Mackinaw City, MI – Leland, MI - August 3, 2008

We left Mackinaw City at 6:45. We went under the Mackinac Bridge, which spans the Straits of Mackinac. It also marks where Lake Huron ends and Lake Superior begins.

As a note: Although the spellings differ, Mackinac and Mackinaw are both pronounced the same. Mackinaw is the correct pronunciation.

Today was a beautiful day to travel. It was clear, sunny and warm, with little to no wind. We had a very smooth ride.

We had planned to stop at Charlevoix, but found they had no room for us at the marina. There was a discussion between Bellissimo and L’Attitude Changer and we decided to continue to Leland. It would be a very long day.

We arrived in Leland at 5:45. We fueled, put in 198.1 gallons of diesel and also pumped out. We got tied up to a dock at 6:45. 87.5 miles today, the longest of our trip so far.

Fuzzy and the Locks

Fuzzy went through a lot of locks with Papa and Nana. He hadn’t known what a lock was, but he sure found out.

Locks are made to raise and lower boats from one level of water to another. A lock is like a big long room that has a door on each end. The water is added to the room or emptied from the room through holes in the walls of the room or the doors at the end. It’s sort of like how a bathtub works. You add water from the faucet and the water gets higher. You let water out through the drain and the water goes away.

If you are going from a lower level of water to a higher level of water Fuzzy found that you drive the boat into the room through one open door. The door closes and water from the other side (the high side) is let in the room. The boat keeps floating as the water keeps coming in and pretty soon the boat is as high as the water on the other side. Then the door opens and the boat leaves. It is pretty neat!

Mackinaw City, Michigan – August 2, 2008

This morning we went by ferry to Mackinac Island. Automobiles are not allowed. The only means of transportation is by walking, biking or horse. Even the police ride bikes. As soon as you get off the ferry there are many places where you can rent bicycles, and even horses.

Mackinac Island is the site of Fort Mackinac and had a flourishing fur trade in the 1820’s. The fur trade was replaced by commercial fishing in the 1830’s. Hotels and cottages were constructed to accommodate overnight visitors. In 1887 the huge and palatial Grand Hotel opened and established Mackinac Island as the most fashionable summer resort in the Great Lakes. After a downturn to tourism after the Great Depression, Mackinac Island again became a popular and busy summer resort after WW II.

We toured Fort Mackinac. Fort Mackinac was founded during the American Revolution, in 1780 by the British. Americans took control of it in 1796. In July 1812, in the first land engagement of the War of 1812 in the United States, the British captured the fort. It was returned to the U.S. after the war. The tour was very interesting. The buildings have been restored to how they looked in the final years of the fort’s occupation.

We stopped in the Blacksmith’s Shop, where a blacksmith demonstrates traditional blacksmithing techniques. Today there were several blacksmiths from across Michigan participating in crafting special projects.

The American Fur Company Store sold a variety of general merchandise. They sold everything, dishes to food to liquor to clothing to household necessities. It was interesting to find out that when you bought a pair of boots each was identical to the other, there was no right or left boot at that time. It was also interesting that while ready made mens clothing was just starting to be sold, there was only material and thread for women to make clothes.

We walked to the Grand Hotel and looked around their grounds. We also went inside. The Grand Hotel is indeed grand. As we left the grounds we saw a sign that said men must be in jacket and tie after 6 p.m. and women may not wear slacks after 6.

We visited with an older gentlemen sitting outside of his home. He told us there was around 400 year around residents of Mackinac Island. He is one of them and said winters there are very nice.

DeTour, Michigan – Mackinaw City, Michigan - August 1, 2008

After listening to the weather forecast at 6 a.m. we left at 7. We wanted to be sure the wind wasn’t expected to be high and wasn’t coming from the south. That would have made for a very unpleasant crossing.

It was very cool this morning and overcast. We kept the windows on the bridge closed and still needed to wear jackets. The crossing was quite smooth and as we approached Mackinac Island the sky cleared. Darrell really appreciated the autopilot today. It was a straight line run across the lake and our autopilot worked quite well.

We arrived in Mackinaw City and were docked by 1 this afternoon. This is a nice town and we plan to explore more tomorrow.

Pilot Cove, Drummond Island, Michigan– DeTour Village, Michigan - July 31, 2008

This morning, before we left, we took down our Canadian courtesy flag and raised the yellow quarantine flag. That stays up until we clear US customs in Drummond.

Bob and Darrell retrieved the lines from land and we pulled our anchors. Ours was a huge ball of mud and grass. It took awhile to get it cleaned off. Both boats made it out of the cove with no problem, but it was a concern with the shallowness and narrowness of the channel.

We arrived in Drummond at 11a.m. and found that the Customs officials don’t get here until noon. We had to stay on the boat until they cleared us, so we had lunch while we waited.

After finishing with customs we left to go to DeTour, where we were going to spend the night. On our way to DeTour, Bob and Margaret crossed their wake and completed “The Great Loop”. That is a great accomplishment. They are celebrating tonight by having us over for a steak dinner and champagne!


Notice how Bob cooked the steaks.





And the Champagne Toast!

Clapperton Island, Ontario –Pilot Cove, Drummond Island, USA - July 30, 2008

We got underway at 7:45. It was a long, uneventful day. We were in the middle of the North Channel, not much to see except water.

Beth took her turn at the wheel. We were following Bellissimo and didn’t need to be too alert.







We anchored at 4:45 in Pilot Cove, Drummond Island. We are now in US waters. Our anchorage sounded large and beautiful in the books we read. In reality the cove had a very narrow, shallow opening and was not very large. We each put out an anchor and rafted together. Then we ran another line from each boat to shore and tied it to a tree to keep us centered.

Tomorrow we will go to Drummond and clear customs.

Little Current, Ontario – Clapperton Island, Ontario – July 29, 2008

This morning we went grocery shopping and walked around town looking in some of the stores. They have some cute shops.

We left the marina at 12:30 this afternoon. We had a short run to an anchorage at Clapperton Island. We anchored at 3:00 and Bob and Margaret rafted to us. There are many other boats anchored here. It is a popular anchorage.

We are now in the North Channel. The North Channel was created by glaciers and has some of the oldest rocks in the world exposed on its north shore. Many of the rocks in this area are more than 3 billion years old. The shoreline is rugged and sparsely populated.

Bob and Darrell tried their luck again at fishing. They were successful today. We had another wonderful fish dinner.