S Benjamin Islands – Mooring Cove Available for Kismet.

We had one of those magically calm cruising days for the short 12-mile run (approx.) to our first scheduled anchorage at South Benjamin where we hoped to find a well-protected spot snuggled up to a boulder or two. It sounds strange, but a river has formed between the boulders/islands in S Benjamin Islands where natural mooring coves have formed. We’ve always wanted to tie up in this area, but all our previous boats have had too deep of a draft for the spots available in that channel. As luck would have it there was one prime spot available this morning when we arrived at South Benjamin, and our Ranger Tug, Kismet, fit very nicely into it. Time to relax and enjoy the start of our North Channel adventure. But first, we need to secure the boat to those rocks.

The last time we used our long stern anchor line was when we cruised Lake Powell. Some of that red Arizona dirt is still clinging to that line as we get it ready to use.

Tying to shore was a little bit of a project in this cove. First, we dropped anchor at the mouth of the cove, drew back, then tied both starboard and port sides to shore with our stern tie line.

Once settled… a panoramic view of our anchorage tonight (above).

The post Tying Up to Boulders on S Benjamin Islands appeared first on Trailer Trawler Life Blog – Cruising USA & Canada.

In light of some of our road trips recently, the one we took today was relatively short. We started by heading north along the scenic route of northwest Michigan. We drove Kismet across the Mackinaw Bridge, through the Upper Peninsula, across the border into Canada, and finally, 260 miles later, we launched her in Spanish, Ontario – right in the heart of the North Channel. We stayed one night at Spanish Marina getting things organized and prepped for our two-week North Channel boating fix, it had been five years since our last visit to this magical Canadian wonderland, way too long for Lisa and me.

Spanish Marina is a good central location to launch a trailered boat into the North Channel.

Spanish is a great spot to launch a trailerable boat. Great facilities and everyone is friendly and helpful. The boat ramp is one of the steepest we’ve encountered (see below) but it all worked out once we got it rolling. It seems every ramp is different, I always do a walk around, at a new-to-us ramp, come up with a plan of attack and convey it to Lisa, so we’re both on the same page, before we start the process.

We arrived in Spanish late in the afternoon, around 4:00, and still had lots to do to get ready to leave in the morning. The biggest job was getting the dinghy and motor down to the boat from the truck, inflating it, and mounting the motor. (We are still investigating the right dinghy mount for the boat, so in the meantime, we deflate it and stow it in the bed of the truck while we’re towing the boat over land)

Soon after dark, we went to bed secure in knowing we were absolutely ready to begin our exploration of the North Channel.

The post Road Trip… Canada Here We Come – Spanish Marina appeared first on Trailer Trawler Life Blog – Cruising USA & Canada.