Aug 20th - Aug 28: Northport, Lealand, Frankfort, Muskegan, Saugatuk

In the last post, I commented on being back on "big water."  I should have kept my comments to myself.

From Charlevoix, we headed south along the lake, entered Grand Traverse Bay and stayed overnight at the village of Northport, MI. Northport was a quaint little town with a great marina and a delicious bakery.  It also had the cheapest diesel fuel price since New Jersey.  While in Northport we had a nice get together with two other "looper" couples, Rich and Carol Nick from Cape May, NJ on "SALT 'n SAND" and Ross and Nancy Hiner from Northfield, Minnesota onboard ODDYSEA.  Ross and Nancy had almost completed the loop when we met them.  All they had to do was cross Lake Michigan to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to cross their wake.  Little did they know mother nature was going to delay them for a few days.

From Northport we got back on the lake and went south to Leland.  We stayed in Leland during our 2007 trip and in the years between the marina has had a complete makeover.  Very nice facility now.  While in Leland the winds started to build up in the afternoon.  It was very interesting to watch the boats trying to enter the harbor through the breakwater.  Although everyone made it through, the following day (after we left) a sailboat was caught in the strong surf and was pushed up on the beach, requiring a strong tug to pull her off.

The forecast was for strong winds the next few days, so we left Leland at sunrise the next morning and headed to Frankfort, MI, which is a traditional port for crossing the lake.  The lake is narrowest at this point - only about 55 miles across to Wisconsin. Unfortunately, the predicted winds arrived and Frankfort became our homeport for 4 nights.  Seas were forecast at 4 to 7 feet out on the lake, just a little to high for our pleasure. 

The delay in Frankfort put us a few days behind, so when the winds finally laid down we were out at 5 AM, heading south.  With a good seastate and unpredictable future winds, we decided to take advantage of the seas and did a 95 mile day to Muskegon, MI.  Now 95 miles may not seem like a lot in a car, but at 9 knots it turns into a 10 hour day on the water.  There will be no comments nor pictures of Muskegon, as when you come off the lake the town is actually several miles further inland across Lake Muskegon.  We chose to tie up for the night at a marina close to Lake Michigan and made it an early evening.

On the 27th we moved to Saugatuck, MI, a town known for its art gallerys.  We stayed at a very nice marina just a short walk from the downtown area.  We enjoyed a nice lunch on the waterfront as well a stroll around the town.  The winds were strong again on the second day, so it was another overnight stay.  We should be underway tomorrow, 29 Aug, to Brenton, MI.  From there we are taking a couple of days off the boat to visit Pam, Brian and Everett.

Some of the houses lining the harbor departing Charlevoix

Northport MI was on the upper part of
Grand Traverse Bay

Ross and Nancy Hiner

Rich and Carol Nick

The winds and seas started to pick up
as we headed south to Frankfort

This is the typical coast along the eastern side
of Lake Michigan - sandy beaches and dunes
dominate the landscape 

Sunset at Leland, MI

Temperatures in the morning have been
as low as 48 degrees

One of about 26 swans in the Frankfort Harbor

We were up early enough to see the
sunrise on our trip to Muskegon

This is the typical harbor entrance on the
Michigan shoreline.  A breakwater extending
about 1/2 a mile into Lake Michigan clearly marked
with navigational aids

Ex - USS SILVERSIDES, now a museum in
the Muskegon Harbor

Saugatuck Marina

Aug 14th - Aug 19th: Beaver Island, Harbor Springs, Charlevoix

Well, we can tell we are back on "big water" so to speak.  The first stop on Lake Michigan was Beaver Island.  It's a pretty good sized island in the northern part of the lake.  The trip from Mackinac Island was interesting.  Seas were about 2-4 feet and on the boat's quarter, which is not the most comfortable direction.  With the seas from this direction, GREAT ESCAPE tends to slide from side to side through the water.  We've been in worse, but we were glad it was only about a 35 mile trip.  Beaver Island is very isolated, but we did have a wonderful dinner with Bonnie & Charlie Burke at the Beaver Island Lodge . 

From Beaver Island, we headed back across the lake to the eastern shore and Harbor Springs.  This time the water was flat but the fog was pretty thick the entire trip.  We haven't had siginficant fog since the trip up the coast of New Jersey to New York harbor in May.  Luckily, the radar worked fine and there was little traffic, so the trip was uneventful.

Harbor Springs is one of the many "harbors of refuge" that the state of Michigan has built along the coast.  There is usually a port every 25 to 30 miles or so along the coast, so if the weather turns bad you don't have to go very far before you can duck in off the lake.  There were four other "Loopers" at the marina.  We'll probably see these boats off and on down the rivers.

From Harbor Springs we continued south on to Charlevoix, another wonderful little town.  When we stopped here in 2007, the marina was undergoing renovation.  The town has done a great job with the waterfront.  The marina is downtown with a lot of green areas to take the Boyz out for a walk.  We arrived just in time for the farmers market which was about 100 yards away.  The first afternoon we were the guest of John Winn and his wife at their lovely home on the lake.  The Winn's had recently completed the loop and were very gracious in allowing us to see their home which included his boat house and collection of antique boats.  (Mr. Winn is the president of the Four Winn boat company). The city has some unique houses which were designed by architect Earl Young in the early 1900's. They are called "mushroom houses" and when you see the pictures you will understand.  From Charlevoix, we will continue down the east coast of Michigan (west coast of Lake Michigan) for the next week or so, working our way to arrive in Chicago a little after Labor Day.



The Mackinaw Bridge over the Mackinaw Straits connecting the Michigan mainland
to the northern neck



A farewell view of the Grand Hotel

Mufasa is "locked on" with this duck

Bonnie and Charlie Burke on SONATA arriving at Beaver Island



In this photo, I am trying to show the clarity of the water.  This is alongside
the pier at Beaver Island in about 12-15 feet of water.  No problem seeing the bottom.  The
clarity is partially an affect of the zebra mussel that has invaded Lake Michigan.  Although
the water is very clear, the drawback is that it is much more weed invested and the mussels eat the
plankton that many smaller gamefish rely on for food substance.



The Beaver Island Marina

This ferry runs from Beaver Island to Charlevoix twice a day

Another view of the marina from across the harbor

An abandoned  lighthouse on Beaver Island

Looking out on Lake Michigan

A native of the Island

The Boyz do not appear to worried about the fog

Morning fog leaving Harbor Springs

The entrance breakwater to Charlevoix

Charlevoix Municipal Marina

Lovely lady with lovely flowers in the background

The Winn's house as seen from our boat

This is a Stephens wooden boat; very old and in magnificant condition

Part of the Winn's collection

More wonderful antique boats in this amazing boathouse

Another classic

Mr. Winn purchased this boat from Disney after it was used in
a film about Mr. Magoo

Looking at Charlevoix harbor from the Winn's house

GREAT ESCAPE

A butterfly sculpture outside the Charlevoix
public library

Two "Buds" among the flowers

Although this was taken from land, this great American Flag
can be used as a landmark to entering Charlevoix form the Lake 

One of the mushroom houses

Another mushroom house

Fellow Loopers, Joe and Pat Apicella from East Falmouth, MA

Some of the houses in Charlevoix

This dwelling was part of "Boulder Park"

What a good looking dog !!!

Overlooking the Charlevoix harbor from the marina office

This group had just arrived and wanted to feed some of the local ducks