Sunday Summary #81 - Connection and Disconnection

Sunday Summary #81 - Connection and Disconnection

Sunday Summary #81

Connection + Disconnection

Hi ,

Welcome to Scho & Jo’s 81st Sunday Summary. This edition of the Sunday Summary was written aboard PIVOT who is docked in Mackinaw City, Michigan. It was written on a Sunday but sent on a Monday due to enjoying dinner and sundowners with some fellow loopers that delayed the edit of this newsletter to Monday.

    Last Week.

    The past few weeks have been magical. Summer in Canada has been pure magic. We anchored in some of the best anchorages along the entire Great Loop so far! We left off a few weeks ago at Covered Portage Cove, just outside of Killarney, Ontario. Following our time there we cruised to Baie Fine which is French for Fine Bay, and a fine bay it was… We anchored in The Pool and took our dinghy to the nearby trailhead in Killarney Provincial Park. After a short hike, we found ourselves overlooking the beautiful Lake Topaz, so we jumped in the clear beautiful water and found ourselves in Canadian Summer Camp once again.

    We enjoyed sundowners with the crew of Salty Dogs on a Grand Banks Europa who shared one of their favorite quotes, “When was the last time you did something for the first time?” The quote resonated with them because they are faced day after day with new sights, experiences, opportunities, and challenges that make each day special and memorable in their own unique way big or small. The quote has stuck with us since that night because it has given us words to describe the past 3 years of our lives. From booking a one-way flight to Colombia during our year of international travel to cruising around the Great Loop, the past 3 years have been full of unforgettable, first-time experiences. We left their boat grateful for the incredible journey we have been on and excited for the new experiences ahead of us.

    Throughout our time in the Georgian Bay and North Channel, we’ve gotten to go hiking, which is one of our favorite activities. So when an anchorage has a hiking trail accessible by dinghy, we do it! The following day we enjoyed a short cruise to Mary Ann Cove, which is probably my favorite anchorage to date. This anchorage had a beautiful view looking out at Baie Fine and was adjacent to my favorite hike we’ve completed in Canada, Table Rock at Casson Peak. The view at the top of Casson Peak with its incredible views of Baie Fine is famous in Canada as

    did in the 1940s. A.J. Casson is part of the Group of 7, which is a famous group of landscape painters in Canada and initiated the first major Canadian national art movement. Hiking to Table Rock was one of the many moments we’ve had in the past few weeks where we sit back and think about how far we’ve come on this incredible boat journey. We think back to our maiden voyage and all the lessons we learned starting from zero. Taking some time to

    really

    take in the breathtaking scenery puts it into perspective: We arrived here by boat. Our boat. 

    As much as we wanted to stay in Mary Ann Cove for a week so we could wake up each morning to climb to Table Rock, we needed to keep going. We pulled in our stern line (a new skill we gained), our anchor, and cruised to Little Current. While we were in Little Current, we had the opportunity to meet Roy Eaton who puts on a daily Cruisers’ Net on channel 71. His dedication to the boating community is truly special.

    Our next stop was Kagawong where we hiked to Bridal Veil Falls and I laughed my way under the pounding water of the falls. The falls are one of the highlights of Manitoulin Island - the largest freshwater island in the world. When we initially arrived at the falls, there were a few locals swimming but soon after there were 20 people swimming and enjoying the cool, fresh water. It was clearly a treasured place on the island by locals and tourists alike.

    The next day we headed to the Benjamin Islands which is known for being the ‘Hollywood spot’ of the North Channel. We arrived at this anchorage surrounded by pink granite, clear water, and evergreen-colored trees with excitement for another incredible spot! There were many nooks in the anchorage, and we selected a nook that was a bit tight and may have been surrounded by some boulders, but it was lovely!

    We enjoyed swimming, paddle boarding, and an evening bonfire with Tony and Karen from Long Recess (27 Ranger Tug) and Gary and Mary from Volare (466 Carver). It was an incredible night watching the sunset over the North Channel and enjoying a fire while bonding over the beautiful, unique moments on the loop as well as the challenges that we all go through. If you want to read another boater’s perspective on this awesome night, be sure to check out

    .

    Two additional nights were spent in the Benjamin Islands surrounded by the pink granite and we were as amazed as the first. We took dinghy rides around the islands, enjoyed another campfire with Mark and Laura on

    Wild Life

    (39 Mainship) and a local father and son boaters, and listened to him play guitar as watched the stars above. The following day we cruised to another amazing anchorage in the North Channel. As we’ve been traveling in the North Channel, we’ve met several boaters who have been cruising these cruising grounds for years. It didn’t take us very long to understand why they loved this area of the world so much. It’s absolutely stunning and has so many niches to check out and explore. The North Channel has become our favorite part of the entire loop and is a place we would love to come back to in the future.

    Our last night in Canada was spent in the Turnbull Islands where we explored the islands with a dinghy ride and went to shore to throw rocks for Ollie - her new favorite activity. For a dog who did not like water, she’s come a far way to go diving for rocks and jumping off our paddle boards to go swimming. Ollie most definitely loves Canada and the Great Lakes region! The rest of our time was spent hanging out in our hammock, reading, enjoying the scenery, and soaking up the North Channel.

    We checked back into the US and made a stop at Mackinac Island which is known for being a car-free island where people get around with horses and buggy, bikes, or walking. Thanks to the many people who recommended us to rent bikes on Mackinac Island from our Google Form. It was a real treat to explore a place by bike and we had an absolute blast! We learned about the geological history of the island, saw their famous Grand Hotel, and enjoyed the beautiful water on Lake Huron throughout our 15-mile bike ride around the island.

    “There is no wifi in the forest but you'll find a better connection.”– Unknown

    This Week.

    We are currently sitting in a slip where we’ll be waiting out some inclement weather over the next few days. We’ll be using this as a chance to upload and schedule videos! It may sound strange to be excited about a work week, but we love these times to focus and get a lot of work done. We’ll be catching up on editing, responding to emails, and so much more in the next few days. As we arrived in Mackinaw City, we had a very special package awaiting us at the marina - StarLink! We're super excited to use it and we look forward to testing it over the next few weeks as we travel down Lake Michigan and into the midwest rivers.Thanks for your patience and understanding during our period of silence over the past few weeks!

     Videos. 

    You probably noticed we have not released a video in the last two weeks and that’s because we’ve been without any connection or wifi. Little Current was our awaited opportunity to upload YouTube videos since Orillia on the Trent Severn Waterway. We’ve been using public libraries throughout our time in Canada and they’ve been a real-life saver, so we were excited to visit the Little Current Public Library. Unfortunately, we ended up breaking their wifi when we were trying to upload our 4K videos and multiple library patrons were asking the librarians about the slow internet. Whoops! 😬 We ended the upload and made the decision to not worry about our video schedule and instead take the time to dive deeper into the present moments surrounding us.Our previous Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 6 pm EST video release schedules will resume this week! 🎉  Be sure to watch the first part of our time in the Atlantic Ocean tonight!

     Blogs. 

    Next week we’ll be releasing our August Expenses on the Great Loop! If you missed any of our previous expense reports, you can find them here:

     Updates. 

    After having a fabulous experience at the America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA) Spring Rendezvous in Norfolk, Virginia this May, we’ll be attending the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous in Paris Landing State Park in Tennessee this October! We’re excited to announce that we’ll be giving a presentation on Anchoring and Loving It! and are so excited to share our love of anchoring with prospective loopers. Some of our favorite days on the loop have been spent on anchor. If you’re planning on attending the rendezvous (I believe there are still spots available), make sure to stop by PIVOT and see the crew. Our welcome committee (Ollie) will be ready to greet you with a big smile!

     Great Loop Recommendations. 

    We are looking for recommendations for destinations and spots along our Great Loop to go see, visit, and enjoy. It's been a real challenge for us to keep track and stay organized with the many wonderful recommendations we've received thus far. So we've created a Google Form to help us stay organized. Thank you to everyone sending us recommendations so far! We really appreciate it.

     Gratitudes. 

    Our time in Canada was something we really needed during our time on the Great Loop. We had so much fun swimming in the freshwater, going through the locks, and just having downtime without any wifi and connection. It was a much-needed rest that we didn’t know we needed until we got it. We devoured some books, sat in pool floaties, and took time to be present. It was a real gift that I’m so grateful we got because we don’t often take time to just ‘be.’ It was truly special. This summer has been unforgettable.If you made it all the way through this very lengthy email, you're a legend 🤙

    Peace and love,Jenn + Elliot