We finish the North Channel - Gore Bay to Drummond Island USA

On Monday (8/13), after walking through the Gore Bay business district, we departed with Jan's Tern for Meldrum Bay at the west end of Manitoulin Island.  The 35 mile trip on flat water took 4 hours thanks to light and variable winds.  We ran at our favorite 9 MPH speed consuming 4 gallons per hour.  We arrived at 2:30 PM.

Bob and I decided the weather was perfect for washing our boats.  Unfortunately, Meldrum Bay had the water shut off.   Another wrinkle.  Meldrum Bay's power was at the head of the dock.  As a result only boats closest to the ramp had access to power.  Fortunately, we got there early.  Late arrivals had to run their generators or go without.

Long floating docks at Meldrum Bay Marina

The historic Meldrum Bay Inn was just a short walk from the marina and had unusually good food for an out-of-the-way restaurant.  We dined with Bob and Jan and closed the place down.  It was a fun dinner.

Meldrum Bay Inn

Scale model Meldrum Bay Inn bird house

There was not much to Meldrum Bay.  The country story, which was also a Licensed Canada Beverage Outlet (liquor store), had almost no inventory and mostly empty shelves.  We were glad to leave early the next morning.

The General Store

Our final stop on the North Channel was Drummond Island.  We had perfect weather for this segment, which we again did with Bob and Jan.  The 41 mile trip took close to five hours on flat water at trawler speed (9 mph).  We crossed into us waters at 11:35 AM and two hours later docked at the Drummond Island Yacht Haven where we checked in with US Customs and Immigration.

Customs check-in went without a hitch as we had the required decal (recall the FedEx envelope delivered at Port Severn).  The agent was also very friendly.  Frankly, we expected to be hassled.  This did not occur.  The agent took us at our word on currency, liquor and firearms on board.  Note: Having used all of our Canadian dollars and having no US dollars on our person we were basically indigent. 

Bob and I took advantage of the weather and the fact that the marina had water to wash our boats.  Washing Guided Discovery is a big undertaking and the process took me three hours.  As we finished, a small rains shower approached from the west but we lucked out.  We got a few drops as the rain passed just to the north on a southeast heading.  Diana and Jan took one of the marina's low cost courtesy cars ($12) to town while we washed the boats.

The highlight of our visit to Drummond Island was a dingy ride from the marina to the Bayside Restaurant along the shore four miles east of the marina.  We were advised by the marina manager to get back before dark.  Good advice as the bay is full of shallow spots.  That said, the dingy has running light, a depth sounder and a lighted GPS.

We departed at 6:30 and ran east at 20 MPH on relatively flat water.  The Caribe is misnamed as dingy.  It's actually a neat little speed boat that skims on top of the water with its 30 HP Tohatsu outboard.  It can cruise at 25 with Diana, Kodi and I and 30 with me alone.

Bayside Restaurant

The Bayside Restaurant was unique in all aspects.  First it was beautiful and second it was a four star restaurant.  It is part of The Drummond Island Resort and Conference Center.  Our dinner was spectacular and the server was helful in getting us out so we could get back before dark.

The restaurant building had an interesting history.  In the 50s it was the private hunting and fishing preseve of the founder of the Pure Oil Company (Mel Rinehart).  It was acquired by Tom Monaghan, founder of Dominos Pizza in 1985.  Monaghan used the five bedroom suite of the restaurant's east wing as his home while their Frank Lloyd Wright style home was being build just steps away.

View of the bay from Bayside Restaurant

The ride back at dusk was spectacular and a fitting to our 137 mile North Channel Cruise.

Great Loop Statistics at Drummond Island, MI:

• 5,638 Total Miles since 10/3/10 
• 5,346 Total Gallons of Diesel Used
•      99 Total Locks
• $3.71   Average Cost of Fuel (up 4 cents)
• $81      Average Daily Cost of Dockage (unchanged)
• 419      Days on the Great Loop (up 6)
• $215    Average Cost Per Day

Statistics since leaving Branford Connecticut for Phase II:

• 1,066    Miles Traveled Since 7/2/12
•    663    Total Gallons Used (includes sea trial)
•      72    Locks

Note the 1.6 MPG fuel efficiency in phase II. 

Wriiten by Les.