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!