More Stops Along Lake Michigan

We left Mackinaw City Municipal Marina and went under Mackinaw Bridge at sunrise on Sunday, August 19. We traveled to Petoskey, Michigan, and stayed one night. Today was another windy day and we had a bumpy ride for a while. After getting settled into our slip at the marina in Petoskey, we explored the town for the afternoon, had dinner in town, and then called it a night.

Across from the marina in Petoskey was a sand castle that we were told was built by someone in one day. They had a sand castle building competition, and the one we saw was truly amazing.

From Petoskey we headed south on Lake Michigan to Charlevoix (20 August). Our plan was to go to Leland from Petoskey, but Leland was having thunderstorms and could not guarantee us a slip once we got there, so we decided to scoot into Charlevoix and wait out the weather. This was another very windy day and, as always, a challenge getting into a slip. Plus, we competed with a tour boat, “Emerald Isle,” for space as we approached the Charlevoix swing bridge. Size does matter, and we moved over as much as we could so the tour boat could get past us before we attempted to go through the bridge. Thankfully, the captains on both boats were competent!

In Charlevoix, there were beautiful homes along the shore line as you go under the lift bridge. One home is so beautifully landscaped it looks like a home that you would see in a Thomas Kincaid painting.

Both Petoskey and Charlevoix were good stops with nice marinas and good restaurants in town, and convenient to just about anything needed.

We left Charlevoix on 21 August and made our way to Frankfort and stayed at Jacobson Marina for one night. This was another nice marina with friendly staff and clean facilities. We walked into town, which was within walking distance of the marina, window shopped, and had dinner. We were visited by an injured swan who hung around our boat for some time. As you can see, one of its legs appears to be injured. We say “appeared” because after Mike gave him/her a slice of bread, he/she put its leg down and swam away normally. We may have been conned by a bird!!!


On Wednesday, 22 August, we headed to Pentwater, MI and stayed at Snug Harbor Marina for two nights because of rain and thunderstorms. We had a rough ride from Frankfort to Pentwater and were once again glad to be in a marina. There were several other “Loopers” here when we arrived. We all had happy hour later in the evening on picnic tables at the dock. The next evening, we enjoyed a band concert in the local park. These concerts are performed by local musicians, as well as visiting musicians, once a week at 8:00 p.m. during the summer months. There was a Farmer's Market in the park on Thursday, with a variety of home grown vegetables, home made cookies, herbs, and other goodies. Snug Harbor Marina had very nice facilities with a large, clean laundry. Large laundries at marinas are the exception rather than the norm.

We decided to leave Pentwater for Grand Haven Municipal Marina on Friday, 24 August, at 8:00 a.m. Today was the roughest day we have had on the water since we began the trip. We were in 3 to 5 foot seas, and occasional 7 to 8 foot seas, most of the trip. Thank goodness, the wind was not howling to add to the discomfort. It also rained off and on the whole trip, and as our luck for today would have it, it was raining as we docked the boat. We made it to our slip and were exhausted after such a trying day on the water. We wanted to take pictures of the waves, but it would have been dangerous.

While in Grand Haven, we were visited Friday afternoon by friends Ginger and Laura on STARGAZER, who finished the loop in July. In this picture you see Ginger and Laura in the blue shirts, Mike's brother Tom, and sister in law Sue, plus Mike and Cathy from XPLORER. Ginger and Laura live in Muskegon, which is not far from Grand Haven, so they drove over to see us on Friday afternoon. We went to dinner and had an enjoyable evening with them. We were very happy to see them again.

Other boating friends we made while traveling along the Tenn-Tom, Keith and Becky from MORGAN’S DREAM, drove from Saugatuck to see us on Saturday. They were kind enough to drive us to a Super Wal-Mart to provision once again. We hope to see them again in Knoxville in late October or early November as they make their way back south for the winter. We can’t believe we failed to get a picture of them while they were with us. We were having such a good time we didn't even think about taking pictures.

On Sunday, long-time Army friends, Mike and Pat, drove from Kalamazoo to visit with us. We were stationed together several times, and the two Mikes deployed together several times as well. It was so good to see them again. We have not seen them in nearly ten years, and it was good to catch up on everything with them. We are not going to wait ten years to see them again.

One of the highlights of the town of Grand Haven is the musical light and water show on the waterfront every evening at 9:30pm. On a hillside overlooking the marina (we had front row seats), there is an area about 100 yards wide that has numerous water fountains and multi-colored lights installed. There is also a very good sound system. As music is played over the sound system, water is directed into the air about fifty feet, moving back and forth and up and down in sync with the music. The colored lights provide a surreal background for all of this, and the results are absolutely fantastic.

We enjoyed our stay at Grand Haven, but we had to move on while the winds and seas were somewhat calm. So, we left Grand Haven Marina on Monday, 27 August and headed to Saugatuck for a night. Saugatuck is a fun town with many unique shops and arts and crafts, but the marina we stayed in left a lot to be desired.

Across the harbor from Saugatuck in Douglas, MI, is the SS Keewatin, a retired Lake Michigan steamship. This ship was the last of the coal burning overnight passenger steamships that sailed the Great Lakes. This ship served the Great Lakes for 57 years. It was built in 1907, retired in 1965, and arrived in Saugatuck in June 1967. According to one of the locals, the ship was bought by the owner of Tower Marine, who had the ship dry docked and turned it into a museum. Unfortunately, we did not get to tour the museum.

On 28 August, we arrived at South Haven Municipal Marina. We will be here until Friday, 31 August, at which time we will cross Lake Michigan to Chicago. We will spend Labor Day weekend in Chicago. We will also have a crew change in Chicago. Brother Tom and sister-in-law Sue will disembark Irish Ayes and head for Cincinnati for a few days until they fly back to California. Brother Jerry will come aboard with us for the trip back to Knoxville. Stay tuned…

Drummond,MI to Mackinaw City, MI

We stayed one night at Drummond and then made our way to Mackinaw City, MI, on 14 August. The trip was a rough one, with very high winds and seas. We traveled with XPLORER, Sue-Z-Que, and Drifters across upper Lake Huron to Mackinaw. We got to our slip at Mackinaw Municipal Marina around 1:45 p.m. and were glad to be tied to a dock. We had had enough of rough waters and wind for the past couple of days.

On Wednesday, we took a ferry to Mackinac Island and spent the day touring the island with the Cahill’s. We took our bikes over on the ferry and took an 8 mile bike ride around the island, since motor vehicles are not allowed on the island. You can either walk, take a carriage ride, rent a horse, rent a bike, or use your own bike to get around the island. We also climbed 170+ steps to the Arch Rock that is 146 feet above the water and spans 50 feet at its widest point. According to geologists, this arch was formed over thousands of years by wind and water eroding soft rock below, leaving only the hard breccia rock that forms the arch. We definitely got our exercise today.

We walked to the exclusive Grande Hotel where just to walk on the porch of this establishment will cost you $15. We did not walk on the porch! The grounds are gorgeous with many beautiful flowers and sculptured shrubs.

We also enjoyed a trolley tour of St. Ignace on Friday, where we climbed to the top of Castle Rock. As you can see, it was another windy day.

Castle Rock rises almost 200 feet above the surrounding area like an ancient castle of the middle ages. From the top of this rock you get a great view of Mackinac Island, Lake Huron and St. Ignace.

Also at St. Ignace is the Mackinaw Pointe lighthouse that is being returned to its original state.

Mike’s brother Tom and our sister-in-law Sue joined us in Mackinaw on Saturday to travel with us to Chicago.

We were in Mackinaw until 20 August. We left at sunrise and headed to Petoskey. Stay tuned.

Little Current, Ontario, to Drummond Island, Michigan

We left Spider Bay Marina early Monday, 13 August, destination Drummond, MI. We decided to make the long trip today (100 miles) since the weather was fairly good for traveling, and the long range forecast for the rest of the week was not so good.

The first part of the day was not too bad, but by noon the winds picked up and the water became choppy, much choppier than we like. We had a rough ride across Georgian Bay but made it into Drummond Yacht Haven about 5:45 p.m. The wind was howling as we came into our slip, but we made it in safely and without any problems.

We were soon greeted by the Customs Agent who boarded our boat. He was a nice guy and fortunately an experienced agent. Our experience getting back into the USA was a good one. He asked a few questions and was on his way. After one night at Drummond Island, we were on our way to Mackinaw Island the next morning.

Back to Little Current

We left Heywood Island on 11 August and went back to Little Current. This time we stayed at Spider Bay Marina. We did our laundry, went to Anchor Inn to check our e-mail and have lunch and dinner, and provisioned once again before making our way west to Drummond Island. We had to stay at Spider Bay on Sunday due to thunderstorms and high winds. We left Little Current on Monday, 13 August, headed to Drummond.

Haywood Island

We headed to an anchorage at Heywood Island on 10 August and anchored for one night. This was a quiet, isolated, but beautiful anchorage.

Covered Portage Cove

We left Baie Fine on 8 August and went to Covered Portage Cove, another beautiful anchorage, for two nights. This cove is a popular anchorage and is oftentimes filled with 40 or more boats. There were ten to 12 boats at anchor while we were there. We took a short dinghy ride to shore and walked to the top of the rocks to get the spectacular view of the cove.

Baie Fine

XPLORER and IRISH AYES spent the next few days in beautiful anchorages with breathtaking scenery. Our first stop after leaving Little Current on 6 August was Baie Fine (pronounced Bay Fin). Mike and Pat on LIBATIONS were at anchor there, so we anchored with them for the night. We met Mike and Pat at the Penetang Rendezvous.

Once settled, all of us got in our dinghies and took about a 10 mile dinghy ride to the “Pool” in Baie Fine. From here, we took about a 30 minute hike up a small mountain to Topaz Lake. The trek was somewhat difficult, but it was well worth the trip. The lake water here is a gorgeous topaz blue.

We stayed in Baie Fine for two nights and moved on to Covered Portage Cove.

Killarney to Little Current, Ontario

We left Sportsmen’s Inn on Friday, 3 August, at 6:40 a.m. so that we could be on the water and to our destination in Little Current before the winds were predicted to pick up later in the morning. We arrived at Little Current Marina about 9:30 a.m. While the current was strong, getting the boat docked was nothing like getting into Sportsmen’s Inn on Thursday. However, those boaters who waited later to arrive, had difficulty getting in. We watched from shore as our fellow boaters fought the current and the wind to get to their assigned slip. We are happy to say that everyone got in without causing any damage to their boats or to other boats.

Little Current is located between Goat Island and the northeast tip of Manitoulin Island. It is the largest community on Manitoulin Island, with a population of 1,500.

We spent three nights in Little Current, sightseeing, provisioning, doing boat chores, and having a great time. The town is large enough for several banks, grocery stores, numerous places to eat, and free internet at the bar at Anchor Inn, meaning we can drink a cold beer and have access to free internet at the same time. There are not many of these kinds of places in Canada.

We were in Little Current for their annual Hawberry Festival. Streets were closed and vendors lined the street, selling locally made goods and other assorted stuff. There were bands playing and all sorts of activities to watch. Later in the evening there was a lighted boat parade (no, we didn’t participate) that had the most beautifully decorated boats we have ever seen. After that, came the fireworks. This time though, the fireworks were pretty spectacular.

On Sunday, we were given a free bus tour of Manitoulin Island, compliments of the Little Current Chamber of Commerce. We were driven past the only school on Manitoulin Island, which has only 500 students, and it is a 1 ½ hour trip both ways for a lot of these children to attend school each day. Our next stop was Northern Marina in Kagawong. We met Bob, the owner who did the Great Loop last year.

From here many of us took about a 15 minute walk through the woods to Bridal Veil Falls. We were told the falls were not as pretty this year due to the lack of rain, but we enjoyed going there.

From here, we had lunch alongside the bay on picnic tables. Then it was a short walk to the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation for those who wanted to visit the museum. We then went to Ten Mile Point. The highlight of this stop was the beautiful view of many of the islands that we had already visited or were going to visit once the “Flotilla” came to an end. It was an enjoyable day and, once again, we have Bob and Karen to thank for setting this tour up for us.

Our “Flotilla” came to an end in Little Current, and on Monday morning, 6 August, all of the Loopers moved on, either in small groups or by themselves, to continue on the Great Loop. Along with Mike and Cathy on XPLORER, we decided to go east and see some of the anchorages that we bypassed on the way to Little Current. We had heard that they are spectacular, and we still had time before we need to be in Michigan, so we took off to anchor out in what we are told are some of the most beautiful anchorages in Georgian Bay. Stay tuned…..