On Board ‘Seascape’ 1966 – Part 4 (final)

I recently found my Mom’s logs from our family vacations on our boat, a 36’ Chris Craft named Seascape. The log is written in my Mom’s words. I’ve only added punctuation or corrected spelling if needed. Otherwise, the integrity of her log is maintained. Italicized notes included parenthetically are my recollection of events or additional information about the story.

Our 1966 trip was to the North Channel in Ontario, Canada. Part 4 includes days 10-15, and it is the last installment for this trip. We spent many summers cruising the area, and I have fond memories of this time and place.

SHIP’S LOG
Monday, July 11 (day 10)
Happy Birthday, Dad!

Awoke about 4:30 am to the hum of the mosquitoes. About 5:30, there was a thunderstorm brewing to the north of us but it passed us by. Finally got up about 8:00 am. Did a little casting by the lily pads but didn’t get a thing. Had breakfast and prepared to get under way for Killarney. Saw the tail end of a forest fire on Prince Edward Island as we were going out. Got to Killarney and saw the Ex Dividend and Bewitched tied up to the Killarney Lodge dock. Pulled into the Sportsman’s Inn.

Good ole Deacon was there. Tied up, and even before we completed the operation, the girls had got off and run to pet Deacon. He sure has gotten old. He can hardly walk this year, and if he lasts another, it will be a miracle. The girls found another friend though. A basset hound name O-to-O. He sure is a funny one.

Walked up to our famous little store Jackman’s, the only one in town. They didn’t have very much in the way of food but we got a few things. Got some steak for dinner, and for some reason, Dad (my Grandpa) has a phobia about the food in this place and sure enough he found fault with the steak. Spent a nice quiet evening. Talked quite a while with some people from Charlevoix. He owns the furniture store and his name is Hess. Nick had his birthday without a cake again.

Woke up this morning very warm. It is going to be a very hot day. Had a little excitement this morning. There was a sailboat in distress off Badgeley Island on Maxwell Point. He went on the wrong side of the red spar and hit a shoal. He was taking water on rapidly so he decided to beach it. A couple of boats from here went out to help bail water with buckets until we could locate the gasoline (fueled water) pump. It should have only taken them about 10 minutes to get there but they missed them completely and were on the other side of the island. Had to back track, and after about an hour, they finally located them. The man and his wife were holding their own with their pails, but they were getting mighty tired. The pump finally reached them, but they had trouble starting at but finally got it started and they were able to get enough water out to take it in for repairs.

SHIP’S LOG
Tuesday, July 12 (day 11)
Woke up this morning very warm. It is going to be a very hot day. Had a little excitement this morning. There was a sailboat in distress off Badgeley Island on Maxwell Point. He went on the wrong side of the red spar and hit a shoal. He was taking water on rapidly so he decided to beach it. A couple of boats from here went out to help bail water with buckets until we could locate the gasoline (fueled water) pump. It should have only taken them about 10 minutes to get there but they missed them completely and were on the other side of the island. Had to back track, and after about an hour, they finally located them. The man and his wife were holding their own with their pails, but they were getting mighty tired. The pump finally reached them, but they had trouble starting at but finally got it started and they were able to get enough water out to take it in for repairs.

Finally had breakfast about 11:00 am, and the girls went swimming off the dock with life jackets on. Even Nick decided it would be a good idea. I passed up and wash my hair instead. Spend the day reading Hawaii and baking in the sun. Quite a few boats came in, and by late afternoon, they were all filled up. Had our fish dinner tonight and boy was it good especially my big pike. Then decided to go into the bar for a drink. The girls were already up in the TV room watching television.

SHIP’S LOG
Wednesday, July 13 (day 12)
Got up a little later today. Again the sun was beating down very hot. Thank goodness for the cool breeze. Decided to leave Killarney today and start to head back by way of the Whalesback. Had breakfast and left about 10:30 am. Reached Little Current and bought a few things we needed. Decided to poke our nose into Oak Bay to see what it was like. Water got quite rough just before we got into the Whalesback. It was a little rough to pick up the spars because of the direction of the sun and the waves. Reached the entrance to Oak Bay right on the money. Was surprised to see five other boats moored. Anchored near the mouth of the River. Got settled in and went swimming. Nick went fishing to try out his new Rapala lure. Brought back a nice bass. He and Liz went out again and brought back a pike and a couple of bass. I fished off the rocks but didn’t catch a thing. All I saw was a big fat turtle. Had the rest of our pike and bass from Collins Inlet for dinner. Went to bed fairly early because everyone was pretty tired.

SHIP’S LOG
Thursday, July 14 (day 13)
The wind blew in all directions last night and it cooled down considerably from yesterday. This was the first time we started out the day in long pants. Liz and Nick went out trolling a little before breakfast but didn’t get anything. It was my turn next.

Trolled along the north shore and into a large bay. Got a big small mouth bass in there. Went all the way down near the end where we found another fairly large bay with an old house in one corner. Trolled near the weed bed and got a snag. Nick thought he had one too but it turned out to be a whopper. We never saw it though because it took a dive under the dinghy and took his lure, lead shot and all. Boy was he ever mad. We decided to try a couple more passes and had one but lost it. Got a small one and threw it back and finally landed a large one quite unexpected. It was caught on some weeds and when Nick pulled the line to break it loose, there was a pike on the end of it. Made a few more passes but nothing. Started back down toward the boat, and at the point of one bay near a large rock, Nick had a strike. He thought he had had a good size bass but it turned out to be a good size pike. Trolled back to the boat and had some lunch.

I was all fished out so Liz took my place while I did a little reading in swimming with Suzie. She isn’t afraid to let go of the ladder and is getting quite bold in jumping off from the second step. Nick and Liz came back empty-handed. Before he got even out of the boat, he decided to take the girls to see the Indian farm. They came back elated with the fact they had horses on their farm. Got the weather and tried to get the Moroda (another boat?) again with no luck. Nick took the girls and all the fish on shore to clean them. Had dinner and took the dogs on shore for awhile until the mosquitos landed and headed back like lightning for the boat. Lifted the dinghy and made ready to leave early tomorrow morning.

SHIP’S LOG
Friday, July 15 (day 14)
Left Oak Harbor about 8 o’clock after a light breakfast of cereal. Headed for the Whalesback. Water was smooth. Had a little difficulty picking up Little Detroit but managed to find the marker as we got nearer. Met the McCreadys and another boat from Flint as we were coming out of the Whalesback. Headed for Meldrum Bay and the water was fairly smooth all the way. Got into Meldrum, had lunch and went up to see the peacock (no picture) at Tom’s Wildlife Sanctuary. Got grand tour. Shopped at Ivan Trick store this time. He has a lot more than the little one near the docks. Decided to spend the night here because the wind was picking up and getting into Pilot Cove would be a job. Nick’s cold also came on with vigor and he went to bed with a couple of aspirins. Spend a nice quiet evening. The Normac came back from Blind River and a couple of other small boats came in. Water in the bay flattened out like a pancake.

SHIP’S LOG
Saturday, July 16 (day 15)
Got up about 7:00 am and left Meldrum Bay about 8:20 am for Cheboygan. Still very calm in the harbor.

This installment concludes our family trip to The North Channel in 1966. I want to thank my Mom for taking the time to document our trips. Although a few years are missing, there are other trips to share coming soon. Trips to other parts of the North Channel and Lake Superior.