Category: Uncategorized

We made it! This post will be long as we spent two days here, and there is a lot going on!

This was the goal. Getting to Mackinac Island on our own boat, to explore and see the island and all it has to offer. We had to make reservations, and this was the soonest we could get them, thus the slowing down and side trip to Soo Ste. Marie.

If you’re not aware, the island has no motorized vehicle of any kind. Bikes and horse drawn carriages are the only modes of transport (except for a firetruck and ambulance, and one or two power wheel chairs I saw). Even the delivery vehicles are horse drawn carts. There is also no shortage of fudge and ice cream spots! There is a large, fancy hotel on the island: The Grand Hotel. From Wikipedia: Constructed in the late 19th century, the facility advertises itself as having the world’s largest porch. The Grand Hotel is well known for a number of notable visitors, including five U.S. presidents, inventor Thomas Edison, and author Mark Twain.

Also notable is The Fort: Fort Mackinac became the scene of two strategic battles for control of the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. During most of the 19th century, it served as an outpost of the United States Army. Closed in 1895, the fort has been adapted as a museum on the grounds of Mackinac Island State Park.

So back to arrival before I get into the stories: We traveled 18 miles in 2 hours and 45 minutes. As we approached the island, the ferries were coming and going in all direction, causing a lot of wakes from all directions! Once we got through that, I called on the VHF and was directed to a slip. We approached and there was a bunch of traffic, but we found our slip and docked without incident. Whew!

Once we were finished tying up, I called the person from Hyde Park whose name I will not mention (Rob K.!) and told him we were secured and to find out where he was. He had just left his dock and was heading our way! It only took him 20 minutes to come across to the island and find us! He tied up to our boat, and we had a celebratory cocktail!

Rob had told us he wanted to take us to the Grand Hotel for champagne and sit on the porch; at this point I did not realize how grand the hotel was, nor was I aware of the “world’s largest porch”. We walked there, taking in the scenery and the smells of the island- picture this: sweet fudge aromas one moment, then pungent horse manure. yay. The horses will be horses, and they let loose whenever they feel like it- the puddles are not water, so avoid those!

There were people everywhere-riding bikes and carriages, walking around and just a general sense of vacation! The island feels like you should let loose and take it all in… When we approached the hotel after a short 15 minute walk, there is a charge for walking the grounds; we paid the fee and was given a ticket and we were on our way!

The hotel is massive- it is also expensive to stay at: the cheapest rate I saw online was around $700/night! We wandered around the halls and went to an upper level where the porch is. It has every reason to proclaim itself as the worlds largest, but we had noticed there was another bar on the top level and really wanted to go see the view there. The hotel requires tie and jacket at their restaurant, and we figured if we could go to the top now, we should! We found the bar overlooking the water and ordered cocktails enjoying the magnificent views from our perch way on top of the hotel. It was magnificent! What a way to succumb to the island life!

After cocktails, we made our way down to the gardens, and wandered around for a bit. There were flower bed after flower bed of colors and species that you will never see unless you come here. We made our way back towards downtown, and was getting thirsty again. There are many options in town, but we wanted to be by the water. Mary’s Draught House was the answer! So we wander in to the back patio bar, and we see there are a few seats available…Who is at the bar, but a couple who had helped Rob the previous day with his boat across the lake on St. Ignace! What a small world! We all have a pint and chat for a bit, then we have one more.

Eventually Rob has to get back to his boat, as he has to cross the lake back to his marina/ hotel. Lauren and I go back with him, and retrieve our bikes. We see a sunset coming and decide to bike around the island to the far west side, so we can get a better view. The sunset was awesome, and we head back toward town. At this point, we’ve had a few beverages, and need some food. We see a restaurant that has piqued Lauren’s interest: Sea Biscuit. We order some dinner and relax even more reveling in the scenery and atmosphere of this cool island. The day would not be complete if we didn’t have some local fudge- boy was it delicious!

Day 2 started with breakfast at The Chuck Wagon. They serve breakfast and lunch and close in between, and we just made it for breakfast! We got there around 10:15 or so, and at 10:25 they switched to ‘closed’. No worries since we were in! We had a hearty breakfast, and we knew we needed energy as we planned on biking the eight mile ride around the island- that is how big the island is- 8 miles around. As I came back to the boat, I notice more ‘Looper’ flags, so I wandered around and introduced myself to those who were on their boats. I exchanged cards with a couple of them…

Rob joined us after we ate breakfast and he rented a bike at one of the many bike rental shops- Remember, there is no other option: bike, walk or horse carriage. We started out trip and soon came across the first attraction: Arch Rock. This is a natural rock bridge soaring 149 feet above the Straits of Mackinac that appears to be suspended in midair. To get to the viewing area, we had to park the bike and walk 209 step (they claim that! I think it was a few less, but I didn’t include the landings and I lost count…) to the top. It was worth it, and we have pictures to prove it.

We continued on, after huffing it up and down the (209ish) steps and saw stunning views around every turn. There were constantly people passing and being passed as we biked the trail. Luck for us (me) the trip is mostly flat, around the perimeter of the island. We made a few stops along the way for pictures and views, so it wasn’t all that bad of a ride, for 8 miles!

We returned the rented bike and retired to the boat for much needed refreshments. We had all worked up a thirst! After relaxing for a bit, the Admiral announced it was time for a trip to The Fort. To The Fort we went! We paid our admission and walked to the top of the vista which is an excellent place to have a defensive fort. The views from up here were marvelous. I can see why they would have the highest point overlooking the Straights, and could see any ships approaching. The grounds are now a museum, with period costumed actors showing how life was in the 1800’s. There were even cannons being shot every hour, as well as taps in the evening, and ceremonious flag raising and lowering at the appropriate hours which could be heard all over town. Each building within the walls of the fort were now museums recreating life of the time of yore.

After spending a couple of hours at the fort, we had again worked up a thirst. Our mantra has been to not repeat visit, so we chose a new watering hole. This time it was The Pink Pony. They have a bar inside, and one outside, along the water, close to where the ferry’s pick up and drop off visitors. What a way to spend an early evening. The rum runners were delightful, as well as the appetizers we put away.

Once again, it was getting to be a time Rob had to think about departing, as he didn’t want to travel in the dark. This was such a pleasurable time, I did not want it to end- so I broke out another cocktail before his departure. We sat around a chatted about boats and areas he will be visiting on his adventure, as he will continue on to other parts of Michigan where his family has some history and he can explore.

Once Rob left (Thank You, Rob!) Lauren and I took the bikes for another spin. We went back out to see another sunset, and take in a little more of the island vibes. This is somewhere everyone should visit, as it is truly unique in every way. By the time we were done biking, we had a little hunger coming on, so we stopped at yet another new place and got some food. We then had some more fudge, and retired to the boat for the last evening…but it doesn’t stop here: Checkout isn’t until 1pm tomorrow, so we have a whole morning/afternoon to bask in the island ambiance.

And so it goes on; We awoke to a cool morning, and went for breakfast at Ryba’s Pancake House, which doubles as an ice cream shop in the evenings. I had pancakes and Lauren had avocado toast something with eggs. both were yummy. We took advantage of having water to wash down the boat, and get re-organized before we had to leave, Lauren went for another bike ride while I did maintenance stuff, We pushed the time to the very end- I started the engine around 12:50pm, and the dock hands came over inquiring “if we were ready to depart, and do I need a hand?”. They assisted us with departure, and we turned a course toward Mackinaw City, which is on the mainland, and only about 7 miles from the island.

With mixed emotions, we headed for our next port. While it was quite enjoyable and vacation-like, it was also a little overwhelming being around so many people and having to see everything we could in a short amount of time, and spending vacation-like money. This is why people need a vacation from their vacation!

We Departed Carlton Bay around 11am due to a heavy fog. When we woke up to leave, Lauren noted the fog and said “we should just go back to sleep and wait it out.” Great! I am always down for sleeping in!

Lauren had also checked the weather for the day- it was ok in the morning and early afternoon, but rain was expected around 3pm. Since we had scouted out our next location, we knew we didn’t have far to go. I had mentioned Government Bay, and we really had a hard time finding it on the charts. It is a part of the Les Cheneaux Islands, and is just south of Cedarvile and Hessel, which are both popular ports along the way. Cedarville just finished the weekend of their antique and wood boat show, which is one of the largest in the country.

Knowing we had a short hop made it easier to go back to bed for a bit. We finally got going after taking Frank to shore around 9:45am, and motored toward our destination. We only went 17.6 miles to the next stop.

Government Bay is sandwiched between La Salle Island and Hill Island. Again we had to maneuver in a shallow and rocky passage between a couple of other islands to get to where we wanted to be.

We found the bay, and saw there were a few other boats anchored. There was a very large yacht and a few other boats anchored on the north part, and one other boat on the south end where we came in. We decided to stay on the south side, as we like to not be near others, and it was closer to shore for Frank. The shore I speak of is an island called Government Island (duh! gov’t bay!) and is un-inhabited, but has some camping areas for the adventurous types.

We explored the island a bit with Frank, and ended up going back to the boat before the rain. This was not an exciting evening, as it did rain a little, we made dinner, and that’s it! Nothing to story tell about, and nothing happened, just an easy and lazy day on the water.

Tomorrow we plan on getting to Mackinac Island early afternoon and checking it out. We do have a friend joining us for our first visitor of the trip! He is staying at St. Ignace (west of Mackinac Island) and will be bringing his boat over to hang out with us.

Sorry for the delay in updates, but I will again try to keep up!

This morning we awoke and planned on leaving Soo Ste. Marie…Our planned course was south, taking us back toward De Tour, and we knew we didn’t want to repeat a stay there; not because it was a bad marina or town, but because we want to find somewhere new each time we stop.

We also knew that we had options, should the weather not cooperate. Now we were going south, and we had the current in our favor. Our plan was to get to De Tour area, and see what time we would make it there. If we were moving fast, we would go out to Lake Huron and anchor at one of the anchorages we had scoped out both in passing and via charts. If we were short on time, we would go back to De Tour, or Harbor Island.

We made the trip from Ste. Marie to Lake Huron in 5 hours and 45 minutes. We were moving at an average of 7.6 knots, and went 44 miles! This is by far the best speed traveling we’ve had since starting!

We had left around 8am, and had a soft 2 knot wind when we departed. The trip back was a bit different in areas, as we took the ‘down bound’ passage. There are areas where the river splits, and one side is for ‘up bound’, and the other for ‘down bound’. Since we took the one side up, it made sense to take the other down. We passed some sights we didn’t see on the way up. There is a home made to look like a freighter on land…legend has it the retired freighter captain drove his ship on the shore and retired.

By the time we were coming back to Lake Huron, we had one freighter catch up to us and was gaining on us quickly. I was staying to the side of the channel, and we were approaching a bend in the river…HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK! This is 5 blasts of the horn from him- my knowledge of horns, from ships or bridges, 5 blasts means DANGER/WARNING! What the hell!? I’m out of the way! What should I do?

I called him on the VHF, as at this point I can read the name of the ship. “Klondike to Roger Blough…” His response: “go to channel 8″. Channel 8 I go…”This is Roger Blough..” Me: “This is Klondike, do you want me to stop, or get out of the way? I’m confused about the horn?” Him: ” Sorry about that- our owner is sitting on the beach over there- it was a salute to him. You’re good on your course.” Me, laughing: “roger that!”

That was one radio contact, the other was also out of the blue as we passed Lime Island (bird poop and feather island): “(mumble, mumble) Klondike…” I heard the transmission and heard our boat name, but there was no one around! “mumble, mumble) Klondike” came again! Me: “this is Klondike, channel 8 please?”…”This is Captain Ron! I see you just passed me. Why don’t you stop here?” OMG! He was anchored at Lime Island and saw up pass; I explained we had already stopped there and looking for a new spot. He suggested Carlton Island as an anchorage, saying no one else goes there, but he likes it. OK! We will look into it!

So we get to De Tour and realize we are making good timing. Our options were to go either right or left once we reached the lake. Both anchorages didn’t look too far from the mouth of the river. We decided to turn toward the west, Carlton Bay as suggested, as that is the direction we will be heading. At this point the wind had picked up to around 7 knots…we were going into the waves, so the ride wasn’t too rough, but the wind was supposed to pick up some more, and rain was at 50% chance.

The bay we were heading to we were not familiar with. We kept looking at the maps and charts, and trying to figure out where it was. At this point, we had been heading into the waves for about an hour, and wind was up to 9 knots and the clouds were threatening. We finally saw where the opening was to the bay, and turned a course in that direction. We slowed down on our approach, as it was a shallow area. There was another boat fishing, but no one else around on a boat. As we got closer, we could see there were a few houses back here, and a road/highway that ran along the back side.

We found a spot in about 7 feet of depth and dropped anchor. We did the usual anchor watch, and after about an hour, it looked like we were starting to drag. I had been watching the tree line and triangulating our position, as well as setting our alarm which will sound an alarm and alert us of either shallow water and/or anchor radius. Before the alarm could go off, I felt we were moving toward shore- not good!

I jumped up and told Lauren to man the helm, I’m starting the engine and we’re moving! We got the engine started and I raced up to the front of the boat to my anchor position…”Forward” I shouted to Lauren; She put it in gear, and we started pulling up anchor chain. I noticed a cloud of mud kick up once she engaged the throttle- this means we were too shallow! Good thing we moved when we did or we would have ‘been grounded’! We pulled forward to deeper water and dropped anchor again. We went through the anchor steps, and ensured we were secure, again. Best I can figure was the wind had shifted, and the anchor got pulled out by being pulled in the opposite direction. It would (hopefully) re-set, but we had anchored fairly close to land, so we didn’t have the luxury of waiting for it to re-set.

Once we were secure in our new anchored spot, I took Frank for his shore visit. We had a little area we could explore, but not much due to it being private property around the bay. There were a few people that came out to look at us as we anchored, but other than that, no one else was around.

These types of anchorages are cool with us, as we do like the solitude and serenity of a quiet anchorage. The rest of the night was dinner and cocktails, watching the sunset, and figuring out our next stop. The weather doesn’t look great for tomorrow, and I was told of another anchorage called ‘Government Bay’, but we cannot find this on the charts… Who knows where we’ll end up!

Well, today went as planned!

We awoke and departed the Waiska Bay and made our way back to the Soo locks. When we woke up, there was a lot of fog, so we went back to bed for a short spell to let it burn off. Besides, the locks don’t open until 9am, so no sense getting there too early!

The trip was only going to be 13.9 miles, so only a few hours at most. We were now going down river, so we had a current pushing us now! This is so much better than fighting the current! We left around 8:45 and got to the lock around 10:15am. I again called on the radio, and the lock master told me it would be about 15 minutes. This seems to be a theme here… We waited at the line, and due to no wind, were able to just float in place and wait. So much better than having to constantly maneuver and jockey around.

It was the same lock master coming back, and he inquired how the night was. Those Canadians are so darn polite! He joked it was easier for us this time, since we knew what to do now. It really was easier and less stressful, even with the tourists gawking and watching, waiting for something to happen! The lock is actually approachable in areas, and I was chatting with some people as we were waiting to be lowered.

Once at the bottom, we were let out and the marina was right around the corner. We approached and I made VHF contact, and was directed to a dock. We found it and tied up by 11:30am.

I forgot to mention this small problem that has been making me crazy the last couple of days: we were listing pretty good to starboard, as if the boat was too heavy on one side. It started off slow, then became more pronounced in the last day. What could cause this? I did get some diesel fuel the other day, but I put an even amount on each side. The tanks have a hose between them that should allow them to self level. I checked the levels of each tank, and verified the starboard side was much more full than port side. This was making me crazy. I changed fuel filters thinking that may help. It didn’t. Now we’re in this marina and it is very clear we are listing even more. I had turned off the fuel tank for the trip here, thinking if there was a clog, I would find out once fuel stopped getting to the engine. The engine ran well the whole morning. DUH! I f’ing turned off the wrong one! I got turned around entering the engine room. Stupid mistake! Now we had used even more fuel from the lower tank, and were tilted even more! I so badly wanted to get fuel in the other tank to level off, but knew that since we were already docked, I wasn’t going to do that now. Maybe tomorrow. My brain was going crazy with why and how to fix. I am somewhat mechanically inclined, and will attempt to do whatever I think needs to be done. I checked the fuel levels again, and opened both fuel tank fill ports at the same time. Usually I do one at a time. I verified the uneven amount and wanted to scream.

Lauren had made lunch for us, and was waiting for me to finish my post trip engine room/bilge check. Once done with that, I retrieved the bikes and off we went! We rode around the city (American side) and checked things out. We got lost (just went the wrong way- twice!) and then made it to the downtown area. Very charming. There are a couple of breweries, restaurants, hotel, mini golf, lots of souvenir shops, etc.. What you would expect at a place like this on the border- it reminded me of Niagara Falls.

We stopped at the Soo Brewery for a pint and some rock ’em sock ’em robot battles. Lauren won. We continued on to the Soo Lock Museum and viewing area where the freighters come through. In the museum we checked out a movie loop they had playing- this is where we found out ther are 4 locks, and each is named after military generals or engineers. There is one lock called the “Poe” lock- say that out loud and we cracked up like school kids. There is also a McArthur, Davis and Sabin. The first locks were constructed around 1855 and the are is the 3rd oldest settlement in the USA. There are several museums around town, and we only went to the lock and a small ship wreck museum on the same government grounds. All of this was run by the US Army and Department of War. You’d think we have had enough of ship wrecks by now.

We were told of their ‘famous’ Mexican restaurant “The Palace”. We took a short ride to a grocery store a half mile away or so, and returned to the boat to clean up and walk Frank before dinner and that’s when I noticed it- Whats this? The boat is not listing anymore? How could that be? Here is my theory- somehow a vacuum was created at some point and/or the fuel vents are clogged (maybe bugs in there?) but when I opened both tanks ports at once, it evened out?! I still will continue to monitor this, but after verifying fuel levels in each tank, they are indeed even now.

We ate dinner at The Palace, and walked down ‘the strip’ a bit more. We ended up getting some ice cream to enjoy and made our way back to the bikes and then the boat. I scrubbed the boat down now that the sun was not so hot (it needed it!) and Lauren did some tidying up of the inside. After another walk with Frank to gawk at a mega yacht that had docked next to the marina, we retired to watch the Indians beat the Twins. Tomorrows plan is up in the air- we want to head back to Lake Huron and get closer to Mackinac, but we don’t want to stay in De Tour again; the only problem is there aren’t any marinas out past De Tour, and we don’t want to go the opposite direction of Mackinac. It will also depend on how fast we go coming back down river, with the added bonus of the pushing current. We have loose plans, but tune in and I will let you know where we ended up!

We awoke to a calm sea state, and sunny skies. The wind had passed. Our plan was to leave Lime Island and head to Soo. I guess we should have had a better thought out plan, as I was excited to go through the locks, and Lauren wanted to see the city. We ended up somewhere in between, yet so far away. Let me explain: The trip to Ste. Marie was about 30 miles, giver or take. We left ‘bird poop and feather island’ and headed up St. Mary’s River. We left at 8:30am and had to fight the current all the way up. We arrived at Sault Ste. Marie around 1:45pm. That was a long 5+ hour trip.

At this point, we didn’t really have a plan devised; we were here! What to do now? how about go through the lock and lose our ‘lock virginity’! Great! We approached the lock and I radioed in to the lock master, after having googled what to do. He was polite and responded it would be about 15 minutes, as he was bringing someone down now. I did also tell him this was our first time! I should clarify about the locks: there are two sides- the American side, and the Canadian side. The American side is actually 4 locks, and mostly commercial traffic. The Canadian side is smaller, and mostly pleasure craft. You do not have to check in or out of customs using the Canadian lock. On our trip up we were sandwiched with giant freighters in front and behind us, but we were all going about the same speed, so we fell in line. Earlier on the route, we were passed by two freighters moving up river, but they are in constant contact with the locks, so once the order was made of traffic coming and going, they had to slow down. Back to our first lock- he told us to pull up to ‘the line’ and wait. There is a sign posted where to stop. There is also a stop light on the side, which will indicate when to stop or go. The wind had started to pick up as we were getting to the city; not like yesterdays wind, but enough to blow us around a bit. As we were sitting there waiting, we had to keep doing circles to get back to ‘the line’. It’s a good thing there wasn’t anyone else waiting for the lock! After about 15 minutes, the lock in front of us started to open, and a couple of small boats were coming out. I waited on the side until they passed, was given the green light, and approached with caution.

Going ‘up river’, the lock was going to lift us up and bypass the rapids of the river, where the water falls 21 feet. There is a lot of history here that I will touch on at a later date. We approached and Lauren had prepared fenders and lines to the starboard side as the lock master had directed us to tie up on. There are rubber lines that come down the sides of the lock wall which you are supposed to wrap a line around and then secure it to your boat. This being our first time, we weren’t even sure how long of lines were needed? We had read about the middle being most important, but weren’t sure. To top it off, this is a tourist attraction, so there is a gallery of people looking down, watching, taking pictures and videos, and all I wanted to do was get in the lock and have a smooth landing against the wall so Lauren could secure us. It went mostly as planned, we came up to the wall and Lauren secured the mid ship. I put the boat in neutral and ran down to assist with the lines. Lauren now had the rear line secured, but now the front was starting to swing out! She grabbed a pole and was able to snag the rubber line on the wall- she then secured that as well. In the mean time, I could tell water was coming into the lock, and we were starting our ascent up. Lauren was able to get some pics from the experience. As we neared the top, I was able to speak to the lock master. He was friendly and said we did great for the first time. He said he saw we were secure mostly, so he started the process, as we were the only one in the lock. I asked about marinas or anchorages, and he said not many around other than the city (which we just passed) and maybe by the casino? Ok- we’ll figure this out. He noticed Frank (who was now barking from inside the cabin) looking out the window and I explained how we couldn’t trust him to not jump off! He replied he’s had to chase a few dogs that do jump!

The whole process took about 45 minutes- waiting, raising, and out. So now we’re out to the end of St. Mary’s River, under the International Bridge, headed to where? Lake Superior is around the corner, according to the charts. At this point, we’ve been traveling about 6.5 hours pushing up the river and are getting tired. We are now looking at the map, and there is no sign of marina, casino, or anchorage within the next 30 miles. Hmmm…where is this casino I’ve heard about from two people?

We continue forward as I’ve decided that there is a bay we should be able to anchor in that looks fairly protected. This is another hour away. Oh well- we made it through the lock and are now in Lake Superior! At this point, we really just want to find somewhere, anywhere to stop for the day. We come to the bay, and Lauren and I do the anchoring maneuvers after deciding on a spot. There were a few houses along the water, and 2 people on a jet ski zipping about. I took Frank for his land reprieve, and saw the jet skiers coming in toward the houses. We were in the dinghy at this point, so I motored over to say hello and inquire about the area. They told me it is a shallow bay, but there were a few places it stays about 9 feet deep. We were anchored in 5.5 feet of water, but felt okay with this. We were tucked in, so protected from wind and waves. I asked about a casino around here, and they pointed across the bay to a brown building- that is the Indian Reservation Casino which everyone had mentioned- we made it!

We did not go to the casino, and only went to shore a few times to walk Frank. We were the only boat in the bay, and we enjoyed the scenery and a good sunset. Lauren prepared dinner and we discussed the next days plan. She wanted to go to Soo and stay there so we could explore. We knew from earlier that there are two marinas in the city, one American, one Canadian. She called the American marina and inquired about dock space- they had some available. So now our plan is to leave early tomorrow morning and get to the city by 11ish so we can spend the day looking around. I like a good plan!

Please feel free to leave comments or questions if you’re having fun following our blog!

We awoke in the morning in our sanctuary of a bay, protected from almost all sides from any weather. Our plan was to continue north, to St. Mary’s River and possibly Sault Ste. Marie. We had looked at charts, and it was a good 30 miles or so to get there. We did not see any marinas before that, or anchorages for that fact, but figured there had to be somewhere to stop.

I gathered Frank for a trip in to shore, and passed by the only other anchored boat that we had passed coming in yesterday. I noticed there was someone on board, and he was watching us cruise by. His dog was also keeping an eye on us. Once Franks duties were done, we loaded up to return back. I took a route close to the boat, and asked the guy if he was from around here? he responded “yes”, and we got to talking about where we were headed. He asked if we had the paper charts, or only GPS? We do have some paper charts for areas, but not this particular area we were headed to. He said he’d be right over to our boat with a paper chart to show me.

Captain Ron (real name!- those that know me, know I love the movie “Captain Ron”- you should watch it…) came over on his dinghy with his chart and dog. We invited him aboard and he asked if his dog was allowed too? Of course! The dogs name was Bentley, but he has 2 dogs with the same name- #1 and #2, so he calls this dog “2 dog”. He proceeded to show me areas where we could possibly anchor, some sites we will pass, and a small island which has a historical museum from the old shipping days with a day dock if we wanted to stop there. We had some more chit chat about boats, and areas to check out. We finally were able to end the visit, as we had to get on our way and start this trip! It was about 10:30am when we finally departed.

Since we were inside the harbor, the weather didn’t seem too bad. We had looked at the weather and knew the wind was higher today, but we’re in a river, so how bad could it be? The wind was at 8 knots, and forecast to at least double that. We had about 30 miles to go, but now with options for somewhere to anchor.

Wow, were we wrong to leave in that. The river is miles wide, so there is no protection from anything. We had to negotiate the many little islands to get around the bend to St. Mary’s River. So far, so good. As we came around the bend, the wind and currents were working against us, so we were only making about 5.8 knots, even though I had bumped the throttle to higher RPM’s. The wind continued to pick up.

At this point, were were about an hour and half into the trip. We were approaching the area Captain Ron had told us about anchoring in. This did not look like a good option, as it was exposed all around, so it offered no protection, and I didn’t want to test our anchoring in this wind! A little further up was the day dock he had mentioned- I made a course for that area. At this point the wind had climbed to 11 knots. Again the waves weren’t too terrible, as we were heading right into them, so it was bumpy, but not too much rocking from side to side. As we neared the day dock, it becomes interesting as we have no idea of local knowledge- is it deep enough? Are there any obstructions? Anything I should be aware of? At this point the wind has built to 14 knots and climbing…

Land Ho! I see the dock and we are going in there! It was a tight squeeze through a small patch of land and a wall, but I could see up ahead where there were cleats for tying off a boat. “Prepare to dock” I called out to Lauren, “we’re going in there and tying up!” Lauren: “In there!?” me: “Yes!”

This was our best option at this point. We approached as carefully as we could, but kept getting blown around by the wind. Lauren was all set to tie up on port side, and we made our approach…as I got the front end in close enough, the back end was getting blown off…Lauren could get a line around, but we were no match to the wind, pushing a 20 ton boat away from the dock. At this point we were sideways in the middle of land and dock, getting pushed back out from where we came from. “which way are you going?” called Lauren. “Any way I can” was my reply! I was just trying to maintain control until I was clear of the land, so we could turn around and try again. Try we did.

I made 3 attempts to land us, but just couldn’t get both ends on the dock at once. On our 4th attempt, three guys came out of nowhere and were waiting for us to approach. With their help, we were able to get lines around the fore and aft, then man handled it a little closer with each pull, until we could get a mid ship line around. WHEW!

Once secure to the dock, the one guy introduced himself as the island care taker. He lives on the island for a month to care for the property and collect park fees from visitors. They have a rotation of people that do this throughout the summer. He informed us it is a “safe harbor” designation, and if we wanted to stay the night, it would be $22. This was a no-brainer- we were staying no matter what!

The wind kept howling, and increased a bit more, and we watched the waves on the river increase to a point I’m sure you could surf on them. We later heard the wind got up to 30 mph, which I do believe. We didn’t want to chance a line coming loose or chafing through, so vigilance was needed. We took Frank for a stroll after a few hours of sitting on the boat, watching and making sure all was secure. We toured a part of the grounds, found out black bears live on the island (we saw a sign- not a bear!), and made our deposit for the overnight stay. We re-named the island ‘bird poop and feather island’ as this is what covered almost all of the grounds outside the boat.

We made dinner a little later, and researched our next stop, and the weather! We will be heading to ‘The Soo’ tomorrow and the weather looks great, especially in the morning when we like to get going. We went to bed after I did another check of the lines and felt secure knowing we had 8 lines holding us tight. Tomorrow should be better…

The storm overnight came around 3am. It was loud, lightening and thunder, and lots and lots of rain. We slept well, secured to a dock with power and water, not worried about it.

We awoke to a forecast of higher winds, and rain possible. Check out for the dock was later than usual- 1pm. This gave us time to discuss what we wanted to do today- stay/pay for another night? Go to Drummond Island for the fuel filter and stay there? Find an anchorage? options, options.

We kept an eye on the clouds, and it seemed like rain was done. We only had the wind to be concerned about. Drummond Island isn’t that far, so we decided to take the jump. We departed about 12:15pm with an 8 knot wind. It took us an hour to go 6.4 miles. The wind was increasing, and the waves were getting a little bigger, but was manageable. We arrived at Drummond Island Yacht Haven around 1:15pm, asked for a pump out (emptying our bathroom waste) and I inquired about the filter I was looking for. I was in luck! They had it, but not the same microns- this one is finer filter, so it will do, but I’ll probably have to replace it sooner. So I bought two. I also was chatting with the desk person, and she told me they rent cars for $12 to go into town or shop. I have learned I need to tell this information to Lauren before we leave. I wasn’t thinking clearly. While I was taking care of boat business, Lauren walked around the grounds, as they have cottages for rent, and other amenities available to people for their vacations or summertime fun. The desk clerk also told me about another island close by people like to anchor at. This sounded good to me!

Once we were done, or I should say: once I was done, I prepared to leave. I started the boat engine and the dock hands came to help cast off. I was checking to make sure all was good and couldn’t find Lauren! She was not on the boat, she was walking around! Holy crap- could you imagine if I was pulling out/left and realized she wasn’t on board!? I would never live that down!

Now that we were all accounted for, we departed toward Harbor Island, which is a couple of miles north of Drummond Island. The area is dotted with small island and more rocky areas, so it was very important we follow the markers to navigate. The winds had picked up to 13 knots, and it was a very brisk trip. Again the waves were either coming head on or a following sea, so neither was abnormally uncomfortable, but it was clear we were only one of a few boats out that day.

As we came into Harbor Island, it was like a different world; the island is horseshoe shaped, so it blocks the wind and waves from almost every direction. There was a boat anchored just inside the opening in the deepest part, so we continued on to another more secluded area, We dropped anchor,and was debating whether we liked this spot. The wind was coming from the north, and we were on the south side of the island. This meant there was a little wind, and we were in very shallow area. We were not comfortable with this set up. We pulled anchor and moved closer to the north side, where the trees were blocking almost all of the wind. We were still in a shallow area, but felt more comfortable here. The depth finder was showing between 4.8 feet and 5.5 feet, but with no wind, we were just kind of drifting in a small area with no worries of a big blow pushing us to land. The great part about changing locations is the process Lauren and I have for anchoring: she controls the anchor and steers the boat from the upper helm, while I attend to the anchor and rode on the bow. This makes for great teamwork, and we have this down to a good process with no yelling at each other. This may have taken us a couple of tries to figure out, but that’s part of the adventure!

So now we’re tucked into a nice calm harbor, and we can hear the wind howling through the trees but not causing a ripple in the flat water. Our own paradise! We had lunch, and decided to go to land to explore. The whole Island is a nature preserve, so no houses, roads or anything man made. There was only one spot we could see to land the dinghy, and we went past the other boat that was anchored. I saw no movement or anybody as we went past. We took Frank for a walk and let him explore. We came back to the landing spot, and Frank was chasing sticks we were tossing. He went in the water after it! Now, he will go into the water up to his knees, maybe his belly, then he will turn and jump out. This time he actually went deep enough he had to swim! He wasn’t thrilled about it, but he did it! Progress! He may learn to swim after all. He did have his life jacket on, so that probably helped.

We returned to Klondike, and just relaxed the rest of the evening. We made dinner and drank some wine. We did our nightly plan of where to head next and looking at the forecast. Forecast not great- windy again, Could we make it to Sault Ste. Marie tomorrow? its about 40 miles; We’ve done that. It could be a long day, so maybe we’d better leave early? Whats the forecast again? Maybe we could stop somewhere along the way…Maybe we’ll have to! This will be an experience we will remember!

Since we’ve made the reservation for Mackinac Island, This means we have some time to kill. Where to go? We detoured to De Tour, MI. to hang out with the ‘yoopers’- Upper Peninsula residents. De Tour has a population of 321.

We figured we could go to Lake Superior, see Sault (Soo) Ste. Marie and the locks, and then turn around and come back to Mackinac. In order for us to do this from Presque Isle, it will take us about 40 miles across Lake Huron. 44.6 miles to be exact. Average speed of 6.9 knots in 6:30 hours. Across ‘shipwreck alley’. Good times.

The trip across was somewhat strange; we had a great forecast of little wind, and it was 58 degrees when we departed, due to warm to the mid 70’s as the day went on. As mentioned before, the weather the last few days have been cold, with intermittent rain. Good sleeping weather with blankets and cats curled up on the bed, but not so great for traveling with the wind blowing and chilling us. We do move to downstairs and drive from the lower helm sometimes, but I prefer the upper helm as I can see better. There has been quite a bit of freighter traffic, as well as pleasure craft zipping around. I stay in the marked channels for a few reasons: one is guaranteed depth, and the other is so others know what route I am on. It’s easier to tell if a boat is following a course than just willy-nilly zig zagging about, confusing everyone.

Back to the strange part: We left to flat calm seas, and all was well. As we progressed out toward the middle, I noticed what looked like dark clouds in the distance…this turned out to be a thick fog. I started getting marine updates from the Coast Guard warning boaters about it. At this point, we were many miles into the middle of the lake, and there was no turning around- besides, the seas were still calm and flat, thus the great speed. It was a little disconcerting knowing there could be something in front of us and we had no idea. We could see maybe 50 feet ahead at times, and that is all. I was monitoring where we were, and we stayed clear of shipping lanes to be safe. I had the radar on, radios on, horn ready, and Lauren and I were just looking around, listening for anything that might sound like an engine. There would be times it looked like it was clearing, we’d get some visibility, then it would just swallow us up again. This went on the whole time until we got to De Tour Harbor. We did have to cross shipping lanes as we got closer and were extra vigilant at that point! The lake stayed flat the whole trip, but the wind was picking as we neared our destination.

We pulled into the marina after the usual radio contact. We needed some fuel, so we went to the gas dock and made the arrangements for the dock. We needed a little help pulling in as it was windy and the dock was tight. After Franks’ antics, he is now kept tied up on a short leash, or put in the cabin anytime we come close to a dock or land. We put some fuel in the tanks, but didn’t fill it as prices were higher here than we’ve seen elsewhere. I put even amounts in both tanks. We received our dock assignment, and motored on over to it, with help again from the dock hands. Thank you to them! (where is Laura when we need her?) As we were putting final touches on securing Klondike, we started to notice Looper burgees flying from a few boats! we were now with other loopers!

First things first though, I needed to find a store where I could get a spare fuel filter replacement; after all I had read about bringing spares for everything, this one slipped by me. The gauge was reading ‘time to replace’ so I asked around- there was nothing in De Tour that would have anything I need boat wise- there is an island across the bay that might have it, but it is a ferry ride away. Or we could take our boat. Or there is a marine store several town/ miles away, but not bike-able. Seeing as we’re at dock, I’ll just have to wait for tomorrow and we can cruise over there for what we need. Hopefully they have it! I called them, but no answer, I left a message- no return call.

Now it was time for me to start meeting Loopers! I walked down the dock and noticed a gold AGLCA burgee flying on a boat- gold color is given when you complete The Loop, white flags are in progress. I saw the gentleman sitting on his flybridge, so I walked up the dock and introduced myself, inquiring about his trip. He invited me aboard, and we started chatting and exchanging some information. He actually did the trip twice, but many years ago- mid 90’s?. In the mean time, another gentleman came by asking about the burgee; he was invited on as well, and we all sat around chatting. I had mentioned my quest for the replacement filter, and the local confirmed there was nothing in town except across at Drummond Island. Roger (the other traveling looper) said he might have one…I declined the offer and we kept talking. Eventually I had to get back to Lauren and the animal crew, so I excused myself and returned home. I was giving Lauren the run down, and Roger and his wife came over to our boat. They had just arrived 20 minutes before us and were working toward Mackinac tomorrow. He was doing the same as me, wandering around talking to people with AGLCA flags. He brought a filter over as well, but it was the wrong size. I have to say this: Loopers definitely are a group that will look out for each other (actually boaters in general, usually).

I had some other maintenance issues to attend to, such as checking fluid levels, topping off, and basic boat stuff I attend to. I inspect the engine, bilge, generator, steering fluid(!) etc. after every trip to make sure I am aware of whats going on, any new drips or leaks, strange smells, whatever needs to be taken care of, or addressed.

Maintenance done, Lauren and I got on the bikes to explore town. There are at least 4 churches for this tiny town of 321 . We passed a couple of small restaurants/taverns, a small grocery store, and all of the houses had garages bigger than the house! We decided to stop at the tavern, and realized when we walked in it is a local bar, with only a few fried items to choose from. This wouldn’t be bad, as we were wanting a good local fish fry of some sort. We were not going to get that here! We had a beer, and continued on to the other restaurant. Here we were told to take a table, and the server came over after a short wait. She apologized and explained they were short staffed as there was no one there at 6pm so they sent everyone home. there were 5 tables seated- nothing overwhelming in my opinion, but that’s just me. She was pleasant enough, and we’re used to Jamaica time, so no worries, mon! We did not have a fish fry option, so we ordered a fish sandwich and fried shrimp. It is nice to eat out sometime! While we were eating, another table had the check and had given the server cash- she came back and apologized for the delay, but “the cook is in charge of the till, and she’s busy right now, your change will be out shortly”. This made us crack up!

The weather forecast for the night was thunderstorms and cold, so we buttoned up everything on the boat, and then took Frank for a long walk. He found a cat, and they had a stare down, until I got a hold of his leash to get him away before he got beat up! He also found his first frog, and jumped every time he would try to smell it, it would jump!

With full bellies, and everything secure, we retired for the evening. waiting to see what the storm would bring and not exactly sure where we will be headed to tomorrow, other than finding that darn fuel filter!

Presque Isle is only a couple stops shy of all the way north of Michigan. NOT to be confused with ‘False Presque Isle’, which is actually listed on our charts. Why call it False Presque Isle, and not just pick another name? I guess we’ll never know.

The town is actually only 20 miles north of Thunder Bay, but remember Alpena is 10 miles inside of Thunder Bay. We left at 8am, and the trip took us 5.5 hours with a 1:45pm arrival. we traveled 35.1 nm @ 7.1 knots.

The weather was a 5 knot wind NW, which made for a nice ride. We had looked at a chart for anchorages, but only saw the State Park. The forecast lately has been cold, mid 50’s at night, rain showers intermittently in the evenings, so not summer like.

We arrived and called on the VHF, and were assigned a slip. This is the second day in a row we’ve paid for a dock. We also had to do some laundry and with the weather it seemed like a good idea. (here I am, airing dirty laundry!)

The area was beautiful, with a focus on the lighthouses there, as it is still a part of the marine sanctuary of shipwrecks- the area of wrecks and amount of them is boggling! There were nice trails to ride on, and Frank ran alongside me for about a mile to the lighthouse on the tip of the isle. He had a great workout that day! He also has become a little more willing to go further into the water. I may have left out he also tried to jump to a dock while we were docking, and didn’t make it. Splash! In the water! Life jacket on, so not too bad, but he wasn’t too happy about it! Neither was Lauren, and he is kept on a short leash now when we pull in. He knows the throttle, and when I slow down, he immediately knows we are close to land. Then he gets excited, and will bark as we’re trying to do our docking maneuvers. Oh well- he’ll calm down eventually, right?

Presque Isle has one restaurant by the marina, which was closed for renovations. This bummed out a few people that had stopped here for the night. There were quite a few boats arriving after us and we chatted with a few people, asking about next stops, destinations, etc…

The evening was delightful, and we made dinner and had an early night as we had decided to make a side trip. The usual next stop is Rogers City or Hammond Bay, depending on how far you want to travel. We made a reservation for Mackinac Island for next Wed. and Thurs (8/14,8/15) so we actually have to slow down!

Where will this take us? Follow along to find out!

I’m now going to start each entry with trip specifics, then go on to story telling.

Harrisville to Alpena, 4:22 hours, 26.7nm, 7.0 kn avg speed, 9:13am to 1:35pm The lake was flat to begin, and stayed that way for almost the whole trip. I had anticipated a more lively trip, but was not disappointed in the smooth ride and speed we averaged at the same throttle I’ve been using- @1600 RPM.

From the above stats, you can see we slept in a little bit, probably due to the awakening in the middle of the night before. We usually depart about 8am-ish for an average trip. If we know we have a longer trip, we will start an hour earlier. This gives us time to arrive, figure out anchorage/dock, and still time to explore while daylight. The mosquitoes and flying bugs are ridiculous around here!

Alpena was the chosen next stop, and it was known as one of the ‘big cities’. “It is by far the largest city in the sparsely populated Northeast Michigan (lower peninsula) area”. We had looked into it and saw they didn’t really have an anchorage. This is where the high waters have come to our benefit: we can go where it is normally 3 feet, as the water is at least 2 feet higher now. We decided to pay for a dock due to the lack of anchorage and the expected weather.

Back to Alpena: it is located deep in Thunder Bay, which actually adds almost 10 miles out to Lake Huron to round the corner to keep going north. Thunder Bay is also known for its shipwrecks, which they have created a marine sanctuary and underwater preserve. There are a lot of shipwrecks you can dive too, if you scuba. There are also plenty to snorkel to and some still visible above water. That’s how close to land they get before being destroyed against the many rocky shores they have around here. This is why we follow the charts entering and leaving harbors.

We approached the harbor and were directed to a slip. We found the correct dock and was assisted by some dock hands. Once we were secure, I went about tidying up bumpers, re-checking the lines, and hooking into shore power. This is one nice amenity of paying for a dock- unlimited power to run and charge everything we want and unlimited water. Some have nice restrooms and showers, too, so we don’t have to clean and dry our shower after use. It’s amazing what we can do with less of, when we understand the bigger picture. I soon found myself trying to figure out why some things were working, and others weren’t. I checked and re-checked connections, switches, breakers. Hmmm… I could’t find anything obvious, but some lights were working, and appliances weren’t. I started the generator to see if I had power with that- I did. So this means the power at the dock we were in didn’t work properly. This also means we have to move to another slip for power. Move we did.

Once moved and hooked to our unlimited resource, we were watching the storm clouds move toward us. Forecast of rain and cold for the evening tonight. Sounds like a good time for a bike ride! We hopped on the bikes and headed for the marine sanctuary museum to look around and wait out the rain. It had started to rain when we arrived to the museum. The museum was cool, detailing the shipwrecks and preservation of sites. There were movies on rotation to watch, as well as the museum space itself. Nothing like learning the history of ship wrecks when we’re living on a boat and traveling through this minefield of rocks, shoals and sunken ships!

When we had finally scared ourselves enough, we followed a biking trail around town, through downtown, and back to the boat to check on Frank, and made sure all was well. Everything was good, so we decided to go for another ride back to downtown for some wine and/or cocktails. We stopped at a small winery tasting room and shared a flight. The rain had started again so we nursed that a little. In the same complex was a restaurant/bar which had good reviews. They had a bar separate from the restaurant (separate store-fronts completely). We chose the bar, and ended up ordering dinner there. Fresh Palate was the name- if you’re ever in Alpena, check it out!

After dinner we went back to the boat to walk Frank and catch the end of the Cleveland Indians game. We can stream the game anywhere we have cell service. This isn’t everywhere (good excuse for falling behind on this blog). I was coming down the dock, and a family was walking up- “Do you own Klondike by chance?” I replied “yes?” with who knows what going through my head…”We looked at her about 6 years ago for sale here in Michigan, we passed but she is beautiful”. This started the chatting for about 20 minutes, meeting Mr. and Mrs. Cummins and their children on the dock. We finally had to say good-byes as the rain was coming again, but what a cool happenstance meeting! They sent me pictures of when they looked at her, and there looked to be no canvas at that point, but the insides were about the same. If you’re reading this Cummins Family- It was a pleasure to meet you!

Our nightly ritual is to plan our next destination and course for the next day. Our next destination will be Presque Isle, Michigan which we are planning about 35 miles or so. This will make for a bit longer day, so we’ll see what time we leave tomorrow.

Ciao For Now!