Anchor Inn daily from July 1st to August 31 09:00 channel 71. 

Although we are sailing the Caribbean now we will be there sometime this summer. Safe docking and hope to see you in Little Current.