Exploring Fox Island, North Channel

Dana out for some dinghy exploration on Fox Island

Trailer Boating to Put-In-Bay, South Bass Island, Ohio

A rest stop somewhere on the Indiana Toll Road

August 19-21: We were looking for a quick getaway and to explore someplace new, and Seapickle had never been on Lake Erie, so we made the decision to pack up the boat, truck and trailer for an about 4 hour tow on the Indiana and Ohio Toll Roads to the Lake Erie Islands!  As far as trailering goes, this was by far the easiest tow we've done with the most convenient access to trailer-friendly gas stops along the way.  We did, however, rack up about $80 round trip in tolls!!!

Arriving at Mazurik Access Area on Lake Erie

Seapickle launched and ready to go. Very nice launch ramps.

A beautiful, calm Lake Erie greeted us after the storm passed

Before leaving, we did some research on various places to launch that would also allow a secure place to store the truck and trailer for the long weekend.  The Mazurik Access Area on on the north side of Marblehead Peninsula offered concrete ramps, a huge, well lit parking area, and was just 7 miles South of South Bass Island.  I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone when I called to inquire, but we had no problems leaving the truck and trailer parked in the lot for 4 days.  Oh and the launch was free!  Just as we finished putting the canvas up, we had to wait out a heavy, but brief storm before launching the boat.

Put-In-Bay - Perry's Monument in the distance

Passing south of Middle Bass Island and the remains of the Lonz Winery

Turning into the bay and Perry's Monument from the water

First night's dinner stop, The Boardwalk, from the bay

Ben found and ordered a Lake Erie chip for our gps on craigslist before we left, and the 7 mile trip from the launch ramp to Put-In-Bay was pretty straightforward with no hazards.  Only when we neared the island did we have to make sure to go around north of Ballast Island (between Ballast Island and Middle Bass) instead of between South Bass and Ballast Island.  We entered the bay without any problems and scanned the shore to figure out where to find our dockage for the night at Miller Marina.  As soon as you enter the bay, the no-wake starts pretty immediately.  The Boardwalk mooring balls are immediately to starboard and we had to go around them to get to the marina.

Seapickle docked at Miller Marina, Put-In-Bay, Ohio

Docked at Miller Marina, looking out into the bay and Gibraltar Island

Sunset over the bay from Miller Marina

 We arrived at Miller Marina just before closing time (5pm) as we usually seem to do!  We got tied up for the night, with the harbor master requesting we set out extra lines (uh oh!) and would settle up in the morning.  We knew from researching and looking at photos of the marinas that dockage at Put-In-Bay was.... interesting... but we were happy to be at a marina with a reservation and settled in for a few days.  We'll expand more on a review of Miller Marina in the next post, and then also more information about Put-In-Bay and South Bass Island!

Operation Adventure - Northern Lake Michigan Boating

Dinner on the deck at Wagners

Thursday, July 25th: We have been looking forward to "Operation Adventure" for quite a while now and the time has finally come to start our adventure! Our friends Dennis and Christa had an extra leg of towing added to the trip to bring their boat "Wet Ink" up from Lake Shelbyville, Illinois to the starting point of Portage, Indiana. They decided to come up the evening prior to leaving and stay in a nearby hotel. We used this as an opportunity to have a pre-trip planning dinner and catch up with friends Joe and Pat from "Better Yet"! 

2 Four Winns in a row

Part-way through the 6 hour tow

Friday, July 26: The next morning we towed Seapickle over to the hotel and departed Portage for our destination of Petoskey, Michigan some 320 miles away! The tow was one of the easiest we've ever had, and it was nice traveling with another couple and sharing the experience.

Storm Heading our Way - over the Petoskey Marina launch

The mad dash begins!

Wet Ink launching

Seapickle tucked into slip 19

Celebration drink - "We made it!"

Once we arrived in Petoskey, we noticed dark storm clouds were rolling in off the bay, the wind was picking up, and it was just starting to drizzle. We had to make a decision...put the canvas up and launch as quickly as possible, or try to wait the storm out. We decided to try to launch as quickly as possible and try to beat the storm.  Within minutes of reaching our assigned slips we realized it was the right choice!

Walking to dinner at Mitchell Street Pub, Petoskey

Mitchell Street Pub - Moose

After settling into vacation mode and enjoying the fact that we had FINALLY made it to Petoskey, we decided to have a late dinner at a nearby pub in Downtown Petoskey. Dana chose Mitchell Street Pub based on the fact that they covered 2 of her Friday night dinner requirements: fried fish and interesting beer. We loved the fried walleye, and salmon for Christa, along with some interesting local beers. Dana enjoyed the "Petoskey Horny Monk," a Belgian Dubbel by Petoskey Brewing.

After dinner, we were all stuffed and tired from a long day, so it was off to bed! We all had a great first day of vacation, and cannot wait for the rest of the trip!

Trip details:
Portage, IN to Petoskey, MI - 320 miles towing
Left Portage 8:10am CST, arrived Petoskey 3:30pm EST
3 fuel stops along the way (+ one bathroom stop)
 Weather: rainy, cloudy, strong west wind - which made the Petoskey Marina quite uncomfortable