Open Water [ Lake Michigan- the nice part ]
We arrived on Mackinac wearing bathing suits, and ended up in full foul weather gear to cross the straits. We had no exciting issues in the straits except a mega yacht that appeared to try and run us over, and mid-afternoon we rounded G3 towards Gray’s Reef and HEADED SOUTH YAY. We again had very calm seas as we passed the reef and turned towards Beaver Island. The island turned out to be a ghost town, but it was a gorgeous harbor and the ducks kept us company.
The next day we had the engine off and sailed at high speeds for Northport and friends, family, rest, and boat fixing (see Emily’s post). For me, as well as seeing Jessie and her dad, it was wonderful to be able to see some family and spend a bit of time in Traverse City, one of my favorite places ever. Extra shout out to Uncle Mike for bringing out some outboard engines and testing them out (just like wedding dress shopping, say yes to the prop!) and getting us set up. Also to Uncle Jim for getting our hot water tank hooked up, now we can have cleaner dishes! We are extremely grateful for all the help.
We took a few days to prepare, and the next jump was to Leland. At first it seemed like it would be an easy half day trip, but rounding the point of the Leelanau Peninsula things started to change. The wind was right on the nose, greatly slowing our progress, and our autohelm randomly stopped working. So ok, we can drive the boat and motor sail some angles and it’ll be fine. Around 4 in the afternoon clouds arrived on the horizon and quickly turned into a rolling front that people share pictures of and then say how it was suddenly blowing 50. A radar check showed storms passing to the north, but we were still stuck catching the south edge of the front. We started lashing everything down, and put the small jib on deck, and just as we got ourselves ready the boat flew sideways. It was probably only 35 knots, but it was way more excitement than we ever wanted. We also learned why it is important to tie the head of a sail down, as we watched the jib fly itself up the forestay. The whole ordeal only lasted about 10 minutes and there was no rain or lightning, but I hope we don’t hit many more of those. We got the sail and the boat back under control and used the 20-25 knots to start flying towards Leland. The wind slowly died through the evening and shifted about 270 degrees by the time we got to the harbor, but I was gripping the wheel tighter than normal through the lumpy chop. We didn’t relax until we were tied up in the Leland harbor as the sun went down, and started to laugh and google the location of the nearest bar (feeling like super sailors who survived wild storms). We have both been through much worse while racing Mackinac, but to handle it on our own was both scary and satisfying by the end. Shout out to Cousin Ellen and Rob who came by and took us to a bar, they are the real heroes!
In Leland I saw more family and we picked up our first passenger! My sister Lynn joined us and we took the afternoon to travel to South Manitou Island, another favorite stop so far. A bit of a tricky anchorage, but we managed and ran around the island until dark. The best part was sitting in the cockpit in complete darkness and looking up at the stars. This was one of our last stops of Northern Michigan, and the sky gave us a proper show (although no Northern Lights). The next morning Lynn and I headed back to shore and made it to the dunes and old growth cedars. The dunes had a 360 view of the island, and the trail through the old cedars felt ancient and overgrown, and the trees seemed to hold secrets that the furthest wanderers may never find. It was quiet and lovely, and I could have stayed forever but we had to move along. We jogged back to the bay and swam in the frigid water (about 64 degrees), alone in the bay and it was fantastic. We had to pull the anchor from the crystalline water and we pointed ourselves to Frankfort.
Still in a heat wave, we now had to fight chop and a headwind, which held true for the next few days. It was a bit of a nail biter to make it to Frankfort before dark, and we pulled in as the sun dipped into the water. I’m sure we are in a lot of people’s sunset photos! We anchored in the lake, with monster salmon jumping all around us, and we took Lynn to shore to drive home with my mom.
It was farewell to northern Michigan, I am happy we got to visit and explore. The top of the mitten gave us some of our favorite memories, but it was time to carry on!
