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.

Tourists in Mobile

Arriving In Mobile Alabama

 Marc & I are  happy to be done the Inland Waterway 
and starting a new chapter in our adventure. 

After the long winding river entering mobile bay was a flurry of activity. There were barges upon  barges being staged. Tugs, ship yards, loading docks, cranes. The pictures do no justice to the men working and scurrying around on the enormous equipment. Often the equipment was so large men looked like ants. 

After traveling through the Industrial area we entered Mobile Bay. We were so lucky that it was a beautiful clear day. There were fishing boats every where! And Dolphins. Lots and lots of playful dolphins. As I write this much time after the fact I still haven't been able to capture a great picture of these playful and lovely mammals . Seeing the Dolphins quickly ended my sadness for leaving the river system. 

 Mobile Bay Welcoming Committee

When we first arrived in Mobile we rented a car and explored the surrounding area. We fell upon Fairhope a beautiful bay side town. Beautiful scenery and picturesque piers. While walking we stumbled on this amazing bronze statue. The statue was of Marietta Johnson. It was said that her spirit exemplified her hope for the future, education and children. For me my first thought was Miss Suzzie & her gifts. 

Can you see the difference? This was the first of many sunken and abandoned boats we have seen. 

Dauphin Island Alabama was a great way to spend the day

Just a few interesting facts. Dauphine was originally named “Massacre Island” because of the large pile of human skeletons found there when it was discovered. It was renamed in 1707 after the heir to the french throne. Whew, I think that was a good thing. Personally I just thought someone screwed up the spelling of Dolphin. Dauphine Island was at one time owned by the France, Great Britain, Spain. The US got their act together and gained control in 1813.

As we were leaving the marina we met a young man John who was just about to complete the loop. He was on his last leg before going home in Florida. When he heard what we were doing he asked to join us and of course we happily agreed. BTW John if your out there I lost your boat card. Send me a note. 

Fort Gaines Where History Spans Three Centuries

Without giving a history lesson the architecture and efficiency of this fort was amazing. You might recognise the famous line “ Dam the torpedoes, Full speed ahead” spoken by Admiral David Farragut 

This was not your everyday outhouse. It was a ten seater that connected by way of culvert to the bay. Once a day the tide would come in and out and flush the toilets. This was necessary being that over 400 men used the latrines daily. It was connected to the courtyard by a long tunnel and to the rifle lines by doorways to the left and right.  

 To the latrine

For the love of old buildings

For Mike Gulf Coast Hash House Harriers.

Condo living Dauphin Island

Marc says no pets

Often along the route we saw stops for boiled peanuts so we just had to try them. Ok so they don’t look so great. Just remember boiling kills anything. They are salty, who doesn’t like salty. 

I just loved this store window! Except I think it’s missing about 5 women. Gabe is in the red (except there is too much wine in that glass LOL). Shep in the pink. 

We spent a sunny Sunday exploring the USS Alabama Memorial Park just prior to Remembrance day or Memorial Day here. As a note we didn’t see any US ceremonies but listened to our capital hill ceremonies on CBC Radio (my Canadian life line) One thing that we have appreciated in the US is the attention they as a nation give to those who serve or served. There are signs and notices everywhere giving thanks. Discounts for just about everything is given to past and present service members. Did you know Lowes gives a 10% service discount! Now if only West Marine could help a boat out LOL. 

Interesting to know but the huge Battleship Memorial Park is not tax supported. The park was created by generous citizens of every kind and is self sustaining. We were talking to a gentalman from Alabama about our age that can remember taking penny jars to school in the 60’s to help support the set up of this park. It opened in January 1965. The USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park is dedicated to all Alabama Veterans who have participated in conflicts of the United States 

The park includes a tour of the Submarine USS Drum. This submarine was commissioned in 1941, is 311 feet long and 27 feet wide. Her crew consisted of 7 officers & 65 enlisted men. She earned 12 battle stars during WWII. Me and my claustrophobia stayed on land while Marc viewed her. 

I did tour the USS Alabama Battleship. Ok most but not all of her. She was commissioned in 1942. Earned 9 Battle Stars and shot down 22 enemy airplanes in World War II. She was 680 feet long, 108 feet wide and weighed over 45,000 lb. (90 million pounds). It was 194 feet high. The crew of the Alabama consisted of 127 officers and 2,200 enlisted men. Think about it. The stats are insane. I was overwhelmed by the size. I would tell you the armament but you would think an alien had taken me over. Ok Im going to tell you anyway. Nine 16"/ 45 cal (3 main turrets) accurate to 21 miles. twenty 5"/38 cal. Ten side mount guns, Forty Eight 40 mm guns (12 mounts) and fifty two 20 mm guns. Ok so I'm not interested in the guns. I was interested in the serving crew. How amazing. Did you know President Kennedy once said " Any man can be asked what he did in this century to make his life worthwhile…can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction…I served in the Navy. I could be a little off but...

The ship had living space, galley, bakery, barber shop, laundry, post office, sick bay, radio room, cinema ect, ect, ect. Amazing. 

Mississippi River 23-29 Sept 2013

The Beautiful Mississippi

          Captain Bill of Babsea on the Mississippi with his side kick Achmed, Resemblance?

                                                Alton Marina 23-26 September

           As you can tell by the amount of time we spent at the Alton Marina we enjoyed it 

The marina was built after a great flood in1993. The unique features of this flood resistant marina include floating structures, even a floating pool and two hot tubs. The entire marina sits on floating bollards so as the water raises, or lowers so does the infrastructure.

This picture depicts the site of Lincoln's last debate with Douglas for a seat in the senate. With the issue of slavery dividing the country more than 6,000 people arrived on foot, by train, and steamboat to gather, and hear this debate on Oct 15, 1858. The magnitude of the number in those days astounded me. Lincoln lost the seat, but elevated himself to victory as the President of the United States in 1860

Another Lincoln story I liked, was the duel that never happened... Lincoln criticized the Illinois state auditor James Shield’s method for collecting taxes. Pretending to be a widow Lincoln wrote letters attacking the auditor. Upon finding out about the deception, Shields challenged Lincoln to a duel. Lincoln did not want to duel, but it was custom so he chose a site across the river from Alton, Illinois and as his weapon he chose the largest cavalry swords he could find. As Lincoln’s long arms swung the sword at a branch on a nearby willow tree Shields wisely decided to settle the disagreement like a gentleman. 

Alton Prison

Alton is known as one of the most haunted small towns in America, having a long dark and bloody history of floods, epidemics, death & murder. The civil war, the underground railroad, smallpox catastrophes, a confederate prison to the mob killing of Elijah Lovejoy. Many curses stopped it from becoming the St Louis of the Midwestern United States. The spirits from these tragedies are said to be still haunting these areas. 

The haunted story began with the Alton Prison. It was the first Illinois state prison and it opened in 1833. Alton is rich in lime stone so, the prison was built with the local stone. The prison quickly became over crowded and had deplorable conditions, so it closed. Then, during the civil war in 1862 it became a military prison for confederate soldiers. Six to ten men died everyday. It was said that 1809 people died during that time. The story goes that the lime from that prison helped build other houses in the Alton area allowing these dead spirits live on. 

The legendary Mc Pike Mansion is claimed to be haunted by members of the underground railroad, servants of the building, a cook in the kitchen, a strange death of a woman in the bathtub, some believe the Mc Pikes still wander the house. 

Elijah Lovejoy

Elijah Lovejoy was an outspoken newspaper editor that was an abolitionist. He used his position to attack slavery, his views were unpopular in the south, so mobs destroyed his newspaper presses three times, and threw them into the Mississippi river. The fourth, press was stored in a warehouse where an angry mob attacked, destroying the press and killing Lovejoy.

We were walking around the town and found everything extremely spread out, we had no car and the temp is in the 80‘s when we stumbled upon a great bar. So, we are sitting in the Firemans bar, thank you Miss Bonnie, having a wonderful cold beer when we meet Brian. A great guy who became tour guide extrordinaire for Rita & I.  Brian showed us the sites and took us to this great bluff for a great view of the Mississippi from up top.

No visit to Alton would be complete if you didn’t go to Fast Eddies. Fun Fun Fun

The tallest, man in the world was from Alton

Leaving Alton

Our Lady of the river is a 50' shrine built after a disastrous flood in 1951 that stopped just shy of the village Portage des Sioux. Yearly a blessing of the fleet is held at this site. 

The Chain of Rocks Canal

Our first sights of St Louis 

We chose not to stop in St Louis but the sight of the arch was a stunning sight. it is a memorial to Thomas Jefferson, who dreamed of a continental United States

Hoppies Marina

Hoppies Marina is a legend  among loopers. At Mile Marker 158.5 it is the only place to get fuel for the next 107 miles. As beautiful as the last stop was Hoppies is well "different." It is owned by the colorful Fern and her husband who have been operating it since 1973. Hoppies, was established in 1934 by Hoppies father. He was a lamp lighter on the Mississippi when the navigation lights were lit using kerosene. 

Now 79 years latter Fern shares her wisdom with loopers to ensure they have a safe journey

Personaly I think the lore is bigger than the stop

I just had to stick this in Marc and his trusty autohelm, better known to me as Gustouv my swedish helmsman, at work. Note the hand 

Canadian Canoeists 

So we are just about at the end of the Mississippi when we spot a canoe with a big Canadian flag flying on the back. Out came our air horn. We slowed down, and they paddled over. The two young men were Mac & Hayden from Minedosa Manitoba. They were making the trek from the headwaters of the Mississippi River, Lake Itaska to the Gulf of Mexico. I had just pulled three loaves of warm bread from the oven, gave them one and off they went. Around six that evening they caught up to us at Angelo Towhead told us tales of their adventure, drank a couple cold Canadian beers, Bliss feed them and they were off to continue down the Mississippi.