Monday, July 24, 2023 Cleary Cove

It was a totally quiet evening except for when a couple of motors started at first light. I was surprised to see the harbor all fogged in. The air is always so quiet and still when fog is present. It's kind of neat actually. 

I pulled to the fuel dock about 8:00 thinking I would just have to wait until they opened at 8:30. To my surprise, a young dock attendant was there and serviced us immediately. I let Peter know an he brought Voyager over. We both got a pumpout and were on our way at 8:30. I made a deluxe cappuccino to go for Peter and then enjoyed a little donut while we were at the fuel dock. 

The trip to Cleary Cove was 18 miles, and took 2 1/2 hours. The seas were very calm and it was a great ride. No one was in the Cleary Cove anchorage when we arrived - how good does it get! Peter was nervous about coming in so he anchored outside the cove and dingyed in with his depth sounder to see it he wanted to bring Voyager in. He decided that it was too shallow for him, so we were all alone in this beautiful anchorage, a rare occurrence. They anchored outside of the cove in John Harbor in a spot they liked. 

Once we were anchored I immediately checked to see if we had internet, and we sort of did! Very slow though. I did not use the anchor duck as it is too shallow in here to use it as I have it set up, and I want our first experience (read Kerry's) to go well. Instead, I deployed him at the stern to be a guard duck. 

Kerry made BLT's for lunch. Then we "moved into" my new tackle box. I wonder if we should warn the fish. 

I took a kayak ride around the rocks surrounding the cove entrance. As I was coming back I saw Tim and Denise from Kracken the Wine dinghying over. We were both surprised to see each other. We have seen them in Beaver Island, Little Current, Gore Bay and now here. They are vey nice and are from Windsor. 

Tim and Denise went to Voyager to say hello and see if they could arrange a joint happy hour. Shortly afterwards I got a note from Peter saying we would all meet on Voyager at 5:00 for salsa and chips, and that he would pick us up. Peter has been so nice to ferry us around this whole voyage. We didn't do too much until happy hour although I did jump in the water for a nice swim/bath. 

Cocktails were up on Voyager's fly bridge. They have a nice location with a great view and we all had fun. We have a lot of common experiences even though they are Canadians. Boating brings people together.

After Tim and Denise left, Marianna made a really delicious dinner for us. Perhaps my favorite one of this trip so far, a Carbonara pasta. We also had a nice cabbage salad, chocolate raspberry cookies for desert and then our usual nightcap glasses of liquors. We discussed our next anchorage. No decision was reached but Long Point Cove seemed to be the favorite. We stayed until about 8:30 when we figured Peter should take us back to Annie to avoid him being attached by mosquitos as he returned. 

Peter and I agreed to fish in the morning. After that, we will spend the day with our mates and reunite Wednesday morning as we move to a new anchorage.  Marianna said they are leaning towards going home on the Michigan side of Lake Huron with us. That would be fun. We were still alone in Cleary Cove as the day ended.