When we left Mackinac Island, we started out under full sail for a short while, headed under the Mackinac Bridge and aimed towards our next waypoint which was an abandoned lighthouse in the middle of Gray’s Reef, a shallow area that extends into the lake from Waugoshance Point. From there we would head south towards our intended destination which was Charlevoix. We put up the spinnaker and that gave us quite a bit of speed, but as the morning progressed, the wind gradually shifted to the east and the southeast and then died. Not even the light fabric of a Spinnaker which is three times the size of all of our other sails combined, yet weighs half as much, could lift to the wind and move us forward. We reluctantly turned on the engine and started to motor.
We passed over the shallow reef and headed south towards Charlevoix. The wind gradually filled in the but we kept the motor running to ensure that we arrived before sunset. We made it for the 7:00 p.m. Bridge and shortly thereafter anchored in Round Lake in the middle of the town. After some housekeeping we lowered the dinghy and went ashore to stretch our legs. We stopped at a bar for a cup of coffee and some chicken wings. There we met someone from a boat we had encountered in Harrisville a week or so earlier. We chatted for a while and then headed back for a good night’s sleep. It is so calm in this little Round Lake that it felt as though we were tied up to the dock.
We awoke to brilliant sunshine and a mirror calm. After feeding Windsor, we headed to shore, ate breakfast and got a good cup of coffee before heading back to the boat where I started my work day and Melanie did her boat chores.
I took the afternoon off and we spent the day walking around exploring the shops, stopping for some good coffee and then finally found a great place to eat dinner. We had an early night and started the next morning off with a farmer’s market. Melanie stocked up on fruit and veggies and after work we walked around looking for another coffeemaker to replace the one that broke when we left Mackinac Island. We ended up walking about 2 miles to a Dollar General and found the last one so it was definitely meant for us :). We showered and fell into bed exhausted.
Friday morning we cast off our dock lines and headed out of Round Lake towards Sutton’s bay. It started off a little choppy as the wind was blowing out of the West. As we entered Traverse Bay the wind gradually switched to the South and calmed down a little, not enough for us to sail but enough for us to motor without bouncing around too much. We entered Sutton’s Bay right around 6:00 p.m. After dropping anchor, we watched a movie and then went to bed. We spent the next morning going to the farmer’s market, searching out coffee and just strolling around town. This was the first day we actually had warm enough weather to go without sweatshirts! I ended up taking a little swim in the bay off the back of the boat and boy was the water cold! We relaxed and did essentially nothing and enjoyed every minute of it.
Around dinner time we went back into shore and found a really nice outdoor restaurant where we had a wonderful dinner before retiring to the boat for the evening. Sunday was pretty much the same, Melanie had hurt her ankle in Charlevoix so we were babying it and limiting the amount of walking we did. We got coffee, sat and watched people and then went back to the boat where we spent most of the day. There was a grocery store on the other side of the road from the beach we were anchored near, so I jumped off in the afternoon and went for a quick grocery store run to resupply. Melanie made tuna with mac and cheese for dinner and then we went ashore to take the dog for a walk and ended up back at the same restaurant for a glass of champagne and an appetizer.
This entire trip we have been sleeping with three blankets, flannel sheets and a comforter! Sunday night was not the night for any of that. It was so hot that we took all the covers off and laid there with the fan blowing on us to try and stay cool. To top all that off, our wind pooped during the day and the generator fell behind in supplying our power for the fridge and the freezer. We had to turn the fridge off to ensure there would be enough power to start the motor in the morning.
It was a struggle, but we were able to get the motor started in the morning and turned everything back on and thankfully, there was Zero wind to tempt us to sail. The water was like a mirror, no ripples and you could see the bottom as clear as day in 25 ft of water. I hauled up the anchor and we left Suttons bay, headed toward Traverse city. We motored past hills covered in homes surrounded by large trees showing just a hint of fall. Some of the Maple trees were starting to turn already! It’s not even September but, given the cool weather we have had for the past few weeks, it’s not surprising.
There was no wind so we ended up motoring all the way to Traverse City. After work, we walked around and did some exploring and shopping, hitting our favorite stores like Cherry Republic among others. We watched a movie and fell into bed. When we awoke on Tuesday morning, Melanie’s foot was in tremendous pain so we laid low and she relaxed while I worked. After work I found a pizza place and we ordered pizza and ate it on the boat. Melanie’s ankle and instep were very painful so there was no walking to be done. We laid low on Tuesday as well to try and let Melanie’s foot heal. I finally found a program on the Rife machine on Wednesday that matched her symptoms and after starting it up, there was an almost immediate effect. She started to feel better right away so we spent the day relaxing while I worked in the hopes that Thursday she would be ready to explore.
Thursday morning Melanie’s son came to visit with his family. We went out to breakfast and then I returned to work while they walked around town shopping and exploring. It was our last night here so after work we took a walk down the Main Street and found a nice place to eat outside. We finished off our meal with a delicious tiramisu from a local Family Restaurant. We returned to the boat and walked Windsor before retiring for the night.
Friday morning we left early on a South West Breeze. We put up the Spinnaker and sailed for a good three to four hours with just the Spinnaker up doing anywhere between 6 and 8 Knots! We had to zigzag down Traverse Bay due to the wind direction and after one of our changes in course, the wind dropped substantially and then suddenly came up to over 20! We had to wrestle the Spinnaker down as the wind was simply too much for it. The sail dragged in the water a little but we were able to haul it aboard safely. We put up the main sail and the jib and sailed with them for a short while and then the wind faded again – enough for us to roll up the jib and put the Spinnaker back up. We sailed until almost 7p.m., a good 11 hours and made it all the way up to the abandoned Lighthouse at Gray’s Reef. 65 miles in 11 hours, quite a good run if I say so myself.
We took the Spinnaker down and then turned East toward Cheboygan and the Mackinac Bridge. We were still able to hold speeds between 5 and 6 but after crossing the reef, it became much calmer. Prior to that we had seen waves up to 5 ft which made hand steering an absolute necessity as the autopilot could simply not cope. I drove for all 11 hours as it was too much for Melanie. After the turn Eastward, we were able to use the autopilot and the waves really flattened down to no more than perhaps one foot or so. We watched the Sun sink into the water, leaving beautiful pink clouds behind. Skies cleared and the storms all missed us, passing safely to our South.
Melanie made us a quick dinner and then a good hot cup of coffee to warm us up. As the sun dropped it became a little chilly on the water but we made good progress towards the bridge and our intended destination which was Cheboygan. The wind gradually faded so we were glad that we had the motor on. We made steady progress under the bridge which was quite beautiful and crossed over into Lake Huron. The Mackinac Bridge is decorated with colored lights and was quite spectacular. Photos don’t do it justice, it’s the longest suspension bridge in the United States, 6.5 Miles, and with all those lights it is quite a sight. The skies were crystal clear and the stars were spectacular. We could see the Milky Way shaken out as a foggy smudge on the black night sky.
We made it into Cheboygan Marina around 1a.m., we were exhausted. We tied up at the same dock we were at before we left for Mackinac Island! We closed everything up and went to bed and awoke the next morning to a beautiful sunny day with a gentle breeze out of the south. We dressed, ate breakfast and then put our laundry in and went to the farmers market to buy some produce. We picked up fruit and veggies and some seasonings and were quite pleased with ourselves. We set sail around 11:30 headed to Rogers City and by then the winds were 10 to 15 knots from the South. We wanted to be in early so we motor Sailed to ensure a consistent speed. The wind was coming from our left quarter and with the motor running at about half speed we were able to make an easy 6.5 to 7.5 knots.
The wind gradually increased until our speeds were in the 7 to 8 knot range. We were tied up in Rogers City by 5p.m. and the first thing we did was head ashore to find a place to eat. We went to the same place we had gone 2 years ago and they would not allow Windsor into the restaurant patio so we walked home and on our way back, we passed a small Sports Bar call International. We asked them if we could sit out back and they heartily agreed. We enjoyed a nice dinner there before coming home, watching a movie and retiring to bed.
Sunday was a very windy day. We decided to go to church and after a little research on Google Maps, I found a church called Sunrise Christian close by. We walked to church leaving Windsor in the boat. On the way we passed a cemetery and across the street was a small house with a huge U-Haul truck parked in the driveway. A strange thought popped into my head and I said to Melanie, “I wonder if they need help moving?” It was a strange thought to have but we continued down the road and found the church. Little did I know that the thought was the Holy Spirit talking to me.
We were greeted when we walked in by the pastor’s wife and her husband who introduced himself. We shared a wonderful fellowship and communion with the church family and during the service they spoke about a couple that had returned to work at the church and that was THEIR moving truck! They were serving lunch after church and then unloading the truck! Who knew??
After church, we told the pastor what had happened and he invited us to lunch and to help. We then ate a delicious lunch before heading down the hill to unload the U-Haul. One of the church members rode Melanie back to the marina so she could pick up Windsor. She then walked back to the house where we were just finishing the unloading of their furniture.. We were done in just over an hour and then got a ride from another Church member to the grocery store near the marina where we picked up a few items before heading back to the boat. We took Windsor for a walk and met a few of the locals who were enjoying their day swapping boating and fishing stories. We ended up chatting to them for 2 or 3 hours before finishing our walk and returning to the boat for dinner. The wind Sunday afternoon had gradually increased in strength until it was 40 to 45 mph. Melanie made a tasty meal after which we watched a movie and tried to sleep. I spent almost 2 hours that night adjusting lines, taking in things that rattled – like flags – before the boat was quiet enough that I could go to sleep.
Monday was a holiday so we slept in until 9:00. A few boats came in and we chatted with the occupants and befriended a few people. On our morning walk we ran into Mark who we had chatted with the previous day and when he found out it was my birthday he gave us the keys to his car and told us about a breakfast place where we could go and eat breakfast. We took his car and found the place he recommended and enjoyed a wonderful meal. After dropping off the car we took a long walk around town just looking at shops and exercising the dog and then returned so Melanie could make dinner for us.
Tuesday was a work day and after I finished for the day, we went to The Bradley Museum to learn the history of the Bradley that sank in Lake Michigan in the 50s. Everyone except two people on board were killed. Of those 33 people who died, 23 of them were from Rogers City so it was a huge loss. We spoke to the docent and had an interesting conversation before heading home for dinner.