GLORY DAYS ON THE GREAT LOOP

Friday, September 16, 2011

ARE YOU YANKING MY CHAIN???

DAY 88 THURS. AUG. 30, 2011
OVERCAST, RAINSHOWERS 64 DEGREES WIND SE 5K WAVES < 1’
DEP SAUGATUCK 07:20 ARR. ST. JOE/BENTON H.1:40PM
D. 41.2sm / 1648.5

The ride over was easy and uneventful. One of those where I set the waypoint and let the auto pilot take over. First thing I find out when we arrive is there are several other Loopers there, some who we know, and some who are new to us. They are quick to tell me about Wolf’s Marine, the best marine store with the best prices they have seen. “They even pick you up!” Needless to say I cannot pass up the opportunity, so I call and ask for a ride, and 10 mins. later Mr. Wolf himself pulls up to take me to “The Midwest’s Largest Marine Accessory Store.” I can’t wait! This place was not a disappointment. Boat stuff all over a huge warehouse. Nothing fancy like WM, more like a Home Depot for boat stuff. Anyway, I’m impressed so I tell Warren (Wolf) about my anchor chain and he tells me they gave me the cheap Chinese chain. What I need is Acco chain which is what I thought I was getting, but didn’t. He sold me 100” of the Acco chain and took my cheap Chinese chain with the promise to ship it back to Grand Isle Marina for a refund. Now that’s what I call service. I spent a boat buck there. For the record, the new Acco chain worked flawlessly. That afternoon we had a Looper party at the picnic tables under the shade of some old oak trees. Grand Isle Marina gave me a full refund on the chain. All is well. BTW, get a look at the ship that was backing out of the habor when we were ready to leave.

THIS SHIP WAS BACKING OUT OF THE HARBOR 7:30 AM

HERE'S THE WHOLE THING

MARINA ENTRANCE

CROSSING THE LAKE

DAY 88-93 THURS. SEPT 1-6, 2011
AM FOGGY COOL WIND < 5K PM WIND < 5K SUNNY 95* HHH.
DEP. ST. JOE 07:00 ARR HAMMOND IN. 1:15.
D. 61.1sm / 1709.6

As we were getting ready to leave a huge ship backed its way out of the harbor and into Lake Michigan. This was a surprise as I couldn’t see where it came from, but there were some very industrial looking areas further into the harbor from us. Needless to say, we waited for him to clear the channel before we departed. When we cleared the breakwater we set our course for Michigan City, pour next scheduled stop befor crossing the lake to Hammond. About 10 mins into the course, Pat suggested that since it was so nice why don’t we skip Mich. City and head straight to Hammond. This would double the distance we planned to travel in one day, but save us about 10 miles by not stopping. So, Hammond is where the boat is as we speak. The biggest challenge in the 61 miles crossing was staying awake. Seas were flat, there was no boat traffic, and the auto pilot did all the steering. All we had to do was watch out for other boats and stay awake. We took turns at the helm, and turns napping.

Hammond is a large very industrial area that produced much of the steel we now import from China. It is typical of so many once booming industrial cities like Lowell, Lawrence, Fall River, Pawtucket, Gloversville, etc. that supported a large population of working class people, gainfully employed, who are now unemployed. The one last chance to recover is the Horseshoe Casino which is right next to the Hammond Marina and appears to be the only thriving business in the area. We are scheduled to fly out on Tues. Sept 6. And return on Tues. Sept. 13. for doctor’s appointments. In the meantime we had good friends April and Don Mulley, who I worked with in 1968 and now live in W. Chicago for a visit. It was great to see them and talk about our most important accomplishment, grandkids. While in Hammond we rented a car and drove into Chicago several times. We enjoyed the Navy pier one day, the planetarium on another, and attended a Chicago Pizza party for Loopers at the beautiful home of fellow loopers, Ellen & Woody Sutton. Tues. we flew home

A VISIT FROM OLD FRIENDS APRIL & DON

CHICAGO SKYLINE

HORSESHOE CASINO, BELIVE IT OR NOT, THIS THING FLOATS

HAMMOND MARINA, ROOM FOR 900 BOATS (THIS IS ONE HALF)

SAUGATUCK, THE CAPE COD OF LAKE MICHIGAN

DAY 88 TUES. AUG, 30 2011
WIND SW 5K TO 10K SUNNY , COOL WAVES 1’ TO 4’
DEP GRAND HAVEN 08:10 ARR. SAUGATUCK 12:00
D. 30.58 SM / 1607.3

The forecast called for winds out of the south at 5k to 10k which is usually not a problem. We always try to leave early because the wind usually picks up as the day goes on. When we started there were no whitecaps. By 09:30 we started to see whitecaps and the waves built to 1’ to 4’ with an occasional 5’ to 6’ thrown in to keep things interesting. The good news is that they were just off the starboard bow, and were much easier to take than they if they were abeam or further aft of the bow. By 10:30 the wind backed to the south and because we were now somewhat in the lee of the shore, the waves diminished. At 11:30 we cleared the Saugatuck breakwater after what turned out to be not such a bad ride. We had to travel about a mile up a very scenic river to Saugatuck Lake, a very shallow lake surrounded by beautiful houses. The river reminded me of the Childs River except that as we got closer to the lake there was a lot of waterfront stores and restaurants lining the shore. As we entered the lake the channel was very close to the marinas, and the lake was very shallow outside the channel. We were met at the dock by “Spark’ it used to be Sparky till I reached adolescence.” Spark was a venerable old codger who was quick to share his knowledge with us. It was only after we tied up that we discovered we could not use their electric as it was only a single 30A. 110V line. Spark was quick to point out that he “mentioned” that to us when we called and there would be no discount or refund. Fortunately, the weather was cool and we didn’t need the A/C. The other thing Spark forgot to mention was that the slip was too narrow for our boat and we had to power spread the pilings in order to squeeze in. Saugatuck is called “The Cape Cod of Michigan.” Like most other towns along the Lake, it is a tourist area, and the town is mostly art and gift shops with a lot of restaurants and no supermarkets. Old restored buildings, but not much history. At around 3PM Grand Isle delivered my chain and I proceeded to splice my line onto it and install it thru the windless. Something was wrong. It went thru the wildcat but made a lot of noise and jammed up every couple of feet. More on that later.

IF IT SWIMS LIKE A DUCK.....................

ONE OF SEVERAL MARINAS

EVER PRESENT CHANNEL DREDGING

THE SAUGATUCK CABLE FERRY

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

WHITE LAKE MICHIGAN

DAY 84 SAT. AUG. 27, 2011
N WIND 5K TO 10K COOL CLEAR
DEP. PENTWATER 06:45 ARR. WHITE LAKE 10:45
D. 37.9sm / 1547.8

Navagation wise a straight shot almost due south. Wind out of the north at 5k to 10k, waves around 1’ to 2’ on the starboard qtr. The ride isn’t bad as the waves are not high, but not as good as waves on the bow. We entered White Lake at 10:15 and had to cruise about another 3 miles to the municipal marina at the eastern end of the lake. White Lake reminds me of Waquoit Bay, only bigger, with no clams. There are a few fisherman, many lake houses, some of them really big, and a few condos. The marina is empty except for Dudden Pilot. We finally caught up with them, but they got away from us the next day when they went to S. Haven and we went to Grand Haven. The town was a nice town, but like most along this coast, mostly summer resort.

WHITE LAKE

Monday, August 29, 2012

GRAND HAVEN MI

***As you can see this post is out of sequence. It was written on Aug. 28, but not posted until we got home. Does anybody know how to get it back in order???***

DAY 85, SUN. AUG. 28, 2011 DAY 86 MON, AUG 29, 2011

57 DEGREES, CLEAR COOL SUNNY WIND nne 10k WAVES 1’ TO 2’

DEP. 06:55 White Lake ARR GRAND HAVEN 10:28

D. 28.87sm / 1576.7
Another uneventful cruise, thank goodness. Grand Haven is, relatively speaking, a bigMarina is excellent and just across the street from the town. There is a band shell at the marina and a daily light and water show across the harbor with an excellent view from the boat. All in all, a very good place to stop. Did I mention a MIEJERS store. Kind of like a super WalMart, only bigger. We went nuts and overstocked the refrigerator.

WATER & LIGHT SHOW

BEAUTIFUL GRAND HAVEN BEACH

WHO SAYS WOOD ISN'T BEAUTIFUL?

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

MANISTEE TO PENTWATER

DAY 83 FRI. AUG. 26, 2011
AM 53DEGREES, CLEAR. PM CLEAR & COOL
DEP. MANISTEE 06:50 ARR. PENTWATER 10:45
D. 37.7sm / 1509.9

Cruising now is relatively easy as it is almost a straight course from one port to another. Set a couple of waypoints, and let the auto pilot do the rest. We tied up at the municipal marina. Bought a 5 lb. fresh salmon filet from a local fisherman for $15. Three delicious meals!

LEAVING MANISTEE 06:55

ENTERING PENTWATER HARBOR

THE SALMON FISHERY IS EXCELLENT

AT MANISTEE

DAY 81, 82, 83. AUG 23, 24,25
AT MANISTEE
WINDY, WINDY, WINDY!!!

We are still in Manistee. There are worse places we could be stuck waiting for the lake to lay down, but we are getting anxious to get under way. So far it looks good for tomorrow morning. Pat’s cousin Sharon lives within walking distance of the marina, and Uncle Erv. Augustine drove up from W. Branch to see Pat and spent 2 days at a motel just down the street. Manistee is a town of about 9,000 year round residents, and is locally famous for its salmon fishery. Pat’s high school classmate Fred MacDonald lives here and runs fishing tournaments and books fishing charters. Fred told me that back in the 60’s the DNR set out .5M salmon eggs and has continued to do so every year. The result has been an economic boon to Manistee. There must be over 100 charter fishing boats here that go out 2 to 3 times a day, and come back with salmon and lake trout in the 15 to 30 pound range. He said after Labor Day they will make their spawning run up the river and they can be caught from the docks where we are staying. As it is now, we see these boats coming and going at the rate of 1 boat every 5 minutes, all day long. It’s just amazing, everybody here is a fisherman! Fred is the most friendly, well known person in town, and does not take no for an answer when he invites you to dinner. He and his wife Carol welcomed us into their home for a sumptuous meal of Bourbon Glazed Salmon that was fantastic. The last time we were here was 10 years ago, and they would not let us leave without making us dinner. We hope they can visit us on the Cape so we can reciprocate. We spent a good deal of the time here visiting with Erv. and Sharon and shopping and eating. Now that Erv. has left for home, I can catch up on the blogs.

BEAUTIFUL NEW MANISTEE MARINA

ENTRANCE TO MANISTEE

JOE, PAT, SHARON, MARGE & ERV

MANISTEE BEACH

FRANKFORT TO MANISTEE

DAY 80 AUG. 22, 2011
AM OVERCAST 49* PM CLEAR COOL
DEP FRANKFORT 06:50 ARR. MANISTEE 10:10
D. 29.6 sm / 1472.2

Lake Michigan settled down for this trip, Thank Goodness. Waves were 2’ or less, and wind was from the WNW at < 5k. A nice easy 3 hour ride, mostly on auto pilot.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

ANOTHER "NIGHTMARE"!

DAY 79 SUN. AUG. 21, 2011
AM OVERCAST CLOUDY RAIN SHOWERS. PM CLEARING, CLOUDY, COOL
DEP. LELAND 06:50 ARR. FRANKFORT 11:20
D. 44.2sm. / 1442.7

I wish I could say this trip was uneventful, but it wasn’t. The forecast called for wave of 1’ to 2’. As we headed south with the Manitow Is. to the west, the wind picked up from less than 10k. to 15k out of the NW. As we passed the islands the winds picked even more and the waves went from 2’ to 3’ to 4’ just ahead of the starboard beam. It made for a very uncomfortable ride. Pat went below to lie on the sofa and………….prayed! At around 09:00am, I change course for a more seakindly and direct route and increased the speed from 8sm/hr to 10sm/hr. This made the ride a little easier, and shorter, but the wind increased even more. My guess would be to between 20k and 25k. The autohelm kept us on course very well and we cut our cruising time by about an hour. That doesn’t seem like much, but as someone said, when you are bouncing and rolling like that, time seems to drag. We were very happy to enter the calm waters of the harbor, and didn’t care about the 6.8gph we burned to save that hour. On the plus side, the local H.S. football team was hosting a fundraiser BBQ that afternoon at the marina and we enjoyed some inexpensive roast pig and corn on the cob.

L to R, BRIAN, JOE, KEN, JEAN, MEL, SHARON, PAT, JEAN

SAFELY TIED UP AFTER STORMY SEAS

SANTA MARIA REPLICA, WHERE'S CHRIS WHEN YOU NEED HIM?

TYPICAL LAKE MI. FISHING CHARTER BOAT
CHECK OUT ALL OF THOSE POLES

FISHTOWN

DAY 78 SAT. AUG. 20, 2011
SOME AM FOG, COOL, PM SUNNY COOL
DEP. CHARLEVOIX 07:00 ARR. LELAND 11:00
D. 35.6 sm / 1397.5

The trip from Charlevoix to Leland was uneventful. Seas less than 1’, 4 hours of easy ride with very few course changes. The marina building and slips here, like most of the marinas we have now been to in MI are either new or almost new. Leland is a small touristy town known for its unique “Fishtown”, a spaerate area of original fish shacks and smoke houses that have been restored to promote tourism. They are authentic, and very scenic.

THE FALLS AT "FISHTOWN"

RESTORED FISHING BOAT

EVERYBODY IS A "TOURIST" HERE

FISHING BOATS

FABULOUS CHARLEVOIX

DAY 76 AUG. 18, 2011 DAY 77FRI AUG. 19, 2011
DEP HARBOR SPRINGS 07:55 ARR. CHARLEVOIX
AM FOR COOL, PM SUNNY WARM
D. 18.0 sm/136

The cruise to Charlevoix across Little Traverse Bay, is well protected except for the last couple of miles when you round Big Rock Point. We usually start out at 07:00 am, but the bay was foggy this morning so we waited for the fog to mostly burn off. We were warned about the bridge entering the Harbor. It opens every ½ hour, but the issue is, the channel leading up to the bridge is long and narrow, and, believe it or not has a strong current. As we approached the breakwater it was nearing the 10 am opening, so we decided to speed up to try to make it before the bridge closed. When we got to the channel we could see the bridge was closed, but the current sucked us in. Our choices were to try to hold the boat against the current for 30 mins, impossible, turn around, next to impossible, or try to tie up to the wall of the canal, difficult, but the easiest of the choices. Needless to say that’s what we did. When the bridge opened we went thru into Round Lake, a very beautiful harbor with multi million dollar homes and several marinas, the Municipal Marina being the nicest and least expensive. We had a beautiful slip and the marina was the best we have ever seen. On of the highlights of the trip was the private tour of Zita & John Winns boat house. Way back in the Erie Canal we were tied to the lock wall at Canajohrie, NY when this 45’ Silverton pulled in. Being a fellow boater I offered to catch the lines and help tie up. The conversation started and the owner introduced himself as John Winn, from Charlevoix, MI. They were doing the Great Loop and invited us to call them when we got to their homeport. If the name Winn sounds familiar, it’s because of Four Winns Boats. John Winn along with his brother was the founder. Needless we called them and they very graciously invited us (along with ten friends) to tour their famous boathouse. I have included some pictures, but you can see a video at the following website. (http://www.firstmateyachtcare.com/2011/02/08/winn-boathouse-video-tour-with-mr-winn/). Other interesting things in Charlevoix are the Mushroom Houses. Designed by Earl Young (http://www.visitmackinawcitymichigan.com/stories/earl_young_architect_builder_mushroom_houses_charlevoix_michigan), an architect school dropout. The marina buildings were beautiful and incorporated some of his ideas. We spent a great 2 days here.

HARBORMASTER'S OFFICE, LOUNGES, SHOWERS, REST ROOMS

GLORY DAYS IN CHARLEVOIX

JOHN WINN'S HOUSE IN CHARLEVOIX HARBOR

INSIDE THE WINN BOATHOUSE (SEE VIDEO)

MUSHROOM HOUSE

EVEN THE MAILBOXES ARE UPSCALE

MACK. I. TO HARBOR SPRINGS

DAY 74, TUES. AUG. 16 / DAY75, WED. AUG.17, 2011
DEP MACKINAC I. 06:55 ARR. HARBOR SPRINGS 1:50
AM COOL, 62* CLEAR CALM. PM WARM BREEZY
D. 58.97 sm. /1343.9

The morning departure was exciting. We would be cruising through the famous STRAITS of MACKINAC, the link between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Cruising has become altogether different now than it was in the Trent Severn, Georgian Bay, and the North Channel. We are now cruising in open waters to scenic (hopefully) destinations, whereas before we were cruising thru very scenic areas to scenic destinations. Before we were inspired to take many pictures along the way, now, there is really nothing to photograph along the way, the Mackinac Bridge and a few ships being the only exceptions. We left the dock at 06:55 and were under the Mackinac Bridge at 07:45 with the early morning sun providing the perfect light for pictures. Soon after we pass under the bridge into Lake Michigan, we encounter fog for the first time during our trip. We are in open water, and there is not a lot of boat traffic, so with the GPS and autohelm steering the boat, and the radar on, we have no problem. In fact, we anticipate the fog lifting very soon, as we can see the sun and blue sky, we just can’t see in front or behind us.
Harbor Springs is a small, very upscale vacation town a couple of miles up Little Traverse Bay. Scenic, lots of expensive shops, etc. My first impression is Wellsley Hills, MA. Interestingly, there is no laundromat here because the rents are too high for it to be profitable. It’s one of the things that happens when the cost of living becomes too high for the people who work in the town to afford to live there. You know it’s expensive when you spot a vintage Austin Healy, a Triumph TR3, and a Rolls Royce in the municipal parking lot, and, Pat is shuttled back from the (expensive) grocery store in a brand new BMW convertible!

THE FAMOUS MACKINAC BRIDGE

SHIP TRAFFIC

AUSTIN HEALY, JUST LIKE MY BLUE 1959 100/6

OLD TR-3

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

BEAUTIFUL MACKINAC ISLAND

DAY 71 SAT AUG. 12, DAY 72 SUN. AUG. 13, DAY 73 MON. AUG.15, 2011
DEP. DRUMMOND I. 09:15 ARR. MACKINAC I. 2:30
AM RAIN, NOON RAIN, PM RAIN. SUN/MON. SUNNY COOL DRY NIGHTS REALLY COOL (50’S)
D. 47.3 SM/1284.9

We were scheduled to depart Drummond I. at 07:00, but it started to rain and we decided to wait another day. Five other boats left between 7am and 8am so we called them and they reported that conditions were not bad, just showers. We left at 09:15 with Dockers Inn and Dovekie. Aside from the rain, it was an easy trip. Seas were calm wind was light, visibility was good, but not great. We spotted what we thought was an uncharted island in De Tour Passage, but determined it was moving east at 13 knots and with the aid of AIS decided it must be a ship. This is our first of many ship sightings as we are headed into the Straits of Mackinac (pronounced MackinAW). If you read the guides about Mack. I. they all tell you it is impossible to get a slip on the Island, and if you do, you need to fender up as the many ferries that arrive there (sometimes you can see 4 arriving at a time) have no regard for their wakes. This is all not true. We called ahead and got a slip with no problem. In fact, there were many slips available Sat. due to the rain. As to the ferries rocking us, we did get some small wake action, but not enough to spill the coffee. And, at night there was no wake action at all. The interesting thing about this Island is that there are no cars. All transportation is done with either bikes or horse drawn buggies and wagons. The shuttles for the hotels are horse drawn carriages, all deliveries were made with horse drawn wagons. They all have automobile tires, and the roads are paved, so the ride is smooth. The paving also make it easier for the DPW (Dept. of Poop Works) to remove the used oats that inevitably are dropped by the horses. Although I never heard the term here (no one speaks about it) we used to affectionately refer to these as Road Apples. In any case, the Island is absolutely beautiful. Reminds us of Edgartown, only bigger and more elegant, and, a lot more manure. The Grand Hotel is so grand, they charge $10 per person just to walk on the front porch. For only $40 p.p. you can have their buffet lunch and, walk on the front porch. What the hell, you only live once, so we spring for the lunch. We also visited Ft. Mackinac. I don't usually enjoy these things, but as I said, you only live once. The Fort was a really good take, but the view from the Ft. was outstanding (which is why they built the fort there). We enjoyed the island so much, we spent three days here. Total marina bill, $159. (for all 3 days). Total experience, priceless! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.