Flags A-flying

     As four Looper couples casually are gathered at the Little Current fuel dock to bid each other farewell, Chris (MV Pura Vida III) eyes George & Barbara’s 40-foot Hattaras (MV Grand Cru) and their nice-sized American flag and says to Trish and Brenda, “I need a bigger flag. A 40-foot boat should fly a 40-inch flag.”

     “There’s a rule about how big one’s flag should be?  How should we know this?”  Trish (40-foot Meridian, MV About Time) asks Chris.

     Continuing his gaze on the Hattaras, Chris claims, “Boat etiquette.”

     Brenda (40-foot Mainship MV Velsignet) looks at Chris and exclaims, “You’re making this up!  There’s no rule!  You’re just concerned because George’s flag is larger than yours!”

     Chris continues his gaze at the Hattaras and says to the girls, “But I’ll bet you’ll google it when you’re back at your boats!”

Chris was right (No bets wagered...whew!).  Brenda googled and learned more about flag etiquette.  Did you know that at sea, a vessel’s flag or flags are used to communicate, validate, indicate, and display respect to many different people, groups, and territories? Flags have been an important part of seafaring for many, many years, and their proper use remains strictly enforced around the world.  There are rules of thumb that guide the size of flags flown and again, Chris was on target:  An inch of flag for every foot of boat is a common guideline.

Velsignet currently flies three flags.  The largest flag flown is the US flag because it’s the country Velsignet is registered in (and of course, our home country).  While in Canada, Velsignet also flies the Canadian flag as a “courtesy flag;”  it is smaller than and flies above our national flag.  The third flag or “burgee” is our AGLCA (America’s Great Loop Cruising Ass’n) flag which lets others know we are “Loopers.”  

We completed the Georgian Bay a couple of days ago and are currently cruising the waters of Lake Huron’s North Channel (this area is a boating heaven!  Islands and breathtaking areas to anchor and hike and swim and fish).   We’ve decided to make a side trip to Canada’s historic Sault Ste Marie to gaze out into Lake Superior (send a long distance wave to Duluth in our home state of Minnesota), and take in the Agawa Canyon Train Tour.  After that, we’ll cruise St. Mary’s River southward to Mackanac Island and be back in the United States.

While at the Port of Little Current, we got together with Chris and Angela (Pura Vida--Chris took this photo) and
 Trish and Jamie (About Time).

This was what we saw while anchored at "Covered Portage Bay."
Protected by beautiful rock structures, pines and clear blue water (and roughly 20 other boats!)

You don't need to own your own boat to sail the North Channell; This is the North Channel Tours boat. 
For a more hands-on experience, one can a rent large sailboat.

This is a glimpse into the Baie Fine bay, considered one of North America's few fjord-like bays; deep water with high rocky hills jutting from the water's edges.  Because windy weather kept us anchored for an extra day (and payroll was due for PSMW and there's no connectivity in Baie Fine), we only had time for a short tour of this area. (Loopers who stayed here told us all about the hike to Topaz Lake where they swam and jumped off rocks into the water)

The Port of Little Current has a charming waterfront.  This statue in its waterfront park honors the soldiers who fought in the Korean War.

Yep.  Canadian Geese.  They're everywhere!

Every morning at 9 a.m. on VHF 71, a "Cruisers' Net" program is held.  It is hosted by Roy, the gentleman in this photo, at the Anchor Inn at Little Current.  Boaters are invited to attend and this past Tuesday, 13 of us were in attendance.

This is another shot of the Anchor Inn and the boaters in attendance for the Cruisers' Net program.

A block from the water is Little Current's downtown.  For its size, it had several shops worth exploring!

Within walking distance of the marina was the local brewery with excellent craft beers.  Adjacent to the brewery was The Trough which serves excellent burgers.

Grand Cru, About Time and Velsignet reunited once again with Southern Cross at the Benjamin Islands. 
This is David (SC) and Jamie (AT).

The sunset at our Benjamin Island anchorage was beautiful.  The colors in this photo doesn't do the red of the sunset justice.

Yesterday morning our alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. for a long cruising day across the North Channel towards Sault Ste Marie.   This was our sunrise.

Anchored about 35 miles east of Sault Ste Marie, we again enjoyed the sunset of yet another beautiful day.
We didn't stay outside admiring the view too long as the temperature was dropping into the 50s for the night.

This was our view at Burnt Island Anchorage on the Georgian Bay.  It's not uncommon to find little homes nestled on rock islands.  

This past Wednesday morning while docked in the Little Current Marina, we woke up to "Pearl Mist" cruise ship gently coming into port.

Mike took this photo while hiking in the Benjamin Islands.

In our Benjamin Island Anchorage (photo taken from Southern Cross):  L to R:  Velsignet, About Time and Grand Cru

A selfie of Mike, Jamie, Penny, Trish, Brenda and Dave taken on Southern Cross.
As we each have different agendas and schedules, we bid each other farewell with hopes we'll cross paths again before our Looping adventure is over (perhaps on Mackinac Island?)