We had a very difficult time deciding which coast we’d take as we make our way to Chicago. Northern Wisconsin was always an important part of our route. Two very dear friends and former colleagues of mine live south of Green Bay and they have looked forward to our visit and I was so eager to spend time with them!
More Loopers take the Michigan coast with so many adorable small towns, points of historical interest and several “harbors of safe refuge” should the seas get rough. Fewer take the Wisconsin coast although the weather is generally a bit milder, the coastline is rockier and the harbors are often spaced farther apart.
Pete does most of our route planning using several excellent online applications.
- PredictWind – Marine Forecasts app
- NOAA Marine Weather – Forecast Pro app
- Active Captain – course plotting and marina information app
- Dockwa – marina reservation app
- ForeFlight – weather app for pilots
We were shut out of some marinas earlier this trip and the “harbors of safe refuge” (that cannot turn a desperate boater away) sounded like the safer way to go. We ultimately chose to descend the Michigan coast and ferry across to Wisconsin to connect with our friends. Having made this choice, Pete mapped out our route.
Our first stop was Charlevoix. We timed our entry into the picturesque Pine River Channel to coincide with the opening of the Charlevoix Draw Bridge. Just past the draw bridge was Round Lake, a small body of water surrounded by high-end homes and condominiums, then another short channel to enter Lake Charlevoix. It happened to be the week of the Venetian Festival and we were lucky to snag one night at the dock wall of the Irish Boat Shop Ferry Street Marina. (Our second night would have to be at anchor since our spot was promised to another transient boater.) We offloaded our bikes and rode into town, passing many beautiful large homes with ornate landscaping in the exclusive neighborhood of the Belvedere Club. Several streets were blocked for pedestrian-only traffic, a Kiddie Carnival and a parade, with street vendors and shop specials. A band was rehearsing for the evening’s show.
Bridge Street Tap Room seemed like a good spot to refresh while watching the people and boat traffic. We noticed an unusual home across the water with a stone façade and wavy roofline. It was one of Earl Young’s Mushroom Houses! (Gnome Homes or Hobbit Houses) This well known architect built 31 structures in Charlevoix, no two alike. One can take a tour of these unique homes in an open air GEM car. Four of them are available for vacation rentals!
After browsing the shops and street vendors we returned to our boat. We were in a prime location to see the fireworks show so we set up our chairs on the dock and enjoyed our dinner. Soon it was dark and the show opener blew us away – it was a stunt plane with special pyrotechnics doing barrel rolls and loop-de-loops! The traditional fireworks show that followed was also spectacular, lasting a good 20 minutes or more.
We woke to a steady heavy rain, which was anticipated, but we kept our word to the harbor master and moved to an anchorage. There wasn’t much to do but read, sketch, reorganize our storage areas and plan our next day’s voyage while we dried out. The weather eventually cleared and we had a sunny afternoon. The locals noticed and did their “lake-thing” which involved boating, tubing, and racing their Personal Water Craft all around the anchored boats. It was not especially pleasant until the evening.
On Sunday morning (7/25) we moved on to Leland, a.k.a. “Fishtown.” We couldn’t get a reservation but the dock master would sell us fuel and allow us to tie up for the purpose of reprovisioning. (Ah-HA!, we learned that this is a sideways method of bargaining for a slip! After some negotiation, Pete secured a spot for one night.) We had a great lunch at The Cove, seated at the corner window overlooking the famed spillway, then made our grocery run at Leland Mercantile. Finally we did our souvenir-sight-see excursion. This was such a cute little town! No wonder it is hard to secure slips here! The diverse shops, boutiques, eclectic art galleries, book stores, ice cream and fudge booths were all very inviting and most offered one-of-a-kind items. I snagged a couple one-of-a-kind items for future gifts.
Frankfort (the gateway to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore) was another “tight squeeze.” We had no reservation here either but we appealed to the harbor master to accept us. We experienced an episode of high engine temperature and needed to connect with a mechanic. The issue was brief but it scared us. We arrived before the boat in our promised slip moved out. The only option was to hover in the basin until our slip was ready. Within 30 minutes we were secured but the mechanic would not be available.
We learned, in our Boat Engine Maintenance Course, that sometimes the sea strainer (part of the water cooling system) can suck up debris, and when the engine is turned off, the suction subsides allowing the debris to clear. The other possible causes seemed implausible having just replaced the impeller and what seemed like adequate coolant in the reservoir. There happened to be a mechanic working on a boat next to us. We took advantage of a “curbside consult.” Given our recent recommissioning and the description of our brief episode of overheating, he believed we experienced water intake debris that cleared on its own. With confidence regained, we set off for Ludington the next morning.
We were about three quarters of the way to Ludington when the high temperature alarm sounded. We went through the troubleshooting checklist and again could not identify the issue. We let the engine cool while we bobbed in Lake Michigan. It was at this point that we felt glad for having chosen the “safe harbor” side of the lake. Pete placed a call to our engine maintenance course instructor. He didn’t have any magic words of wisdom, we already had tried his suggestions. When we restarted the engine, the temperature gauge read normal. We cautiously motored the rest of the way without any further issue. As soon as we could, Pete made contact with a mechanic that would board our boat and review the cooling system. He understood that we would not be there. We were scheduled to be off the boat for a week while we visited friends in Wisconsin. Logistics were discussed and we packed our bags.
We did our best to give the overheat issue to the mechanic and offer our anxieties to God. We were hopeful that all would be fixed by the end of the week.
The following slide show offers a glimpse of this leg of our journey.
The next post will cover our incredible visit to Wisconsin!