Port #4: Ladies of the Lakes...

Great Loop II Date: 8/6/2014

Day #7 (Wednesday):  44 miles (197 total miles)

Port #4:  Port Sanilac Marina (private sailboat marina south of the state docks)

Today opened up with beautiful sun, reported early morning fog (that we never saw) and 10 minutes to make the bridge opening at 8:30AM.  We moved around quickly and had OB in front of the bridge when the sirens sounded and the spans opened up to let us out into a busy St. Clair River.

We passed many downbound ‘Ladies of the Lakes’ (and Oceans).  They come in all different shapes and sizes.  Some have their wheelhouse on the bow; some have the wheelhouse on the stern.  All of the freighters we saw today were of size that could make the locks.

Couldn't tell if these guys were working or playing poker as their freighter passed us going downbound.

It always seems odd to me to see barges and tows here.  More expect them on the Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee River systems.

It was surprising to pass the Pearl Mist, a new cruise ship from the Pearl Seas Cruiselines.  She has 6 decks, 108 cabins and ‘pampers’ 210 passengers.  Her website, as well as the report in the USA Today article, list The Pearl Seas as a ‘luxury’ cruiseliner.  Depending on the destination, the prices range from the mid-$3000s to $11,000 per person.  She is 335 feet long, has a 56 foot beam and draws 12 feet which still makes OB look like a puppy!

Going under the Bluewater Bridge that spans from Port Huron, MI to Sarnia, ON, CA is always interesting.  The waters in the St. Clair River and Lake Huron are such a beautiful blue, you’d swear it isn’t real.  But when you hit the turbulence before and under the bridge, you know it is moving with force DOWN to Lake Erie.

Once we escaped into Lake Huron, we had 2 foot rollers for the rest of our trip to Port Sanilac.  We had a shorter day, docked at a private marina instead of the state docks and had a most scrumptious appetizer dinner.  Since there was an ice cream shop onsite, we had some good hand dipped ice cream before turning in for the night.

Because of OB’s size, the dockmaster had us put our navigation lights on during the night.  He feared the local fishermen that frequent the marina would run into us in the dark.  Apparently they don’t often look where they are going.  It did make me consider doing the same once we get OB to her dock in Cape Coral.  I’ve thought about doing something to make her obvious in our canal during the night…until the locals get used to her being there.

After leaving the St. Clair River, freighters became ghosts on the horizon.

Charlie picked his spot in the breeze coming in the door.

This is what we typically see as we approach our marina for the night's stay.

OB sitting at the end of the dock.

Port Sanilac Marina is a private marina with mostly sailboats.  They were super friendly, very clean facility and a quiet night.

We had appetizers at Uri's and they were D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.

Uri's has a nice dining room that overlooks the marina.  We loved this little bar and chose to relax here.

Port #3: Visiting With Friends from Loop #1...

Great Loop II Date: 8/5/2014

Day #6 (Tuesday):  45 miles ( 153 total miles)

Port #3: Charles F. Moore Harbor (St. Clair Harbor), St. Clair, MI

I didn’t get up as early this morning and didn’t know why Todd didn’t wake me up.  After I looked outside, it was apparent why he let me sleep a little longer.  Rain and thunderstorms were heading our way.  We tried delaying an hour to wait them out.  The storms were taking a more northerly direction.  Our options were to cast off and hope for the best or stay in port and wait…and wait…and wait.  We decided on the former.

We left Keans around 8AM and didn’t find any rain until we were well into Lake St. Clair.  The skies were dark and visibility was about a mile.  With radar and AIS (Automatic Identification System), we were able to pick up the freighter traffic well ahead of seeing them.  Our Waterway Guide gave us the channels to scan on our marine radio so we could hear the freight traffic talking to control points in the rivers and lake.  We were able to notify them of our position, as well.

We're on their water highway!

By the time we hit the middle of Lake St. Clair, the rain was pelting down and we were rolling pretty well.  We had 2 to 3 foot waves on our port beam.  Charlie was unhappy, I was trying to keep busy updating the blog and Todd was trying to keep us on a vector that would lessen the impact of the waves.  Once we entered the St. Clair River, the seas flattened, eventually the clouds broke, the sun appeared and everybody was happy.

We passed one of the biggest laker freighters just below St. Clair.  The M/V American Century is 1001feet long, has a 105 foot beam and draws 56 feet.  In comparison, Ocean Breeze is 47 feet long, has a 15 foot beam and draws a little over 3.5 feet.  We’re just little fellas.

There's a man under that arrow!

See...there he is!

There are only 13 lakers over 1000 feet long.  The largest laker is the M/V Paul R. Tregurtha at 1013 feet.  None of them can go through the Welland or the Soo locks.  They only work in Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie carrying coal and ore pellets.

We arrived at the Pine River Bridge a little early and had to tread water until 3:00PM for the bridge opening. Once OB was tied to her dock in St. Clair Harbor for the night, good friends Joan and Jerry Muhme came to visit us. We had a fantastic dinner with them at Murphy’s Inn, a cute little Irish Pub and Restaurant in St. Clair.

Pine River Bridge...nice window flower box!

Capt. Todd happy to be through the bridge.

Wonderful dinner with Joan and Jerry Muhme at Murphy's Inn.

OB at her dock.  Look at that big 68 foot Hatteras next to us!

Port #2: Revisiting Old Places...

Great Loop II Date: 8/4/2014

Day #5 (Monday): 108.4 total miles (73.9 miles)

Port #2: Keans Marina, Detroit, MI

Monday morning we were up before sunrise and on our way to Anchors Away Marina to meet Clay.  Clay started working on the generator around 8:30AM.  By 10:30AM he had the hose changed, the sea grass out of the intake and a new impeller in place.  With fingers crossed, we headed north across Lake Erie for the Detroit River.

Lake Erie was kind to us during this crossing.  She was flat and smooth.  By the time we got to Detroit, we were met by rain and thunderstorms.  We docked at Keans Detroit Yacht Harbor before 7PM, had a nice dinner on board and relaxed the evening away.

Sunrise over the Benson Ford Wheelhouse on South Bass Island

This was intended to be a Bed&Breakfast.  It ended up a private residence.

The sailboat racer that road Saturday's storm out on our port side at Put In Bay.  He's pretty fast!

The Detroit Light marking the entrance to the Detroit River.

Our first freighter...

...they look small until they pass you!

Another downbound freighter.

Same freighter!

Smaller boat traffic.

The Ambassador Bridge from Detroit to Windsor, ON, CA

Detroit skyline on a cloudy, rainy day.

Detroit's Riverboat

Windsor off to our starboard side.

Colorful Caesar's Palace in Windsor.

The storm that seemed to build in intensity behind us.

Port #1: It's a Regatta Kind of Day....

Great Loop II Date: 7/31/2014

Day #1 (Thursday): 20 total miles (20 miles)

Port #1: Put In Bay, South Bass Island, Ohio

Todd bought a new Magma Grill Wednesday afternoon and intended to install it on the bar in our bridge while I went for my last groceries.  When I came back the grill was in the box and Clay was set up to come Thursday morning.  The bolts were set such that the bar refrigerator would need to be removed.  Once the bolts were in, the heads had to be sawed off to accommodate the drip pan.  Preparing for this trip has sure had its moments!

Our plan was to go to Put In Bay again to make sure all the updated systems were in working order.  We arrived during the beginning of the annual PIB ILYA Sailboat Regatta.

Leaving Bay Point Marina

Passing the ongoing housing development at Bay Point (View from Lake Erie)

Captain maintaining his station

Sailboats racing Thursday afternoon

None of the moorings were marked for the sailboats and we had our pick.  We grabbed I-2 which put us nearest the WiFi offered by Boardwalk Harbor.  We don’t have our old WiFi set up this time (an antenna attached to a signal booster/router and our old Verison 3G card).  We will use WiFi offered by marinas and our own Verison 4G MiFi when necessary.

Perry's Monument

Sunset in the Boardwalk Mooring Field

Cantankerus going for another load of fuel for the island

OB on her mooring

Each morning the call for the races occurred between 7AM and 8AM.  The cluster of sailboats taking up all the dockage at the City Docks and a few slips at the marinas would scamper to attention and march to sites outside of the Bay to race.  Saturday morning, we awoke to thunder and dark skies to the south and west.  The sailors all scampered out to the race call…even amidst the impending electrical storm. About halfway through the race, during the storm’s full fury, the sailors came back in.  Some were able to dock successfully, while others had to ride out the storm keeping their bows to the weather and their engines running high enough to stay in one spot.

The approaching storm Saturday morning

Sailboat racer riding out the storm

All our systems seemed to be working well until our generator overheated and shut down.  Trouble shooting pointed to two possibilities: sea grass could be clogging the sea strainer intake or the hose could be degenerating.  Todd cleaned the strainer to find very little grass.  Sunday morning he dove below the boat and found some grass clogging the exterior of the intake.  Even after clearing that, the water still did not flow into the strainer or into the generator.  Todd contacted Rory, the manager of our maintenance team.  He told us to take the boat out, put it on plane and open the sea strainer canister.  That should work to suck out any clog in the line.  We tried that maneuver with no change.  Rory scheduled Clay to meet us at Anchors Away on Monday morning to diagnose and rectify the problem.

Sunday night was a beautiful evening.  Even with our ongoing setbacks, it was a good time to take a spot up on the bridge, enjoy a pizza from Cameo and a beer.  We watched all of the day boaters and late checkout weekenders leave the Bay one by one.  It made us thankful the work life is behind us and adventure we create is ahead.