July 8, 2004
Traverse City, MI
Well, we made it. Phase two, Holland to Traverse City, is complete. We had a good run.
Nice People and Great Baggles
Ludington Municiple Marina
Up early on Saturday (the 3rd) the nice folks aboard the Grand Banks in the slip next to us (sorry, we didn’t get their name) gave us some bagels to toast for our trip. They were great! Thanks.
Ludington, again, was awesome. We pulled over to the fuel dock to pump out the holding tank and take on water and fuel. The girls on the dock (all college students working summer jobs) were all so friendly and professional, it was a true pleasure to be there. We truly wish we could have stayed longer, even toyed with the idea of buying a house on the spot, looking for jobs, and staying right there . . . ah, nice thought, but no.
Fishing Boats All Around
At 10:00, we pulled out of the marina and into the harbor, raised the sails, and sailed out of the harbor on perfect weather. In the ideal planning stages, I had wanted to avoid traveling on weekends, but with our end of the month deadline approaching, we need to keep moving in order to still make some of the destinations we want to see. With Ludington being such a large boating community, you might expect there would be some heavy boat traffic. Adding in the fact we were traveling on a holiday weekend, there may be more boats than normal. We sailed out into an entire fleet of small boats fishing. Boats for as far as the eye could see. This was the most difficult watch we have had to keep.
Big Sable Light
When dreaming of a trip like this, there are ideal images that go along with the way you imagine things to be. For example, I’ve always dreamt of sailing out of San Francisco’s Golden Gate past Alcatraz and under that bridge. Sailing into Sydney Harbor past the Opera House is another. Rounding Cape Horn on the southern tip of South America would be equal to climbing Everest. Since I am from Michigan and have this Great Lakes background, many of my “Everests” in sailing are right here. We already moored in the Chicago Harbor. The Mighty Mac Bridge spanning the straights of Mackinaw is one that we’ll pass next week. However, the is one lessor goal that we passed on this run at 11:30 – Big Sable. Unless you travel by water, you’ve probably never heard of it. If you have seen any lighthouse images, you may have seen it with out knowing. Big Sable is a “cape” of sorts, marked by a majestic lighthouse. The Big Sable Light was in operation, standing guard over Big Sable, for nearly 100 years. Built originally of brick in the 1870’s, it was iron-clad in the early 1900’s, helping battle the harsh elements of Lake Michigan. Of course, today, it is obsolete, but stands tall as an image of maritime history as a museum in the Ludington State Park.
We wish we could have gone ashore for a visit, but true to any cape, once rounded, the weather changed, freshening up significantly. For the first time under sail, we reached maximum hull speed of over 7 knots! We were sailing! The wind picked up so much, our main sail over-powered our Cape Horn self-steering vane, so we reefed to the first reef point on the main (shortened the sail for those of you not familiar with sailing lingo) and continued sailing with both head sails. Headed for Frankfort, we sailed all the way until we were abeam of Manistee, where our wind finally gave out. A short distance to go, we motored, GPS steering with the auto pilot, a couple more hours, finally dropping anchor in the mud in Frankfort harbor’s 18 feet of water at 19:25, covering 42.5 nautical miles. Vanessa made a nice dinner with her special fried chicken, rice, and corn. Everyone showered, adults in the head’s shower, Binga in the galley sink. We all climbed into the rack for a great nights sleep with the rain’s patter dancing on deck.
Vanessa and Kitty underway at Pyramid Pt.
Up and at ’em, we found Frankfort completely fogged in. Happy 4th of July. Not sure whether to go or not, NOAA weather radio reported there would be wind out on the lake. With all the fog, it looked as if we couldn’t go, but we didn’t want to stay. We decided, “What the hell, we have radar, let’s go check it out.” We motored, in the fog, slowly, out the channel and set the GPS for Betsie Point, just north of Frankfort.
Pyramid Pt. in the fog
The fog was so thick, we were glad the GPS was driving because we couldn’t see shore through the fog. The other problem was we were about to enter the Manitou Passage, a short cut for north/south bound freighters between Sleeping Bear Dunes and the Manitou Islands. With the GPS, we could plot a course parallel to the shipping lanes and stay off the shoals near shore. The only boats we saw were a group of crazy professional drivers in cigarette boats racing through the fog.
Vanessa giving thumbs up, staying warm
Once north of Sleeping Bear Point, the fog started to thin and the wind picked up – a lot! We set only our head sail and cruised along about six knots. Through the fog, we could finally see land – Pyramid Point, standing tall along the shore. Once over the shoals of the area, we turned northeast and headed for Leeland, MI. The wind grew stronger, colder, and it started raining, the fog finally falling out of the sky. Running with the wind, we screamed across the bay from Pyramid Point. In a couple of hours, we sailed right up to the harbor entrance, dropped the sail and motored to the marina’s gas dock at 18:30.
The next day, true to our form, the wind was out of the northeast, the direction we were going. The new wind had blown out all of the previous days fog, so we could see where we had been. Beautiful, North and South Manitou Islands to the west and Pyramid Point to the southwest. Since we weren’t going anywhere, we went ashore to check out Leeland’s Historic Fishtown. On the Carp River, the old fishing village is now full of shops and eateries, but tries to retain the feel of its history.
 Leeland Dam above Fishtown |
 Leeland Tug, old fishing vessel |
 Fishtown Docks |
Binga and Mommy on the docks
After our touristy stuff, we spent the rest of the day working on the boat. Leeland docks are a tourist stop on their own, with people walking the docks and looking at the boats. While we were in town, a German flagged, aluminum boat named Momo, anchored right behind our slip, looking rough, but well equipped for cruising: solar panels, wind generator, baggywinkles – you name it, they had it. It is funny, the comments people make and what they see in things. Vanessa and I looked at the boat and both said, “Now there’s a cruising boat.” From the docks, we heard other comments. They weren’t very nice. It made us wonder what people said about us when we weren’t listening.
Binga having lunch in Fishtown
The next morning (the 6th), as we backed out of the slip, the Germans were on deck adjusting anchors. I asked, “Are you really from Germany?” The man replied, “Yah, ve bean on zee boat far siix yeahs now. Ve goeng to Lake Sew-peer-e-oar nex fo a lolk awound.” Cool. We pulled over to the gas dock to pump out, they dingied over and grabbed hold for a quick talk. It was an enlightening conversation.
They bought the boat in Spain seven years ago and spent two to three years sailing around the Mediterranean. Then, coming across on the equatorial current, crossed the Atlantic to the Caribbean, up the east coast, into the Erie Canal, and spent the winter aboard in Toronto. They were full of information about the Erie Canal and other places along our route. We told them how we were just getting started on our unfinished boat. They told us it will never be done, and to not let the other boats around have an influence on us as all the nice boats in the marinas never go anywhere. They also told us how many of the weekend fiberglass jockies scorned them and their weathered, aluminum boat. The same things we had heard from the docks. How sad. These two nice folks have had more experiences than most. They have so much to offer. Our time with them was far too brief. Their impression, however, will last our entire trip.
Crashing through the waves
We set sail around 10:00 and headed out into the southeast winds – finally wind with us. We said north in strong winds, eventually reefing our main sail. The wind clocked around to the northeast and blew up pretty good seas. Sailing was steady and strong. Nereus sailed along at a constant 15 degree angle. We sailed through freighters, crossing the shipping lanes all the way to the Fox Islands in the middle of northern Lake Michigan. Then, tacked back around the Leelanau Peninsula and up the Grand Traverse Bay, dropping anchor in Sutton’s Bay. Steve made chicken jumbalaya for dinner.
Yesterday (7th), we motored the short distance up to Traverse City, anchoring right next to the Cherry Festival Main Stage. Best seat in the house. We rowed ashore to enjoy some of Traverse City and immediately download our email. Thanks for all who are keeping us connected to the real world! Sorry we haven’t been able to reply as much as possible. We’ll try to get to it in the near future.
A trip to Traverse City isn’t complete with out a trip to the old, abandoned State Mental Hospital. A Kirkbride inspired design, it sure is a scary place – you can almost hear screams as you drive up. Funny that someone is converting it into condos. I sure wouldn’t want to live there! For reference, I’ve some picts.
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Is this place scary, or what?
-Steve