Mackinac Island

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

We left Charlevoix on Sunday morning under blue skies and a moderate southwest wind.  Lake Michigan waves were in the one to three foot range and as we were headed north they were on our stern, making for a pleasant ride.

We motored north and transited Grey’s Reef Passage, a narrow passage at the very north end of Lake Michigan through - you guessed it, Grey’s Reef.  Once through the reef we turned to the east and headed for the Straits of Mackinaw, the Mackinac Bridge and Mackinac Island beyond.

The bridge is visible for many miles away.  It connects lower Michigan to the Upper Peninsula.  The straits themselves separate Lakes Michigan and Huron and they are notoriously rough as there is a great deal of turmoil in the water where the two lakes meet.  We found this to be the case as the seas kicked up and seemed confused as we approached.

We approached the bridge and went under in the very center.  There is a point where there is an optical illusion that makes you question your navigational charts and wonder if you will in fact clear - but you do.

Once through the bridge we headed for the Mackinac Island State Harbor where we had a reservation for two nights.  We were on a mission.  We had run out of Diet Coke on Saturday due to the unplanned two night stay at Oyster Bay and we needed caffeine.

The State Harbor at Mackinac Island, in addition to hosting a large marina is also the location of the docks where the big ferry boats that run people  between the Island and several locations on the mainland tie up.  There are three or four ferry boat companies on the Island and ferry boats operating everywhere.  When we arrived at the harbor we shared the entrance with two of these boats.

The marina is just steps from the downtown area and once docked we headed out in search of the badly needed Diet Coke and some food since neither one of us had eaten anything that day.  We found both at a pizzaria that serves very good pizza and equally fine Diet Coke.

That need satisfied, we decided to have a look around.  It was after 6:00 PM on a Sunday evening so the ferry docks were very busy with tourists headed home for the week.

Mackinac Island has to be the fudge capital of the world.  There are no less than eight stores making and selling fudge in a space of about two city blocks.  When you walk down the street and the smell of fudge cooking combines with the fragrance of fresh horse manure, you know you’ve arrived on Mackinac Island.  Which brings me to the Island’s other claim to fame, it’s ban on motorized vehicles.  Bicycles and horses are the order of the day here.  If you choose to walk, just be careful where you step.

There is a small but well stocked grocery store just up the street from where Sweet Escape was docked.  We stopped there on the way back to the boat and purchased two, yes two, twelve packs of Diet Coke.

On Monday morning we were awakened by the firing of a cannon and a rousing rendition of Reveille from Fort Mackinac which is perched on a hill overlooking the harbor.

We walked back uptown and rented two bikes which we rode all over the Island.  We found the Island to be beautifully kept and very lush with landscaping everywhere.  Once you leave the main street and it’s fudge shops, and take a look at the homes and other buildings, the word that comes to mind is “gingerbread”.

We toured the Fort and watched a cannon firing demonstration.  This is done several times each day.  We recorded this on video and the YouTube link is at right.  Afterwards, we walked around uptown and then we returned to the boat and picked up our bag of laundry and headed to a small laundromat located on the second floor of a downtown building.  Once there, Judy did the wash while Brian supervised.

We returned to the boat with the clean clothes and then went back to the grocery store and did some provisioning.

Tuesday morning following a run to the bakery and a pump out at the marina, we left Mackinac Island and headed south on Lake Huron.   We will put additional photos from our Island visit on our albums page. 

Oyster Bay on Lake Charlevoix

Posted at www.svsweetescape.com

We left the Charlevoix Marina Thursday morning but we didn’t leave Charlevoix.  The weather forecast was for high winds and big waves on Lake Michigan through late Saturday night and so we decided to anchor in Oyster Bay, a very pretty cove on the north side of Lake Charlevoix.  We felt that this bay would provide good protection from the forecast northeast winds.

So, we pulled into Oyster Bay and anchored among three other sailboats, again increasing our scope in anticipation of yet another test for our ground tackle.  This is a beautiful but popular bay that is surrounded by expensive homes and we immediately drew the ire of one of the residents who complained that we were too close to her dock.  Initially that was true but as Brian payed out 100 feet of anchor rode and the boat drifted back that 100 feet, the woman apparently became satisfied and we never heard from her again.

We would stay here until Sunday morning, most of that time boat bound because the weather was not favorable for using our dinghy and there really isn’t anyplace to land a dinghy anyway.  So what did we do for 2 1/2 days?  Not much really.  We read, watched movies and television and did a few minor boat projects.

We were able to get a weak Wifi signal from one of the homes there.  We use a Wifi booster called The Wirie AP.  This device not only boosts any wifi signals in the area but will scan the area looking for unsecured networks, connect to them and will then act as it’s own wireless network on board that we can access with our wireless devices.  With this system we are able to send and receive email and update this blog.

Late Thursday afternoon, as predicted the winds started howling from the northeast.  We saw sustained winds over 25 knots with gusts close to 40 knots through noon on Saturday.  Again, no problem dragging although we did chafe halfway through the line we were using to snub our anchor.

By Saturday afternoon the winds had died down and all at once it seemed like the fleet had come in.  Boats started arriving in droves and began anchoring all around us.  The party was on, lots of drinking, music and people in the water.  

We decided to put our dinghy in the water.  We are having problems with our Tohatsu outboard.  The engine will start and run fine and then die for no apparent reason.  It is a real struggle to keep it running. After a few quick circles around the bay interrupted by the engine shutting down, we gave up.   

Our plan is to replace both the engine and the dinghy as soon as possible.  Aside from the engine problem, we have found that both are inadequate for the kind of cruising we do.  Anchoring out so much,  we depend on our dinghy a great deal.  We need a dinghy and engine that will plane on top of the waves rather than plow through them.  Our current dinghy makes for a very wet and uncomfortable ride in anything more that flat water.

One of the boats that showed up anchored very close (too close) to us and immediately began dragging it’s anchor as it’s occupants were busy partying in the water and onboard.   We noticed this boat too close at the same time that it’s operator did.  He indicated that they would move away which they did.  Only to re-anchor and then drag toward us again!.  This is why you need to understand the importance of proper scope.  Brian watched the guy reset his anchor the first time he moved and it was obvious that he was not paying out enough anchor line.

Sunday we conclude our northbound journey at Mackinac Island.  When we leave there on Tuesday, it will be all east and southbound.

Charlevoix, MI

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

When we were working sometimes we did not realize how tired we were until after a few days off.   That seemed to be the case when we arrived in Charlevoix Michigan.  

We have been going just about non-stop since we escaped Racine, each day learning and experiencing new things from our first encounter with anchoring to our first wind storm.  

That did not change when we entered the Pure River Channel a very narrow entrance channel that connects Lake Michigan to Round Lake and Lake Charlevoix.

Judy had called the Charlevoix City Marina after leaving South Manitou Island on Tuesday morning only to be told that you have to make reservations through the Michigan DNR’s website. The marina did offer to wait list us though and we felt lucky when they later told us that they could accommodate us.  

In order to get to the marina it is necessary to go through the afore mentioned channel.  Just east of Lake Michigan and prior to Round Lake there is the Highway 31 bridge.  The is a low bridge that only operates on the hour and half hour.  After a rough ride on Lake Michigan we entered the channel at 3 pm to find another sail boat, dragging a dinghy and backing up toward us. (did I mention that this is a very narrow channel?)   The operator of this sailboat (can’t call him a sailor) yelled over to us that the bridge wouldn’t open and that we would have to wait until 3:30.  At this point it is 3:10 and we are in this narrow channel being pushed forward toward the bridge by the large swell coming in from Lake Michigan. It became clear that we needed to get out of this channel and back out onto the lake where while it was rough, at least there was room to maneuver.  

Once the the other sailboat had backed all the way out onto the lake we were able to turn around and motor out onto the lake where we circled around until 3:25 pm when we once again entered the channel and prepared to wait for the bridge. 

This channel is so narrow that we were talking, not yelling with the locals who were on the Pine River Walkway  alongside.   One of these guys said “at least you don’t have to deal with the Beaver Island Ferry”, a large ferry boat that also routinely uses this channel as they shuttle people back and forth between Charlevoix and Beaver Island.  

Sure enough, the bridge opened at 3:30 and there, heading straight for us was the Beaver Island Ferry.   We were able to get by the ferry passing it port to port with just a few frayed nerves as the only damage.  We go under the  U.S. Highway 31 bridge and enter Round Lake which is a very busy harbor with many anchored boats and even a small cruise ship docked there.  We were thankful to tie up in our marina slip.  

Charlevoix City Marina is what a city planner dreams about.  Beautiful parks, fountains for children to play in - a performance pavilion, beautiful shops, restaurants,  art galleries, ice cream shops and candy stores. It is a beautiful place to clean the mud off Sweet Escape, refill her tanks and restock our supplies.  On Wednesday we had a pleasant walk through town and we were also able to locate a screw for our windlass at a local boat yard along with some other needed items including a larger oil filter wrench. 

Charlevoix City Marina is run very well by friendly, helpful people and is very clean.  If we had to find a fault,  it would be that it is a very busy place.   Judy took our dirty clothes to the laundry facility and found people lined up with wheelbarrows full of wash. There were only two machines but by taking turns and waiting in the beautiful boater’s lounge all the wash got done without any major problems.

As we walk around Charlevoix we could not help but notice that the stores are displaying their fall clothing and there is a chill in the air.  Keeping in mind that we still have to go father north before we can head south it’s time to think about our next move with Sweet Escape.

Pentwater to Charlevoix, MI

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

We left Pentwater on Saturday morning after topping off our fuel and having our holding tank pumped out.  We found the winds on Lake Michigan holding in the 18 to 25 knot range with gusts over 30.  Luckily they were blowing from the southwest which resulted in a six foot following sea and a wild but much more comfortable ride than if we were beating in the opposite direction.

With the winds on our stern we motored to Portage Lake where we intended to stay in an anchorage at the east end of the lake near the town.  We use Active Captain, a great free cruising guide that integrates with ourPolar View chartplotting software that we run on our Mac and use for voyage planning and as a backup chartplotter if our Raymarine e7 were ever to fail.

Active Captain showed an anchorage at the east end of Portage Lake but when we got there we found the approach depth to be too shallow and in fact we briefly stuck Sweet Escape’s five foot keel in the mud before Judy was able to back her off and get floating again.

What to do?  There were no other noted anchorages on this lake and the thought of doing another 17 miles north to Frankfort and arriving there after dark held no appeal for either one of us.   On the way in we had noticed several sailboats on mooring balls along the north shoreline of the lake at about the middle.  I had noted that one of these boats appeared to be a Hunter 41 and we felt that if that boat could get in there, we probably could too.  So we went over by these boats and dropped the hook in about 7 feet of water.

After securing the boat and snubbing the anchor we noticed that we had anchored in front of what appeared to be some smallish type homes or summer cottages that had several docks in front of them.  We also noticed that our presence had drawn the attention of some locals on shore.  We watched these folks looking at us and then two men walk to the dock and get in a small fishing boat and head our way.  Okay, here we go.

As the two approached we pointedly ignored them until they pulled up directly next the boat and we could ignore them no longer.  Expecting hostility and a “you can’t anchor here” message we got neither.  The two came out to welcome us to Portage and to let us know that if we wanted to come ashore we were free to use their dock to land our dinghy.  How nice.  After 33 years in law enforcement Brian’s faith in mankind is being restored on a daily basis.

Actually, we had no need or desire to go to shore.  The winds were increasing and the clouds had moved in.  Storms were predicted for the area but all we saw was wind.  Lots of it, with gusts well over 30 knots that lasted most of the night, according to our wind gauge.  This was a good first test for our Manson Supreme anchor and it held all night with no problem.

The next morning after the winds had died down we weighed anchor.  This is a fun procedure that has Judy at the helm and Brian giving piloting directions while hanging over the bow rail with a boat hook.  The reason for this is because of the size and weight of the Manson, it tends to hang up on the bow roller where the chain and shackle are attached and the windlass then can’t get it past this point.   Therefore Brian to “help” the anchor up onto the roller with a boathook.

On this particular day we brought up the anchor and half the lake bottom with it.  Because of the high winds the night before we had lengthened our scope and had about 100 feet of chain out.  Under normal conditions we could have gotten by with 50.  The chain and the anchor itself were totally covered with weeds.  In fact, when the anchor came up you could not even see it because it was covered in weeds.  It looked like a very large and healthy hanging potted plant.  Brian used a sailing knife and the boat hook to rid the anchor, chain and the bow roller with as much of the plant material and mud as he could.

We left Portage and with the wind once again howling at our backs we cruised up to Frankfort.  On the way out the waves were so large in the channel that we actually hit bottom in the middle of the entrance channel while in the trough of one of these waves.  

Once at Franfort we anchored in Lake Betsie in front of the downtown area in another very shallow anchorage.  When the boat was secure and we were sure that we weren't dragging, we rowed to shore in our dinghy and tied up to a pier where some other dinghies were tied.  In order to get up on the pier you have to climb a ladder.  We walked downtown and ate good pulled pork sandwiches for dinner at a restaurant called The dinghy Inn.

The Olympics have been on and we have been spending a lot of our time at night watching them when we can get an NBC station.

On Monday morning we decided to change our diesel engine fuel filters.  We have two fuel filters, a large Racor canister type primary filter and a secondary on engine filter.  If these filters get plugged while underway bad things can happen like engine shutdown so it is a good idea to keep your fuel system clean.

The Racor requires an oil filter wrench to remove it from it’s fitting.  We have two on board that we used on our old boat.  Unfortunately we found that neither of these was large enough accommodate this larger Racor filter and thus we could not remove the filter to change it.  One of the filter wrenches that we have is an open ended hook type.  We were able to rig this with seizing wire to make it just large enough to remove the Racor.  We add a larger oil filter wrench to our list of things to buy.

With the Racor off we then needed to remove the bowl that attaches to the bottom of the filter.  This bowl is metal and screws onto the bottom of the filter.  We could not get the bottom to separate from the filter.  No matter how we tried or what we did we could not get enough leverage to remove the metal bowl from the bottom.  We needed a vise which we do not have onboard.  So, we both get in the dinghy and Brian rows to shore where we walk into a large marine contracting shop.  There, the guy in charge takes pity on us and puts the filter in a vise and then (with more effort than should be necessary) the bowl finally comes off.  Back to the dinghy and then row back out to Sweet Escape where we put everything back together and bleed the system before starting the engine.  The engine starts immediately but then shuts down just as fast.  We close the engine thru hull to try to avoid hydro-locking the engine as we crank it.  We try again and the engine starts right up and keeps running.  Reopen the engine seacock.  Success!

Once we are sure that the motor is getting uninterrupted fuel, we pull up the anchor and again a garden of weeds.  We need to have a machete to cut off all these weeds.  Once the anchor comes up and while Brian is again hanging over the bow rail trying to cut weeds off our ground tackle we notice that the Coast Guard has showed up and is motoring around in cricles.  Oh great, now we’re going to get stopped and inspected by a couple of bored coasties.   Just as Brian is getting the anchor secured on the bow, the Coast Guard grows impatient and stops a motor yacht that had just passed us.  Awesome!, lets get out of here now!

We motor out of Lake Betsie and round Point Betsie, headed for South Manitou Island where we arrived four hours later.  South Manitou Island is part of Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore and is thus heavily wooded and uninhabited.  There is a cresent shaped bay on the eastern side of the island that provides protection from west winds and waves.

Upon arrival we found a gauntlet of fish traps in our path requiring evasive action to avoid them.  You want to avoid fish traps and nets because the lines and nets can wrap your propeller.  Even though we have line cutters on our propeller shaft for this purpose, if you end up cutting one of these things you have negatively impacted someone’s livelihood, so it is best to avoid them wherever possible.

This bay has an anchoring shelf where water depths are in the 15 to 25 foot range very close to shore.  Everywhere else it is extremely deep and not suitable for anchoring so it is necessary to find a spot somewhere on this shelf.  The problem this day is that there are seven other boats in the anchorage and upon arrival we had trouble finding a spot.  This is complicated by the fact that there are 25 to 30 knot winds blowing and Judy is having trouble keeping the bow of the boat pointed into the wind.  In the middle of this, the windlass jams and Brian has to take it apart and get it unjammed while Judy cruises in circles out in the bay.  We finally are able to get the anchor down and set and are probably 50 feet off the beach.

The winds howl all night and the six to eight foot waves from the lake find their way into the bay making for a very uncomfortable night.  Early the next morning we weighed anchor and head for Charlevoix where we will spend two nights at the Municipal Marina there.  To find out more about Charlevoix you will have to wait for the next installment of the Adventures of the Good Ship Sweet Escape.

We have created an album of photos from this time period on our albums page.

Pentwater, MI

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

Yesterday, Thursday we had intended to sail the 35 miles north to Pentwater but we found ourselves stuck in White Lake because of a series of showers and thunderstorms that were coming across Lake Michigan, one after the other from Wisconsin.  So we hung out on Sweet Escape, read and watched TV.  We did not leave the boat although we could have, we just didn’t feel like it.  Dinner was steak on the grill with a salad and mashed potatoes.

This morning after breakfast and running the generator for an hour to recharge some of our electronic devices, we weighed anchor and with Judy at the helm, headed north.  Once out on Lake Michigan we found an offshore breeze of about six to ten knots.  We raised our sails and motor sailed for awhile because there wasn’t enough breeze to make sailing worthwhile until about halfway when the winds picked up to 12 to 17 knots.  At that point we turned the engine off and had a great sail the rest of the way to Pentwater.  We entered Pentwater Lake and anchored in about 35 feet of water.  Having eaten little today we were both hungry so we made chili-cheese dogs for dinner.

Pentwater is an interesting town.  It is clearly a tourism community with the mandatory t-shirt shops and antique stores but it also a community that caters to boaters in general and cruisers in particular.  It’s waterfront consists of marinas, and nautical themed restaurants and bars along with a chandlery.  We put our dinghy in the water and went in and landed at the town’s dinghy dock.  We had brought our dirty laundry in and we left it in the dinghy so that we could scope the place out and look for a laundromat.  We found one, a block away, on the waterfront across the street from a little Italian grocery store and deli.

We are finding out that in this lifestyle simple tasks like shopping and doing laundry requires careful planning and strategery.  For example, once we were familiar with the lay of the land so to speak, we went back to the dinghy and grabbed our bag of dirty clothes and then walked back to the laundromat and Judy started two loads of wash while Brian supervised.  While they were washing we used the time to go for ice cream.  After that, we went back to the laundromat, Judy put the clothes in the dryer while Brian supervised.  When the clothes were done we made yet another trip to the dinghy, this time to deliver the clean clothes and then made our way back to the grocery store for some shopping.

We delivered everything out to Sweet Escape which was swinging at anchor out in the lake just in front of the town’s waterfront.  Nothing got wet and nothing fell in the lake.  Not even us.

As I write this out in our cockpit, dark has fallen and the lake is very still.  There is little breeze and it still has to be near 90 degrees outside.  A large, dark orange full moon is rising over the lake and boats and people in dinghies occasionally motor by, their red and green running lights reflecting off the still water.

We're Cruisers Now

Originally published at www.svsweetescape.com

We have been dealing with a problem involving our new Raymarine e7 chart-plotter for the past two weeks.  Racine Riverside from whom we bought it and also who installed it has been working hard to get the thing to communicate with our older Raymarine instruments (wind, depth, speed, auto pilot) but we have had an intermittent problem where the plotter which operates on SeaTalk NG, a new proprietary Raymarine communications protocol doesn't always communicate with the other instruments which operate on an earlier form of SeaTalk.  This appears to be a software issue and Tech Scott from Riverside was by bright and early this morning to finish up working on the plotter.  Once finished at about 9:00 A.M. and after an admonition from Scott that, “if anything’s going to happen, it’s going to happen out there”, we slipped the lines and after a brief stop at the fuel dock, Sweet Escape said goodbye to Wisconsin and headed east.  

We had a pleasantly uneventful and sunny crossing with no flies and no bad weather.  There was a two foot swell from the southeast.  Judy made chicken salad sandwiches for lunch and the auto pilot did all the steering.  The plotter functioned perfectly today, we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.   It is an awesome unit - when it works. 

As I write this we are anchored in front of the White Lake Yacht Club along the south shore of White Lake, Michigan.   There is little wind and a near full moon is shimmering off the lake.  It is very serene and quiet here.  We made brats on the grill tonight for supper and attempted to watch some of the Olympics but the signal kept dropping out.  There is nothing else on that interests us so we have turned the TV off for the night.

Tomorrow, weather permitting,  we plan to head for Pentwater where we will anchor in Pentwater Lake. We will then put the dinghy in the water and go into town and take a look around.

We know that this was only a crossing of Lake Michigan but as of today we are finally full time live aboard cruisers and we feel like Columbus must have felt when he arrived in the new world.  We could not be happier.