Go-no go

At first glance it seemed possible to make some miles today. But a morning look out on the lake showed whitecaps popping up here and there. A little while later the wind picked up a bit higher than the forecast suggested it would and the white caps became the dominant feature past the breakwater. A couple of boats left anyway. We watched. As they cleared the breakwater they rolled pretty hard and threw sheets of water up from the bow. Unfortunately for us, one of them was a 54' trawler tied up across the dock from First Light. It was an excellent wind break. So long as it was there, we sat nearly perfectly still. But they allowed as to the size of their boat was more than a match for the winds and the waves. As they cleared the breakwater, there was no real roll and the bow just shoved the waves aside with little fuss. Another big boat pulled in while Deb and I were out on the beach with a good view. We were hoping that they would park him across from us but, alas, they waved him into a dock deep in the marina. So we are moving around a little. Still, better to be here than out there.

Another reason to stay put was that the forecast for the next couple of days has ramped up the winds to 30 knots. The next stop is an anchorage. Riding to an anchor in a trawler (which rolls far more than Kintala ever did) in 30 knots worth of shifting wind? I don't think that is something I need to experience if I can avoid it. The only downside to staying here is that riding to an anchor is free. But this trip has already turned out to be far more expensive than even our most generous estimates. At this point, a boat buck or two isn't going to make a lot of difference.

There's a really nice beach with super soft sand just steps from the marina.

The view of the marina from the breakwall and First Light in the background

A beautiful Kady Krogen Express 53

One of the fish restaurants in Leland

The historical shanty village along the waterway in Leland. It's still an active commercial fishery

as well as a very highly trafficked tourist destination thanks to the ferry that goes to/from North Manitou Island

This store sells smoked fish and the smoker fumes waft over the marina - yum!

The light changes so fast as the sun sets.

Better here than there

Last night's weather check made today look like it might be a passable travel day. The route included a nearly 10 nm stretch of open water across the mouth of Grand Traverse Bay. The years on Kintala taught us such crossings can be a lot rougher than the forecast might suggest. Having stayed put yesterday because of the wind, there was some concern that crossing the bay opening would be a bit of a ride. So we were looking for a pretty solid forecast this morning. It looked good, so up came the anchor (with a fully functioning deck wash...thank you very much) and off we went.

A bit more than 5 hours later, we were pulling up to the fuel dock at the Leland Township harbor. There we took on about 175 gallons of diesel and pumped out the holding tank. That sounds like a staggering amount of fuel. But my guess is that all of the fuel we have used so far on this trip is still likely less than the fuel we put in the car over the course of five months. The ride across the mouth of the Bay was a bit bumpier than the rest of the trip but still good enough to let the autopilot do most of the steering. I did have to give it a rest pretty much every time the smaller waves from the wind got tangled up with the larger wake from a passing boat.

One thing that did concern us was that we had a reservation for only one night. The weather check that assured us today would be passable also suggests that the next few days are going to be “stay put” days. The forecast from now until Monday includes thunderstorm with winds WSW 10 to 20 then NNW 15 to 25. Big waves and confused seas are guaranteed.  Monday may be the next travel day. Unfortunately, the marina has this slip booked for another boat come Sunday. We extended out until then but we are not going anywhere on Sunday regardless. The general opinion from the dock master is that no one is going to be showing up on Sunday looking for a slip, reserved or not. I suspect he is correct but we will see.

Many Loopers have rolled in since we arrived. Everyone we talked with is looking at the same weather and coming to the same conclusions. There was never much of a chance that we would get down the length of Lake Michigan without some notable weather delays, so this isn't a surprise. Leland seems like a nice town. With the marina breakwaters there is no open water to First Light in any direction. There are stores within easy walking distance and the marina facilities are nice. Wind 15 to 25? Confused seas?  It will be much better in here than out there.

Work clothes on...work clothes off...

We really want to be on the move. But, with the wind out on the big lake being directly on the beam at near 20 knots, we elected to stay put for today. Tucked in where we are there is just a slight breeze. Except for the waves and wakes that work their way in from the little lake, the water is pretty still. Yet the boat is still doing a slow pendulum swing around the anchor. I have no idea what is making it move around.

With a thick overcast the solar panels are just loafing along at barely 2 amps. Doing much of anything (like Deb baking cookies, yeah!) requires running the generator. Which is why we lug the thing around. Other than that, we read, practice music, and watch the boat swing.

Since there wasn't anything pressing to do, the mystery of the wash down pump failure got my attention. Why “mystery” you ask? The pump just stopped working. No grinding noises, no "something is too hot" smell, no smoke, no burned wiring. It didn't start loading up or running slow. It didn't blow the fuse. With the switch on, I measured 12+ volts at the power block at the motor where both the wires were solidly attached. But the pump didn't hum, buzz, or make any of the kinds of noises I used to associate with a motor failing. Odd. But it still no workie. We switched it out with a plain water pump even though it produced way less water pressure than the wash down pump since some water at the bow when pulling up an anchor is better than no water at the bow. But the whole thing with the not working pump wasn't adding up and my mechanic's sub-conscience likely chewed on it for most of the night while the rest of my brain was asleep. Come morning, with nothing much else demanding my attention, the questions got to be down right irritating. Why didn't it make some noise? Why didn't it fry the fuse? 

My mechanic brothers and I share a "get it done" attitude that I think we learned from Gramps, our life-long truck mechanic grandfather. Broke is broke. Taking it apart to see what is what can't make it work any worse than it already isn't. If, per chance, you manage to break it a bit more by taking it apart, it isn't likely anyone else is going to notice. Besides, good mechanics actually fix things whenever they get the chance.

So, just like yesterday, boat clothes off, work clothes on. Later, work clothes off, boat clothes on.

I put a cover over the salon table, grabbed the pump, and started unscrewing screws and taking off parts. One of the parts that came apart was a little switch that is activated by a diaphragm in the water chamber. It keeps the pump from burning itself out trying to push water through a hose that isn't open. The failure of that little switch would (obviously) explain the mystery. Even a perfectly sound pump can't run if there is a switch in the "off" position.

None of the parts of the switch appeared to have failed in any way. But it wouldn't take much to jam it. So I wiped off all the bits, put it back together, and touched the leads to one of the ship's batteries. The pump spun. It wasn't hooked up to any water or bolted to anything solid so I didn't run it for long. But it was turning while not making any nasty, grinding, noises or throwing any sparks.

An aside...My aforementioned grandfather and one of my brothers sacrificed the end of a thumb to Eligius. (If you get the reference you are way more Catholic than me. I had to go online to see if there was a patron saint of mechanics.)  All of the Akey clan mechanics have a scar or two from doing things like holding a pump with one hand while playing around a hot battery with the other. Nobody ever said fixing things is a perfectly safe way to make a living.

So the pump might be working?  What else to do but take the wrong but working pump back off and put the correct, but not sure if it's working pump back on? We are not going anywhere today anyway.

At first the correct but not working pump was still not working correctly. I had to tap the pressure switch to make it start pumping again after filling the hose and shutting off. A slight tap and it was running. After two or three taps it kept working like it is supposed to, starting back up without a tap. Will it last? No clue. But for now the worst we will have to do is reach in the hole, give it a tap, and just let the water run until the anchor is aboard. Not perfect, but still better than not having a wash down hose available. Been there. Done that. Don't want to do it again.

What is that?

I came tumbling out of the berth at 0400 this morning. I don't think it was the rain that woke me up. We were expecting rain. I don't remember hearing any thunder or seeing any lightning. What I was hearing and what had likely woken me up was the sound of a boat engine running nearby. At 0400 in the morning in rain and some wind? That is a sure signal that something is going very wrong for someone. It was really dark and I had no good idea how to interpret the confusion of lights I was seeing as I headed out on deck. What I could figure out was that there was a sailboat motoring past our stern with someone on the foredeck clearly stowing an anchor. He did not sound happy when I asked him if all was well. They motored off into the darkness and I didn't see them again. Come morning all of other boats that were anchored with us were still around.

The rain didn't last long but there was no going back to sleep after that. The first light showed in a sky that had a tinge of red. Mmm...red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. But the winds were calm and behind the tinge of red was a blue sky with small puffy clouds. A review of the current forecasts suggested a weather window that looked good enough to move to our next planned stop. So we moved. At least one other boat made the same call and we followed them out into the Lake. There was some rolling motion but it wasn't bad, though it was too much for the auto pilot. Given the short night and hand helming in rolling seas for nearly 5 hours, it felt like a long day.

We are not on the big lake tonight. We motored down a canal into Lake Charlevoix and up into an anchorage recommended to us by good friends who have already been this way. We are about 3 miles inland from the Lake Michigan. This time it looks a pretty sure bet that tomorrow is a stay-put kind of day. The forecasted winds for right now, out in the big lake, are showing just shy of 24 knots. (I didn't say it was a big weather window.) Tomorrow is more of the same. When our friends stopped here they sat for several days before the big lake was quiet enough to tangle with. We hope to be gone after just two nights here. But what we hope has nothing to do with what will happen. We just have to wait and see. 

A boat bit; our wash down pump croaked this morning while pulling up the hook. We don't have the right spare on board but we did have an extra pump for the tank water. It doesn't have near the oomph of a wash down pump, but it is better than nothing. A bit of boat maintenance after a short night and a longish day. It comes with the territory.

A travel day after all

A look at the weather this morning had me thinking that, even though we had paid for tonight on the dock, we should be on our way. Making miles was more valuable to me than a lost dock fee. Deb was of the same mind but wanted to wait until the marina opened for business to be sure a refund wasn't an option. We waited. She checked. And the good folks at the marina were glad to offer a refund. At 0830 I backed out of the slip with a bit of a crowd watching. Not sure why, since there was zero wind or current. The biggest challenge was making the turn around the end of the dock with a full sized Cruise Ship tied up at the pier adjacent to the marina, its beam filling about half of the waterway. I also managed not to run over any of the dozens of geese that had gathered. Apparently Cruise ship passengers have a habit of feeding geese. And the geese remember.

According to the marina folks, it was a good day to leave. Apparently Mackinac Island gets even more crazy when a Cruise Ship dumps its passenger load ashore for the day. I would much rather be where we are than where we were.

It took just shy of six hours and we were anchored in a nice little bay located at the northeast end of Beaver Island. We are roughly 38 nm due west of Mackinac Island. West isn't really the direction I want to be going. But one needs to go at least 30nm in that direction, through the Mackinac Straights, to get from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. There is a lot of commercial traffic using those straights. We saw two large freighters and two large barges along the way. Fortunately, there is a lot of room for professional Captains doing what they do. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of room for a less professional Captain in a go-fast Yacht. This clown blazed by our starboard side at something like 40 knots and throwing a huge wake. He came up so fast and so close that I didn't have enough time to turn until he was just ahead of us. Full rudder deflection got me just enough into the wake that the hit, though splashing water onto our foredeck, didn't roll the boat too hard. I might have uttered a harsh word or two. But Marcus Aurelius, a stoic writer and Emperor, once taught; “When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly.” He could have added, “And if traveling over water, there will certainly be some stupid boater tricks from people with more boat than brains.”

I try to remember the same before driving as well. Being prepared for stupid makes it easier to just shrug and remember this is exactly what was expected. 

In any case we didn't go far out of our way to be here. And it is a really nice little anchorage pretty much well protected no matter which way the wind blows. The only trick is to find a sandy spot on which to drop the hook as much of the bottom is covered with seagrass. Which actually turned out to be pretty easy even though we are in twenty plus feet of water. Standing on the bow, Deb could see the bottom well enough to guide me directly over a sand spot. The hook grabbed on the first try. We haven't seen water this clear since the last time we were in the Bahamas.

What happens next is still an open question. It may be that we will have just enough of a weather window tomorrow to actually put some miles in to the south tomorrow. But it is big open water. The window will have to be a pretty sure thing before we venture out there. On the other hand, if tomorrow isn't a go we may well be here for the better part of five days. There are thunderstorms and winds up to 30 knots mentioned on some forecasts. Though not likely, maximum wave hight in that kind of wind with the a fetch of more than 60 nm could be as high as 8 feet. And it would be directly on our beam. No thank you. I would rather sit here for five days than risk that for one minute.

There are several boats anchored around us. It will interesting to see if any if any of us leave in the morning. And if it threatens to get really ugly, there is a dock just a couple of hundred yards away.

Bye bye Mackinac Island

We passed a couple really large ships - over 600' long for a couple of them.

Approaching the Mackinac Island Bridge

You wouldn't want to rent this one. It definitely belonged to the cormorants.

Some interesting boats in the anchorage at St. James

Vacuum cleaner navigation?

Here on First Light We have two iPads, a chart plotter, and two iPhones for navigation purposes. The chart plotter also has weather radar and AIS traffic information. True, all this is still nowhere near as sophisticated as the last plane I flew. But, consider that the jet had a max speed of 466 knots and moved in three dimensions often with zero visibility. The boat, on the other hand, will do about 10 knots if pushed hard (which we never do), moves in two dimensions, and zero visibility means we slow to a crawl or just stop. Something the jet could absolutely not do. All things considered, the boat is pretty well equipped for what it can do. So what does a vacuum cleaner have to do with it? Well, it is hard to pay attention when the flybridge is filled with tiny little flying critters. The easy way to reduce the numbers is to suck them up with a little hand vacuum. It was a bit weird. We were five miles from the nearest land. The wind was near calm with nary a ripple on the water for much of the 5-plus hour run. Where did they all come from? Assuming they even could, why fly 5 miles out over open water to buzz around a boat? They didn't bite, but we sure gave that vacuum cleaner a work out.

Pretty sunrise in an amazing anchorage at Maud Bay

At the end of the route, we took up a dock at Mackinac Island, Michigan. One needs a reservation and pays in advance to insure there is a spot available upon arrival. Since we made the reservation two days ago based on the weather reports that we had, we reserved two nights worth. Now it looks like tomorrow could have been a travel day but, since we paid already and this place is a pretty well known vacation spot, we will spend the extra day and explore a bit. As for today's weather forecast of light and variable all day? It was, right up until we got within a couple of miles of the marina. Then it ramped up to a nice 10 to 15 that was a cross wind pushing us away from the finger pier that had our name on it. Fortunately there was a healthy dock worker standing by to catch the stern line and pull us in. The wind blew 10 to 15 for the rest of the afternoon, making us glad we had been moving before 0800 and on the dock by 1245.

The water off the back of the boat. The clearest we've seen anywhere.

So, Mackinac Island? We have family and friends who vacation here on a regular basis. They love it. We have been here for several hours and have already done a bit of exploring. They don't allow cars here. The place is awash in bicycles, horse drawn people movers, museums, a fort, and pretty much every kind of trinket shop one could possibly imagine. I have to admit that my first take wasn't all that positive. Only in America could you take a place that stinks of horse poop and turn it into a first class tourist trap. They rent bicycles for $17 per HOUR for the usual one seat, two wheels, and a handlebar model. Want more seats, more wheels, or a kiddy trailer? Those cost extra. There are lots of attractions here. So far as I can tell it is $10 per person to enter any of them. But the streets are full of people and families all seeming to have a good time. There are miles of walking trails, some of which Deb and I will explore. And there is a local coffee shop that offers some of the best tasting coffee we have run across. We have restocked with food having emptied the coffers of everything that we couldn't bring across the boarder from Canada. It may not be my kind of place, but to each his or her own. The docks are in good shape and the marina is pretty well protected. Accept it at face value and enjoy the stay.

This is a very famous "house". An old ship captain cut the front

off of a ship and placed it on land to live in.

De Tour Reef Lighthouse. You can rent this lighthouse for $200 a night Sun-Thurs or volunteer to be a keeper that lives there for the weekend and helps with the tours. 

The water was gorgeous today

Our resident spider was having a field day with the midges.

Downtown Mackinac Island

The flowers in this place are astonishing both in quantity and quality

Put Put by the sea