Meet the Matleys: The Club is core to their cruising
Introduction by Director/Port Captain Dee McClure:
Lifeline is connecting with a few of GLCC’s active cruisers to gain insight into their favorite cruising grounds and perspectives. Here, we talk to Bill and Sandi Matley, active cruisers and Port Captains of Harbor Island (NC-2) and learn a bit about their boating background.
We are Bill and Sandi Matley. Our sailboat is a 1993 Catalina 36, Spirit of Aloha, berthed in Duncan Bay Marina in Cheboygan, Mich. We spend several weeks in the North Channel every summer. My early boating experience was with a Sawyer canoe, before I tried sailing on a Sunfish at my parents’ cottage in northern Michigan.
In 1984, we joined a friend, Mike Parkis, on his Catalina 25 sailboat for a few days in a place called Spider Bay in Little Current, Ont.
Anyone who visited Little Current in the 1980’s remembers what a small, simple town it was. Seeing it and the many small boats tied up there was like visiting another world.
We loved visiting Farquar’s for ice cream or grabbing a slice of pie from Dorothy’s. Mike got the boat ready, as I knew nothing about sailing, and then let the wind decide our direction. We headed east, through the Swinging Bridge. We sailed “wing on wing” pushing us toward Baie Finn and the Pool. We swam, hiked to Topaz Lake, and jumped into the gorgeous blue water from the rocky cliffs. We later anchored in Mary Ann Cove, climbed Frazer Bay Hill (now named Casson Peak), ate our meals in the fresh air and enjoyed the sunset and the long shadows of evening. Then came the famous Canadian mosquitoes, WOW! Canadian mosquitoes are serious.
That trip was life-changing.
The next summer, Mike lent us the boat and we brought our children. Shortly after that trip, we bought the boat and trailer from Mike. The whole family was hooked.
That was the beginning of 39 years of North Channel cruising. Our introduction to the Great Lakes Cruising Club was through the massive notebooks Mike included with the boat that made up a full set of GLCC Harbor Reports. In those days, many future GLCC members got their first look at the Harbor Reports from members who had full paper sets.
Cruising was a family affair
Due to our occupations – I was an Assistant Superintendent and Sandi owned and ran her own preschool – we had to limit our North Channel cruising to two weeks each summer. We learned to tow the boat to Tobermory and let the Chi Cheemaun ferry take us to South Baymouth, before continuing on to Spider Bay. We used the boat like an RV, living aboard while traveling and taking a full day setting the boat up.
Our kids would wait for a gentle breeze before asking to toss a long line behind us with a life ring on the end. They would hang on to the line, in their life preservers, while we dragged them through the water. They dinghied to every anchorage with our little 4hp outboard.
At night we’d hide from the mosquitoes. Some nights we’d listen to channel16 on the VHF radio. In those days, you could ask the Coast Guard to place a phone call for you and everyone would listen in to the call. Many nights you could hear another boater play music at the anchorage. Amazing Grace on bagpipes in Covered Portage Cove comes to mind. We would play rummy or board games, eat gummy bears and laugh a lot.
Time to move up!
I sold the Catalina 25 in 2001 and spent a year looking for a larger freshwater Catalina 36 which I found in Waukegan, Ill. We brought the Catalina 36 across Lake Michigan in spring of 2002.
As we were heading north from Ludington, we followed the west coast of Michigan in an impossible fog. The boat, named Destiny by the previous owner, had a simple chartplotter that used GPS to show us our position. Up to this point, we had used Loran, paper charts and buoy counting through binoculars. GPS was a new technology.
It was terrifying to turn east toward shore, not being able to see a thing, with only the depth sounder telling us we were getting closer to land. I’ll never forget when we came out of that heavy fog smack in front of the entrance to Frankfort Harbor. We had traveled in blinding fog for 50 miles and hit our entrance exactly! I fell in love with my boat right then.
For the past 22 years, I have replaced, repaired, redesigned, modified, added and subtracted from all of the systems. No spot on that boat has gone untouched. No one works on my boat but me. It’s our summer cottage. We spend 8 or 9 weeks on board every summer and I like the comfort and safety that comes from not relying on others to do my maintenance.
My best addition to the boat is the propane-fired instant hot water heater that gives us unlimited lake water hot showers. Staying clean and dry will go a long way to keeping you and any guests happy and comfortable. Add to that the Sirius radio music, a strong solar panel system and an enclosed cockpit, and you’re ready for long cruising days and nights.
Time to give back to the Club
Since the early days of those Harbor Reports we reviewed with Mike, we have been members of the Great Lakes Cruising Club, becoming more involved as our careers permitted and eventually serving as a director for three years as both Sandi and I decided it was our turn to give back to the club.
Our boat slip at Duncan Bay Boat Club allows us to pick a late June weather window and jump across Lake Huron, always stopping at Harbor Island (NC-2). It is such a lovely harbor and a wonderful stopping point for anyone coming east into the North Channel.
The inner harbor of Harbor Island encompasses 70 acres, theoretically giving 70 boats an acre each. The harbor is a perfect anchorage, surrounded by a nearly complete doughnut of a sheltered nature preserve, only open to winds from the southwest.
Based on our familiarity with Harbor Island, Sandi and I also became Port Captains for the harbor and look to spend at least a week at anchor there each summer observing and updating the report.
Harbor Reports, unforgettable friends
We have found our GLCC members and the Harbor Reports to be the most valuable resources for safe cruising and discovering little known anchorages.
Anyone who wants to cruise these amazing Great Lakes waters should pay attention to other boaters flying the GLCC burgee. It easily identifies like-minded cruisers. Whenever we see the GLCC burgee, Sandi and I typically dinghy over and start a conversation. Boaters are always interesting to talk to. A wealth of information can be gleaned from these casual visits.
Cruising experience is easy to achieve. We have made almost every mistake, so it’s no surprise when we seem to be prepared. Think about anchoring in the Grant Islands and you’ll know what I mean. My fondest memories of our cruising years always involve the destinations, but it’s the friends we have made that are truly unforgettable.
I think of Venetia and Ted Moorhouse. They are long-time GLCC members; you will see their names on dozens of Harbor Reports. I am smiling as I write this remembering Venetia’s distinctive voice over the radio as she demands that a boater slow down coming into an anchorage. Hilarious!
Or Bud and Shirley Zalon and their Wilderness Rally hotdog tradition. They had a red Gozzard with a distinctive red sail cover, S/V Easy Baby. Bud would put the red sail cover on without a mainsail underneath. I want to be a GLCC cruiser like Bud and Shirley Zalon.
Boating is expensive and physically demanding, and we are all aging in place. You can extend your boating career by making smart changes to your boat and being patient with the weather. Patience is probably the best advice I would give to anyone starting a cruising career.
Club Involvement = Friends, Experiences
It’s important to give something back to the Club in return for the many happy moments and hours that you’ve enjoyed cruising using the Harbor Reports.
Consider becoming a director or officer or a Port Captain. The work is light and you will gain so much in experience and also, a ton of new friends. There are plenty of harbors that need a Port Captain.
The next time you drop anchor at one of your favorite anchorages, look it up in the Harbor Reports and see if it has a Port Captain assigned, if not, why not volunteer?
Also consider joining one of the Rallys in your area or the annual Rendezvous.
There typically are flotillas from each region where boaters sail over together -- a great way to meet fellow GLCC members enroute to an event! There is a reason the rallies and Rendezvous are so popular: everyone has a great time!
It is remarkable to think about the growth of this club from its early days. I think of the work of Howard Blossom. It is amazing all the hard work that has gone into the current iteration of the GLCC club through the website and other new technologies (like the monthly Lifeline e-newsletter!). The club counts on each of us to be observant and submit our updates to the Harbor Report. This constant updating by members is the life blood of our club.
Consider becoming an active GLCC member. We are all better and safer with everyone's participation.
