Well, as I stated in our last blog we would be back in Muskegon on September 5, this past Sunday. That DIDN'T happen.
So, our story. We travelled from Beaver Island to Northport and had a great day. The weather was great, the waves were great. When we got to Northport, we got a pump-out and received our slip assignment. The slip was between two sailboats, which wasn't a problem, the problem was that the end post on the dock we would be tying to was already broken and leaning. So we asked the harbormaster if we could just pull around and tie off on the wall, opposite of the fuel dock. We were allowed so that is exactly what we did. We went to dinner to the 'Garage Bar and Grill'. We opted for a 'sample BBQ meat platter' and a couple of drinks. Unfortunately, the BBQ was not all that good. It is what it is.
We left the next morning and it started off pretty well, but very shortly it turned rather unpleasant. We had at least 4 footers on the nose from just south of Northport all the way South to Point Betsie. It was not a great trip. It was really odd though, we saw an inversion layer just North of the Point. The waves went from 2 - 3 feet to less than a foot. There was actually a line in the lake. At that point we were considering the option of motoring all the way to Ludington, but within about a mile, it got back up to 4 footers with some bigger rollers thrown in, so we opted to go into Frankfort. As the marina was full for our size boat, we decided to anchor off. We dropped the anchor and started to back down when we came to a screeching halt as we were backing down on the anchor. We let it go and put out more than 120 feet of anchor and rode. We went in and saw some friends of ours who keep their boat in Frankfort. We visited with them for a couple of hours then went back out to the boat. The anchor/boat held all night. The next morning, even though it was really rough out on the big lake, a trawler left the marina. So, as we were first in line to get a slip, we started to raise the anchor. That was a far as we got. Whatever grabbed the anchor when we were backing down on, it would not let go of the anchor as we were trying to retrieve it via the anchor windlass. In fact, no matter what direction we tried to free the anchor in, it wouldn't let it go. As we tried to retrieve the anchor, it actually dropped the bow of the boat down by about a foot. As soon as I backed off on the windlass, the bow would rise back up. I ended up having to cut the anchor and chain from the rode. I tied a fender off to the anchor chain and dropped it in the water. I called the Coast Guard and told them about it. The wanted to be sure the boat and us were safe and not in danger. We were ok, as we were then tied up at the Marina, but they told me that at night, as there is a lot of fishing going on in Lake Betsie, that the fender could be a navigation hazard. So I went out and cut the line and fender off from the anchor chain. So, there is a 44 lb anchor and 100 feet of chain laying in about 27 feet of water off Luedke Marine Construction. By the time I hired a diver to look for the chain and anchor, I would then have to hire a barge with a crane to attempt to lift the anchor and chain, I figure that it would be cheaper to just go buy a new anchor and another 100 ft of chain. We were planning on getting a slightly larger anchor, probably a 55 lb anchor. So, this winter, we'll be looking for another anchor.
As we are safe in the Marina, all is not lost. Our daughter Erin, her husband Matt and their two kids came up on Saturday, the 4th. It was great to see them all after 3 months. We also had a nice visit from our friends Bob & JeanAnn McCann on Monday, Labor Day. It was a beautiful day and we sat in chairs by the marina and had a turkey sandwich picnic lunch. It was delicious and the company was exceptional as well. The weather/waves have been horrible up here. We have been looking at 5-7, even 6 - 8 foot waves out here. The wave forecast even for Pentwater to Manistee has been the same, so as of right now we are planning on Friday the 10th. The waves are supposed to be around 1 ft. so we are planning on leaving by 5 AM.
This morning we had a heck of a storm roll through, it was blowing about 40 kts. We had hail for about 10 minutes. You couldn't see the boats moored 100 yards away. Right before the storm hit, it was as dark as it normally is around 8:30 PM.
So that is what has been happening. Not great, but not horrible as we are safe. That is the main thing.

Well, we didn’t leave on Monday. Each and every day after arriving at St. Ignace we, at some time or another during the day had a hell of a storm roll in. We arrived on Thursday, as mentioned in my earlier post. Friday, it rained and the wind blew all day. At one point, a boat did come into the marina from Mackinaw Island and there were 7 foot waves between the Island and St. Ignace.
We did leave on Tuesday, the 31st of August. We decided to go to Beaver Island again as we called Petoskey on multiple times during the day and they never returned our call. In fact, I have yet to hear back from them concerning the messages that I left. So, as we were travelling Westward towards Greys Reef, we contacted Beaver Island and they had a slip. When we were here in June, we were told that someone purchased a run-down marina North of the Municipal marina and donated it to the St. James Township. Yesterday when we pulled in, we were assigned a slip at the ‘new’ Beaver Island/St James North Marina. There is new electrical run out on the docks, but still the old power boxes. Those will be replaced at the end of the season and be in by next year. The person or foundation is the J.A. Woollam Foundation. The man isn’t even from Michigan, but is using his money to pass along to areas in need and is buying land to be set aside for use. Pretty amazing. So here we are again at Beaver Island. Of course, yesterday evening we did have to go to the Shamrock Bar and have a beer and a burger. Nancy opted for the Rueben, which was pretty good. I went with the Shamrock burger and a Guiness.
Today, we did laundry. As we were walking to the South Marina, some guy stopped and offered us a ride to the South Marina, where the laundry facilities are. So we said yes. When we were done and walking back to the North Marina, another person, who we saw in the Dalwhinnie Bakery this morning, offered us a ride. Yes again. We then went to the Maritime Museum. Very, very nice.
So we sit her tonight, September 1st looking out at a beautiful sunset. The weather is supposed to be very cooperative for tomorrow, so tomorrow morning we will leave for Northport. We have a reservation there. Then, if weather continues to cooperate, we will travel to Frankfort, then on to Pentwater, with an arrival back at our Marina, Lakeshore Yacht Harbor on Sunday, September 5. That is if the weather holds. We’ll see. So far this trip, the weather has been our friend.

Once again it has been a couple of days since my last post. We are now sitting in St. Ignace and I will get to that and the weather in a bit.
We did leave on Sunday, the 22nd, which by the way is Nancy’s Birthday. We had a nice breakfast and motored (of course being a powerboat, that is all we can do. Duh!) over to Mackinaw City. We normally stay at the Straits State Harbor when we pass through Mackinaw City. We were going to go to the fort in the city, but after getting set up and after lunch, it was just past 2 PM, so we decided to go to the Fort on Monday. We did go for a walk downtown and had an ice cream cone and listened to some really bad music in ‘Mackinaw Crossings’. They have live music in the early evenings at the Caboose Bar. There is a stage and the band, if you could call it that was called ‘Toast & Jam’. It had to be a husband and wife and while I don’t knock their ‘trying’, it was not good. Hey, he can play the guitar and I can’t, so I give him that.
On Monday, we did go to the fort. It is amazing if you have not been before. Each year there is archeologists working and discovering more about the fort and the people that lived there. Monday was the last day for this year, of a dig that has been going on for 14 years. It was the ‘end’ of a row or long house that belonged to a fur trader at the fort. Each of the buildings or the ground has been thoroughly excavated before the building was recreated. After we left the fort, we rode our bikes to ‘Weiner Licious’. It is a hot dog place at the end of ‘main’ street, just before it passes under I-75. As Nancy’s favorite is a hot dog, she got her hot dog for her birthday.
On Tuesday, we decided to take the boat up into the Les Cheneaux Islands. We have travelled by them on multiple occasions but never stopped. We went ‘up’ the yacht channel which follows along side ‘Government Island’ and threw and anchor in Government Bay. As it was a beautifully warm day, we took the inflatable over to the island to an area that is very shallow and sandy. Max played in the water for a couple of hours. The water was warm and very enjoyable. We went back to the boat, cooked dinner, had a drink and just enjoyed being on the ‘hook’. We got up the next morning and decided to take the inflatable over to Cedarville, which is about a two mile run. We wandered around and went to the Les Cheneaux Distillery and had an appetizer and a beer. They have these warm Bavarian pretzels and three different dips, bar cheese, nacho cheese and regular mustard. MMMMMM! Tasty. We opted not to go to the Antique Boat Museum and head back to the boat. We we were motoring along, I looked out and did not see our boat. I saw little boats over at the spot where we were the day before, but no ‘Feath’. Nancy didn’t believe. As she continued to look, she realized that our boat was not there. She thought she saw it, but it turned out to be a pontoon. I did see it, way across the channel of which we entered in. I kicked the motor on the inflatable into high and went as fast as our little boat would carry us. The boat was NOT grounded. It did miss a really nice dock and a nice sailboat on a mooring. Thankfully, the anchor re-held before the boat grounded. We jumped up on the boat and started the engines. I pulled the anchor up and it had a fair amount of weed and mud on it. I don’t know if the weeds were from where we were originally anchored or if it picked them up along the way it it’s ‘travels’. A lady came out in a boat and I asked if the boat had hit anything. It hadn’t. She thought we decided to anchor where the boat was. I explained that the boat basically travelled in an arc to get to where we were at that point. We had anchored the day before, the boat held all day and all night until we decided to go into town. We anchored around the bend of ‘Government Island’. Whatever you may or may not believe in, to Nancy and myself, this was definitely a ‘GOD’ moment. HE was watching over us and the boat. There was no damage to other property nor to the boat. We moved the boat back over to the bay, but in a different location within the bay. Nancy was very nervous at that point leaving the boat to take Max back in swimming, but I pointed out that we were only 150 yards away and could see if the boat started to move. That night, I set an ‘anchor watch’ on my phone. It is an app that basically allows you to set an alarm when your boat is anchored and it drifts or travels beyond a set point. So we went to bed. 45 minutes later, the alarm went off. We jumped up and looked all around, but the anchor was still holding. We had moved or spun about 45 degrees from where it started. So I reset the alarm, allowing for a full circle swing and went to bed. The boat held all night.
Yesterday, we travelled to St. Ignace and we are now staying at the marina as the weather was calling for rain, high winds and high waves. Yesterday was hot. We went to dinner at the ‘Mackinaw Grille’, great food by the way, then took our chairs over to the American Legion Park to listen to music. By 8:30 pm, the temp had dropped and the wind hit. We had wind and waves all night. This morning, it started raining and has been raining all day with the wind clocking out of the East/NorthEast at around 20 mph with gusts close to 30. The temperature is sitting at a balmy 60 and feels like 58. We were wet and cold from walking up and doing laundry here at the marina, so we are now sitting here in dry clothes and a small heater on occasionally to keep the dampness out. We made reservations for 3 nights, but the forecast for Sunday is not looking the best to head West though the Straits and over to Greys Reef. We will probably wait until Monday to make our next move. At this point we aren’t sure if it will be Beaver Island or around to Petoskey, Harbor Springs. Wind and waves will determine our next port.

Well it again has been a loooong time since I did a blog. I have to apologize however, part of the problem is internet access, even trying to get a hotspot from my phone. I will recount our past adventures since we left Munising.
We left a little after six in the morning. We left with Bob and Diane Hansen on ‘Soulmate’. They stayed with us until we got outside the outer ‘cans’ by Grand Island. There is a very narrow shoal that has red and green bouys that mark the area that you can travel between. As soon as we passed through, they basically took off. Not like a flash, but fast enough that we watched them for a long while then lost sight of them. As I stated earlier in another post, we had to travel about 80 miles to Whitefish Bay Harbor of Refuge, while they were travelling at least another 30 or so miles, plus go through the Soo locks to get into the Kemp Marina in Sault Ste. Marie.
We got to Whitefish Bay without any issues. We walked Max and basically took it easy. We did find some more ‘wild’ blueberries, of which we picked a bunch again and put them in our pancake batter the next morning. Speaking of the next morning, we decided to leave as they were calling for 2 footers coming out of the South. Well, wouldn’t you know it, we had to head basically South, with a little South West thrown in. The 2 footers were more like 2 – 3 with an occasional 4 footer thrown in. It wasn’t a horrible ride, but we’ve had better. Once we got a little over half way across Whitefish Bay, it started to calm down. We made it into the St. Mary’s river by Gross Cap light and motored up to the Canadian Lock. We had to wait about 20 minutes for them to fill the lock so we could ‘lock down’. We were going down, so all they had to do was let the water out. We got out of the lock and called the Kemp Marina of which we had been in contact with them. We had to wait almost 45 minutes, circling around outside of the marina. When we contacted them, they told us that there was a small boat that was broke down and another boat fueling up. We figured a small wait. Well, two other smaller boats snuck in before I could get into the fuel dock to top off diesel and get a pump-out. I was less than polite to the young man working in the office. Once we got in, I apologized for my shortness as did the guy working. We stayed in the ‘Soo’ for two nights. We then travelled down the St. Marys River and popped into our favorite anchorage at Harbor Island, just North of Drummond Island. There were about 9 boats anchored there, but room for more. We only spent one night at Harbor Island, then it was on to Cheboygan. I have two Aunts, one is 95 and the other will be 100 in November, so we wanted to stop and see them. We pulled in on Wednesday. We called my sister who lives in East Tawas and she drove up to spend a couple of days. We decided to take my ‘youngest’ Aunt out to dinner and we called a cousin and his wife who life in Rudyard in the U.P. They also came out to dinner then we went to my Aunt Jean’s house after dinner and caught up with everything; (we call her big Jean) as the other Aunt is also Jean, but is only about 4 ft. tall. We took off yesterday and went to Indian River to see the ‘Cross in the Woods’. My sister, Diane, had never seen it.
Today, Saturday, left about 9:30 A.M. We were going to leave today and go to Mackinaw City, but decided to stay here at the marina in Cheboygan as it is cheaper, the laundry room is Air Conditioned and we are hooked up. After she left we went into ‘clean’ mode. Nancy went through the inside of the boat and I cleaned the outside of the boat. It is amazing how much spider ‘crap’ can accumulate over a week or so. So, we sit here in the boat as it is 88 outside with a ‘feels like’ temp of 92. It has been hot and humid. We aren’t sure what our destination is tomorrow. We haven’t yet talked about whether we are going to go to Mackinaw City. We had talked about going to the ‘Fort’. We don’t know. We have to check the weather and see what is ahead of us for the next few days. It is hot, hot, hot.

Well, we will try this again. I had the whole post almost completed, when I have no idea what key I hit or what happened, but the whole thing disappeared. What a crock. Of course, I didn’t lose my temper or anything like that. Hahahahaha. NOT.
So, anyways as I mentioned earlier, we had met Bob and Diane Hansen in Houghton. They are beginning their ‘Great Loop’ adventure. When we left Houghton on Tuesday morning, we left early as it is a long run to Marquette. Even though we left an hour or so before them, as we neared Marquette, they passed us. As they had to fuel up and get a pump out, we waited out in the harbor until they were docked. We got a pump-out and then tied up and cleaned up the boat after sitting at the dock in Houghton without water for electricity. We then walked Max up into town and got an ice cream cone at Donkers. Donkers is a Marquette landmark. It has been downtown on Washington Ave for over 125 years. It is a candy, ice cream and luncheon restaurant and is located to the now closed ‘Washington Shoe Store’. Nancy worked at the Washington Shoe Store part time while I was going to school at Northern Michigan University. We said our goodbyes to Bob and Diane on ‘Soulmate’ as we were leaving the following morning for Munising and they were staying another day in Marquette, then travelling to Grand Marais, MI. We pulled into Munising and had just nicely tied up the boat when we were surprised by our friend Joan Johnson. She had actually called and asked if she could bring her neighbors along, who we had met before. Then we had a big surprise as she brought along a friend from the past, Sandy Drury. We used to hang out with Sandy and her husband ‘Tuck’ and our kids were friends with Josh and Jeremy, their two boys. How fun to see them all! We went out for a boat ride out past Miners Castle in the Pictured Rocks. As we turned around, I saw a front coming in from the West. Thankfully we beat it back to the dock. Just as we got the boat tied up, the wind and rain hit. It poured. We waited out the rain for a little, then we all donned rain gear we had on the boat and walked up and had great burger at ‘Eh Burger!’. Good burgers if you get to Munising. Sandy told us that Gabriel Niven, who lived down the road from us when we lived in Deerton in the Upper Peninsula. Our daughter Laurel and Gabe played together, and we watched him and later his brother Charlie and sister, Denise. Gabe is the manager of a brewery in Munising ‘By George’. So we made a plan to stop in ad see Gabe, who we haven’t seen since he was about 8, in 1985.
On Wednesday, we got a call from Bob and Diane on the Ocean Alexander asking us if there was room here in Munising. Yes, there was. Their plan to go to Grand Marais fell through as there was no room there. It is only a wall to tie up to, there are no boat slips. As the forecast called for 3 – 5 footers for a few days, they felt it better to get into Munising and stay here for a few days, as we are doing. We also called our friends Terry and Tina Pihlainen, whom we have also known since 1979. They were on their way to their ‘camp’. A cabin that is not winterized on Powell Lake. They asked us to tag along. What a great time we had with them as well. We had just seen them either in 2018 or 2019, but it was great to see them again and catch up. We had a beer and went on a pontoon ride on the lake. We then came back to town here in Munising, ordered pizza and had a drink and pizza on the boat here at the marina.
We have had a couple of drinks with Bob and Diane, discussing travelling and what-not. He showed me his engine room. WOW!. Actual stand up headroom. Amazing.
We had tried to stop and see Gabriel at the brewery for the last two days and he has either left early or wasn’t in. So today, we stopped in as he was supposed to be there. What a great treat. He was there and just before we walked in, our daughter Laurel texted him. She then called just as we walked in, so she and Gabe got a chance to talk for the first time in 36 years. They have now become friends on ‘Facebook’. How fun. This has been a great trip with seeing all of these people from our past.
Tomorrow we are up at the butt-crack of dawn. We are on our way to Whitefish Bay Harbor of Refuge, a trip of about 80 miles. We have been sitting out all this time as the wind/waves along the shore have been in the 3-4 ft range with up to 9 footers out past 5 miles. So caution is the word of the day or days. Tomorrow is supposed to be 1 -2 on our aft so we are going to make our way to Whitefish Bay. Then spend the night and if the weather cooperates, cross Whitefish Bay and go through the Locks at the Soo on Sunday and spend Sunday night at Sault Ste. Marie. Bob and Diane are leaving when we do, but then will take off from us and attempt the Soo tomorrow. They have a looooong day tomorrow. They are too big to get into the Harbor of Refuge at WhiteFish Bay, but as they are faster and bigger, they should make the Soo. So, I’m thinking that tonight/tomorrow will be our last time together, unless they get held up by weather somewhere. But if they get held up, chances are we will as well. It has been fun to get to know them and we will follow their adventures and they set off on their ‘Great Loop’ adventure. Who knows, we may run into them at some point in the future.

Unfortunately, being the idiots that Nancy and I are, with seeing all of these new people or 'old friends', do you think we got any pictures. Of course not. I can't believe it.

Hi all once again,
We ended up staying in Ontonagon for two nights. We pulled in around 2 pm on Aug 3. We were going to get a pump-out, and we were willing to give it ourselves as the older harbor master was leaving. We stayed for two days and more and more boats kept coming in from basically the direction we wanted to go, back up the Western side of the Keweenaw Peninsula to the upper entrance of the Keweenaw waterway. Everyone kept saying they were (the waves) were 3 - 5 foot. We opted to stay put. We did laundry and picked up a few things at the grocery and I tried my hand at fishing again on the river with no luck. There was a sailboat next to us that was owned by a 'younger' couple and the boat turned out to be Bonnie & Ron Dahl's old boat. Bonnie and Ron sailed Lake Superior for around 40 years and have written the be all end all of resources on Lake Superior 'The Superior Way'. For anyone planning a trip by boat to Lake Superior it is a GREAT reference.
We left Ontonagon on the 5th and went and spent two nights at Hancock/Houghton County Marina. This is the only fuel dock in all of Houghton County. A pretty busy place. The next day on the 6th, we went and toured the Quincy Mine. Pretty cool. You end up in a mine shaft 350ft below U.S. 41. We then had dinner at Petersens Fish House/Four Suns. Nancy and I both had the breaded Whitefish. Hmmm good!
On the 7th, in the morning we brought the boat back over to the Houghton side to the Houghton City Docks. We then walked all the way up the South hill to the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum. If you ever get up here to Houghton, that is a must see. We also met a couple that just left on Friday, he just retired, they sold their homes, yes homes and are taking off and doing the Loop. They own an 'Ocean Alexander 64 ft' yacht. We had a drink with them at about 9 Pm. We have walked, had ice cream, walked some more. Tomorrow, the weather and waves look very favorable for us to travel to Marquette. We will get a pump-out when we get there and unless the weather/waves are bad, make our way to Munising. We will again see our friend Joan Johnson, then probably on to Grand Marais, MI. It all depends on the weather. We are all doing well. We are not sick of each other, yet.