July 26 – August 6, 2012
Still in the North Channel, our stay in the Benjamin Islands ended on a rough note. We had to stay there overnight on Wednesday, 7/26, because Roger had conference calls and we had good cell phone and internet service there. But it rained and some time that night, the winds shifted to the Northeast and we rocked and rolled in the anchorage all night long. The wind directions were bizarre; they were all over the place, and one weather forecast differed from the next and from the next one after that. We couldn’t wait to get out of there on Thursday.
We headed to Turnbull Island and dropped the hook in a very calm anchorage with about 7 other boats. The winds shifted there also, but they were lighter and it was more protected. We stayed for 2 nights and met the nicest people. There was a couple on a 30-ft. sailboat from Indianapolis and we dinghied over to meet them. They keep their boat on Drummond Island and sail in the North Channel in the summertime. They were describing their simple life on their sailboat and Roger told them, “Yeah well, Karen’s idea of roughing it is not being able to use her hair dryer.” Ha, ha, Roger. (The fact is that I could use my hair dryer if I really wanted to because we have a large inverter.)
We found a good weather day on Saturday, 7/28, to head to Drummond Island, Michigan. When we entered U.S. waters, both Roger and I were struck by our emotions. We looked at each other, and admitted that this marked the beginning of the end of our Great Loop. Drummond Island is where we checked in with U.S. Customs. At the dock, the harbormaster said that she would alert Border Patrol and send the agent to our boat. When he arrived, he asked for permission to come aboard. Of course, Roger said yes and have a seat. The Border Patrol agent no sooner sat down and Louie jumped in his lap. Well, that sure broke the ice!
We stayed at Drummond Island just one night. There isn’t much available there and we headed to St. Ignace, MI. When we arrived, we fueled up and were happy to see diesel at $3.79/ gallon. We took a slip for 2 nights and then left for Mackinac Island on Tuesday, 7/31. It was a little tricky getting into our slip. The dockmaster told us that the finger docks were only 30-feet long, so at the last minute we decided to back in to the slip. I always set the lines and fenders on both sides of the boat just in case we have to make a last-minute change such as this one. The docks were fixed, not floating, and very high off the water, so we had to get on and off the boat from our top deck. We were happy to see that Danny & Susan arrived that same day; we had split off from them on that Wednesday at the Benjis and had planned to meet up with them again here.
Mackinac Island is very quaint. (It’s actually pronounced “Mackinaw”.) There are no motorized vehicles allowed. Horses and carriages are the only mode of transportation, other than bicycles and feet. So you can imagine the fragrance! Even though the UPS truck gets ferried over to the island each day, the packages are unloaded at the ferry terminal, put on a carriage and the UPS guy walks next to the carriage with his dolly and delivers the packages to the stores or homes.
On our first day, Danny and Susan showed us the back way into the Grand Hotel. To enter the hotel itself, even to sit on the front porch, the fee is $10 per person. But if you enter the property by the tennis courts, you can slip by. We went inside this magnificent hotel and had drinks on the top floor in the Cupola Bar. The view was gorgeous, as is the hotel itself.
The next day was our 25th wedding anniversary. Susan and I went to Starbuck’s for our usual and walked in and out of the shops. Then Roger & I rode our bikes, and had a nice lunch at the Gatehouse at the Grand Hotel. I told him that I want to come back and stay at the Grand Hotel for our 50th anniversary, since it’s unlikely we’ll be able to come by boat. I should probably make a reservation now, because by then we’ll be so old that we’ll probably forget! Roger & I took a tour of Fort Mackinac and I vowed that is my last fort tour. If you’ve seen one fort, you’ve seen ‘em all. We had our anniversary dinner at the Carriage House and it was a great choice.
On Thursday, August 2nd, we left for Mackinaw City. It was only a 6-mile run, but the wakes from the numerous ferry boats and the winds made me glad we were so close. Winds were gusting when we got to Straits Marina, and the marina was practically empty. We went to the movies with Danny & Susan and took walks around the town. We also toured the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, a 290-foot Icebreaker ship that made it possible for commercial ships to travel in winter through the Great Lakes. It was a typical ship (seen the engine room of one ship, seen ‘em all), but more interesting because of the job it did forging a clearance through the very thick ice covering the lakes, something I usually don’t think about.
Like Mackinac Island, Mackinaw City is very touristy (but without the horse smell). There is an overabundance of fudge shops and tee shirt and souvenir places. This was culture shock from the isolation and sheer natural beauty of Georgian Bay and the North Channel. Luckily, we’d eased back into “civilization” when we arrived in sleepy Drummond Island and St. Ignace.
Over the next couple of days, the marina got a little busier as the winds started to increase. Two barges even came in for refuge on Saturday. Mackinaw City is on the Straits of Mackinac, the narrow waterway which joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan, so it gets the confused fetch of both lakes along with plenty of wind.
After a couple of days we were ready to leave, but it was not to be! Yesterday (Sunday, 8/5), we had gale force winds. Even Louie didn’t want to be outside in the wind! Danny & Susan came over for drinks and Susan & I had our farewell raspberry martinis. This was our last night together, because they are heading to Lake Superior; the weather forecast was better for their destination today. After dinner, we said good-by and shed a few tears (the girls did anyway). It’s been a great 3 years cruising on and off with Danny and Susan and we’ll miss them very much. Don’t get me started again…I’m getting choked up as I write this. That’s one of the most special things about this Great Loop adventure – the people you meet and the new friendships you make.
Well, it looks like the winds and the waves will subside for our direction on Wednesday. Even though we started our Great Loop in Lake Michigan three years ago, we never got very far north. So we are going to make the turn into Lake Michigan on Wednesday and hopscotch down along the eastern shore this month, checking in and out of as many of the little harbor towns as the weather will allow us. Our next stop is Charlevoix, MI. At least I hope so because that’s where I’ve had our mail sent.
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