June 24, 25 Pentwater to Ludington

June 24, 25  Mon, Tues   Pentwater to Ludington

Fog greeted us this morning as we rose.  We were only traveling about 14 miles so we ventured out slowly.  Slowly is the key word as the fog was dense.  The radar was helping us navigate, the manual fog horn (Tom) was sounded and our eyes were concentrating on any dark shadows on our route.  The Badger, the car ferry, left Ludington about 45 minutes before we arrived.  That was a good thing because we missed one side of the break wall entrance and did a circle out front to find our way in.   We crawled forward until we found the municipal marina and relaxed a little once we were safely in our slip.  The fog persisted throughout the day until the rain fell and a squall went through.  It was very calm afterwards and visibility improved.  Tom was ready to get out into town after being confined to the cabin quarters for the afternoon.  The Badger returned this evening and brought the fog, rain and cold back with it.  It has been a weird weather day.

The wind blew all night long and the waves were crashing over the break wall by morning.  The sun was out tho which made for a bright morning.  We got our shoes on and started our walk along the river's edge. We were stuck in Ludington many years ago, again due to fog and wind.  At that time the marina was full so we stayed at a small local fishing marina.  We followed the rivers edge and  found that local marina - Thompson marina - looked just the same after all these years.  We walked back to the downtown area and had lunch at the Old Hamlin restaurant.  (It could have been Tom's Family Restaurant) - the salad bar, the decor, the waitresses, regular customers and of course great food.  Back at the boat, the rain came again and Tom napped.  After soup dinner, we walked the channel path and watches the arrival evening of the Badger.  That is a big ship!

Ludington Municipal Marina ( taken the day we left, no fog)
looked alot different in the fog

Squall coming in, luckily safely in a slip

The S.S. Badger returning from Manitowoc, WI. at the end of
the day. She makes the 60 mile trip in approx. 4 hours. The
tickets were $ 89.00 person round trip if you return in 48 hours

Passengers, cars and semi's save time having not to go all
around the lake to get to Wisconsin. 

Backing into her slip. The Captain does a magnificent job of
maneuvering her

Big Sable Point lighthouse north of Ludington. We are headed to
Frankfort.

June 21-23 Frankfort to Pentwater

June 21, 22, 23   Fri, Sat, Sun Frankfort to Pentwater

Is it summer yet?? It is trying to arrive.  The sun is shining brightly, the lake is flat and we are moving.  At 0615 Tom aroused his first mate and we departed from the dock.  The lake was calm so the captain set a course while the first mate reclined to finish her evening's rest.  The sun shone the whole trip as local fishermen too enjoyed the good day.  As we passed Big Sable Point we noticed all the fishing boats heading into port -Ludington.  The 1/2 day fishing charters must have concluded.  Tom also got a nap in as this is along day of travel for us - 7 hours and 65 miles to Pentwater.  This is one of Tom's favorite harbors.  It is interesting this year with the high water.  When the wind shifted, so did the water level. Much of the time the cement docks are covered with 2-3 inches of water.  The water levels  are very high and fluctuate during the day.  Sometimes the water is over the sidewalk and floods into the grass park making one huge puddle - no ball playing or picnicking in this area this year. Other times the sidewalk is dry.  The wind seems to blow the water into the lake and harbor and the water ebbs and flows. We often walked out of the boat bare-footed then put our shoes on when we found dry ground.  Here too we strolled thru town and once back to the boat we enjoyed visiting with the 2 neighboring boats, sharing laughs, boating experiences and of course sharing info about our Loop.

We did the usual things at a new port.  We walked thru town to see what was there, made a stop at the ice cream shop and walked to the beach to see the sunset.  The winds were out of the northeast and altho the lake was calm, the boat bounced in the harbor.  The Saturday sunset was very nice and there were many people enjoying the view.  This is a state park and campground right next tot he beach so families were enjoying the playground, sand and park area.  Conversely on Sunday, it was overcast all day with gray skies, except at sunset; but there were only 5 people on the beach watching its descent. The Brown Bear restaurant served Tom broasted chicken dinner and the band played at Gulls outdoor deck. The summer activities continue on.  

The water would go out......

The water would come in......

Notice the water temperature.... that is why we are not swimming.
Even dogs that people thru balls out into the water waded in
gingerly, and they had fur coats on. Ha

Pentwater beautiful; sunset

June 15-17 Mackinaw City- Charlevoix-Northport

June 15, 16, 17 Sat, Sun, Mon   Mackinac City - Charlevoix - Northport

The winds calmed overnight and we saw a large, bright ball of fire in the sky.  Having the sun shine lends limitless possibilities for the day ahead.  We headed south into the Straits and under the bridge.  The ride to Charlevoix was comfortable and pleasant.  We could identify the navigational markers easily and watched other cruises come and go.  Strictly by chance, we timed the opening for the bridge perfectly and traveled through the channel to the same slip as previous.  Once secured in the slip, we vacuumed the dead midges (very few in this port).  We met a couple on a sailboat from New Buffalo and shared some adventures from our Loop experience.

On Sunday morning, Tom purchased pastries and they were enjoyed by all.  Suddenly is was decided "Let's leave" so we caught the next bridge opening and went out onto the lake heading south - cloudy skies with a one foot roll to the sea.  As the short ride concluded, the clouds were gray and the rain sprinkles once again fell.  Back in Northport, we were in the same mooring spot again, here too.  Slowly the blue skies appeared - still cool but pleasant.  Nacho dinner with Short Vacation and phone calls to and from the family completed our day.

The morning sunshine was a welcome sight. We could not resist wearing shorts, finally.  The day was spent doing a variety of tasks:  laundry, stowing items in the car, updating maintenance log, filling water tank, making phone calls, a grocery run, update blog, cleaning the fly-bridge, etc.  After we traveled for a week, the "to do list" consists of many small items to catch up on.  We went for a walk to stretch our legs and get some exercise.  One last night of cocktails on Short Vacation and dinner at the Garage completed a productive day.

June 13-14 Mackinaw City

June 13-14 Thurs, Fri Mackinac City

Thursday started with the rain overnight.  The piles of dead bugs were evident on the sidewalks and grass walkways.  Tom and John spent the morning replacing the water pump on the starboard engine of Greeks Folly (after watching a U tube video).  The two captains/mechanics had it up and running in no time!! We then took a casual walk through town which was capped off with caramel corn from the Popcorn Factory and the best ice cream ever from the Sweet Spot.  Later, a dinner stop at the Keyhole Bar, a local favorite, and a Tom favorite, finished off the day.  It stays light up here until about 930 pm. It feels odd to go to bed before the sun sets, but last night Tom had no trouble settling in.

On Friday morning we took an Uber (maybe the only one in town) over to St. Ignace.  Our driver, Mike was the retired chief of police in Mack City.  He was a great guide, knew the history of the bridge and the UP region and had entertaining stories which he shared.  We walked up Castle Rock and strolled through town as we enjoyed some warmth and sunshine.  There is not much to see in St. Ignace so we were back to our boats before the wind kicked up to 25 mph and the rain started.  The remained of the afternoon was spent tinkering on the boat, reading, and staying warm and cozy as the rain and winds once again soaked our afternoon.  We had pizza delivered for dinner and played a few games.  The plan for year 5 of cruising has changed.  Short Vacation is going to return to Northport as Pam has developed severe back pain and wants to return home to Illinois to see her doctor.  Boat buddies stick together so Greeks Folly will also return to Northport.  Tom and Colletta will then spend the remainder of this boating season traveling around Lake Michigan visiting old haunts, familiar harbors, dropping in on friends as well as finding new anchorages and places to explore - finally concluding the Loop in New Buffalo.  We will revisit the North Channel and Lake Superior another year, very soon.

Castle Rock, costs $1.00 and then 138 steps to the top

 

View from the top. You can see the bridge towers and the strait

On the top looking north, lots of pine trees

Famous Paul Bunyan and his ox, Babe.

 

 

2019 Northport -Charlevoix to Mackinaw City

June 11, 12, Tues, Wed Charlevoix to Mackinac City

John and I decided that a short shake down cruise would be wise to make sure everything on the boat worked and we remembered how to run everything. Charlevoix at 25 miles was the decided destination. Pulled out of marina at 0830 in sunshine, cool temps and flat water on the bay.  It feels good to be moving on the water, exploring new places and enjoying God's beautiful nature.  We are ready and anxious to do all that again.  The ride was comfortable with flat waters which is always preferred on Lake Michigan.  As we arrive in Charlevoix, we catch the 1130 opening of the bridge and were met by 5 eager dockhands in the city marina.  The "newbies" are being trained in line tying and communication with an incoming captain in order to make the boat secure in the slip. It was nice to have them all help us in as it was our  first time this season to dock too.  The town of Charlevoix is just as quaint and nice as ever.  We wandered thru the shops, walked the side streets and even borrowed bikes to ride and see some mushroom houses.  A great first stop.

Mural in downtown. Charlevoix is a beautiful town with a great
marina staff. It also has the most impressive library built in an
old school. Huge and very impressive

Mushroom house

another mushroom house

 

On Wednesday, the departure was planned around the 0830 opening of the bridge and we followed the ferry - Emerald Isle - out onto the lake.  The sprinkles and fog did not affect the calm water for traveling.   As we turned east to head thru the Straits, we could not see the bridge.  Finally when we were about 5 miles away the bridge came into view.  It is a magnificent sight, as always, and we enjoyed our journey under its mighty spans.  We pulled into Straits Marina, took on fuel, pulled into our slip and were swarmed by midges.  Midges are mosquito-like flying bugs (which do not bite) but swarm in clouds like locust.  These bugs appear in May and die off after 2 weeks of warm weather (usually mid June).  The start of this season has been so cool that the midges are sill here and healthy as ever.  If the wind is blowing, they congregate on the leeward side of the boat.  If it is calm, they swarm everywhere, docks, the grass, in the park, by doorways - everywhere close to the water.  While walking through town, they may go unnoticed, but are back to greet us in full force upon our return.

Departing Charlevoix (picture courtesy of Short Vacation)

The midges at Straits Marina Mackinaw City

They are all over. what a nuisance. constantly vacuuming up
dead bugs. If you try to wipe them off with a rag they leave a
black streak

 

2019 Year 5 of the Great Loop Cruise Begins

June 3, Mon  2019 - Northport, MI

It is the beginning of the last - Greeks Folly was launched on June 3 from Northport Boatyard, driven one mile and docked at Northport Marina.  We spent the next six days preparing her for travel (cleaning, checking equipment, provisioning, and becoming accustomed to living aboard again.)  During that time we had cool temperatures, sunshine, rain and swarming bugs.  However she is now ready to move.

Notice how high the water level is on the dock. The lake level is up
3 feet since the low point in 2013. 6 inches this past spring

Prior to departure many projects were under taken in preparing
for reacquainting ourselves with boat life. installing a transducer
on the dinghy for a depth finder I purchased over the winter in
Florida at a nautical flea market. Mother nature did not always
cooperate.

 

Sept. 17-19 Charlevoix to Northport Marina

 

 

Sept 17, 18 Mon- Tues, Mackinac City to Charlevoix 

We return from being on land in Illinois for 4 days, eager to get back to the boat and continue our cruising.  The fall up north brings cooler temperatures, the sun rises but does not shine until late morning and the winds are unpredictable.  After checking 3 wind forecast apps, we decide to leave Tuesday.  The wind has switched to the northwest so the water thru the Straits of Mackinac were a one foot roller.  The ride was comfortable for the six hour trip to Charlevoix.  The marinas close early this time of year so we call ahead and got our slip assignment before the dock master left for the day.  We arrive at 1645 - almost cocktail time.  In the evening we strolled thru the popular, peaceful town, looked at the shops and enjoyed dinner at the Villager Pub.  Early to bed after a long day. 

View of the bridge from Mackinaw City

Short Vacation passing under the Mackinaw Bridge

Thje bridge entering Charlevoix opens on the hour and half hour to get
into Charlevoix marina

Sept 19, Wed-Charlevoix to Northport

Greeks Folly and Short Vacation checked both into and out of the marina this morning.  Before we leave, we walked into town to look at the mushroom houses.  The houses have cedar shaked roofs or thatched roofs that are curved and rounded and give a fairytale and enchanted feel to the neighborhood.  We expect to see a dwarf whistling, coming out the front door.   Once back at the boats we are out on Lake Michigan by noon traveling on our last leg of cruising for the season.  The water is flat but again has a one foot roller.  The three hour ride to Northport is smooth, a nice way to end our travels.  We dock at the municipal marina and wait for our assigned dated to travel one mile to Northport Bay Boatyard to be lifted out of the water and stored for the winter.  Our wait becomes extended again, due to the weather.  The strong winds out of the southeast and northeast make for dangerous conditions to haul boats so the Boatyard postpones our date.  During this time we clean the boat, empty and remove belongings and supplies needed in Illinois, and eat as much of the food as we can. Lol.  We also have time for sightseeing to Sutton's Bay and Leland, nice little towns.

This year of boating has been different from the other three years - in a good way - more rustic and isolated, beautiful scenery, enjoying new friends and learning a lot about a different kind of cruising. These are all good things and we look forward to the continued adventures on our fifth and final year of the Great Loop.

Docked at Northport Marina

by the old Mackinaw Lighthouse

Lifgting her out of the water. All 40,000 lbs. The marina has
a scale on the lift to measure

Transferred to the hydraulic cart to move Greek's Folly into the
heated storage building for the winter

They charge by the square foot for indoor heated storage
so the marina doesn't waste any space for storage

See you next Summer 2019

Like I said, they don't waste any space. We had to take the dinghy
off because of the boat behind us.
 

See you next summer, 2019