A closer look at the weather morning demonstrated that it would be better to leave Presque Isle a little later than earlier, so we did not throw off the lines until just after 0900. We then headed north once again, this time bound for the town of Cheboygan.
Why Cheboygan? Well, because it sounds cool. Here, say it with me.....Che---boy---gan. See? All I know at this point is that it used to be a big lumber town and now the river we are docked on apparently retains some commercial purpose. There is a paper mill nearby, and ferries come and go from here to Isle de Boit Blanc just across the straits.
We are only a handfull of miles from Mackinaw. We thought about going all the way, but it was another 18 miles, and it was getting late and so, we pulled in here. Actually, this place will be a good place to hang for the night, then we will go to Mackinaw, get fuel and wait out the blow scheduled to arrive on Sunday. Then, when it looks all clear, we will scoot across the top of Lake Michigan and probably stop just above the Wisconsin line. Then, we'll scoot down the Wisconsin side.
Today was a very nice run. The weather forecast made it sound a little more hectic than it turned out to be. It's always a welcome condition when the National Whatever Service errs and it works to our advantage.
Here are a couple photos from the day's run:
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| NO, IT'S NOT THE EDMUND FITZGERALD, BUT A VERY CLOSE FACSIMILE THEREOF. |
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| IT'S NAILING DAYS LIKE THESE THAT ENCOURAGES ME TO CONTINUE STUDYING THE ART OF WEATHER FORECASTING. |
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| WE HAVE NOT SEEN MANY DAYS LIKE THIS ON THE GREAT LAKES AND, CONSIDERING HOW VIOLENT IT HAS BEEN OUT HERE FOR THE PAST 4 DAYS, IT IS A WONDER THAT NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME. |
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| ARRIVING AT THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER TO CHEBOYGAN |
More later.
Cheboygan, Michigan. What? Did you say, "Cheboygan?" Yes, I did. This town has a funny name. When I say it, it makes me laugh. And Brenda! She giggles like a school girl every time she says it. It kinda sounds like a spring busting loose. I reminds me of the indian Mel Brooks played in the film Blazing Saddles. Cheboygan! Say it and it will make you smile. I almost died laughing when we went into the harbor master's office in Cheboygan to check in, and Brenda says, "I really like the name of your town, CHEBOYGAN!" The staff were good humored enough and laughed and shook their heads like, "yeah, we know, we know." So we checked in and laughed the rest of the afternoon.
Shortly after we arrived, I had a conference call to attend to, and it was getting rather late, so we just relaxed on the boat that evening. There is not all that much to do in Cheboygan, he he he he, Cheboygan, so killing time with a movie and dinner was fine.
In the morning I woke up early as I was having virtual coffee with a friend. Every so often, my friend and I have a cup of coffee over the phone. It's the next best thing to having coffee in person. Since we are both early risers, it works great. We talk a lot about business and life in general, and it's amazing how with some friends, there is simply an unspoken understanding and mutual respect. That it works over the phone is remarkable. I enjoy the coffee calls.
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| THE NEW MACKINAC |
| This is the ship seen in the photo above at the dock in Cheboygan |
| This is also the ship at the dock at Cheboygan. Notice the hull shape. It's an ice crusher not an ice cutter. |
These ships are really big. Contrary to popular belief, the ice breakers do not cut through the ice with sharp hulls or anything like that. In fact, they do not really use the pointy end of the boat at all. Rather, an ice breaker is effective by pushing its bulk up onto the ice and allowing its weight to break through the ice from above. So, its up and crush, up and crush, up and crush. While it seems like the ship is cutting through the ice, it really isn't. Furthermore, the thicker the ice, the bigger the ice breaker needs to be to function as such. Keeping in mind these are big steel ships, it's not like their hulls are impenetrable. They have to ride up on and crush the ice properly, less they suffer extreme damage to the hull structure, not to mention the running gear. Now, this is not to say these boats are built like ours. Far from it. They are purpose built. Nevertheless, they have to follow certain rules or be crushed themselves. I cannot imagine the sound within the hull as an ice breaker is working. It must be pretty eerie to hear all that crushing and shearing, and tearing going on......all day and all night while they work. I've ripped off a few pictures from the USCG website so you can see what I am talking about.
In any event, after coffee, I woke Brenda and we walked into town for breakfast. Downtown Cheboygan.....ok there I go again.....downtown Cheboygan? Yes, it's true. Anyways, downtown Cheboygan is a cool little town. There are quite a number of restaurants and very nice shops with a really artistic bent to them. There are antique stores, funky kitchen supply stores, art galleries, and other kinds of stores catering to the tourist in us all. It is really nice to go into a small town and see something that looks like life is good. There are no chain restaurants such as Burger King, although there was a small KFC. I understand there is even a SuperWalMart somewhere not far. Fortunately, and notwithstanding the presence of such a giant box store, the small town shops are doing quite well. I guess this town is really a happening place if you are a fisherman or outdoorsman.
We had breakfast in a place that was established in the 1920's by a couple of Greek brothers who came here and started a business and saved money so they could bring the rest of their family here from Greece. To this day, descendants of the original brothers still own and operate the restaurant. I love these kind of great stories.
So, after walking around town for a while, we headed back to the boat, started the engine, and headed on out. Our destination for the day was Mackinac City. The trip was only 15 miles, and it went by very quickly.
The first thing we did when we got there was get fuel. We are staying in another State harbor. They do not have diesel at their fuel dock, but you can get diesel at the ferry dock just across the harbor from where we are slipped. Now, let me tell you, getting fuel at Shepplers was no easy task. We had to pull up to this really high wall. There are no cleats and no dock to speak of. I had to climb from the boat up to the lot on a rather flimsy steel ladder and get a couple lines on a couple poles to secure the boat. That was nuts. Then, I discovered that it was easier to get onto the boat by taking a rather long step from the parking lot onto the roof of the salon. All I can say is an unfortuitous slip would have resulted in a serious injury. This is a rather stupid arrangement. They are just about the last diesel opportunity at the intersection of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. One would think that they would make diesel more easily available for all the cruising boats that pass through here. Oh well. The price was good, however, so we filled up. Moreover, we know the fuel is good because this is where all the ferry boats fuel up so they do not have fuel sitting around in the tank for very long at all. I cannot really complain about the fuel issue since we only used 100 gallons on Erie, 100 gallons on St. Clair and Huron, and will probably use around 100 on Lake Michigan.
After we got to our slip, we discovered a very modern community completely set up for the tourist. It is not very pretty and there is really nothing of interest in the city unless you are interested in shopping, shopping, and more shopping. Today, however, we will take the ferry over to Mackinaw Island and toodle around there on our own bikes. The ferry service charges $6 per bike to bring your own. This is as opposed to the $12 per hour rental fees they gouge you for on the island if you want to rent a bike. We are looking forward to this day trip and will probably learn some interesting things.
More later.
We took the ferry over to Mackinac Island today. It was a gorgeous sunny day. It was a little on the cool side, and the wind was blowing pretty hard but the sunny skies made every thing look really fresh and clean and colorful. The ferry service is called Sheplers, but I think they could be called "Shlepers" by simply transposing a single letter and then the description would be accurate. Their boats were fast and comfortable. They hauled people, bikes, luggage, mail and whatever else had to go to the island from the mainland. In any event, it's now Sunday evening, and things are getting real quiet around here.
So, this island is a real tourist attraction today. However, long ago, it was quite a practical place. There were lots of different Great Lakes indian tribes who visited the island to fish. As such, there are a number of examples of their artifacts that were discovered including spearheads, fishhooks, and clay pottery shards. The indians considered the place sacret. In the late 1600's, French settlers arrived and established a mission. Later more French settlers arrived and established a fort. The soldiers established a depot for the trade of furs. There is an example of a French fort here today which later became a British stronghold. Later, after the Civil War, the island became a place of recreation and hotels and Inns started springing up. In the 1890's the island was turned over to the State of Michigan to be managed as a state park with all the appropriate resource management plans to protect the heritage of the island and its splendid natural environment.
Today, ferry boats for at least 3 different companies dump thousands and thousands of tourists onto the island. The main thoroughfair consists of restaurant after restaurant, fudge shops, t-shirt vendors, souvenir shops, and other junk. There are no cars on the island. Instead, there are thousands of bikes as well as horse drawn carriages. The buildings are quite colorful. It reminds me of Avalon on Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California. Avalon is way cooler, in my opinion. Then again, Avalon is only 25 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, not 15 miles off the coast of a small town in northern Michigan. Actually, you can't really compare the two except to say that they are both resort islands with all kinds of junk stores to attract the unwary tourist. You cannot even believe how the prices of things are marked up. Brenda and I had two hamburgers and a single order of fries, and two small sodas for lunch and left $25.00. But for the fact that the end of the season is near, the cost of everything would be completely out of control. The t-shirt stores are making deals. You can get 2 t-shirts for $10, if you can fit into an extra small. What do I mean when I say the season is coming to an end?
This place is at the northern tip of the Michigan Penninsula and is a natural intersection between Lakes Huron and Michigan. It is at a rather high latitude. Winter here is serious business. Accordingly, it is not uncommon for temperatures here to drop to as low as 20 below and for snow to pile up meters high. The straits freeze hard and there is nothing moving for at least a couple months. I have no way to imagine this as I have no experience in this regard. All I know is that I am trying to get the hell out of here and move south to get off these Great Lakes, but the weather is simply not cooperating. Back to Mackinaw Island.
So, there is a really cool bike ride. It is an 8 mile circle around the island. The trail is essentially flat so it is an easy ride. We came here to do this and had a great time doing it. I never realized the beauty of the Great Lakes. A lot of folks like to say, Oh the Great Lakes are like the ocean. Hog wash! The Great Lakes are not and never will be like or akin to the ocean in any way. They are, however, the GREAT Lakes. Their water is quite pristine and blue and very clear. The lakes are vast, yes, but that has nothing to do with anything oceanic. These lakes are astonishing and exemplary in their own way and it does them a serious injustice to compare them to the ocean. While riding around the perimeter of Mackinac Island I saw beaches that are as beautiful as any I have ever seen anywhere in the world, including the Carribean, the South Pacific and the Med. The water is blue and turquoise. It is crystal clear, and, it is relatively warm for this time of year. It is well known that, for some time, the Great Lakes were an environmental disaster. It is also well known that they have recovered with a lot of help and a lot of innovation. I think the Great Lakes region deserves a lot more credit than it gets and a lot more in the way of recognition as America's North Coast.
So, we spent the day visiting this remarkable island. I was completely put off by all the touristy junk. But, I was completely taken aback by the beauty of this place. We had a fun ride back in the afternoon, though as the wind had increased to a basically ridiculous level. The ferry boats, however, handled it well. The skipper slams the hammer down as he is leaving the harbor and then slams the boat into a hard turn to starboard so as to get into the beam seas and turn down so the waves are at the stern port side quarter. Then he keeps the speed up for the entirety of the short voyage back to the harbor. On the way back we sat inside as the roof seats were going to be wet and windy. We had the windows covered with water virtually every minute or so. I believe these ferry boats have some form of stabilization. The reason I suspect this that the waves would hit the boat on the side, the boat would hold its course without moving at all, and the water from the wave would go straight up. The waves were in the 5-7 foot range, directly on the beam and the boat did not roll at all. Nice! We were laughing about how we would have had our asses seriously kicked had we been on our own boat making this crossing this afternoon.
Well, were back on the boat. We hit the grocery store this afternoon and picked up some supplies. It doesn't look like we will be able to get out of here until Tuesday. Then, if we are lucky we will burn down to Beaver Island and hole up there for a day or so. Then, we hope to make it across the top of Lake Michigan to the town of Manistique at which point we will start heading south down the east coast of Wisconsin.
In the interim, tomorrow, we hope to pay a visit to the legenday icebreaker, Mackinac, which is permanently moored here as a nautical museum. It turns out there have been a number of Mighty Macs thoughout the years. The USCG has one in service, retires it, and names another the same thing and has it in service for a few years, retires it, etc, etc, etc. Therefore, as usual........
More later.
It's not even that early in the morning, but it is pouring rain. It has been raining for several hours now. I guess it will stop later in the day. This weather is getting real boring. We had hoped to be on our way some today, but it looks like we will have to wait until tomorrow. It's not that we are afraid to run in the rain. It's just that there will be a clearing wind after this rain stops which promises to turn the water conditions real ugly.
Speaking of weather, I recently noticed something interesting here concerning the barometer. The barometer is the thing that measures atmospheric pressure. It's not the instant reading that is really important, but the tendancies that mean something to us on boats. If you are experiencing a swing in either direction, it is significant. A pressure swing means there will be wind. For instance, if the pressure is tending to go high, then there will be some breeze associated with the increase in pressure. Generally, a building high pressure situation will bring a lot of wind followed by several days of stable weather. A building low pressure situation, on the other hand, is an indicator of crappy weather a comin'. Such crappy weather will generally last a few days.
What I have been noticing here in these "upper" lattitudes is that the low pressure is lower than lows we appreciate back in Southern California. And, the highs are lower pressure than the highs back in Southern California. The pressure is all generally lower. It feels like you are high in the mountains all the time. Strange. I am going to have to study up on this one. I'm sure there is a logical explanation, but knowing my luck, my barometer is broken and I have to go jogging more. We'll see.
Either way, there are a lot of boats in this marina. There are some big ones and some not so big ones. There are power boats, and there are sail boats. However, with the exception of us, they are all preparing to be hauled out of the water for the winter. Their season is done and they are taking down sails, emptying cabinets, removing furnishings, and cushions, etc. I guess they have a deal with this marina for the winter program. The marina has a crew that will haul the boats, "winterize" them and put them in cold storage inside a large building. I thought to myself, that's pretty neat. You could come down all winter and work on the boat in the comfort of an indoor environment. Then he told me they don't heat the building and that it can get to 20 below zero around here. I said, "ouch."
All this talk of hauling for the season and winterizing has got me nervous. I realize it is still only the middle of September and the real closure around here is not really until mid november, but still. So, here we sit. It's hard to sit hear waiting for a weather window that seems like it is never going to arrive. So I have to keep reminding myself of that thing Joshua Slocum used to say. Before I say it, the matter has to be put in context.
Slocum sailed all alone, around the world in a woden sailboat in the early part of the 20th century, with no electricity (no batteries), an oil lamp for heat, no refrigeration, etc. When he met with bad weather, it was a lot worse than when we meet it. For us, we pull into a port and tie up to something. Even if it is not much more than a steel wall, there is great comfort knowing you can get away from the water if necessary. We have power, and lots of it. We have refrigeration for food and drink. We have an air conditioner named Olga who does her job if we need her. We have a deck Freezer named Hairy who cannot be knocked over and who keeps ice readily at hand. In the cold weather we do not need Steutle or Leon, or Henna, as the bugs disappear, and Otto gets a rest. Our little floor heater, Lassie, works almost full time. In other words, for us, bad weather means staying on the boat in relative comfort compared to Slocum.
So, what did Slocum say? He said, no matter how bad the weather gets, it will always get better. It's really just a matter of time. Here is where patience in cruising is really a virtue. If you think you can outwit mother nature, sell you boat just as fast as you possibly can. We are not even going to try and outwit mother nature. So, we sit tight and wait. We are ready to go. Fortunately, there is always plenty to do and we are in a place where there is a lot to keep us occupied. It just sucks having to pay slip fees so you can sit here in bad weather. Frankly, if I could be in a place where we could anchor out and sit out the bad weather, I would and could do so. Been there, done that, right? Well, we are not near such a place. In fact, we are around 40 miles from such a place. However, we have to travel those 40 miles. We will try and do it tomorrow. Then we expect that we will sit for another couple days while the back of this storm system moves away. Then, we will hopefully have several days of really nice weather. It sure is nice that we don't have to live like Slocum did. For him, the idea of waiting for weather was certainly more disconcerting. Hell, I can watch a storm pass overhead on my Android phone. Slocum had to simply sit and wonder when it might end.
Once again, more later.
THe USCG Mackinaw is an icebreaker of significant fame. For 62 years she plied the waters of the Great Lakes making sure it was open for commercial ships to move iron ore and other bulk goods during the winter months when the lakes freeze. Now, there is a new Mackinaw (the ship we photographed docked in Cheboygan) and this vessel was decommissioned in 2006. She is rather large and quite heavy. She has 6 engines which generate electricity to drive three electric motors which in turn turn the gian props. In other words, she runs on diesel electric power - like a locomotive. One of her most significant claims to fame is that during her more than 60 years in service, she never got stuck so bad she could not get herself out. That she ran for so long in such horrendous conditions is a testament to her builders in Toledo, Ohio, and the love she was given by her stalwart Coast Guard crewmen. So, today, she is a maritime museum. It was great walking on her decks and imagining what it must have been like to be there in February on Lake Superior when it was -35 degrees out and Whitefish Bay needed to be cleared so a 150,000 ton ore carrier could get her load to Cleveland. Most folks give little thought to the notion that the Mackinaw made the fight in WWII possible. In fact, it was the reason she was built. Given the war effort and its need for steel, the icebreaker Mackinaw made it possible for large amounts of iron ore to make its way from Northern Wisconsin to the steel mills in Cleveland and Detroit all year long. Just another tidbit of fascinating history we have picked up along the way.
Well, that's it for Lake Huron. In the morning we headed out of Lake Huron, under the Mighty Mackinaw Bridge, and into Lake Michigan. Our destination, St. James on Beaver Island. I'll talk to you later.
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