Exploring new ports is a part of the fun

David Spencer

Current Boat: S/V Good Idea, 34’ Catalina

Home Port: Midland Bay Sailing Club, Midland, Ont. (GB-22)

Joined GLCC: 2009

Joined GLCC Board: 2019

Title: Rear Commodore - North Channel, Georgian Bay and Canadian Shore of Lake Huron; also, Port Captain for Lion’s Head, Ont. (GB-7)

• Lifeline: What is your occupation?

David Spencer: I am a very happily retired engineering manager. I spent my working life with General Motors Defence (this is the correct Canadian spelling, eh!) and General Dynamics Land Systems, designing and building Light Armoured Vehicles for the US Marine Corps, the Canadian Army, the US Army and other international clients. It was a great job, and I enjoyed my time there. 

Of course, being an engineer is a blessing and a curse if you own a boat. It’s a blessing because I am usually able to understand how all the systems work, upgrade them when necessary and repair them when they break. (The only thing that always works on a boat is the owner!). It’s a curse because I sometimes wake in the middle of the night thinking about how some small part could fail, putting the boat in jeopardy (Lifeline note: another excellent topic for GLCCSchool next year!).

• How did you get into boating?

I have been into “small boat” boating my whole life. My family always had a cottage on the Trent Severn Waterway, and I grew up with all kinds of boats, canoes, rowboats, kayaks, paddleboats, sailboats and runabouts.

• What types of boats have you owned? Is there a “dream boat” that you

see sometime in your future?

When I was working, my job would often take me across the Bluewater Bridge between Sarnia (Point Edward), Ont. and Port Huron, Mich. The summit of the bridge provides a magnificent view north into Lake Huron. In the sailing season, I would gaze longingly at the cruising sailboats frolicking on sparkling blue water. Surely, I could never do that! I looked into it and I could!

In 2005, we purchased our first “big boat”, a 1978 CS27, built by Canadian Sailcraft that is very popular in Canadian waters. Our CS27 was palatial to us, and we enjoyed cruising it great distances for several years. In 2010, we bought Good Idea, a 1994 Catalina 34. We succumbed to the temptations of the extra space, a walk-through transom, refrigeration and hot and cold running water. This is our dream boat! 

It is very roomy for the two of us and carries us comfortably around Georgian Bay and The North Channel each summer. Every boat is a tradeoff, and we think the Catalina 34 is the right balance for us.

• You are Port Captain for Lion’s Head, Ont.  (GB-7). Why did you choose that location?

Kathy and I became Port Captains for Lion’s Head, Ont., (GB-7) in 2016. Lion’s Head is a small town on the eastern shore of the Bruce Peninsula that separates Lake Huron from Georgian Bay. We were berthed there for many years and have lots of friends at Lion’s Head Marina. 

Lion’s Head is a wonderful marina with great sailing and friendly people. It is a lovely drive from our home in London through bucolic farm country with rolling hills and mainly deserted roads.

• What aspect of boating do you find most interesting or challenging?

I enjoy poking our big boat or dinghy into places that look interesting on the chart and may or may not yield a nice place to stop. I also enjoy studying paper charts and planning passages using “the one less traveled by” approach. As Robert Frost pointed out, it really does make all the difference.

• What attracted you to join GLCC in 2009?

I really don’t remember how I first heard about the GLCC, but I recall looking at the “Sample Harbor Reports” that were on the website at the time. Wow, I must join up to get the rest of these! We joined as new members during the Toronto International Boat Show in January 2009 and have enjoyed our membership ever since.

• How did you become involved in GLCC?

My first involvement was related to keeping the Harbor Reports accurate and up to date. For the next few years, Kathy and I actively updated the Harbor Reports during our cruises. When Julie Thorndycraft and Daniel DeWeese took on the role of HR editors in 2019, they asked me if I would join their committee, which also included Joann Mead. 

Little did I know that Joann’s husband’s (Chuck Mead) position as Immediate Past Commodore put him in charge of the Nominating Committee. Seeing my interest and involvement in the Harbor Reports, Chuck asked if I would join the board as a director. When an opening as Rear Commodore came open in my home waters of Georgian Bay, the North Channel and Canadian Lake Huron, I was happy to take on that role.

The Rear Commodore job has certain responsibilities; however, it is mainly what you want to make of it. I still enjoy studying and updating Harbor Reports, I have fun organizing the GLCC booth at the Toronto International Boat Show, I present three webinars for the GLCCSchool and serve as host for other presenters during the winter months and, organize rallies: both formal and informal in Georgian Bay and The North Channel. I enjoy working with our Board and, like most things, you get out of it whatever you put into it.

• What have been the top 3 benefits of your GLCC membership?

First has to be our wonderful Harbor Reports. I’m constantly studying them to seek out new places to explore. And I enjoy updating reports with new pictures and up-to-date comments after we’ve visited an anchorage or port. 

Second is the friendships and relationships that I’ve developed with others on our Board and other members of our club. The GLCC burgee is truly a beacon saying, “Here is another like-minded boater and likely a new friend.” 

Third is my involvement in the GLCCSchool. It’s great fun presenting webinars about my favourite places to cruise in the dead of winter, and it’s satisfying to host other webinars and seek out new presenters who have an interesting message to deliver on new subjects. 

I’m particularly pleased that the GLCCSchool is now an included benefit in our GLCC membership and all our webinars are free to GLCC members. We had a huge increase in participation in our webinars this season, but there are still lots of members who don’t know these sessions are free and don’t participate. 

There is a wide variety of subjects covered in our webinars and some are sure to be of interest to most of our members. We hope to see you next season.

• What has been your best Rendezvous/Rally experience?

I have two favourite Rendezvous memories. First was the 2018 Killarney Rendezvous chaired by Port Captain Charlie and Cathy Zumkehr. Killarney is a small, remote town at the east end of the North Channel and is a cruising Mecca in the summer months. 

Killarney was about to celebrate their 200th anniversary and residents of the town were organizing events to mark 200 years. One of the events planned was “Ghosts in the Graveyard,” in a church cemetery, and they wanted to test out the event with the GLCC members. 

Frankly, it didn’t sound too encouraging but we went and, wow, what a wonderful event! Residents of the town stood by the tombstones of their relatives, most from 100 or more years ago, and told stories about life in Killarney before it was the cruising centre we know now. Some took on the persona of their relative in the grave and spoke as if we were in the 1800’s and some spoke as descendants of the deceased talking about family histories, hardships and celebrations over the last 200 years. It was a magical, pleasant surprise to me.

Second was the 2022 Mackinaw City Rendezvous chaired by Dee McClure and Port Captain Craig Shantz. They chartered one of the Shepler ferries that normally shuttles passengers between Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island. 

We had a pleasant pirate-themed evening cruise around Mackinac Island and under the famous Mackinac “Big Mac” Bridge returning to port just after sunset. Just as we docked, a beautiful full moon rose in the sky and spectacular fireworks were set off from a barge anchored south of the ferry terminal. While it seemed like they were just for us, Dee and Craig had taken pains to time our cruise to arrive just in time for this pyrotechnic display put on by the municipality. (And it was very clever timing to arrange for the full moonrise!) 

A US Coast Guard helicopter rescue demonstration was another highlight of the 2022 Rendezvous that Craig Shantz was able to confirm the evening before.

• What is your typical summer cruising area?

We moved our boat from Lion’s Head to the Midland Bay Sailing Club in southern Georgian Bay a few years ago. Midland, Ont., is a much busier place but it’s the centre of the boating universe in Georgian Bay. There are lots of fantastic anchorages close by. 

Now that I am retired, we can spend 10 weeks or more cruising Georgian Bay and the North Channel. Apart from the famous and fabulous North Channel, we particularly enjoy exploring the area stretching from The Massasauga Provincial Park to Pointe au Baril along the eastern shore of Georgian Bay. 

Another favourite is the remote north shore of Georgian Bay from Byng Inlet to Killarney. We usually travel about 1,000 nautical miles each summer.