Just Like the Birds, It’s Migration Time

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Written August 28-30, 2026

We’ve been kicking around the North Channel of Lake Huron for the last month wondering when it was exactally time to head south. We have set a date to be in Holland, Michigan on September 23, but when to move south. The birds are on the move and we have decided it is time.

The Storm(s)

As I have mentioned, we have moved into active watch the weather and move for protection mode and when is there a good weather window (or two or three).

East Whale Channel

First there was a big storm from the north (typical winds are from the west here, north storms are in indication of Arctic air to come). 3 days of 20 – 23 kt winds and on and off rain. We had a lovely, very protected spot in what we call East Whale Channel Anchorage. The first day we took a dingy ride to Bear Rump and into Beardrop Harbour. We were happy we were where we were as it was rather rolly and wavy there.

Sometime is was quite calm and pretty. It always stayed without many waves. A pretty sunrise, looking east/southeast.

The second day it rained and rained and rained

Basically the same view. It is so interesting how a scene can change.

The third day, we ventured to shore in our cove and made a route to a lake up the hill.

Just a tiny piece of the lake. To the right you can see a real honest-to-God bever dam. So well done. And in the distance to the left you can see a very well beaver dam, complete with sticks and mud. Sadly, the beaver did not come out to say “hi”.
We have seen lots of frogs. It turns out it is the Northern Leapord Frog. This guy was the biggest we had seen, Most were thumbnail size. This guy (probably a gal) was 4-5 inches.

The coolness of the weather, low-to-mid 60’s with humidity and clouds, and the wind made us sad and ready to get home.

Even the lilypads are starting to think it is time to call it quits for now.

The sun finally came out and the winds moved somewhere else. We are now feeling better and are happy to keep exploring. Our spirits have lifted.

See, Jim is almost smiling!

Long Point Harbour

It was time to move for protection from the south for a couple days and then from the northwest. We could move several times, or once. We decided to move once, and I’d read very good things about Long Point Harbour. We pull anchor; we are ready to leave East Whale Channel Anchorage. It is a long 45 minute run around the corner to Long Point.

We have suspected the boats are beginning to thin out in the anchorages and boaters are heading for home. They are doing their migration and preparing to tuck in for the winter. We have been seeing fewer boats.

Long Point is a cove with nearly 360 degree protection with reasonable cliffs and tree cover surrounding. As we round the corner, there is one boat there. The description is spot on. Very good protection.

Looking to the entrance to the harbour. It is rather narrow, but that is part of what provides such good protection.

We select a spot further to the east than the sail boat there and set anchor. The sun is shining, we are happy, we think boating is a good thing again.

The folks on the sail boat Green Ghost, shortly thereafter, paddle board over and ask if it is OK if they fly their drone and take some pics. We are find with that.

One of the gorgeous pics taken by Green Ghost. What is not to like about this anchorage! Nik and Jennifer have sailed nearly around the world in Green Ghost, starting in Vancouver, BC heading west. They did not do the Mediterranean, but rather went around the tip of Africa! Once they reached the Caribbean, the headed north so did not do the Panama Canal on their own bottom. Jennifer has written a wonderful book on their adventures called Green Ghost Blue Ocean. Definitely worth a read. It was so nice to chat with other people who have sailed distances (although they have done so much more than we have). We have not meet many distance sailors in the Great Lakes. There is this immediate connection that happens.

Not long after they are done droning (my new verb), the clouds begin to move in. Our spirits began to wane. However, Green Ghost and folks from Wild Goose, another sailboat which came in dropped by for happy hour and we were all happy for awhile.

The southerly winds arrived the next day along with the wind. However, we were snug in our harbour with hardly a ripple. This was only a two day blow, but the rain really set in the second day. You know it’s bad when Jim and I succumb to playing the card game UNO! We did have a ton of fun though.

Through all of this, we did take a couple of dinghy and walking explorations. Such a pretty area.

The 3rd entrance to the anchorage. This one is only good for dinghys but lots of fun.
A person in a shallow draft boat might be able to come in this entrance. It was a great place for us to explore by dinghy and also stop to walk on shore.
We did venture north into another anchorage that was a bit more exposed. The cool thing here was a family of eagles, a mother (I assume) who caught a fish with beautiful precision for her two youngsters. They were both capable of fishing on their own, but Mom was still feeding them. They were quite noisy and ofter the fish was gone, she flew off to another tree for a bit of peace and quiet.

Missellanea

There are several tidbits I’ve failed to mention along this journey through Lake Huron that I wanted to share.

First, the North Channel is rather remote. There are very few places we have anchored where there are no human sounds (beyond ours), nor lights or sky-glow we can see anywhere on shore. It is so quite and when not cloudy, the skies so inky (except for the stars!) That was a gift.

We were lucky enough one night to have clear skies and minimal bugs on a prime evening for viewing the Perseid Meteor shower. We sat out on the bow and saw 15 or so nice meteors in perhaps 20 minutes of observing! By far the most we’ve ever seen. That was a special moment. The stars were nice as well, however, the higher humidity here vs New Mexico gives the win to New Mexico. I can remember once many, many years ago laying on the bow of our old SeaRay (boat) at Elephant Butte Lake looking at the stars. It was very dark. I had never seen so many stars. I felt they were going to come down and drown me in them. An emotional experience feeling the weight of the universe.

Most of you know I have to have a mini garden on the boat. This years garden has seemed to thrive more than in previous years, although each year, different plants do better than others. Part of it is likely that the plants to do not get a constant salt sea spray mist. I’ve never noticed salt on the plants (but definitely all over the boat), but it must have an impact at least on some plants. Additionally, the plants in previous years were watered with a mix of dock water and water made from our watermater (thus RO water). Lacking minerals, I had to fertilize. This year, we are in the Great Lakes, in fresh water. I dip my watering can into the water and water away. They get lovely fresh water with a little fish poo mixed in. They seem happier.

The cilantro did not make it, nor ultimately did the chives. The basil is going gang busters as is the rosemary and parsley. The cat grass in the front is doing quite well actually, It gets munched frequently and the kittens do not like it too thick. Then they ignore it. Go figure. I also have a geranium and two orchids. The geranium keeps blooming and the orchids are putting our new leaves which is always a win.

The Next Steps

Today (two days ago) we made a 50 NM run, the longest in weeks. We’ve had some winds of 10 – 15 kts on the starboard bow, but the waters have been quite calm all in all; not mnore than a foot of chop with short periods and no whitecaps. The kittens have not noticed beyond their short rations this morning; just in case the winds picked up further. This will likely be our last anchorage in Canada this year. We will actually cross into US waters briefly but as we will not touch land, we do not have to check in with US officials.

Excue my blury pic. Canada to the left, the US to the right. Hum…. there may be some secret meanings in this.

We’ll spend a day or two visiting a Canadian fort and birding/walking and then cross back into the US probably on September 30th. That will give us 24 days to travel around 280 NM to Holland where we’ll leave the Rincon snug in her indoor heated storage.

We are ready to migrate back to New Mexico. The days are getting short here, fall has arrived and we have a long list of projects to accomplish in New Mexico. We are missing the big house and our friends there.

More proof it is time to migrate south. There are no blueberries left and the leaves are turning red.
Chicha is becoming impatient. Usually she only sits on Jim’s hup in the morning when we wants breakfast. She has started doing it at night to let him know it is too cold up here and we should head south.
Tori on the other had is stillo finding new things to investigate. She does not care if it is warm or cold, rainy or dry as long as there is something new to discover.
And for us, we are heading for the barn but still smiling.

Comments

Just Like the Birds, It’s Migration Time — 4 Comments

  1. Pictures remind me of our trip to Maine. Jim has a knee brace? Hopefully nothing too painful. Thanks for the updates.

  4. Ah, the knee brace. All better now after hanging on the boat through storms and letting it rest. Just a bit of un-natural twisting while trying to do one of the stern ties.