It's about time I stopped here after passing by it dozens of times. WhiIe traveling The Great Loop by boat, I sought out the history of the places we visited. While traveling by car last week from my primary home (near Washington D.C.) to my 2nd home and Many Moons' homeport (in far-north Michigan), I … Continue reading Attack: Fort Michilimackinac
I It's not cheap to get to the island with a bike - about $40/person round-trip. But boy, is that ferry fun. Even more fun today, because the captain sent up that rooster tail at the stern as we raced a sudden storm back to port. We made it just in time. This is why … Continue reading Mackinac Island By Bike (Day 13)
Our arrival at Slip F-126 in the St. Ignace Public Marina is not fun - except for meeting a new friend. His name is Phil. He lives in his fishing boat all summer. He arrived with a pole. A long one. Just in time. Entering new marinas is occasionally easy but usually stressful. This is … Continue reading To St. Ignace (Day 12)
After the excitement of yesterday, I'm grateful for a full day at the Kemp marina just south of the Soo Locks. The dock fee here is very fair compared to some others - $46 a night for our 34-foot boat. (The Whitefish dock was free, but very rough.) Today's forecast is for rain and thunderstorms, … Continue reading The Soo (Day 10)
Nervous? Yes, I was. In the end, though, it's easy going through "the Soo Locks" at Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan, on the Canadian border. Jeff coasts the Mainship Many Moons slowly forward while I call the lock master requesting permission to "lock down" (meaning we're heading down-river, vs. up-river). About 20 minutes later, we're … Continue reading To “The Soo” (Day 9) – The Locks
We followed some of them out of Munising, Grand Marais, and Whitefish Point -- our last three ports-of-call. They were the reason it took us a week to get through Lake Superior. We've come to know some of their skippers in marina discussions. We feel invested. Yachts! Lots of yachts. Forty-one of them are starting … Continue reading To “The Soo” (Day 9) – The Yachts
We're going to stay in this remote place a 2nd night, to allow the racing yachts to vacate the next marina on our itinerary, so it's a relaxing day. Yay. Eric and Gary come over for a blueberry pancake breakfast. Then, a long beach walk, picking rocks and watching the oar boats pass by. A … Continue reading Whitefish Point (Day 8)
We leave Grand Marais and its drama behind us at 0830, after watching the Inland Seas Schoolship raise its anchor. She had anchored near us the night before, so close that we could hear the orders being "barked." I'm so grateful for the first calm seas of the trip -- so calm, in fact, that … Continue reading To Whitefish Pt (Day 7)
Yup, still here. Why? The biannual Trans Superior International Yacht Race, which begins in three days near Sault Ste. Marie ("The Soo," to locals.) That's where we're headed -- and many yachts too, who are competing with us for dock space. We've been traveling with some of them for days. We gave them the pier … Continue reading Grand Marais (Day 6)
Sometimes boats break, and sometimes people break - and sometimes both. I wasn't there at the time of this incident so don't know which here. Whatever the cause, at mid-day, I was underneath the sailboat to see if something was messed up down there. It was. Lines tangled around the crankshaft. Jeff knows I'm a … Continue reading Grand Marais (Day 5)
For Many Moons 