MV WILD GOOSE II

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Mackinaw, Cheboygan, RC and through to Presque Isle

August 7th, Mom's Birthday Day takes Wild Goose II under the Mackinaw Bridge and into St Ignace for a quick stop. Silly thought...anyone know if Linda Grime recovered her sweater from here? We could pick it up for her.

North End of The Mackinaw Bridge

fish nets?

What an engineering marvel for the day!

Leaving St Ignace we were passed by all sorts of ferries which kept us rocking on the boat, however, it was a great spot to take photos. Wonder if John Glanville would like this route for Sysco?

The Round Island Light from this angle was pretty interesting and much more dramatic than I anticipated.
I hadn't seen this lighthouse since 1997 from shore after a Mackinaw Race (and victory)! Wow...memories abound...Gloria Schebil always there to greet the boat with a case of cold beer, a weary crew
of great people including Monica Mooney, The Disboro Family from Vermillion, Scotty and even Gordy who had to sit the race out after hurting his back. I remember flying home from the race on an airplane piloted by Mike Johnson... only to get home and remember car keys AND house keys were left in my gear on the boat....seems so very long ago.

Beautiful Grand Hotel

Proud Fort Mackinaw

The park adjacent to the pier and beach in Cheboygan (on the river) is a perfect spot for visitors to welcome us.

Not sure if "fido" is chasing us or a butterfly. Either way his owner was patient to let him frolic.

Cheboygan County Marina was in full swing upon our arrival. Many boats of all sizes are forming a lose line up in the river as they wait for their turn for fuel and pump outs..weekenders add to the festivities. Boating is live and well! We however, are in a state of shock as we listen on the marine radio as a boater calls for help and broadcasts a diver down and unresponsive on a nearby shipwreck site 105' below the surface. The broadcast is straight forward and we sadly listen to developments. Not just as divers, but as human beings near this persons' age, we can only thank God for our safety and cannot imagine what his family will go through. Totally overwelmed, I think Ron went back to place long ago buried when he did body recoveries for a living. We say a little prayer.

Once we are tied to the docks for the night we discover a boisterous group of boaters enjoying a day of games and a huge pig roast up near the clubhouse....all you can eat just 25.00 per boat....just think how many crew members you could feed! It's an annual event if you are planning a trip in the future....worth a stopover.

Wondering if these are the remnants of an old dock from the hey day of the lumber industry somewhere around the 1890's.

It is said that there was 12 acres of sawdust and wood chips so high here that you could not see over the top of the pile to the lake where tall masted schooners were waiting to transport the lumber East to fuel the construction trade. There were as many as eight mills running at one time from this Lake Huron harbor of Cheboygan.

Roger's City here we come.....getting harder not to think about our home port on Lake Erie right now as we turn E/SE to begin our progression down the mitten. The water is still as deep blue as it gets and looks cold. This fact is verified by the temperature gauge on board..still in the 60's. Too cold for these old bones to take a dip. Roger's City is another quick stop as we want to get closer to Presque Isle and safe harbor for the long term forecast is not looking good. We pass "Grey Eagle", a sailboat from NCYC with an unhappy crew aboard as the have sailed only three hours since departing a week ago. Huelsburgs will be in for a treat when this weather shifts. They seem to love wet, cold, and windy....true sailors they are! It was good to see them.

While discussing dinner plans, after $189.00 spent at the grocery, we decide to eat out at The Water's Edge Restaurant again in RC :) :). It was so good on our trip up we couldn't resist. After a nice dinner we watch the end of an 19 inning game between Toronto and Detroit with the owner and chef. Watching TV was a treat. Nice thing about not having a vehicle is that when we shop for groceries or go out to dinner, we get exercise too. We peddle against the wind along the shore back to the boat.

Heading to Presque Isle this morning bright and early. Good news for the sailors who have had no wind, the weather forecasters are predicting wind and waves from the NW building over the next few days. I would bet that in the last 10-14 days we have seen only a handful of sailors even attempting to sail. This reminds us why we found our trawler. Even if there was wind, most often up here it is not unusual to see motoring sailboats due to the direction of the wind as well.
The sun is barely shining on the horizon of fishermen who are happily battling with steel head and lake trout to fill up their "boxes".

These guys and gals are a hardy bunch getting out on the lake while the moon is still dominant in the sky and then after a day in shore, they head back out while the sun begins it's descent for the evening and we begin our star gazing including a full moon.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Wonderful Visit from home, I Skype, and Family passes on Lake MI too!

We departed Boyne City to meet up with My Mom and Aunt Barb back in Charlevoix. The dynamic duo are driving in from Grand Rapids MI for a two day visit including seeing us. Of course we have to get the boat ship shape and spend some time working on those details. I start that chore while under way.

The shoreline was full of surprises and we received a visit from boatpix.com ....I took their picture too...think they'll spring for it?

Shortly after their arrival we took off for a birthday boat ride (Mom takes one every August). The captain decides that we should re-trace our steps and go back into Lake Charlevoix to show them the many different boat types and awesome display of homes and cottages.

They thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the lake conditions were perfect. We also got a show from the Coast Guard as a new pilot practiced hovering and other drills.

Of course the girls need to do some shopping and we break away from Captain Ron for a couple hours of power shopping... including a stop in Round Lake Gallery to see Sig's display. Driving to dinner at Kelsey's by Irish Marina takes us onto Belvedere Rd and we are again amazed at the wonderfully maintained huge cliff homes, manicured lawns and lovely beachfront that is private to owners. The homes kind of put you back into the 18 and 1900's...although I am not at all sure when most were built...I need to do some reading.

We hit the sack early so we can boat to Petosky in the morning.

Glad to get hugs from home! My brain stores away all of the hugs and smiles from home to a safe place. If I get lonely, I can always pull them out.

A wonderful Skype visit with my friend Lynda helps too. I was able to also Skype with Signe a few days back....I always feel better after girl talk. If you haven't tried Skype for a good visit with loved ones..please do. It's amazing how much better you can communicate with someone when you can see their expressions and gestures.

Petosky was a great layover to get a final farewell from Mom. After a hot dog at the concession stand in the morning , we took off to St Ignace and they headed straight to The Casino! Happy Birthday and Good Luck at the Slots !!.
Chatter on marine radio 72 indicates Zot Yot is in the neighborhood and we soon spot him leading a couple of companions to Charlevoix... Zot Yot (Tom Szott), Shy Fox (Jimmy Schebil) and Eagle One (JR.) coming right at us. This is not going to be pretty as they pass on both sides creating tremendous wakes so they can make their bridge opening. It's good to see them and touch base by radio.

THE THREE STOOGES :)

I am getting anxious and can't help feeling a bit sad as the compass is pointing East which indicates we are heading towards home. We skipped through St Ignace for a quick laundry and grocery run. The next day we took our time
and made a pass by the Mackinaw Island Grand Hotel, Fort Mackinaw and Round Island Lighthouse before aiming the boat towards the Cheboygan River entrance. My next entry will highlight those photos.

East Jordan and Boyne City

East Jordan turned out to be a noisy harbor due to road construction to improve the bridge that runs along one of it' borders. The construction noise and the ironworks factory together made it a place to avoid (for this season anyway). We had booked two days and already paid, so, we stayed. We had a pleasant surprise when we found out they would have music in the park the first night...

.a folksy group of gals sounded wonderful from the back deck. We also happened upon their annual art fair weekend, but, could not find it after riding our bikes around town ???
From the moment we arrived the local swan let us know who was in charge. Over the next couple days we watched it chase many ducks, geese and even a snapper turtle away!

Ron and I took the dinghy across the bay to a beach and hopped out to get our feet wet. While picking at rocks on the shore, and watching the baby fish try to hide in the boulders we came upon a round object in the sand under 2-3 ft of water. It appeared to be the size of a half dollar or more...Ron helped me get to it and it turned out to be an Elgin railroad watch possibly dating back to as early as 1905. The place where the hands rusted to a halt shown to be 2:55. After closer inspection, we decided not to open it up until we had the correct tools which should lead us to a serial number and a better idea of the date.

After being treated to another gorgeous sunset, we were off to Boyne City and provided with an even better one.

Beautiful clubhouse! We stayed at The Harbarage Marina because we wanted a reservation. Turns out that was the right decision. Wolstrum Marine had a rendezvous at the other marina and they were full. Shower rooms are spacious and clean and I would rate them as second best of all of our trips. Downtown is to die for if you like chocolates, ice cream, and art!
Our bicycle tour included a visit to the eastern shoreline where we found water as colorful as The Caribbean. The sandy bottom is shallow and great fun for kid's. One hundred yards out there is a steep drop off ledge that is a deep blue color and allows larger yachts a place to moor for the day. Great place for a picnic and a good book! When we were getting to the beach we went through a great little neighborhood with shaded trees and a lot of little hills with wonderful shoreline access. Reminded us of the west shore neighborhood of Put-N-Bay.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Off to Explore Lake Charleviox and East Jordan

To each their own when describing everything from pleasure crafts, to choice of anchorages and harbors.

Lesson learned. Had we listened to a boat neighbor about all of the awful boat traffic etc etc we'd have missed lovely Lake Charleviox. What a great boat ride we had to East Jordan seeing just about any type of water activity out there....and the homes and cottages....and, and, and,....Here's a picture tour of the lake.

House Boats?

That traditional Up North feel,,,This is what I would pick if I were house hunting up here.

Boat garage looks like the front of a church, but it's way cool! Turns out this belongs to the owner's of Merrilat Cabinets. It's also has 3 miles frontage, and the boathouse is 25,000 sq ft....so the locals say. Wonder what the main house looks like?