Story of Our Summer Cruise 2013
August 28 - St. Ignace to Charlevoix
The start of the twelfth week of our blog and probably the last.
All our work yesterday was in vain as the whole boat was covered with little black gnats this morning - but the miracle X Hose was handy and we soon swilled them off. A beautiful day to be out on the water again with clear skies, a gentle breeze, and no waves, as we headed under the Big Mac.
Looking back towards the Island, it didn't look so great with the Island blanketed in fog. For the next hour as we headed west, Channel 16 was blanketed with Securite calls from freighters approaching Round Island, ferries crossing to and leaving from the Island and recreational boats in the general vicinity. It did not sound like a place to be!! We heard "Ingomar" on Channel 16 (Ingomar is owned by Jim and Bonnie, friends of ours). They were leaving the Island in dense fog with around 30 meter visibility. "Wings," a 35 Nordhavn, we know was also leaving for Beaver Island.
Weather still held as we rounded the old abandoned lighthouse and headed south for Charlevoix along with a convoy of Loopers who look like they will miss the bridge.
Abandoned Lighthouse
Today's Route - (Our Line Was Not Jagged)
They missed the bridge and had to spend 20 minutes circling. We got the primo spot at the T on the end of one of the docks next to one of the "big boys" with an unobstructed view of Round Lake. Two Montreal Nordics in town, a 37, "Calypso" and a 42, " on the Loop. The"Yorktown", a Great Lakes cruise ship, was docked just behind us at the fuel dock and a 73' Pershing on the other side of the fuel dock. The Yorktown was partway through its longest cruise of the year going from Montreal, through Lakes Erie and Huron to the Soo, Mackinac Island and then down to Chicago.
With the Big Boys
Had to rinse the boat down as we bought all the bugs with us from St. Ignace but it soon died off in the sun. Bimini up and sat up top with a great view of Round Lake. Barbara and Mike from the 34' American Tug, "Elan," anchored out in the Lake stopped by for drinks and we spent a couple of hours chatting with them. We first met them in Parry Sound when we were going south. Mike and Barbara have logged over 40,000 miles cruising with about 20,000 of them on their tug traveling from Washington State to Alaska, California, Panama, Gulf Coast, etc. They are cruising for six months at a time and are leaving their boat in Muskegon in the Fall.
"Elan" and the Diesel Duck
Tug "American Girl" (towed S.S. Keewatin) En Route to Beaver Island
Spent the rest of our time relaxing and enjoying the view but did stay up way past our bedtime (11:30) to see the Yorktown leave for Saugatuck.
Yorktown Approaching the Bridge
August 29 - Charlevoix to Frankfort
Today's Route
Left at the 8:00 am bridge opening from Charlevoix in the company of the two Nordic Tugs. Beautiful clear skies, no wind, and calm seas. Patches of fog did not include Charlevoix but we did run into dense fog about 12 miles out around Cathead Point and then it suddenly cleared after half a mile.
We made excellent time and were even getting a push at times which was odd. Just three way points and a bit of hand-steering today to clear Point Betsie. We ran close inshore but the coastline was very hazy for much of the way. and it wasn't until Point Betsie that the shoreline looked its best.
Point Betsie Light
Frankfort Municipal staff welcomed us back after our trip and we were soon set up with shopping done. Barry, our son who lives nearby, stopped over to see us with our new grandson, Cormac - the first live viewing.
Grandma and Cormac
We all went out to eat at the Bay Inn, just east of the Municipal Marina - highly recommended, and enjoyed catching up with all of Barry's news.
August 30 - Staying in Frankfort
Frankfort must order up weather on demand when they see us coming as it never fails that we end up in port for a few days whenever we return here from a trip. At the moment, the offshore forecast is for 3 to 5s with occasional 8' today and the same for Saturday. Sunday they are looking for 1 to 3s so hopefully we can make a long run down the Lake. We are not the only ones here with a large Looper contingent stuck as well. One couple holds the record for the smallest boat looping that we have seen - a 22' Hunter sailboat!
A sailboat stuck its nose out of the pier head a short while ago and turned straight back to the marina - not good out there today. We reserved a rental car for tomorrow so we can drive into Traverse City about an hour away and then go over to Barry's to see Nichole and Elliot. The two Nordic tugs made it in from Leland and got badly beaten all the way down. A large Sea Ray stayed right behind them and said he didn't think he would have made it without their protection.
Couldn't resist adding this photo of my mother (left) and her sister (right) sent to me by my sister, Julie. They are reading our blog but Julie added the caption.
Rest of the day, was spent walking the beach,
A Cloudy Day at the Beach - The Kite boarders Were Just Setting Up
doing some laundry, getting some new boat cards printed, and visiting the Oliver Art Center in Frankfort. They had two exhibits running, one for Ellie Harold (a painter) and the other for Dewey Blocksma (a sculptor). Both are local artists and were exhibiting many excellent works. We particularly liked Dewey's sculptures.
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Two Pieces by Dewey Blocksma - "Adam and Eve Commute" and "Sailor"
There were about ten Loopers docked in Frankfort and we all got together at 5:00 for hors d'oevres and drinks at the picnic shelter. We met too many people to remember but did exchange boat cards (like a business card) with a number. I spent quite a bit of time talking with the two NT owners, Robert and Jean-Pierre and their wives, from Montreal while Judy chatted with a group of the wives. The central topic of conversation with Loopers certainly seems to be weather. Weather forecasts are discussed ad nauseum with every variation having its proponent. I think part of the problem is that there are so many forecast programs available today each with their own software variations and their own advocates. The general consensus last night was that Saturday would be good for the sailboats with the wind from the N or NNE at 10-15 with waves of 1-3 nearshore. We will see.
The Curtis Family, a local (Thompsonville) three-person band showed up at the picnic shelter to perform and, while a bit breezy and cool, a good crowd showed up by the time we finished our gathering. The band played a mix of acoustically supported songs (folk, bluegrass, country) and were being well-received.
The Curtis Family - click on the link for some of their music
August 31 - Frankfort to Pentwater
This morning all the Loopers had either left or were in the process of leaving - one was well out of Frankfort and it looked good. The forecast had improved overnight so we cancelled the car and left just in front of one group.
Frankfort Lighthouse
On the way to Big Sable Point about 35 miles south of Frankfort, we passed clusters of fishing boats from Frankfort, Arcadia, Portage Lake, Manistee. At one point I counted over 20 just on a small segment of the horizon. Trying to track them on radar was almost impossible.
Yellow Dots are Boats, White Lollipops are Boats Being Tracked. Thick Green Ring is a 2 Mile Radius Around Us
We safely avoided all the small boats and rounded Big Sable in bright sun for once and set course for Pentwater.
Big Sable Lighthouse
Heading around the Point changed our course by about 30 deg. which put the wind more directly behind us and we gained some protection from the Point so the waves dropped in height to less than one foot - nice! Here we parted company with the Loopers who were all heading into Ludington.
Today's Route
Luckily we called ahead to then Municipal Marina in Pentwater and they reserved the last slip for us. Just after we docked and got things squared away on the boat, Robert and Jean-Pierre pulled in to Pentwater Lake. They got the last two spots at Snug Harbor nearby.
Robert, Lorraine, us, and Jean-Pierre and Micheline
We headed over there to see them and they invited us over later in the evening for drinks and cocktails on Robert's 42 up on the flybridge. I am not a big fan of flybridges on Nordic Tugs but they have a huge amount of room up there for traveling in the summer and warmer climates. We comfortably sat six up there.
Ice cream rounded off our night - the last before we arrive home.
September 1 - The Last Leg, Pentwater to Whitehall
Today's Route
The fishing boats were out late last night. Our neighbor arrived back in at 11:30 and was off again at 5:00 am this morning. For the next half hour, there was a steady stream of boats heading out for the king salmon.
On the water before 9:00 under sunny skies but haze and cloudshine soon moved in. A great day for the last leg of our trip with winds out of the southeast at 10kts and less than 1' waves from the same direction. The fish are still out in deeper water where the temperatures are lower so the boats were well out of our path to Little Sable Point. Our radar was speckled with yellow dots like yesterday but they were all to our right instead of all round us.
We entered the pier head at exactly noon to see the White Lake Lighthouse in the channel.
Fifty minutes later, we were in our slip at White Lake Moorings at the end of the Lake - home.
Home Again - When One Journey Ends, Another Journey Begins
September 2, 3, and 4 - White Lake
As we are heading north Friday (by land) to baby-sit our grandsons for the weekend, we decided to stay on the boat and spend a few extra days before we truly join civilization again. This will give us the chance to clean the boat well, sort the inside out, decide what to take home and what to leave, and get the carpets cleaned. All this ended up taking most of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning although we did take our time. It has also given me chance to look back out our blog and do some math.
Cruise Stats:
Total Length: 82 days
Marina Nights: 34
Engine Hours: 285.7 hours
Generator Hours: 79 hours
Total Distance Traveled: 1753 nm or 2014 statute miles
Average Speed: 6.12 kts or 7.1 mph
Fuel Used: 496 gallons
Fuel Consumption (inc. generator): 1.73 gallons/hour or 3.5nm/gallon
Maintenance: 1 Engine Oil Change, 1 Generator Oil Change, Replaced a Fuse and a Generator Impeller (failed)
Number of Locks: 94
Number of Dockings: Too Many to Count
Number of Buoys Passed: 2,963,741
Number of Photographs Taken: 2745
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"20 years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream, Discover." H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
