Those Summer Nights

The weather has definitely been feeling like fall here lately, and the lake has seen shifting conditions as well with many small craft advisories and 4ft+ days. All this cold weather and lack of boating has made me wistful for those perfect summer nights on the lake. Hopefully we'll get a few more before this season is over, usually mid-October. Here's a few pictures to reminisce with me!

Anchored for sunset outside Ogden Dunes

Sunset over lake michigan, Chicago skyline in distance

Nothing better than friends + bonfire on the beach on a Monday night

Blue swim lights and sunset

Upgrading the Ground Tackle

After our night on the rocks in the North channel we knew without a doubt that our anchoring equipment needed some serious upgrading. For weeks after we got home I (Ben) would jump out of bed in the middle of the night and run to the bedroom window to "see if we were moving". In order to stop these nightmares I spend a ridiculous amount of time researching different anchors, chain/rode combinations, and anchoring techniques. We also found our Windlass had blown an oil seal on the gearbox and dumped it's gear oil all over the rope in the anchor locker. Time for a complete overhaul of our anchoring system.

The Manson Supreme

After much research we decided on a 25lb Manson Supreme for our new main anchor. The New Zealand built Manson Supreme received the Loyd's of London status of SHHP, or super high holding power. This anchor is also know to set within it's own length. The 25lb model is rated for up to a 34ft boat so it should have no problem holding our 26 footer!

Anchor dug in

The next step was to reseal the gearbox on our windlass. After removing the gear box I removed the gears, soaked them in solvent, and cleaned up any burs with emery cloth.

Gearbox ready for solvent

Pressing in new seals

The seals were easy to replace and for only the price of a 30.00 seal kit we have a like new windlass that isn't leaking and destroying our anchor rode. With the gearbox sealed it was time for the final piece of the puzzle, the anchor rode/chain. Our boat came with braided 8 plait nylon rode and 5 feet of chain. We decided to stick with the 8 plait rode but decided to add an additional 10 feet if 1/4inch high test chain to the new setup. The additional chain will help keep the rode on the bottom, prevent abrasion to the nylon rode, and maintain a better scope angle. We ordered from a company called Seco South in Florida and were very impressed not only with their great prices but top notch customer service! The anchor package we ordered even came with a very nice chrome swivel that helps the anchor spin around into the roller.

The final result! We couldn't believe how fast and how hard this new anchor set. As we backed down on the anchor for the first time, the boat abruptly came to a halt and we both flew forward....the anchor was set! It was nice to instantly feel the results of our upgrade!

Day 14: Going Home

After 2 nights at DeTour Harbor, we decided to end the trip a few days early to go home and relax at "our" beach!

We were very happy with the launch ramp in DeTour, and with the marina. Plus, Passage Boat Works was very accommodating in storing our truck & trailer for 2 weeks. They even met us at the launch ramp to help us launch! http://www.passageboatworks.com/

Once we had the boat on land, we surveyed the damage from our "rock incident" in Beardrop Harbour. All things considered, we really got lucky that all we ended up with were some scrapes and rough edges.

Heading home, Ben was feeling much more comfortable trailering the boat, even over the Mackinac Bridge

View of Lake Michigan from the Mackinac Bridge

Nearing our home port, we were greeted by some pretty scary storm clouds!

Our next post will be an overview of our trip in the North Channel, and now a month later, how we're feeling about our trip looking back! I will say we are planning on going back next year, hopefully with better luck this time. One thing for sure is we definitely gained a lot of experience and learned some things the hard way. But we wouldn't have traded that experience for any other vacation!

Day 13: Rainy day in DeTour Village + Trip to Sault Ste Marie

We spent most of the day relaxing on the boat at DeTour Harbor - much needed after our adventurous vacation!

View from our dock in DeTour Harbor

Finally we decided to do something with our day, so we took a ride up to Sault Ste Marie!

About 1 1/2 hrs later.. we got to downtown Sault Ste Marie... very cute and touristy

We stopped for ice cream & fudge, and then walked over to see a boat go through the "Soo" Locks

Day 12: Pictured Rocks Cruise... in Pictures!

Driving through the UP to Pictured Rocks on Lake Superior

About 3 hours from DeTour to Pictured Rocks - it was nice to be back on land!

But an hour later we were back on a boat.. :-) Just not driving it this time!

Castle Rock

The Flowerpot

Our captain took the boat into this cave... very cool

If you look closely you can see this tree's roots reaching over to the mainland!

Waterfall

Dana enjoying the cruise on Lake Superior

Lighthouse on Grand Island

First time "in" Lake Superior - where the water is an average of 55 degrees!

Day 11: Spending time on Drummond Island

Plane fueling up at Drummond Island Yacht Haven

We woke up Monday morning to beautiful blue skies and plenty of sunshine. There was a plane fueling up behind us at the gas dock, and it drew quite the morning crowd! It was very cool to watch the plane land and come in, then head back out into the lake.

Take off outside Drummond Island

Storm clouds rolling in late morning

 As was becoming a theme on this trip, due to unforseen circumstances we were again on an island miles away from stores/food and we were completely out of food & water on our boat! We had some canned chili, but one can only survive on canned chili for so long. ;-) We were longing for a good meal, so even with storm clouds rolling in Dana decided it would be a good idea to walk the 3 miles to the grocery store. She figured, since it's an island, someone would take pity on us and pick us up on the way!

We walked about a mile in the noon heat, and thank goodness a nice girl who worked at the local coffee shop picked us up and drove us to the grocery store. She offered to wait for us while we did some quick shopping and would then drive us back to our boat. We got into that grocery store and were so excited to see fresh fruit & veggies, steaks, and buffalo cheese curds!! that soon our cart was full and we were headed to check out. Just as we made it to the counter... everything shut down... the storm had come in and the power was out. So, remember, we're on an island, and the people in the store are freaking out, and we don't have any cash left, so we can't just pay cash, and they can't run a debit card, and when there's a power outage on the island it usually takes HOURS before it comes back on. So... we regretfully push our full cart into one of the coolers to return for it later, and run outside so we can catch a ride back to the marina. No food for us :-(

Sad about not getting to buy groceries

We got back to the boat and were just bummed out and hungry. So against Dana's principles, we went to the office and arranged to rent a car to drive to dinner about 4 miles away. By now there's gale force winds, we don't want to attempt to walk to a restaurant, bicycles cost $8/hour (EIGHT DOLLARS AN HOUR!!!) to rent and we don't really have any other choice. We reserved a car, they pointed out to us which one to take and told us the keys were just kept in the ignition. So to make a long story short, we got all dressed up for dinner and were so excited to get out to explore, and also to stop at the grocery store on the way to get food/water for the next few days. And when we walked back over to get the car...IT WASN'T THERE!! 

We looked around for the car, for another car with keys in the ignition, for someone who worked there... but had no luck. Then we walked by the bike rack, and noticed that the bikes weren't chained up. Our stomachs decided for us that even though the wind was blowing 30 miles per hour, the bike tires were low on air, and it was getting close to dark... we were going to ride those bikes to find food. Luckily about a mile into our ride, we passed a car repair shop and Ben filled up the tires so the rest of the ride was much much easier.

Sune's Famiy Restaurant

We ended up at the closest restaurant, Sune's Family Restaurant, and parked our bikes for dinner. (And there in the parking lot was the car that we rented.) We enjoyed a nice dinner, drinks and then ice cream across the street at a little ice cream stand. We didn't make it to the grocery store before it closed, but at least our bellies were full for the day.

Cute little ice cream shop

 We returned to the marina just at sunset and took a little bit of time to relax. We decided we didn't want to attempt again to find food and groceries the next day on the island, so we made plans to leave early in the morning for DeTour, Michigan and spend a few days exploring by truck!

Beautiful sunset to end the day

Day 10: Drummond Island, Michigan

Leaving Gore Bay

We decided last night to start making our way home. At this point we both felt like we had dodged a few too many disasters so far on this trip, and maybe the little luck we have had would run out. The next stop on our revised itinerary is Drummond Island.

Morning fog over North Channel

We incorporated all of the leftover meat and produce into breakfast since we couldn't take it over the border. Pulling out of Gore Bay at 11:30 we found the water to be calm, but the visibility was poor due to fog. We still made good time but with the fuel gauge getting uncomfortably close to empty we changed our course for a quick fuel stop in Meldrum Bay. While there we realized how much we loved it there and will miss it! We really hope to return someday.

As we approached Mississagi Straits the seas got considerably rougher to point that we had to slow down to about 8 mph and just plow through the choppy waters. Once we on the leeward side of Cockburn island the seas returned to their previously calm state and we were able to throttle back up to a nice cruising speed.

Seapickle tied up at Drummond Island Yacht Haven

Once near Drummond Island we called in for a transient slip at Drummond Island Yacht Haven to check into customs and possibly stay a couple nights. The customs officer visited our boat shortly after tying up and after showing proper documentation, answering a few questions, and a very brief look around in the cabin we were officially cleared and welcomed back to the states.

Dana floating off the little beach on Drummond Island

Ben enjoying some of Debbie's homemade banana bread while watching the sunset

Sunset over DeTour Passage

There is a beach next to the marina so we took our floats and beach towels and spend some time just relaxing in the sun. As it got later we walked over to a westward facing park bench and enjoyed a nice sunset over Harbor Island which happened to be the very first stop on this trip!