Drummond Island, MI to Holland, MI

Hey everyone. Sorry it’s been a while since the last update. I’ve been procrastinating, which is sad considering the amount of free time I have… Also, thanks to everyone who commented. It's nice to know people are reading this!

I’m working on uploading pictures, but the internet connection at each harbour has been really slow. I do however have some pictures of the boat uploaded. Here is the link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/110754350354756451675/AtLastTheBoat

Monday, August 22—Drummond Island, MI to Mackinac Island, MI

            The US Customs officers arrived at 11:30, telling us that they had waited an extra half hour in Sault Ste. Marie for our cruising permit, but hadn’t received it. We were disappointed to be stuck on Drummond Island for another day, as the most exciting event there each day was the sunset (you’ll notice how many pictures I took of the sunset on each of our three nights there once I get all the pictures posted). Luckily, around 1:30, the customs officers told us they could give us a temporary copy of our cruising permit and mail the real one to a destination further down Lake Michigan. We were soon on our way!

            Coming down from the top of Drummond Island, we headed south through DeTour Passage, running into our first freighter of the trip. The weather was fine until we reached the open waters of Lake Huron. The winds were coming from the west, so it was right on our nose. Besides the rough waters, however, the trip was mostly uneventful. A freighter ran alongside us the entire way, and we reached Mackinac Island by about 6 pm. We didn’t feel like cooking, so we went out for dinner (we both had fish and chips), walked around the island, and went to bed fairly early.

           

Tuesday, August 23 and Wednesday, August 24—Mackinac Island, MI

            The history buff in me couldn’t be happy unless we spent some time on Mackinac Island, and since the weather forecast didn’t look too great for the next few days, we decided this was a good place to wait it out. Soon after waking up on Tuesday, we decided to move the boat from a stern-in to a bow-in docking position, as the wind was supposed to shift and the harbour wasn’t overly protected. We were happy we did, and once tied back up, we headed out for a day of sightseeing.

I’m going to assume that at least one person reading this doesn’t know much about Mackinac Island, so I’ll try to include a brief history lesson (paraphrased mostly from the brochures I picked up). Believed to be sacred by the Natives, Mackinac Island became a commercial depot for fur trappers and traders during the colonial period. Our first stop of the day was Fort Mackinac, which dominates the southern bluff overlooking the Straights of Mackinac. The British moved the fort from what is now Mackinaw City to Mackinac Island in 1780, and the Americans took control in 1796. In July 1812, the British re-captured the fort in the first land engagement on United States territory of the War of 1812. It was returned to the United States after the war, and it remained active until 1895. It was during this time that Mackinac Island was transformed from a center of the fur trade to a major summer resort.

No motor vehicles are permitted on the island, and the first thing we had noticed upon arrival in the harbour was the horse-drawn carriages. After finishing our tour of the Fort, we decided to take a horse-drawn carriage tour with ‘Mackinac Island Carriage Tours,’ which claims to be the world’s largest, oldest, and continually operated horse and buggy livery, with approximately 100 freight and passenger carriages and over 400 horses. Carriagemen officially began providing tours of the Island in 1869 when the first city carriage license was issued, and it was the carriagemen who petitioned the Village of Mackinac Island to ban the automobile as it startled the horses. Our tour led us past the Grand Hotel (which features the world’s longest veranda) to Arch Rock (a natural limestone formation with a 30-foot-wide hole), before ending at the Governor’s Mansion. It was a great day and we soon headed back to the boat for dinner.

It was raining and very windy on Wednesday, so we just hung around on the boat, and when the weather cleared up for a few hours, we walked around the village and browsed through some of the stores. It was overall just a quiet day.

Thursday, August 25—Mackinac Island, MI to Charlevoix, MI

            We left Mackinac Island around 9 a.m. and headed over to St. Ignace to get some fuel (they don’t have any on Mackinac Island). We were re-fueled by 11, and soon crossed under the Mackinac Bridge (it connects Mackinaw City with St. Ignace across the Straights of Mackinac). We were now entering Lake Michigan! Once again, the winds were from the west and blowing at about 20-25 knots, so the 5-6-foot waves were right on our nose as we made our way out of the Straights of Mackinac. I tried to read to pass the time, but I guess this put me beyond my seasickness limits. I’m not going to claim to be the best traveling companion, so I headed down below, and the previously nausea-inducing waves rocked me to sleep for a few hours (I'm very good at sleeping through rough weather!) I woke up and we were out of the Straights and the sun was shining. The waves had even calmed down somewhat.

           

           We started heading south, but the winds picked up and the waves pounded us hard on our starboard side. It was a very bumpy ride, and everything that wasn’t bolted down in the cabin went flying. After a somewhat unpleasant afternoon, we arrived in Charlevoix around 6. We were told by people who had been stuck there for the day by the weather that they were surprised we had made it. My dad sure is happy with our Hatteras! Charlevoix has a really nice town marina, and there was a band from Sault Ste. Marie playing at the band-shell a few hundred feet from the boat. We even ran into someone who had read this blog! I decided to check out the town, so I went for a walk and ended up on the shore of Lake Charlevoix, which is an inland lake about 11 miles long that connects to Lake Michigan via Round Lake. Lake Charlevoix has a hilly shoreline, and is filled with Victorian summer mansions in exclusive neighborhoods (that don’t seem to think there is so a thing as too many private signs). I made it back to the boat by around 8:30, we had dinner, and hoped for better weather for the next day. 

Friday, August 26—Charlevoix, MI to Leland, MI

            We left Charlevoix just before 10 to catch the opening of the swing bridge that opens every half hour. The weather was pleasant at first, with a bit of a westerly wind on our beam. The winds soon picked up, however, and we were happy to reach Leland around 3:30. According to one of our guidebooks, Leland is known as “one of the most picturesque stopovers” on northern Lake Michigan. It is a small town, but right beside the harbour is the National Landmark District, “Fish Town,” where old ice and fish shanties and docks house an operating fish house and specialty shops (apparently reminiscent of life and commercial fishing 100 years ago). We walked around town, got groceries, and headed back to the boat for a relaxing night.

           

Saturday, August 27—Leland, MI

            Two other looper boats tried to head out early in the morning, but turned back around after a few miles due to bad weather. Fed up with rough waters, we decided to spend the day in Leland and do some work on the boat and relax.

Sunday, August 28—Leland, MI to Pentwater, MI

            We decided to leave at first light when the lake is usually the calmest. We woke up at 6:30, and were out of the harbour by 7, just in time to see the sun rise above the horizon behind us! We enjoyed the calm morning waters as we made our way past Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore Park, which has 480-foot-high sand dunes, white beaches, and a backdrop of forests. After about an hour, I decided to go back to sleep for a bit (again, I’m not the best traveling companion!). The winds were fairly strong, but they were from the north. It was a perfect day for heading south, and we traveled over 100 miles to Pentwater!

            We arrived in Pentwater around 5:30, and the only place for us to dock was along the north wall of Snug Harbor Marina. The Marina put out 3 fenders for us, and in combination with three of our fenders, the boat was well protected! We met some other loopers (who had stayed in Pentwater for the day due to the weather, and were disappointed to hear what a good day for traveling it was, despite the larger waves), and I went for a walk exploring the town. Pentwater is located on the fringes of a series of large beach dunes, so I walked to the beach before making my way back to the boat to meet my dad who had been having a drink with the other loopers. 

Monday, August 29—Pentwater, MI to Holland, MI

            Realizing the advantage of an early start, we were back on the water by 8 a.m. It was again a beautiful morning. The sun was shining and the lake was calm! There were a lot of fishing boats out (my dad estimates over 100), but we weaved past them and continued south. Mid-afternoon, the winds shifted to the south-west, but the lake was still relatively calm (at least in comparison to what we had been traveling in for the past week!). It was a great traveling day, and we made it to Holland around 5:30 and refueled. Holland is 80 miles from Chicago, so we are making good time (our plan has been to make it there before Labour Day weekend). We are staying at Eldean Shipyard, and although it is a nice place with a pool, it is several miles from downtown Holland (located farther in on Lake Macatawa). So there won’t be too much exploring to do tonight, which is why I’m updating the blog!

            I probably won’t update the blog again for at least a week or two. We are hoping to be in Chicago by Wednesday, and my dad is going to head back to London until September 14th. I’m going to be staying with a friend in Chicago, sightseeing, and attending North Coast Music Festival. After that, we will finally be off the Great Lakes and will continue our journey down the the river system!