Port #6: Thank You, Active Captain...

Great Loop II Date: 8/8/2014

Day #9 (Friday): 58 miles (351 total miles)

Port #6:  Presque Isle, MI (Anchorage #1: North Bay)

OB’s crew got an extra hour’s sleep.  We cast off at 7:30AM and took a heading to Presque Isle, MI.  The waters began so flat, only OB’s wake disturbed it.  Of course, that never seems to last very long.  Multiple cruisers heading southbound and a few northbound managed to make plenty of wakes disturbing the millpond.

We don't often see a lake this smooth...

...we could even see the sun's image in it.

Thunder Bay Light

Only OB's wake broke the silent waters!

Charlie's spot today

So calm the Captain maintained the helm and carried on business too.

Wake #1...

...wake #2

...wake #3...

...wake # ???...I lost count.  We could leave a mighty 3 foot wake too but we choose to go slow, enjoy the scenery and save diesel!

The cruise today was the best so far.  We passed Thunder Bay and Presque Isle Bay heading around the Presque Isle Lighthouse for an anchorage in North Bay.  It was a beautiful, pristine spot.  The Siegels, creators and managers of Active Captain, anchored here last year and wrote a wonderful review.  We concur!  The waters were so clear and so still we could see where the anchor, chain and line lay.  When I checked the anchor in the morning, I could see the chain sweep in the sand where we had swung about 45^o during the night.

Presque Isle Bay with the old Ghost Lighthouse on the right.  My August 2010 blog has the history of that light and why it's called the Ghost Light.

The Presque Isle Light

North Bay to the East.  The light kept watch over us all night long.

Following the shoreline of North Bay around to the South...

...to the West.

The beach at North Bay.

There's the anchor line.  That little black dot is a 10# mushroom anchor called a Keg.  I run it down the line the help keep the chain and anchor stem inline with the ground.  It helps the anchor bury itself and reset when the boat swings around the anchor in an arch.  The waters and the wind never stop moving.  Even the slightest change causes OB to march around her anchor.

Active Captain is a website full of information for boaters on the water highway.  Jeff Siegel is a long time distance boater and realized the need for a website complete with marina, lock, bridge, destination and hazard information.  He made the site user friendly, available to all boaters (for FREE) and open for updates by boaters as they experience or come upon information that is valuable to fellow boaters.  The Siegels have cruised the East Coast for years.  They decided to experience the Great Loop 2013 through 2014, adding some new information to the website as they went.  Their blog is fun to follow too as it is wrapped around their two beautiful Yellow Labrador Retrievers, Dylan and DeeDee.  You can check both websites out at https://activecaptain.com and http://www.takingpaws.com/.  A huge thank you from Todd and me (as well as literally thousands of other boaters) for the great service Karen and Jeff Siegel provide us.

Charlie was interested in all the folks on the beach.

Charlie and I were checking out the folks onshore...and watching a lost 'noodle' float our way.

Charlie trying to remember how to navigate those stairs to the bridge.

Our peaceful sunset.

Port #5: Ride 'Em Cowboy (And Girl)...

Great Loop II Date: 8/7/2014

Day #8 (Thursday):  95 miles (293 total miles)

Port #5:  Harrisville Municipal Harbor

OB’s crew arose early to get underway for a long day on the water.  Our plans have changed daily.  We want to add new experiences to our adventure.

Although Port Austin and Tawas Harbor (all in Michigan) would have been new ports to us, we have always wanted to let OB touch Lake Superior before our long distant cruising days close.  We also need to travel as far as we can when the weather permits, especially since we are traveling at slower speeds.  So Todd plotted a course to Harrisville, MI repeating the same long travel day we had 4 years ago during Loop #1.

We left Port Sanilac under a beautiful sunrise and 1 foot seas.  By the time we were approaching the Saginaw Bay area, we were taking 3 foot rollers on the nose.  Were it Lake Erie, everything in the boat would be on the floor, including us.  Lake Huron is much deeper so riding them is more like a slow motion bucking bull ride.  Although not a bad ride, it does get a bit tiring.

Many times during this trip (including today) we are not in sight of land.  Even with the bouncing, each member of the crew has to take time at the helm and find things to do.  I often work on our blog, although today we were out of range for both our phones and our MiFi.  Todd moves between the upper and lower stations, drinks coffee and plans course directions.  Charlie finds the best spot to ride out the boat movement and sleeps.

We saw one lone sailor today.  Four power boaters did pass us southbound but I didn't get their picture.

Looking west...

...looking north...

...looking east...

...looking south...

...Charlie looking at his eyelids.  This was his spot today...the lowest spot in the boat!

I wanted to try my new inverter in the galley with my crockpot.  Before we left port, I assembled beef stew in the crockpot and plugged it in.  I was so happy it all worked well and we had a fine dinner aboard when we arrived in Harrisville.

Here's the crockpot set up...the red arrow is pointing to the 1000W Inverter.  I keep the crockpot in the sink so it doesn't migrate to the floor if seas get bumpy.

We relaxed on the bridge before dinner, walked Charlie a few times, watched a little TV after dinner and turned in early.  Today was a 10 hour travel day and we were tired.

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!