Summer, 2013

Sept. 17 / 18 Tuesday / Wednesday

Hallelujah went into the storage shed early this a.m. and we drove South to Cape Coral FL. No problems with Hallelujah, and the drive was uneventful. We had little traffic so made good time. Arrived exhausted to find the air conditioning wouldn’t work so it was very hot in the house.

1921 SE 32nd Street - Our home

Back of house

Pool and Lanai

Us on the Canal Wall

Sept. 12 / 16 Thursday / Monday

This was a frantic 5 days of preparing the boat for winter storage, packing for our trip to FL, and seeing many friends and former colleagues. Anchorage Marine was aboard to go over winter repair list – we started with a short list but as the summer continued we finally has a fairly long list of things that needed fixing or replacing. We said goodbye to Go as they were trying to get to Chicago and on south on the loop. We did manage to eat almost all the food that we bought in June. There wasn’t much left in the freezer on the last day. On Monday we finished packing the car and moved to a motel for the night. Barb finished the last of the laundry and packed away the last items on the boat so the marina could work in various locations – aft head, fly bridge, and decks.

Sept. 11 Wednesday

John aboard Go as we left Muskegon

We decided that if we didn’t get to Holland today, we might not get out of Muskegon for a week. So we turned the engines on and were out of the marina by 7:30 a.m. It is a 37 mile run to Holland and the waves were not kind. But we had a better ride than Go as they followed us but stayed closer to shore. We made it to Holland, had a pump out and were at the dock by 1:00. It has been an interesting summer. The worst weather we had was returning to Holland.

Sept. 8 / 10 Sunday / Tuesday

Talked with Go early in the day. We made the decision to move to Muskegon. This is a 56 mile run and the winds were expected to die during the day. So we left with some aft waves but even they calmed down as the day went on. We did hug the shoreline and not go straight across from Ludington to Little Sable light. Docked late afternoon and had cocktails with Go (John & Barb). Monday was really windy so didn’t venture far. We did walk to the beach and watch the waves roll in. Wednesday we went sightseeing with Go – we took them to Silver Lake and the Mac Dune Ride. Afterward we went to Little Sable Light and climbed to the top. Had a nice day with them. Talked about leaving tomorrow – everyone is watching the weather.

Hallelujah entering Muskegon marina

Sand Dunes at Silver Lake

Silver Lake, MI

Looking down at Dave from top of Little Sable Lighthouse.

Sept. 5 / 7 Thursday / Saturday

We made the decision that we needed to really move south today. So we left at first light and did 90 miles to Ludington. While the waves hadn’t receded early in the morning (we had 3-4 footers with a few 6 footers thrown in for good measure) we found that they were not bad after rounded Sleeping Bear Point. It was a much calmer ride. We were ready for Harbor View Marina after 10.5 hours of travel. We made it to the dock just as the winds were again building. We said good-by to Five O’Clock at Frankfort as they were heading for the Wisconsin side of the lake. Go continued into Ludington with us but went to an anchorage. There were no loopers in Ludington that we found. We did run into a friend from White Lake – Dan on Outrageous was here but he headed out because he was sailing and wanted the winds. Of course his boat has been around the world so he can take heavier seas. We snuggled in and held out for calmer seas and lighter winds. The weather still wasn’t good so we ended up in Ludington for two extra days due to wind or fog. We worked on organizing and more cleaning. Did take walks but didn’t use the pool at the marina – too cold.

Sept. 3 / 4 Tuesday / Wednesday

We made decision to move to Leland today. While winds were down some, there were still large waves on Lake Michigan from the north. It was try and move today or wait another three days. There was only one hour of where we were hobby horsing into waves, otherwise the stabilizers worked great. We got to Leland before the winds picked up. Had a rather lumpy night as the winds shifted to the SW and swells came right into the marina. Sat out Wednesday in Leland and met two other loopers – Go (John & Barb) and Five O’Clock (Pedro & Vicky) – both couples from Texas. The winds shifted to the North again on Wed so sleeping wasn't bad.

Aug. 29 / Sept. 2 Thursday / Monday

Moved to Northport, MI today. Weather is again turning bad and we can’t stay in Charlevoix for the holiday weekend – no room at the docks. It is only a 24 mile run to the northwest side of Traverse Bay. We ended up staying here 5 days. This is another repeat of where we were in June. There was nothing going on over Labor Day in this village. So we spent time aboard cleaning, reading and working on the website. What was interesting about this stay is that marina groups were saying goodbye over the weekend. They started pulling boats for storage. Sounded early to us. We ended up staying longer than we thought – and didn’t do much except walk around town. The winds and waves remain strong but we were very secure in a dock and not really ready to fight the seas. We continue to watch the weather for any breaks.

Aug. 28 Wednesday

We moved 57 miles to Charlevoix, MI today. Lake Michigan was relatively quiet for this trip. Did walk around town and went out to dinner with Journey and Down Time. Hope to see them in FL.

Aug. 24 / 27 Saturday / Tuesday

We rode 8 miles around the perimeter.

We took a bike ride around the island before leaving and moving to Mackinac City. The winds are building and we need to get to a safe harbor this afternoon. At the Straights Marina we ran into loopers from last year – Mike and Gay (Irish Attitude). They shared their trip. Also met Down Time (Dottie & Carl) and Journey (Rick & Margi). They are on the loop now. Due to weather we ended up staying three more days. Didn’t do much but visit and clean. This is a repeat of last year when we were here. The weather isn’t very cooperative this year.

Aug. 23 Friday

Lake Huron settled down enough so that we could move to Mackinaw Island. This is a favorite stop. We took a carriage tour of the island this trip which was very interesting. In the evening we walked around town and bought fudge. Yummmm.

Carriage ride around Island to see historical sites

Arch Rock - natural Limestone arch 146 feet above ground.

Aug. 22 Thursday

We are starting south today. We went to DeTour (the south end of the St. Mary River) as the river wasn’t too bad to navigate in strong winds. DeTour was really empty so we didn’t have any boater visitors today. A few power boats came in late, but they didn’t bother us. Very quiet in DeTour at this time of year. We took a walk to find that the little grocery store that has been here for years is up for sale. Sorry to see this town slowly die.

Aug. 20 / 21 Tuesday / Wednesday

Saulte Ste. Marie, US side

Today was another long run of 92 miles into Sault Ste. Marie, MI. We had waves behind us most of the day, but the winds decided to pick up when we reached Gros Cap Reef Lighthouse. We had to wait for the lock so we could lock down on the St. Mary’s River. We were 11.5 hours on the water, so very tired when we finally docked at George Kemp Marina. Wednesday was a replenish day – did laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaned boat. Met two Krogen’s that came in from Lake Superior. They did a clockwise trip around the lake. Day Dreams (Doug and Jan) and Waterford (Garry & Jacque) came aboard for cocktails in the evening. They hope to start the loop next year.

Our circumnavigation of Lake Superior ended on the 20th. We did 1066.35 miles of the possible 2726 miles of shoreline (this includes all islands). We didn’t see every island or bay along the way, but we did see many beautiful mountain ranges, rivers, and land formations that can’t be seen by land. Even though we were cold, had fog, rain and overcast skies this was a very worthwhile summer. We didn’t have high seas, dangerous situations or times when we felt overwhelmed (even the two times we brought up logs on the anchor chain). We were pleased with fuel consumption (only used approximately 550 gallons of diesel), water (never ran out of our 300 gallons available and really didn’t try to conserve much), and ability to find pump outs. We spent about 4 week with relatively no other boaters around – only ourselves for company and relatively no communication abilities – but we did ok. Thus, it was a very good trip. Would we do Lake Superior again? Yes, but not soon as we still have a bucket list of other trips we want to make.

Aug. 19 Monday

Lake Superior Sand Dunes

We travel 41 miles to Grand Marias, MI. Along the way we found huge sand dunes that remind us of Northern Michigan’s Sleeping Bear National Park. As you can see Lake Superior is very calm. The marina is one wall with power but no bathrooms. It is very isolated and there was only a small section of the wall that had water deep enough for Hallelujah – we lucked out and got that one section. We did walk around town in the evening to find one gas station, one grocery (small), two bars, two motels and an interesting old post office which held a museum. This isn’t a very well protected marina so we didn’t want to get caught here with winds from most all but SW.

Aug 16 - 18 Friday / Sunday

We did a 41 mile run to Munising, MI on Friday. We left early so we could take a tour boat to the Pictured Rocks National Park. You can only see this park from the water and while we will travel past it going east, we can’t get as close as the tour boats go. We were surprised by how many tourists were there. The tour was great – something everyone should do! Well worth the money. We walked around town in the evening and had ice cream – first in a while. Spent Saturday and Sunday here due to weather. Not much to do in this town other than watching the tour boats go in and out. We were an attraction for many of the people visiting as we were the largest private boat on the dock, so we kept shades down. Did walk around town each evening for exercise – of course had to have ice cream cone each evening. For more pictures of the park, please see extra section of blog.

Munising, MI - Hallelujah at dock

West end of Pictured Rocks

Aug. 14 / 15 Wednesday / Thursday

Lake Superior Coastline - South Side

Wednesday we did a 67 mile run to Marquette, MI. While it was interesting getting off the wall with lines tied 10 feet inland from the boat, we really didn’t have a difficult time. The lake was rather quiet today so our trip was uneventful. We walked around town in the late afternoon. We didn’t know that Marquette has so many hills. On Thursday we did laundry, had haircuts, got a small amount of food and took a great bike ride along the shoreline. We enjoyed the exercise. Being that Marquette is a college town, and we hadn’t had pizza in a while, we went out to dinner and it really tasted great!

Aug. 13 Tuesday

We listen to weather and after talking to marina personnel, decide that we need to move to the East Keweenaw entrance for the night. It is a long run to Marquette, MI and it will be helpful to shorten the trip by 12 miles. So late morning we continue east along the channel. We thought about anchoring behind an island, but information and the entrance to the backside of the islands didn’t look so good, so we tied to the channel wall behind three commercial fishing boats. We were told to walk the wall and pick raspberries. This was a great afternoon activity – we ate as many as we could and brought a handful back to the boat for breakfast. A sailboat came in early evening, so there were two of us at the wall overnight. It was a relatively quiet night – the currents kept us against the wall and the winds did die somewhat.

Hallelujah on Keweenaw East End Channel Wall

Wild Raspberries

Aug. 12 Monday

Keweenaw Channel

Today we went 53 miles into Houghton, MI. We had rain along the way and the winds picked up as we entered the Keweenaw Waterway (channel cut through Copper Peninsula. Of course the starboard engine dies when we are in narrow channel with winds off port side. Barb did well to steer with one engine while Dave went below to top off fuel filter and restart the engine. We arrived in Houghton and were secured at a dock, after which did some engine room work. We spent the afternoon and evening relaxing. Our interesting item for today is that we have met the marina manager on the loop in 2010 at Bobby’s Fish Camp, AL. He remembered us and the great time we had at that location. It made for an interesting conversation – he winters in Florida on his sailboat. We hope to see him this winter.

Aug. 11 Sunday

Sunrise off Stockton Island

We are up early and out of anchorage by 7:00 a.m. at first light heading to Ontonagon, MI 58 miles east. We need to be there by 2:00 before the marina manager goes home. We made it with 15 minutes to spare. This marina is small and not near town. So we just relaxed in the afternoon. No loopers here to talk with.

Aug. 10 Saturday

Stockton Island Beach and Anchorage

The weather has turned nice – into 70’s so this is a big weekend for boating in the Apostles. We move to Stockton Island to anchor tonight. Watching the weather is a daily requirement and we need to keep moving west. Stockton Island is the first time we have anchored with a large number of boats. There were 32 at final count anchored here over night. We had a little surge most of the night, but it wasn’t too bad. We took the dinghy into the beach –we were going to walk the beach but it was very difficult so we hiked inland along the shore. This was a pretty anchorage but not one that you want to be at if the wind shifted directions - only protected from two sides.

Stockton Island Shoreline

Apostle Islands

Aug. 9 Friday

We moved Hallelujah 2 miles to Madeline Island – in strong winds. Had some difficulty with docking but Dave did well in heavy winds. We got out bikes down and took a bike ride across part of this very large island. It is an interesting place but not one to stay at for very long – not much to do. The town is small with only two restaurants and little else. Didn’t even see a gas station.

Canoe group in Apostle Islands

Apostle Island Bluffs

Aug. 8 Thursday

Apostle Bay Marina in Bayfield, WI

We left Silver Bay this am and traveled 43 miles to Bayfield, WI. This is in the Apostle Islands. Interesting little town – we walked around and went out to dinner this evening. We had hoped to anchor for lunch off of Sand Island, but the winds were not being cooperative for us to take time to peek into various western Apostle Islands.

Aug. 4/7 Sunday / Wednesday

We left at first light on Sunday to travel 108.5 miles to Silver Bay, MN. We had talked with the ferry service owner on Saturday to see about going into Grand Marais, MN – but there was a fishing tournament going on there so no space for us. The day was long and we had to arrive early evening so we could get tied up. It was a quiet day on the lake so not bad traveling and we ate meals underway. Monday we got a ride into Silver Bay (town) and did stops at bank, shopping, and post office. We also did some boat cleaning. Had to lay over Tuesday due to rain so did some computer work. Wednesday was also wet and windy so did inside boat work – did get to take a few pictures of the marina – very nice place.

Sunrise over Windigo Bay

Rock of Ages Light House

Silver Bay Marina

Aug. 2/3 Friday / Saturday

After three days in Chippewa Bay we do a long run to Windigo Dock, located on the southwestern tip of Isle Royale. We have now traveled the length of the park. The rugged landscape is made up of ridges that were formed by an up thrust of the earth’s crust centuries ago. This is another busy harbor as many campers, day tourists, and boaters use the long concrete dock in this well protected harbor to refurbish, enter the park and fuel/pump out. We spent two days here in which we took two hikes – one short walk that demonstrates the changes in topography found in the park. The second walk we took was the southern end of the Greenstone Ridge Trail (which spans the length of Isle Royale). We finally saw a moose! But it was half a mile away – see picture. The black dot in the middle is a mother moose in the water eating grass. We were told there were two calves in the trees that we couldn’t see. Oh well, so much for wild animals on this trip. We did see interesting vegetation – see mushrooms.

There is a moose center at waterline - little black dot.

Colorful mushrooms

July 30, Tuesday

Hiking Trail Marker

Camping Shelter - all hikers must use these on the island

We moved 8.5 miles west to Chippewa Harbor – second basin. We were given information that is was easy to get into and very well protected for the winds that were expected later today and into the next couple of days. We stayed aboard Wednesday. There was rain on Thursday a.m. but we were able to take a walk on Thursday afternoon – Barb was looking for beaver lodges that were supposed to be in the area, but we didn’t find any. We took the kayaks out on Thursday even though there were strong winds. Because the boat had been sailing around the anchor for two days we ended up resetting it because we were dragging slowing out of the bay. This was another bay in which there were only one or two other boats the whole time we were there. We continued to look for moose but didn’t see any. The pictures show a trail marker – rocks piled up with top one pointing in a direction. The second picture is of a camp hut. Campers are to use these structures and not use regular camp tents. These structures are found in many locations in the park. A little more information about Isle Royale – it is 45 miles long and 9 miles wide. With approximately 400 small islands and islets surrounding the “rock”.

July 29 Monday

We moved to Carabou Island today – a total of 5.5 miles. Docked at a concrete wall for the night. This isn’t in the
quiet zone so we can run the generator for electricity.
4 kayakers came in later in the day. We took the dinghy and went to the Edisen fishery and lighthouse museum.
Nice presentation of the ship wrecks around Isle Royale.
We tried to walk the trail to the moose bones but didn’t make it – way too far for us through an overgrown trail.

Orange Lichen - not copper

Hallelujah at Carabou Dock

Edisen Fish Camp

Unnamed Light House at Midpoint channel, Isle Royale

Trail to moose bones - very rocky and hard to walk on.

July 24 - 28 Wednesday / Sunday

Wednesday we did a 47 mile run to Isle Royale. Dave was at this National Park when a boy, but we have never been here together. We went into Rock Harbor which is at the northern eastern end of the park.  We spent 5 days here due to weather and wanting to see this area of the park. Isle Royale is also a customs location so we entered the US at this location. We were in Canada for 23 days and really enjoyed the scenery and the many anchorages that we had. Rock Harbor has a marina and we were one of two or three boats at any given time that were docked here.
The rangers indicated that the cold weather was impacting boating this year. Not knowing that we would be here so long, we jumped off the boat on Wednesday and immediately took a 4 mile hike – not realizing that it would take us 4 hours to hike up and down hills on rocky and tree root trails. We definitely were not in shape for climbing! We had to rest on Thursday as the muscles were really sore. We did take mile walk the rest of the days here. We also went to a number of evening Ranger talks. We learned that there are over 900 moose on Isle Royale but only 12
wolves – no bear or deer. We did see a red fox –sorry didn’t have a camera with us. Dogs are not allowed to enter the park. There are snakes and many insects (mosquitos were prevalent!). IR (Isle Royale) has a very fascinating history which includes fishing, logging, copper mining and resorts for wealthy.  There are plant species that are only found on IR and nowhere else in the world. This national park has quiet zones which means no generators can be run and no gray or waste water dumping – which means no overboard water – which was a small problem for us as
our sinks and shower water usually goes overboard and not to a holding tank. We were told to wash with no soap! Or to wash dishes in a pan and dump it 200 feet inland so the water doesn’t go directly into the surrounding shoreline.
Thus we were forever going to shore to dispose of water and we used the shore facilities as much as possible.
The pictures for this 5 day time include Tobin Harbor, first walk to Suzy’s Cave (notice dress!), Hallelujah in the fog, and one of the rocky steep trails we walked.

Tobin Harbor north east end of Isle Royale

Barb resting overlooking Rock Harbor

Steep rocky trail - notice it isn't warn out

Rock Harbor dock in the Fog

July 21 - 23 Sunday - Tuesday

We only had 17 miles to go today to reach Thunder Bay
(city) so left Tee Harbour mid-morning. We were tied to dock by 1:00 after traveling for 2.5 hours up Thunder Bay
(water area). This is an interesting town with a new waterfront park area. We did refurbishing and cleaning while here. Our Thunder Bay looper friends were not in town so we were not able to see them, but we did email back and forth. We were glad to have electricity as it
remained cold while we were here. We also had strong winds but they didn’t bother us as we were tucked against a wall. Thunder Bay entrance has two large mountains (one either side). The Sleeping Giant lies to the north and Pie Island is to the south. It is an impressive bay to say the
least – 15 by 30 miles in area.

Pie Island, Thunder Bay

Hallelujah on wall in Thunder Bay, ON

July 20 Saturday

Left Otter Cove passing Otter Island mid-morning hoping
to anchor about 12 miles away. Stuck our nose into Loon Harbor and weren’t sure there was enough room for us here – there is a sauna near this anchorage that we could have used. Motored on to Edward Island only to find the anchorage we were hoping to go into was too deep (50 feet plus). So we continued to Tee Harbour which is at the foot of Sleeping Giant – a 1200 foot rock that marks the entrance to Thunder Bay (not the city but the area of
water). We finally have found an anchorage with multiple boats (8 total during the night). The weather was cold again today so we are looking forward to going into Thunder Bay (city) tomorrow.

Otter Island - beautiful clifts.

Sleeping Giant Thunder Cap

July 18 / 19 Thursday / Friday

We moved 14 miles to Otter Cove (yes, another Otter Cove). There is a waterfalls at this anchorage. It is an
all-weather anchorage and forecasts indicate strong winds are coming – another front is moving through. We pulled
anchor at Moss Island between rain showers, but weren’t so lucky in setting the anchor at Otter. We again had the
whole anchorage to ourselves when we arrived, but Catamount – sailboat came in late in the day. They were really soaked. Still cold – only in 50’s. Friday it finally got sunny and reached 74° -yeah!!! We took the kayaks up the river to the waterfalls, but didn’t get far through the woods as the climb was steeper than we could do. We did experience our first seiche on Lake Superior while kayaking. We had current going up the river – not hard to paddle at all – then had outgoing current when we went down the river – didn’t have to work at all. The Lake
Superior seiche is not a tidal affect nor is it moon or sun effected, but does occur in narrow, constricted anchorages.
Basically the water flows into and out of these areas causing the water level to rise and fall. We did take advantage of the nice day to kayak around the bay for a while and invited Catamount over for cocktails. It turned out that Fred Bagley (Cat was one of our instructors on a GLCC
webinar that we participated in during the winter. Got lots of good information from them while enjoying a beautiful
day.

Hallelujah at anchor in Otter Cove

Dave floating down river in Otter Cove

Otter Cove waterfall

July 17 Wednesday

Moss Harbour Anchorage

We were able to get out of Rossport when the fog lifted some and traveled west to Moss Island which is in the Nipigon Strait Area. Very nice anchorage – long and narrow. We were able to use the grill tonight for first time – no winds!

July 15 / 16 Monday / Tuesday

We needed to get to a pump out today so had to travel 30 miles to the small town of Rossport, ON. Unfortunately, we had rain early and fog the whole day. So we left Slate Islands in fog. The picture is of one time the fog cleared a little – much of the time we had about 50 feet of visibility as we traveled. We are glad we have good radar and electronic charts. As we approached Rossport we called the harbor to ask about fog at the dock – the harbor master said he could see about 10 feet off the dock. But we had luck with us because as we approached the dock the fog lifted so we could see what we were doing for about 50 feet. Got tied to the dock and settled in. When Dave went up to check in he was told that we would have guests arriving very shortly. Our Thunder Bay looper friends have parents living in this small town and they came aboard for a chat. Offered to take us to their home if we wanted to get off the boat, offered to take us shopping in the next town (8 miles away) and offered their car if we wanted to sightsee. They talked about anchorages west of Rossport and gave us further information that was helpful as we continue on with our travels. A Gozzard sailboat came in later in the
afternoon and they just appeared out of the fog. Nice couple from Ottawa, ON. We walked around town – all of two blocks (there are no stoplights). In fact the town consisted of 1 motel, 1 restaurant, 1 gift shop, 1 marina (with dock for about 4 boats), and one caboose museum (not open presently). We went out for dinner and had the couple from Wave Equation over for dessert –they were also at the restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately, Tuesday was very foggy and some rain so we stayed at Rossport. Wave Equation came over for cocktails. The rest of day we did inside work. We have no
electricity here so had to run generator for meals and heat.

Hallelujah and Wave Equation at Rossport Dock

Rossport Town Dock

July 11 / 14 Thursday / Sunday

Slate Islands - Pike's Bay

We headed to the Slate Islands this am with clear skies and minimal waves. We did hit a fog patch just before entering the Slate Islands.
The Islands are a crater cone that resulted from a 19 mile wide asteroid
that hit earth millions of years ago. There are 8 islands with lots of caribou (don’t look for any pictures because we never saw any and we did keep a watch for them). We worked our way into Pike’s Bay which is an all-weather secure anchorage – we were the only boat here. Another set of small narrow channels to navigate, but Dave is getting good with Barb on bow watch. Today was another cold day, so we huddled down inside to keep warm. We stayed a few extra days – Friday it was 48° outside and fog set in. Saturday it rained off and on all day – still cold out. Sunday was also cold, but a small sailboat did come into the anchorage along with a small fishing boat. Thus our stay here wasn’t what we had expected – we had hoped to explore by dinghy and kayaks, but it was too cold, foggy and wet to do anything outside of the boat. The anchorage was beautiful
though.

July 9 / 10 Tuesday / Wednesday

Narrow channel entrance to Pulpwood Harbour

We woke to 51° temperatures outside and 60 inside. Still foggy but about 8:00 it lifted enough for us to exit the anchorage. Went north to Pulpwood Harbour in the Pulaskwa National Park. Made good time and were able to get into this anchorage (through a narrow channel) with no difficulties. We
took the dinghy over to the park headquarters and use their Wi-Fi to send out messages and get weather reports for next week. More mosquitoes!
How can they live in 50° weather! Didn’t see any animals today. Stayed here a second day due to rain and wind which produced larger waves on the lake. We wrapped in blankets in the cabin to stay warm. No kayak or dinghy rides today.

July 8 Monday

We were up and leaving this harbor at 6:30 a.m. Glad to be not bouncing. We were headed to Otter Cove which is an interesting area to explore the Crystal Waterfalls. We arrived at noon and worked our way through narrow passages only to find the cove is deep and we couldn’t reach the shallow area. We could have stayed but the winds were again pushing in 2 foot swells and we would have anchored in 30 feet of water. We were tired and didn’t want to fight wind and waves again in the night. We also couldn’t have dinghied to the waterfalls due to waves/wind so we left and kept going north to Simons Harbour. We passed Cascade Falls on the way (see picture). Fog set in as we traveled north. Simon Harbor is another anchorage in which you have to pass through narrow channels – and we had fog when approaching. But the fog lifted enough for us to get into the anchorage and then it settled back in for
the rest of the day. The anchorage was great as we were protected from wind and waves in all directions. We did encounter lots of mosquitoes!

Cascade Falls

Simon Harbour in the Fog

July 7 Sunday

Dog Harbour

We left early this am. To beat winds building in afternoon supposedly from NW and rain that was forecasted. Our first surprise was pulling the anchor. We snagged a 4 foot log with a spike through it. The anchor chain had wrapped around the spike. After ten minutes of maneuvering the log with hood and use of bridle, the log slipped off the chain and then the anchor came up easily. It started raining before we were out of the anchorage and didn’t stop all day. We went 26 miles north to a very tiny anchorage called Dog Harbour. Only room for 1 boat and we were really pushing our length here. Winds turned NW but swelled continue from South so we had swells of 1 to 2 feet all night hitting our beam – not good sleeping. Dave stayed in the main cabin most of the night. The high today was 59°.

July 5 / 6 Friday / Saturday

We were up early and started moving. Winds were up a little and we motored into 2-3 foot swells for the first hour and then turned north with swells off stern quarter. Actually, they were coming from two directions – go figure. The westerly swells seemed to die out midmorning so we were more comfortable. Another hazy day so the pictures don’t do justice to the mountain range that falls into Lake Superior on this east coast. We had hoped to go into Sinclair Harbor – about 40 miles north of Batchawana, and we did actually motor into this harbor, but didn’t stay. First it is very small and we were afraid that with the 30 foot depths we couldn’t put out enough scope to get a good holding and secondly, the waves were wrapping around the point so the
harbor was very lumpy. We knew the winds would be rising overnight so we didn’t want to be here with larger swells
while at anchor. While we really wanted to stay here and walk to the Ojibwe pictographs just south of the anchorage, we made the decision to head further north. See picture from internet which is pictographs at Agawa Rock. This is supposed to be the Mishibizhiw, or Great Lynx who controlled Lake Superior, and below two giant serpents called Mishi-ginebokoog. We went into Indian Harbor – a 73 mile run - and found the first boat we have seen since
leaving Sault Sainte Marie. Gunk Holer – a sailboat from Kalamazoo, MI was at anchor. We spent two days here due to SW winds. Very safe harbor, very quiet, and peaceful. We did find our first swarm of mosquitos and had to figure out how to keep them out of the boat. Finally
ended up taping doors. Since the winds were strong out of S SW, we stayed a second day and took out the kayaks to
do some exploring. Gunk Holer left after lunch when the winds calmed a little so they could sail north.

Indian Harbour Anchorage

Eastern Shore coast line

Entrance to Sinclair Harbour

Sinclair Cove

Agawa area Ojibwe Pictographs

July 4 Thursday

Today we celebrate the 4th by starting into Lake Superior. We got the first lock through on the Canadian Locks at 9:00. We went 49 miles to Batchawana Bay to anchor for the night. As we exited the St. Mary’s River we passed the rather strange lighthouse.  Whitefish Bay is huge! And it took us a couple of hours to exit this first Lake Superior Bay. As we start this trip around the lake, here is a little information about the Lake. The coast line is 1900 miles. We won’t be doing all of that. Lake Superior is considered
an inland sea and has the largest surface area of any fresh-water system in the world. The average depth is 487 feet but there are places in which it is 1300 feet deep. Interestingly, Lake Superior is only the third largest fresh body of water in terms of water volume with 3 quadrillion gallons of water.  The locks on both the US and Canadian sides lift you 24 feet from the St. Mary’s River to Lake Superior.  Lake Superior has a current that runs counterclockwise around the lake – thus we will be using the current to help push us along and traveling counterclockwise around the lake.  There are many precautions that need to be taken on this lake, the weather being one of the greatest.  It is not uncommon to have winds in all directions, waves from multiple directions, lots of fog and of course it is cold because of water emperatures
in the low 40’s. Our first anchorage is huge! Glad we didn’t
have a wind from the north, west or east. We had a very quiet night and it was really really dark! Unfortunately, today was overcast so pictures don’t really depict the mountain range and water colors.  All in all, day one on the lake was not bad – did have some stern waves from the SW but mostly light winds.

Canadian Lock in Sau Ste Marie

Gros Cap Light - Superior Entrance to St. Mary's River

Batchawana Bay anchorage

July 3 Wednesday

We completed final trip to grocery for fresh dairy and produce, topped off water tanks, did final pump out, and topped off (filled) fuel tanks. As we left the gas dock, we
noticed that we had lost our water line – so we are sitting low and very heavy. Took on 600 gallons fuel to give us very close to 900 gallons, and put in 300 gallons of water – this really does have weight. We moved to the Bondar marina on the Ontario side of Sault Sainte Marie so we could check into customs and hopefully get our Canadian internet up and running. We spent afternoon on the internet – visiting a Rogers store and talking with company on phone. No luck. They have changed international policy so we won’t have internet except where we can find wifi. Verizon wasn’t helpful at all this year, so we have no phone service in Canada either. This might be a good thing.

Bandor Marina Sault Sainte Marie, ON

Canadian Moose - art

Canadian Geese - real

July 2 Tuesday

Ok, we are again underway at 6:30 a.m. heading north on
the St. Mary’ river for a 45 mile run into Sault Sainte Marie, MI. Due to lots of ship traffic, we have the AIS working and are able to get to the split in the river and turn into the northbound channel before any south bound ships meet us. We were lucky on our timing. The currents do slow us down to about 5 knots– instead of our usual 8 knots so it will be a longer day. In reading the literature on the St. Mary’s River, we found that we would be traveling the
entire 60 miles of this river which is made up of both man made channels which have been blasted out and three lakes. We actually were on only two of the lakes – Nicolet and Munuscong Lakes. Lake George is too shallow for us so we used shipping channel in this area. We were doing fine until we got to Lake Nicolet where a freighter was coming up on us. We made the decision to slow down and
let him pass. In hind sight, we should have kept going for the last 8 miles as we ended up passing him just before the Soo Locks– the Algosea had to wait for a southbound ship to exit the American locks. We were in a slip by 1:00. Spent the afternoon cleaning, doing laundry and completing final lists of everything we needed to do before we entered the eastern and northern shores of Lake Superior for the month of July. We borrowed the marina bikes and went out to dinner at the Antler’s Restaurant – a really unique place
that has very good food with reasonable prices.

Divide point on St. Mary's River - upbound to starboard, Downbound to Port.

Algosea - fuel freighter

June 30 / July 1 Sunday / Monday

We were up and out of the dock by 8:00 – heading to DeTour, MI this morning. We passed Mackinaw Island – the Grand Hotel and the fort. Hope to visit there on our way
south.  DeTour is the beginning of the trip into Lake Superior.  DeTour is just inside the southern end of the St. Mary’s river which is the only way in or out of Lake Superior. Thus, the St. Mary’s river has a lot of commercial traffic as seen in picture. We arrived at DeTour to find that the marina has been rebuilt.  In fact we were one of the first boats in the new harbor (it only opened two days before we arrived). While here just one day we saw many ships going up and down the river. We walked around in the evening (not much here to see). We arrived just in time in the afternoon as the winds started to build from the N/NE. There were actually whitecaps on the river. So we ended up staying a second day due to winds which were over 25 knot
with higher gusts.   We met a nice couple from Tampa, FL in a 30 foot North Pacific Trawler (cute boat). They were headed into the North Channel for a few weeks. They came over in the evening and we talked about anchorages with them. On Sunday Barb again when to the very small store in town for a few more groceries. Our marina radio was announcing that a tug sank in the St. Mary’s river so we would need to watch for that area on our way north tomorrow. The winds subsided on Monday afternoon, so we made last preparations for leaving on Tuesday. We also
needed to wait here for marina space in Sault Sainte Marie, MI.  There was a big Canada Day (July 1) event with tug boat races. A call to George Kemp Marina indicated that it would be better to come on July 2.

Hallelujah in DeTour Harbor

Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island

Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island

Saint Mary's River at Detour - ships going north and south

June 27 - 29 Thursday / Saturday

Mackinaw City - Straights Marina

We decided after much hesitation that we should move from Charlevoix to Mackinaw City (it is not spelled Mackinac like the bridge and island). This is a 58 mile run from Charlevoix. The winds were light but there was a forecast of thunderstorms in the afternoon. We got the 7:30 bridge out of Charlevoix and headed north. So much for weather forecasts. We were not out but 2 hours and we saw bad weather heading at us from the NW. Dave turned on satellite weather and it was coming hard and heavy.
Thought about turning and going to Beaver, but with continual monitoring
of satellite XM Weather (really paid for itself today) , made the decision to
continue on to Mackinaw. Good think we did, we actually got far enough north that all we got was rain – not even heaving winds. Also good to have radar as we could watch other boats around us. We heard later that Beaver Island got pounded with some damage. Arrived at dock by 2:30 and sat out heavy rains all afternoon. Friday and Saturday the weather wasn’t too bad – a whole 65°. We did more cleaning, walked to the grocery store (Dave didn’t realize it was 1.5 miles away), and stayed inside out of rain in the evening. We were resting on Saturday when another old friend and boat maintenance person we know, came down the dock calling our name. Todd came aboard and we talked for a while. He thought he had seen us in White Lake at anchor and was really pleased to see that Hallelujah was still looking so good. Todd did the major awl grip work on the hull and fly bridge. Had to sit Saturday due to winds. Strong out of NE – the direction we would be heading.

June 25 - 26 Tuesday / Wednesday

Mushroom House

Weather was again playing with us today. We need to move, but at first we were not sure where. After leaving Traverse Bay we decided that Charlevoix would be the best place to go. We saw rain clouds approaching from NW over Beaver Island so didn’t want to do a long run to that harbor. We did a fast 35 miles into Charlevoix, MI. We love this marina and the town. Did some more grocery shopping (can’t believe we are still buying food) and also walked around town in the evening. Wednesday we did some more cleaning, more shopping and more walking. We aren’t as young as we used to be and this boat has many places to clean so we do a little each time. Charlevoix has some interesting neighborhoods. There are a number of houses that are called Mushroom houses – the architectural design makes them look like mushrooms. The picture is an example thanks to the internet as I always forget to take a camera with me.

June 21 - 24 Friday - Monday

Remained in Northport due to weather. Had rain and winds on Friday and Saturday. Lake started to calm down on Sunday but there was very heavy fog. The temp got up to 60 on Sunday. We cleaned inside and outside, did some shopping (very nice grocery here) and walked to Barb’s bakery (not me but the name of the bakery). There was a farmers market on Saturday a.m. First of season strawberries were in and also rhubarb so Barb made a pie. Hummmmmm. Cold weather, fog, rain and winds seem to be plaguing us this summer. On Monday we had guests aboard – Laura and Vern Carmean came up from Empire MI to have lunch with us. It was great to see my MSU advisor after 15 years. We had a great time and hope to see them when we head south in Sept.

June 20 Thursday

Northport Marina - on the wall

We again started early – out of dock by 6:45 to do a 68 mile run to Northport, MI. Weather was starting to close in again and we wanted a secure harbor. We tracked a couple of ships and barges as we traveled north and east – great to have AIS and know where all the big boys are. Arrived in Northport in time to have cocktails and then out to dinner –today is our anniversary – 43 years and going strong.

June 19 Wednesday

Frankfort Light House

We were up and out of marina by 7:15 this a.m. We wanted to get a start on the 52 mile run to Frankfort, MI. We were able to use the state docks this year as there are very few boats on the water. Actually, we can’t believe how few boats are on lake Michigan – most marinas are empty. The weather has remained cold in the 50’s so there weren’t even fishermen on the lake. Barb walked around town and did a little shopping for “stuff” while Dave did some cleaning. We walked to the beach in the evening to watch the sun set. Nice town, but more touristy than we had expected. Sorry no pictures – not a nice sunny day.

June 17 - 18 Monday & Tuesday

Stayed over in Ludington. Dave couldn’t find problem so we called mechanic to help us fix it. A young man arrived Monday a.m. and couldn’t figure it out so he took our gen manual and schematics for the fireboy system with him and returned on Tuesday with a second mechanic. The problem was the fireboy system (our engine room fire retardant system) was draining the generator battery because a wire had come loose. They found the loose wire, attached it and everything worked instantly.
Weather continued to be cool, but we took the opportunity to walk around town – not much here and do some cooking to further fill the freezer.

June 15 - 16 Saturday & Sunday

Harbor View Marina - Hallelujah in slip

We left White Lake early (7:00a.m.) and headed north. Lake Michigan was still cold but there were no waves so traveling was easy. We had no issues on the water today and arrived in Ludington by noon. We spent the afternoon working on another list – we are hoping to dwindle lists before we get to Lake Superior. Barb found problem with air compressor easily– a switch in the fly bridge had been turned off. Dave can’t seem to find the problem with the generator battery. Worked on it bot Sat and Sun. We had a nice walk in the evening after dinner – we haven’t done that in a while and it felt good. We were going to leave Ludington on Sunday a.m. but the fog was so thick there was no way to leave. Our dock is about 100 yard from where the Badger (Lake MI ferry) docks and we couldn’t see it coming in until it was right here. We don’t move with no visibility. The fog didn’t clear until after 2:00 – way t0o late to go north. Also it is cool today 61° outside. So Barb did some cleaning and work on the computer while Dave continued to problem solves what might be the situation with the Gen battery.
This is a great marina (Harbor View Marina). They have a swimming pool (no way we are going in it) and gas grills (we
are grilling out).

June 14 Friday

We finally said our goodbyes to everyone as we left the dock on June 14. Island Girl was ahead of us leaving the marina area, Pat texted us to have a good trip and Shirley radioed as we passed her house on the lake. We did a short day and traveled north to White Lake – about 45 miles. We left at 10, got some fuel (prices are outrageous!) and a pump out and headed north.
The weather is cold on Lake MI – about 59°. We wrapped up in wool blankets to help keep chill off. This is will be typical for Lake Superior this summer. Waves weren’t too bad and in the afternoon we actually got some sun so the fly bridge finally
heated up. We anchored in a good spot just inside the White Lake Channel and had a very quiet night. We did discover a couple of problems – the air horn wasn’t working. The generator wouldn’t start – the battery was dead. We will work on these tomorrow in Ludington.

June 1 - 13 Saturday - Thursday

Anchorage Marina - we were next to sail boat forth from right.

We left Cape Coral at 5:30 a.m. (anxious to get started north) and headed north to Chattanooga, TN. Long day of driving. We arrived in Holland MI on Sunday June 2 after a second long day of driving. Monday, June 3 we were aboard Hallelujah and it felt really good. She was launched in the afternoon and we started our many cleaning projects. We moved aboard on Tuesday and continued unloading the car and cleaning the boat. We spent most of this week cleaning and shopping. By Sunday we were pretty tired. We saw boating friends in the area: went out to dinner with Avery’s from Island Girl (traveling buddies from the Bahamas); went out to dinner with Danley’s (Gypsea DF46 – traveling buddies from Tenn river); and saw Shirley Cooper from Seven Seas to pay respects (husband Chuck passed away on Friday June 7 of this week). We were held up in Holland due to weather for a few days and also some last minute repair work that wasn’t completed over the winter. We really got to know Holland and how to get around while here.