Day 11 - Gutchi manitou

It was a pleasant 20 mile cruise from Beardrop Cove to the Benjamin’s. Again we had glass flat seas. We are getting spoiled.

The blueberry pancakes we had this morning were outstanding even if I did cook them myself. There were requests for seconds all around the table. One of our readers, Captain Greg suggested we make a blueberry pie with so many blueberries onboard. Great idea.

We saw groups of kayakers paddle by us. We called out to them and they said they were on a summer adventure trip from Calvin College. They spent a week paddling from island to island and camping out. Our daughter-in-law Rachel graduated from Calvin College. GO Knights.

The Benjamin Islands were formed by four-billion year old granite and rose quartzite. That is a lot of history.

I learned a bit more about hawberries. The berries of the hawthorn tree are inedible unless you boll the bejesus out of them and then you get a tangy jelly. You can also get hawberry ice cream from local dairies.

The main island in the North Channel area that we are cruising is Manitoulin Island which is 80 miles long and 40 miles across. The name Manitoulin means “spirit island” in the Ojibwe Indian language. It is believed to be the home of Gitchi Manitou the greatest of aboriginal spirits.

We arrived at the Benjamin Islands around 3 PM. We did the usual dance around the harbor looking for a spot to drop anchor that is not too deep. Preferably in less than 20 feet of water. Part of the game is to pull up to a spot that you think looks good and then check out the reaction of the other boaters already anchored. If they are giving you the stink eye because you are within half a mile of their boat it is best up move to another spot. What will usually happen is the next boat that comes will not be as courteous and will drop anchor much closer to them so justice is served. We found a great spot to anchor in less than 20 feet of water with no reaction from our neighbors.

We found a nice place to swim off the rocks in shallow water on the west side of the harbor. We met other cruisers swimming there that had done the Lake Huron Mac. The skipper mentioned his 30 year old son had recently resigned from his job and told him he was taking their Tartan 40 to the Bahamas with his girlfriend in September. His wife said at least the son offered them first choice of dates to come visit.

There is more than one way to commute to work from the Benjamin Islands.

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