July 5 -July 10

 Monday, July 4

The Captain worked on the toilet installation today...Kerm, you are my hero!  Installation went okay and then came the time to test operation...no joy in Mudville.  The pipe to the holding tank must be clogged. Tried to unclog with wimpy a snake borrowed from the marina...still no go.  Spirits low but we enjoyed the great fireworks display, noisy and bright.  I'm a sucker for fireworks.Tomorrow is another day.

Tuesday, July 5 

Kerm went to the local hardware store first thing this morning and bought a heavy duty snake.  Mike Rowe would be in his element...this was truly a dirty job.   Long story short...Kerm was triumphant.
We are heading for Beaver Island in the morning and we will be happy to say goodbye to Mackinaw City, the home of the toilet saga.

Marina at sunset

Ferry to Mackinac Island- we didn't go since we've both been there before

Wednesday, July 6
 
Cloudy weather at 6:17am when we departed Mackinaw City.

Mackinaw City Marina entrance/exit

Mackinac Bridge

Artsy shot of the bridge

That line on the screen is how the Mackinac Bridge looks on radar

We cleared the Bridge by 6:32am and headed out into northern Lake Michigan. By 9:12 we had cleared White Shoal Light and the waves kicked up to 3-4 feet off our aft quarter.  Not a comfy cruise!!

White Shoal Light

Heading through Grey's Reef Passage we were in 4-6 waves on our beam...not comfy at all.  I put all loose items in the bath tub so they wouldn't roll all over the placed.  By 11:00am we were passing Hog's Island Reef and the seas died down.  We reached Beaver Island Municipal Marina at 12:15.

Very quaint peaceful spot.  We walked around town and toured the local museum.  Learned all about the Mormon sect who moved here and took over the Island.  The leader proclaimed himself King and some disgruntled followers assassinated him.  Then the sect was ousted from the island and the Irish took over.  What is it about islands that makes people crazy, I wonder. 

Beaver Island Harbor

Smooth water on the harbor this evening...a nice change from our roly-poly day on the Lake

The Beaver Islander, ferry that goes to the mainland

Thursday, July 7 

Woke up to a sunny, calm day and departed Beaver Island at 7:01  I liked Beaver Island.  At 8:45 we had cleared the southern tip of the Island. which is the largest in Lake Michigan. The water was smooth as glass, such a difference from yesterday.  Lake Michigan must be respected and we are being conservative.

Cleared the Grand Traverse Light at 11:53 and docked successfully at Leland Township Harbor at 2:18pm. Today we traveled 46.7 nautical miles.  Kerm worked out that our cumulative mileage so far is 3052.6 statute miles, 2652.7 nautical miles.

Leland is known for its historic "Fishtown", a collection of old, original commercial fishing buildings located right next door to the marina.  I bought some smoked fish, lake trout and whitefish.  The town has a good collection of restaurants and arty stores as well as the usual souvenir shops.

While Kerm and I were sitting enjoying the sun on the back deck we looked up to see Makalani powering in.  Turns out they were assigned the slip next to us by pure coincidence. We shared some adult beverages and smoked fish while catching up on each others' adventures since our last meeting in Drummond Island.

Our friends, Vince and Mary Jo.  Owners of Makalani

Friday, July 8

Makalani and Southern Belle both departed Leland Harbor at about 10:00 am, heading for Frankfort. Weather is sunny and wonderful for cruising.  We began to see the large sand dunes that characterize the western coast of Michigan

The next point of interest is Point Betsie Lighthouse

Point Betsie Light

This is one of the most photographed lighthouses in Lake Michigan.

We cleared Point Betsie at 3:15 and passed the breakwater leading to Frankfort at 3:39.

Frankfort's breakwater

An upscale marina complex in Frankfort

We traveled 35.7 nautical miles today and the cruising was wonderful.  Seas calm and skies blue!!  We docked next to Makalani and had a good night.

 
Saturday, July 9

Said our good byes to Makalani since they are heading for Manistee and we plan to make Ludington today, which is further down the coast.  Left Frankfort at 9:03am in sunny weather and pretty calm seas.  At 11am Vince and Mary Jo drove Makalani by us, even though we left first....show offs!!  By 1:15, the waves were kicking up 2-3 feet from the south and building in intensity.  We decided to cut the day short and head into Manistee rather than fighting waves driven by the south wind which can get big fast on Lake Michigan. 

We were sure we'd run into Vince and Mary Jo again but they seemed to disappear.  We docked at the Manistee Municipal Marina at 1:40 after going 27.7 nautical miles.  

Kerm and I walked the "Riverwalk" all the way from town to the sandy shore...it was very pretty and I got to see a nice turtle sunning himself on a rock. Also got good shots of the Captain and Manistee Light.

This is how Norwegians smile!

Sunday, July 10

The night at the Municipal marina was good but we decided to  move from the City dock to Seng's Marina (still in Manistee) because the cost of fuel at Seng's is 20 cents cheaper per gallon. Total nautical miles traveled today...a whopping 1.4.  We are staying in port today due to bad weather predictions. 

I did wash and shopping, using a car lent to me from a wonderful couple we met in the marina.  Mike and Sonya have a beautiful 40 foot cruiser and they hope to do the Loop in the future.  It was so kind of them to let me borrow their vehicle...it gets old schlepping groceries miles and miles by foot. 

We hope to get good weather tomorrow and will try to put some miles on if we can.

I'll post some pictures of Seng's Marina next time.

Until then...
Take care and our love to all

Christie