The Big, Bad Lakes

The next phase of our journey had been much anticipated, but not without a fair amount of trepidation. It would involve cruising through the open waters of the Great Lakes, including Lakes Huron and Michigan, for the next three and a half weeks. During this time, it would be crucial to pick our weather for cruising very carefully.

With that in mind, on August 13^th, with rain but calm winds forecast, we set out to cross the top of Lake Huron. Indeed it did rain the entire way, but the lake water was flat, and by mid-afternoon we were safely tied up at the Mackinac (pronounced “Mackinaw”) Island State Dock where we had reservations for three days.

Once again, we were amazed at the clarity of the water here, even at a busy marina and harbor.

What a lucky break for us that the next two days were perfect weather-wise for touring the island on foot, on our bicycles, or by horse-drawn carriages, the only means of transportation available, since “horseless carriages” (cars) are, and always have been, strictly forbidden.

During the short summer season tourists flock to the island, most of them day-trippers arriving by ferry boat. It was fascinating to watch these high speed vessels coming and going throughout the day very close to where we were docked.

A couple of the ferries sported pretty impressive “rooster tails” once they left the harbor and really picked up speed.

Lots of shops, restaurants, and bed and breakfast inns line the main street running along the harbor front, all within easy walking distance from the marina.

Just a short walk up the hill from there, overlooking the Straits of Mackinac, is the opulent Grand Hotel, which boasts the world’s longest veranda.

In days gone by this was an exclusive retreat for the rich and famous, but now even the likes of such lowly mariners as ourselves can explore the inn and its formal gardens, relax on the veranda, or even partake of the daily luncheon buffet, for a hefty fee of course.

To burn off the calories consumed in the various eateries, we sampled the beautiful scenery along the eight mile bike ride around the entire island.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Mackinac Island, but by Monday, August 15^th, we were ready to tackle the infamous Straits of Mackinac, the channel between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, where contrary wind and current can create very rough water. We decided to get an early start when the wind would be light, so by 6:55 a.m. we were under way, headed for the 135 ft. high, four-mile long Mackinac Bridge which connects the Upper and Lower peninsulas of Michigan.

Then we entered Lake Michigan, bound for Harbor Springs, almost 60 miles from Mackinac Island, and the first “harbor of refuge” available for mariners cruising down the eastern shore. Although we had started out with sunny skies, by 10:15 we were engulfed in heavy fog. Since our traveling companions on “Glory Days” were more experienced with such conditions, being from Cape Cod, we struggled to keep them in view, while chastising ourselves for not taking the effort earlier on to practice using the radar function on our GPS.
Finally the fog lifted, enabling us to relax a bit, and shortly before 2:00 that afternoon we made it to the Municipal Marina at Harbor Springs, the first of several lovely little lakefront towns we visited on our trip down the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.

While the weather was with us, however, we decided not to linger here too long, so on Thursday, August 18^th, we moved on to Charlevoix, less than 20 miles south and just a two and a half hour cruise down the coast. Although we thought we had timed our arrival perfectly to coincide with the opening of the drawbridge we needed to pass through after entering the inlet, we just missed it by a couple of minutes and had to wait another half hour in this narrow channel, which is notorious for strong currents. So we just tied up to the side of the channel, along with our buddy boat, “Glory Days,” and waited patiently.

Charlevoix turned out to be well worth the wait. The municipal marina is part of a lovely waterfront park at the heart of this vibrant and beautiful town.

The highlight of our time here was a visit to the home and incredible boathouse of John Winn, founder of Four Winns Boats, who just happens to be a recent “Looper” completer himself, and who graciously gave us (and a few other Loopers in town) a personalized tour of his amazing collection of antique boats.

All too soon it was time to move on , so at sunrise on August 20^th we headed out through the inlet onto Lake Michigan once again, destination Leland, over 30 miles south along the eastern shore. With only a light breeze, moderate chop, and waves less than 1 foot, it was a relatively smooth cruise.

From the municipal marina at Leland, it was just a short walk to historic “Fishtown,” a National Landmark District, with old fish shacks on both sides of the Leland River and fishing boats tied up alongside.

Here we enjoyed lunch al fresco next to a waterfall and then bought fresh lake trout, plus some of their famous smoked fish sausage.

It was a very pleasant town to explore on foot, with everything of interest close to the marina. We walked to the beach in the afternoon.

Then we stopped at one of the shops for a cappuccino. Ah, we thought, we could get used to this.

But we still had a long way to go on Lake Michigan, so the following morning we headed for our next destination, Frankfort, another 44 miles south. The day started out with a somewhat ominous breeze already creating a moderate chop quite early, but the forecast was for waves of one foot or less, so we weren’t too concerned. In fact, we were enjoying the scenery of huge sand dunes along the shore, some of which were over 400 ft. high.

However, as the morning wore on and the wind picked up, the water became much rougher, with waves finally building to 4-5 feet, buffeting our boat (and others) mercilessly. After rounding a point along the coast and changing our heading, these waves started broad-siding us to the point where it felt like we would certainly capsize if we didn’t do something about it. I was hanging onto the helm for dear life, and Ken was getting beat up as he struggled to go below to investigate sounds of things crashing around inside. Here’s what it looked like in our salon.

So, to avoid waves on the beam, we had to tack back and forth, first toward the shore, surfing down the waves, then turning right into the waves, slowly working our way south toward our safe haven at Frankfort.
What a relief it was to finally turn into the inlet toward the Coast Guard Station, headed for the protection of Betsie Lake and our marina.

We were beginning to understand the unpredictability of conditions on Lake Michigan, as well as the importance of their network of harbors of refuge about every 20 miles or so along the eastern shore. As if to emphasize the peace and tranquility of this particular harbor, a resident swan paid us a visit at our slip.

A brief weather window presented itself the following morning, so we lost no time in heading for our next destination, Manistee, another 28 miles south. Here we spent a very pleasant four days at their new municipal marina facility while high winds and waves plagued Lake Michigan.

Although this town has many empty stores on their main street, they have taken great efforts to improve the waterfront area with a nice walking trail along the river, including historical markers detailing the town’s interesting history.

We rode our bicycles to the beach to validate our decision to stay off the lake until the wind and waves died down a bit. It was amazing to see the waves rolling in on the beach and splashing over the breakwater at the inlet and to contrast this with the relative calm on the other side of this protective barrier.

Finally, conditions improved, so on August 26^th we were able to move on again, this time to Pentwater, about 37 miles further south. After a 4 hour cruise, we tied up next to our buddy boat, “Glory Days,” thankful and relieved that conditions on Lake Michigan had been so tame this time around.

Along the way, we must have seen hundreds of fishing boats trying to make up for lost time, some of which ended up at our marina to unload and clean their catch, mostly of salmon.

While the weather was with us, we continued on, with early starts each morning, first to White Lake, and then to Grand Haven, where we were planning to have some maintenance work done on the “Docker” while we visited with friends who live in the area. Our first night at Grand Haven, however, was spent at the municipal marina, right in the heart of the tourist district, where we saw their famous musical water fountain, quite an impressive display.

The next day we moved up river to Grand Isle Marina, where the "Docker" was hauled out for the necessary maintenance and repairs, which turned out to be more extensive (read “expensive”) than originally planned. So, what else is new? It’s a boat!

Then on Thursday, September 1^st, four days after arriving at Grand Haven, and exactly one year since we moved aboard the Docker’s Inn, we continued our journey down the eastern shore of Lake Michigan in absolutely, unbelievably, gloriously calm conditions.

Fifty miles later, we arrived at the summer resort town of South Haven, Michigan, whose municipal marina provided the perfect spot for watching all the boating activity along the Black River which runs through the center of town.

Here we expected to stop for a day or two before moving on again toward our goal of reaching Chicago by the day after Labor Day. But, alas, that was not to be. First, the annual Labor Day Weekend Tri-State Regatta foiled our plans of trying to find space at marinas in our next two planned destinations, Benton Harbor/St. Joseph and Michigan City. But South Haven was such a great spot to spend the last blast of summer that we really didn’t mind. In fact, it actually reminded us of Atlantic Coast beach resorts of our youth, and we felt right at home, with a beautiful beach within easy walking distance.

Then the weather turned nasty, with storms and high winds turning Lake Michigan into an angry inland sea, forcing us to stay put for at least a few more days. So, here we sit, with three foot swells rolling in from the inlet, bouncing us around in our slip at the marina, and seven to eleven foot waves charging across the lake.

When we will finally make it to Chicago and then begin cruising down the rivers toward Mobile, Alabama, and the Gulf of Mexico is anybody’s guess.