Cockburn Island-Sand heaven
Argh, Day three of getting up to an alarm to move the boat. We sure got used to short trips AND staying put for more then a day. I am getting up before everyone else and seem to have established a new “travel day” routine where I ready the boat, clean up the cockpit (dew, bugs and sand), feed Kona and do whatever else needs to be done so Captain can sleep in.
We left the Turnbull’s just shy of 8am. It was slightly overcast and calm. We all needed sweatshirts up on deck in the cooler breeze. Cory made bagels for us. This year we have figured out how to make a makeshift oven aboard. It works by placing metal plates in the cast iron pans we have and then covering with another plate. It worked pretty darn well for cheese bagels and I know Captain has used a similar method for making a few other dishes this summer. I was able to do my tippy tap-tap time while the land behind us disappeared for the first time in a month. We never lost sight of land today, but we did cross from the mainland area down to Manitoulin Island which by now has receded away from Little Current about 9nm. Nine miles doesn’t seem that far but when most of our destinations have been about ¼ mile (or less!) from shore of hundreds of islands it sure seems like big open water again.
I did the dishes after breakfast and read my book for a bit. I’m getting very close to the end. I even got to take a nice nap underway. I can hear the engine pretty well up in the V-berth and I can also hear the details of any activity on deck such as sail work on top of the splashes from the bow and feel of the waves. As I laid there, I heard Captain pull out the jib meaning he got at least a little wind and the waves started to pick up. I decided to get up and see how things were going. All was going well. We had entered the gap between Manitoulin Island and Cockburn Island. Getting close to the big open waters of Lake Huron. I remember we often find ourselves having to get our sea legs back these first days of leaving the North Channel as we eventually got to two-foot waves. The wind was a bit higher then forecasted, but not bad or scary. It was right on our nose so we just motored through it for two hours until we came to our anchorage.
We found this anchorage two years ago. We came back because the weather was good to do so. Wagosh Bay is a deep one and half mile wide bay that has the most wonderful tight packed virgin beach. There are maybe a few houses here but they are tucked well into the forest and we have never seen much proof of humans here other then faint 4x4 tracks.
We dropped anchor in about 12 feet of pure sand. The waters outside the channel are crystal clear and the Caribbean vibe hit us all immediately. We loaded the dinghy right away with frisbee’s, balls, water and libations. Even Cory couldn’t resist and came along.
On the beach I frolicked. I was overjoyed with the endless beach. The water was so comfortable and easy to walk barefoot in as the slope was gentle and the bottom pure sand; no rocks, no weeds. Cory, hearing my comment about a virgin beach, took the opportunity to draw inappropriate things in the sand that made us all laugh like the forever 14-year-olds we are. Then he set up an ultimate tic-tak-toe board in the sand where you have play a smaller game of tic-tak-toe in each section before you claim your bigger spot. The twist? If you put a mark on, say, the center of a small board then next person has to put their mark on the center board of the bigger board (so watch out where you are sending your opponent!!) I lost. Kona was winning big time however. The wind was perfect for Frisbee and she was having the catches of her life getting pretty impressive air. Eventually we wanted to walk the beach some so we moved over to ball and we all walked the beach. We ended up walking off shore in water that varied from shin deep to above knee on the sand bars. Kona swam and swam and swam. She was unstoppable.
About two hours later we decided to go back to Ciara and make dinner with that left over steak. While Captain made dinner, Cory made salsa verde from my freeze-dried powder. We all devoured a bag a chips and salsa for an appetizer. Dinner was delouios as the steak made a great base for fajitas with fresh peppers.
After dishes Captain and I wanted to go back to shore for a fire. I didn’t want to wait till after 9pm so we headed there around 8pm. There were dead standing trees by shore so Captain took his chainsaw. We remembered we had camping chairs and packed those along with toys for Kona and the drone. Cory wanted to stay behind. We told them to blow the conch if they changed their mind.
On shore Captain and I had an amazing time on shore. He got to fly his drone and also get some footage of Kona playing Frisbee, testing out his skills for sure. Kona continued her crazy non-stop play all the way until the sun was setting low enough that we wanted to sit and enjoy the fire. We had a gorgeous cotton candy sunset again and while we enjoyed that together we started to notice Kona.
Oh my lord, Kona. She was in her element. We started to notice how much she understands when we talked to her. She was being Frisbee crazy and kept bringing them to us to play. I asked her to go get her other frisbee so I could keep track of them as the sun set. She already had one in her mouth, but she went over to the other one, exchanged it and brought me back her “other” one. But it gets worse…(or better). I took away the frisbees. We can’t throw them sitting down and wanted her to chill out. I put them in the dinghy, under the lifejackets and out of sight. I settled down with Captain. Kona was not satisfied. She went to the dinghy, jumped inside and came out with a tennis ball. We let her play with that for a while as it is hard to resist when she keeps putting it in your lap. Eventually, though, we wanted to be done and Captain hid the ball under his flannel while she thought he was going to throw it. She was standing behind him and he put his hands up to show he didn’t have it. She went looking for it anyways. Her tail going like a helicopter (a sign she is really happy and working hard) as she tree ’ed up and down the beach. She didn’t find it of course. So, what did she do? She went into the dinghy and got the other ball! When she brought it to Captain, he called her silly and showed her both balls. She was ecstatic! “Wow, I brought one and two magically appeared!” Captain threw both up and behind him. She came back for one. Captain told her “Bring me your other ball” and she ended up doing the same routine as the frisbee’s. Except this time, she did it four to five times, essentially playing fetch with herself by keeping one ball in her mouth, fetching the other ball and dropping said ball and coming back, only to do that again and again. We were laughing so hard. And eventually we were done and wanted her to chill so we hid both balls under our warm clothes. Can you guess what happened next? Yep, she went back to the dinghy, found the hidden frisbee and we were back to square one. And yes, when I secured frisbee #1, she went and got #2. With all toys confiscated on our persons, she gave up and decided to dig in the sand and chew on sticks. We can’t believe her level of energy. She played, HARD, for nearly 4 hours today.
To say we love the beach would be pretty spot on. The North Channel doesn’t really have beaches. It has its own stunning scenery and the protected waters are a god send. I know if we were to venture to Georgian Bay, we would find more mix of protection like the North Channel, but if we were to explore the south shore of Manitoulin Island and the Huron side of the Bruce Peninsula of Canada, we would find more beaches like this. These beach sides (and the same is true on the east coast of Lake Michigan where we are headed) offer little protection which means bigger sails to safe harbors. Such difficult choices to make, I am so excited we get to do both!
We came back to Ciara around 10pm. The gnats were getting to be crazy. We had to endear biting flies a bit earlier as well. Cory wanted to watch some Rick and Morty. We had a snack, enjoyed our show. We stepped outside (with all the lights off to keep those gnats away) and marvled at the night sky. This has got to be some of the darkest skies I have ever seen and with the bay over a mile wide and no life ashore we had the best view. The Milky Way was brilliant. We saw shooting starts as the meteor shower is about to peak in the next few days. We called it a night before midnight. We have decided to go to Government Bay (we cross back into the USA) tomorrow and perhaps stay there a few nights and explore the towns of Hessel and Cedarville. Our friends on Arabesque spend some time up in there and we are intrigued to stay more then our typical one night. Its about six hours in big water, but the forecast is calm so it should be a boring, but comfortable, motor day.
