Magic Carpet with Jerry and Clare aboard arrived at Croker Island on July 22 after a pretty rough trek from Little Current. The waves that were following us had been hitting them on the nose. Giving them time to recover the rest of the day was a lazy day with the most strenuous brain activity being the discussion regarding dinner plans and who wanted what type of cocktail.
Jerry and Clare have been cruising North Channel for 27+ years and have accumulated a huge list of favorite places and hidey holes. Leaving our boats at Croker the next morning, we headed across the bay in our dinghies for a hike and picnic at the Benjamins – a favorite spot by a few too many people. The hike was great with more blueberries to found and consumed.
Besides hiking Jerry and Clare showed us some other lesser known anchorages at the Benjamins, including one that fits at most two boats down a narrow ravine. We also got a close look at the very narrow channel that goes between North and South Benjamin. We attempted to navigate this channel with the Blue Loon in 2005 but it was far too rough to see the rocks.
The next morning (7/24) when we left Croker, we followed Magic Carpet through. Seems crazy that we wouldn’t go through on a 22’ sailboat with an 20” draft but we’d opt to go through with a 37’ boat with a 5’ keel. Go figure.
The GoPro was running for this little event – wanted to make sure it was documented as to who was at the helm if we hit a rock. It’s about three minutes long – please let me know if you have trouble viewing it.