The Sailing Club, Inc.

Lake Michigan July 18–25, 2009 Traverse Bay, MI Charlevoix, MI

Lake Michigan Where the people are friendly, the water is clear, and the weatherman can rarely be trusted The early arrivals to Traverse City encountered some heavy rainstorms, but by the time most others arrived, the heavy weather had moved out. Both skippers were able to complete their checkouts with little difficulty, as the boats from Bay Breeze Yacht Charters are well equipped, and in excellent condition. While there were few things that needed addressing before departure, they were easily addressed. Kristin and Dave Conrad, the owners of Bay Breeze, are very accommodating, and had a cookout of burgers, dogs, and beer for all their departing charters. Afterwards, the crew of Balia [Steve, Bob, Henry, Bill and Cathy] went to visit Old Town, the historic part of Traverse City, for some of the best ice cream ever. The crew of Juicy Fruit [Larry, Jim, Pat, Jack and Helen, Dave] stayed back at the marina for more socializing, and attempts to empty the keg. Some last minute provisioning and some minor issues that still needed addressing delayed our start on Saturday morning. Minor things, such as finding a motor for Juicy Fruit’s dinghy. One was finally found, but missing the kill switch ‘key’ that holds the button out so the motor would run. Jack Buckley manufactured one by whittling a clothespin, of which the boat had many. Thus, at about noon, Juicy Fruit and Balia were underway. The weather turned blustery, but no rain, with winds from the northwest at over 20 knots pushing three to four foot seas. Of course our destination for the evening was some 25 miles to the northwest, so this meant being close-hauled the whole way, and the sea state just made things more challenging. Balia decided on a full main, with reefed jib, while Juicy Fruit chose the opposite. This section of Traverse Bay is long and narrow, in the north-south direction, with a few island obstacles thrown in. Balia decided to first sail west as far as possible before tacking, in hopes of clearing Marion Island. This, and the ability to point high with the full main, enabled Balia to clear the islands and sail a northeasterly course all the way to Northport without another tack. Juicy Fruit found that Marion Island was not going to move, and so had to do some additional tacking. We anchored off the breakwater in about 30 feet of water – which is shallow by Great Lakes standards – and dinghied ashore for a nice meal at Stubbs Sweet Water Grill. Northport is a quaint little town, with a very small population, most of whom were not very visible during our layover. Sunday morning, after a marvelous sunrise, they showed up in droves to Barb’s Bakery for her ever-popular cinnamon twists. They were excellent, and Balia bought some for the next day’s breakfast. It wasn’t easy leaving them in the bag! The morning also provided an opportunity to walk around and see some of the homes. Offbeat ‘lawn art’ seemed to be a recurring theme – one home even had old bicycles hanging from the trees. After some additional provisioning, and a pump-out on Juicy Fruit due to undersized holding tanks, we were on our way around the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula and on to South Manitou Island. It was a beautiful day for sailing, with winds about 10 – 15 knots, and calm seas. While South Manitou Island is only about 35 miles from Northport, ‘as the duck swims,’ Balia chose to tack close into shore to get a better look at Grand Traverse Light, and the some of the massive sand dunes that make up Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This diversion ended up adding about 15 miles to the trip, which shouldn’t have been a problem, given that sunset wasn’t until 9:30 PM, or so. However, the calm seas coaxed the winds to follow along, and by mid-afternoon, Juicy Fruit calculated that it wouldn’t be until well after 2000 hours until arriving at our anchorage, so on went their iron jenny. Balia remained hopeful for a little while longer. Suffering a similar fate were the lead boats in the Chicago-Mackinac Race, but it was a pretty sight to see some of the bigger boats with their spinnakers flying. We would encounter ‘remnants’ of the race for several days, as many boats dropped out because of insufficient wind. Upon our arrival at the well-protected cove, Juicy Fruit’s crew decided to take an evening dinghy ride over to view the abandoned lighthouse. This developed into an impromptu shore excursion, and a chat with a seaplane pilot who was fined for landing within the park boundaries – North and South Manitou Island are part of Sleeping Bear Dunes NL. The penalty was $40, and leave by 10:00 AM the next morning. Things are pretty laid back in this part of Michigan. Meanwhile, back at the raft, Balia’s crew was chowing down on chicken wings and other delectable appetizers, as they were too hungry to wait for Juicy Fruit’s crew to return. However, all got to see a beautiful sunset. The next morning we found the boats covered in mayflies. Many of them were stuck in the morning dew, and couldn’t fly off on their own. A combination of throwing them and brushing them off took care of the problem. Then after breakfast it was into the dinghies to explore the island, the abandoned buildings, and especially the dunes. The hike to the dunes was a little over three miles. On the way, the trail passed near a grove of some old growth cedars. The island had once been home to a major logging industry, but things died out before they could get to these trees, the largest of which was six feet in diameter! The trail was relatively flat. That is, until we got to the dunes. Then it was deep sand, and a steep slope, made a little easier by some wooden railroad ties as steps. The view from the top of the dunes was well worth the effort. We could see the anchorage, and the main part of Sleeping Bear Dunes on the mainland to the east, as well as Beaver Island to the north. On the hike back, we visited the abandoned lighthouse and could see more race boats floating by. The hike covered about eight miles; we collected enough sand in our shoes to make our own beach. By mid afternoon it was time to head out to our next port of call, Leland, on the mainland about fifteen miles due east. Balia’s crew, ever the optimists, attempted to sail for a couple of hours. The gang on Juicy Fruit, no doubt tired out from the hike, motored the whole way. Larry called ahead and was surprised to hear that there were slips available, and at half price. Normally, it’s very difficult for transients to get slips during the summer without reservations. However, the marina was just finishing up a major renovation, and the only service available, besides tie-up, was pump-out. No fuel, toilets or showers, or water. Thus the discount. Leland used to be a very active fishing town, and the Leland River is home to Fish Town, now a group of shops in old fisherman shanties. It is definitely more alive than Northport, with many shops, and several fine places to eat. After dinner, it seemed as if the whole town came down to the waterfront to view another beautiful sunset. No explaining what serves for entertainment. As we were turning in for the evening, some vessel with very bright lights entered the ‘harbor’ (really just the slips behind a big seawall). It was a tug pulling a dredge and boat with a long pipe. They worked all night laying the pipe and doing dredging. But they did it very quietly and no one’s sleep seemed to be bothered. We needed to get an early start on Tuesday morning for the long sail to Charlevoix, so everyone was up at 0700, and greeting to a beautiful morning with a light breeze. This turned out to be a tease, as three race boats that dropped out during the night found out. They pulled into Leland knowing they would never make the Tuesday post-race party in Mackinac. Before departing, Pat, Jim and Larry went to the nearby beach to look for Petoskey stones, which are fossilized coral formed about 350 million years ago. Unfortunately, they did not find any within wading distance, which was only a couple of feet, as the water gets very deep very quickly. We all managed to get away from the docks by 0930, but had to motor for a couple of hours. But the breeze did arrive. Slowly at first – a puff here and there. But eventually it filled in to about 15 knots, and we had a nice sail. Balia sailed close-hauled on a port tack, taking advantage of every lifter in order to clear South Point, and then bear off to Charlevoix. Juicy Fruit chose a more easterly route, searching for a lifter that never materialized. This forced them to motor the last hour, but we all made it in time for the 5:00 PM drawbridge opening, and entered Round Lake, a.k.a. Charlevoix Harbor, and settled into our reserved slips within sight and sound of the 79th Annual Venetian Festival, already well underway. The town marina is adjacent to the town park where most of the festival performances were held. During the day, a DJ played lots of great 50’s tunes. In the evening, we were entertained by various live musical performances, including a local high school steel drum band, one of the few in the country. The band shell speakers were positioned perfectly for us to listen to the concerts from the comfort of our cockpits. Just as well, as the entire park lawn was packed! Heavy rains started just as the concert was finishing, and everyone went running, or in our case, scurrying below. The rain and thunderstorms continued into the next morning.  It started out as a lazy day, with books to read, notes to take, and short excursions when the weather looked less threatening. As this was a planned layover day, no one was in a rush to do much of anything. before noon, and the rest of the day and evening were delightful. The festival kicked back in without missing a beat. There were lots of street vendors selling wares, as well as funnel cakes and cotton candy for the sweet tooth. The afternoon was filled shopping, strolling about town, and some ‘self-guided’ dinghy tours around the harbor. For such a small and relatively remote town, there is so much to see. There are some very expensive homes along Round Lake, some with large boat houses underneath [for some large and expensive boats, of course]. Earl Young, a long-time resident of the town, was a realtor and architect. He designed many homes there, dubbed mushroom houses, because the roof lines were, well, mushroom shaped. By the late afternoon, race boats on their way back to Chicago arrived, taking all remaining slips in the marina, anchoring in the harbor, and at the fuel dock. They created a massive raft-up there, as the dock only had room for about four boats. That evening another delightful concert in the park was presented, so some picked up food in town, and dined in the cockpit while enjoying the ear candy. The plan for Thursday was to sail to Beaver Island. However, the weather and wind forecasts were suggesting that it would be another hard sail, and a couple of folks on Juicy Fruit were recovering from some disagreeable food. We decided instead to sail south to Suttons Bay, on the western shore of Traverse Bay. We were all underway by mid-morning and cleared the 1100 drawbridge opening. The winds were generally favorable, at first, at about six knots. But by the afternoon, they were easing, and on a downwind leg, it took a wing-and-wing set to keep the boats from being totally becalmed. As we wanted to get to Suttons Bay by around 1700, both boats needed to motor the last hour or two. As we approached the anchorage, a bribe of pina coladas was enough for Juicy Fruit to anchor first, for a raft-up, as they had 200 feet of chain. After two rounds of refreshments, and enough crackers, hummus, and cheese to take the edge off of the most ravenous appetite, it was into the dinghies for the short ride in for a light supper at the North Country Grill and Pub. There was a bit of fog early the next morning, but we were in no particular hurry, and it didn’t last long. Bob was the first to take a swim – he said the water felt good to a depth of about two inches. After breakfast we all headed in for shopping and strolling about town. The temperature did warm a bit, so Larry and Dave decided to cool off with a swim. They confirmed Bob’s assessment, but nobody’s lips ever turned blue. There is no visual test for numb fingers and toes, however. The plan for the rest of the day was to head to another anchorage, Bower’s Harbor near Marion Island, for the last raft-up, then an early start on Saturday morning back to the charter base, to accommodate those that had long drives home. Reality, in the form of rain, arrived about 1300. Following that, the seas became dead calm, and the skies a heavy overcast. Based on the forecast for more rain and thunderstorms, we decided to just head back to the charter base. After a must-goes gathering, it was off to the Old Town part of Traverse City for that last ice cream, and some bargain hunting in the stores. But we all made it back before the storms reappeared. We awoke early Saturday to start packing. The weather was beautiful, taunting us to take the boats out for an hour or two, as we had them until the afternoon. Those that were driving home, or extending the trip a day or so, were off early. Those of us who were waiting for a ride to the airport, were again treated to Kristen and Dave’s hospitality, enjoying a hot dog cookout for lunch. There is still much to see and do in this part of Lake Michigan.  Hopefully the Club will return several more times. Everyone had a great time, and can’t wait to return. Steve Krakauer & Larry Sherwood Balia Juicy Fruit Steve Krakauer (S) Larry Sherwood (S) Bob Rainey (FM) Jim Hills (FM) Henry Gibson (FM) Pat Butler Cathy Amon Helen Buckley Bill Hungerford Jack Buckley Dave Matteson