Our Summer Cruise 2015

June 15

A short night as we didn't get back home last night until nearly midnight and we had to be up at 7:00 am for appointments, errands, bill paying, etc. By 9;30 pm, everything was ready for an 8:30 am departure to the boat the next day.

June 16

Lindsay was kind enough to drive us over to the boat (with Morgan and Alexis) on one of her few days off. Normally we would leave the Jeep at the marina in storage but as we are not going back there, it was good to be able to get a ride. Unbelievably we managed to get five people plus all of our belongings in the car - last year we could barely fit two people.

Soon the boat was squared away and a few jobs taken care of (only three trips to the hardware store). No boat washing today though and will have to take care of that on the way North.

An early night was planned for an early getaway but, like many of our plans, it didn't come to fruition as Ron and Cathy on the boat next door (Third Swan) invited us and another couple from down the dock for a farewell drink or two on their boat. it beat going to bed early but is was rather late when we finally crawled under the covers.

June 17

 

Today's Route - Whitehall to Frankfort (83 nm - 10.5 hrs)

Departure day dawned way to quickly with the 7:00 am alarm being shut off and both of us promptly falling asleep until 8:30.

It took but a few minutes to get the coffee onboard and we left just after 9:00 with Third Swan, a Nova 40, escorting us through White Lake out to the big lake. Thanks to Ron and Cathy for the photo of STB below on its way on White Lake.

 

No departure on our cruise without the obligatory pic of the very attractive lighthouse at the entry to White Lake.

We must be good people because the Lake was flat, the sky was blue, and there was no wind as we turned north with several options in mind for our destination. Frankfort looked doable based on the conditions so off we went. We hadn't gone but a few miles when we spied two boats towards the horizon off our beam, one clearly a sailboat but the other looking low and a bit "boxy." Judy checked it out with the glasses and it was another Nordic Tug. We hailed them on the radio and it turned out to be "Karissa Leigh," a 32 out of Holland owned by Mark and Sandee Holtzclaw heading for the North Channel. Last year at the Rendezvous, we were docked next to Mark and Sandee who had just bought the boat.They were open to heading for Frankfort so off we went with them leading the way.

Our jounry was uneventful, which is good the first day out with very little boat traffic, only seeing a handful of fishing boats and freighters out in the main channel. As usual, we saw the Wilfred Sykes. Every year we see it at some point going north or south - it must have worn a groove in the Lake it's done it so many times.

One of Several Freighters on the Way North

Our late start did pay off to some extent as we stayed close inshore and the sun helped give us a great view of the beaches and the several Points with their lighthouses.

Big Sable Lighthouse

 

After a long 10 hours but calm waters, we arrived at one of our favorite towns to have our pick of many open slips - still early in the season! The gardens on the walk into town are blooming well with a good display of peonies and poppies.

Peonies - courtesy of Sandee

We treated ourselves to a Moomer's ice cream and a great sunset at the beach, but Duh!- neither of us had a camera, both leaving our phones on the boat as well.

June 18

We had already decided to spend a full day in Frankfort so took the opportunity to meet up with Mark and Sandee for a late breakfast. The weather would not have cooperated with a trip north today with the fog rolling in with very little visibility on Betsie Lake and even less on the big lake.

 

Quiet Docks and the Frankfort Fog

We took the opportunity to do some boat jobs, sortt out storage a little more, and wash the boat. The latest project:

Oceanaire Screen/Shade for Pilot House Hatch

Barry, our son; Nichole, his wife, and our two grandsons, Elliot and Cormac, made the short trip from their home to the boat for delicious pizzas at the Stormcloud Brewing Company (highly recommended for both their pizzas and beers). Talk about coincidences, Cormac was wearing his hot dog on a skateboard T shirt and what do we see coming down the sidewalk? - a hot dog on a skateboard - could not pass up this photo op!

We hadn't seen them for a few months so it was a real treat to see how much the kids had grown and how much they enjoyed the playground even though it was quite cool.

Cormac

 

Elliot

They often come over to Frankfort and visit the playground and marina and Elliot has a hard time figuring out why our boat is not there as we often see him there on our travels. We had a full house on the boat tonight for a sleepover and made use of all the sleeping spaces on the boat. The kids are both fascinated with the boat and exploring what all the switches do. We have to check everything otherwise they would flatten our batteries!

June 19

Frankfort to Charlevoix -

While Nichole and Cormac took off to go strawberry picking south of Frankfort, Barry and Elliot joined us for a ride north to leland where they would be picked up later in the day.

Frankfort Lighthouse

It was perfect weather for Elliot's first cruise of any length and he had a great time. We even saw a freighter in the Manitou Passage - but sadly no pirate ships, his favorite. We hugged the coast all the way so Elliot could see all the places he visits from a different viewpoint before dropping them both of in Leland.

Elliot's Freighter

We continued on in very pleasant conditions to arrive in Charlevoix just in time for the 5:00 pm bridge and a good slip at the end of the dock overlooking Round Lake and "Jubilee," the Diesel Duck owned by Dean Phelps. We'd spent quite a bit of time with him last year in the North Channel so it was good to meet up with him again.

Mark and Sandee were on the same dock as well as a number of people from the US Power Squadron who were holding a Rendezvous. We know a number of them from the North Channel so it was a good chance to get re-aquainted and discuss summer travel plans.

June 20

Today was a day of rest after breakfast with Mark and Sandee. Managed a couple of boat jobs though.

June 21

Father's Day today in Charlevoix so Judy took me out for an enjoyable breakfast at the Harbor Cafe in lieu of Barry and Lindsay. We had quite a few bugs on the boat overnight so did a quick boat wash and got some polishing accomplished - still way behind on that and will be doing it a bit at a time over the next few weeks. Did get the windscreens laced on the railings on the upper deck with Ju's help, job that always takes a long time with one person.

Our view was taken away in the afternoon with the arrival of "Independance," a 107' Broward being chartered by four women. They had had a tough day coming from Harbor Springs to Charlevoix to do some shopping!

Late afternoon, Bob and Jan, our friends on "Wings," arrived back at the Marina and did some last minute loading of the boat before joining us for dinner at the Country Club with Melissa, a friend of theirs. Melissa is the owner of Sonador (Sonyador), a Menorquin 110 built in Spain. It has a unique hull with a canoe stern but a square swim platform. It's based on a traditional Spanish fishing hull and looks very seaworthy. Bob gave us a guided tour of Charlevoix so we got to some unique homes designed by Earl Young including one large home that was being renovated with a thatched roof. - "mucho bucko" there for the English thatcher imported for the job.

Note to Dean R in Vermont: Remember the 55' blue hulled boat we saw the Trent-Severn, "Blue Moon." That was the biggest Menorquin made.

Tomorrow looked very doubtful for a departure but after checking a zillion weather sites and a call to the National Weather Service late in the evening it appeared that we may have an eight hour opening Monday or we'd have to wait for three days. We agreed to get up early and, if favorable, make a run to St. Ignace.