Sunday, August 31, 2014

Across the Lake


After leaving Leland we headed south along Lake Michigan's eastern shore.  We had another gorgeous day on the Lake ( throwing into question all the stern warnings we had read about pop-up storms, unsettled waters, high waves and general discomfort). Along the way we were able to get another look at the Sleeping Bear Dunes and try to pick out the stops we had made on land.


The photo above shows one of the one dozen 1,000 foot Great Lakes freighters.
The largest vessels on the lake are the 1000-footers (300 m). These vessels are between 1000 and 1013.5 feet (305 and 309 m) long, 105 feet (32 m) wide and of 56 feet (17 m) hull depth. They can carry as much as 78,850 long tons of bulk cargo although their loading is dependent on lake water levels especially in the channels and ports. A dozen of these giant ships were built, all constructed between 1976 and 1981, and all remain in service today. The most powerful of these, the Edwin H. Gott,[6] carries two Enterprise DMRV-16-4 diesel engines driving twin propellers and is rated at 19,500 brake horsepower, making the Gott the most powerful lake boat on the seaway (14.5 MW). This allows a top speed of 16.7 mph (27 km/h). The MV Paul R. Tregurtha is the largest boat on the lakes, at 1013'6" and 68,000 gross ton capacity. The Stewart J. Cort, which is not only the first 1000-footer to be put into service on the Lakes, but also the only one built in the traditional wheelhouse-forward Great Lakes style (although all accommodations are forward, and the stern deckhouse is occupied by self unloading equipment and the engines), is another notable vessel. The Cort started life in Mississippi, and was sailed as a much smaller vessel consisting of only the bow and stern sections (appropriately nicknamed "Stubby"), to Erie, Pennsylvania, where she was cut in half and an additional 800+ feet of hull were added. Another interesting 1000-footer is the Presque Isle, an integrated tug and barge combination. The Presque Isle is the largest tug / barge composite in the world.
All of the 1000-footers are US vessels. 

After a relaxing afternoon and evening in Frankfort Jenny and I did some swinging in the waterside park before heading to bed early in preparation for a sunrise start the next day. Jenny and Dave were up and dressed before we even opened our eyes, and well before the sun peeked over the horizon.  Morning dawned a bit later there on the western most point of the Eastern Time Zone, and it was just getting to be light as we slipped past the breakwall onto the glassy, hazy lake.

Not your typical day on Lake Michigan,but we were happy to have it!



Before long the sun was up, the haze disappeared and we enjoyed a calm, clear trip from Frankfort to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Knowing that a weather pattern the week before has brought 12' waves to the lake made us appreciate the day all the more.

Once tied up at the Manitowoc Marina we learned that it was Walleye night at the nearby Manitowoc Yacht Club, so we made plans to head over for dinner. Up until 3 months ago I had never heard of Walleye. I got a good look at one in the awards cooler at the Brown Trout Festival over on Lake Huron -- not a great looking fish, but it sure is tasty -- and on most menus along the Michigan coast.  The Yacht Club members were most welcoming and the walleye did not disappoint. We even had a table side Burgee exchange ceremony. Upon hearing that Dave and Jenny are members of the fabled St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco two officers of the Manitowoc Yacht Club stopped by to present them with a club burgee, in hopes that Dave and Jenny would send them one in exchange. This is a long standing tradition and many yacht clubs line the walls of their clubhouse with burgees from other clubs

According to Wikipedia:

A BURGEE (\ˌbər-ˈjē, ˈbər-ˌ\) is a distinguishing flag, regardless of its shape, of a recreational boating organization.

perhaps from French dialect bourgeais shipowner
First Known Use: 1750

Etiquette

Yacht clubs and their members may fly their club's burgee while under way and at anchor, day or night, but not while racing. Sailing vessels may fly the burgee from the main masthead or from a lanyard under the starboard spreader on the mast.[1] Power boats fly the burgee off a short staff on the bow.

Flag officers

The officers of a yacht club may fly various burgees appropriate to their rank: for example, the commodore may fly a swallow-tailed version of the club burgee (and the vice- and rear-commodores the same, but distinguished by the addition of one or two balls respectively at the canton). A past-commodore may also be given a distinctively-shaped flag.[2]

Exchange

Traditionally, the first time a member of one yacht club visits another, there is an exchange of burgees. Exchanged burgees are then often displayed on the club's premises, e.g., in the office or bar. On "Opening Day", sailors fly their burgees together.
Here is the the Burgee of our home club the Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia.

The following day we toured the Wisconsin Maritime Museum and stopped by the Manitowoc Saturday Farmer's Market for a breakfast of spring rolls, pulled pork and Amish doughnuts. Not traditional, but delicious.  While at the Maritime Museum we toured the USS Cobia -- the nation's most completely restored WW II submarine.  I cannot imagine what it must be like to live in such tight quarters from weeks ( months?) on end with full knowledge that you can't just step outside for a breath of fresh air. Not a career path for a claustrophobic like me.

Later that day we said good bye to Dave and Jenny and began to put FREEDOM away for our shore leave.  After nearly three weeks of life on land, including a stop in Buffalo for my mother's 90th birthday, we expect to be back to Loopin' by September 5th.








Saturday, August 9, 2014

Up North

Last weekend, with our friends Dave and Jenny on board we reached the tip of the mitt and had a great stay on Mackinaw Island.  The state marina was lively, and our slip offered us a 360 view of the tourist laden ferry boats entering and exiting the harbor, Fort Mackinac (where the first land battle of War of 1812 took place), bars lining the waterfront, and the busy Straits of Mackinac.  No cars are allowed on the island so anything that needs to be moved (people, luggage, supplies, trash) is done so by foot, bicycle or horse drawn carriage ( there are more than 500 horses on the island). We arrived about noon on Saturday and the streets and sidewalks were packed, I mean packed,  with bicycles, walkers and horses.
Beautiful homes dot the island

A view of the Straits of Mackinac from the Fort

Can you believe a woodpecker did that?

The Arch Rock framing the multi-hued waters of Lake Michigan -- reminded us of Bermuda. 

Horses and bicycles ride past the fort


We walked the fort, hiked to Arch Rock, walked and shopped along Main Street, took a carriage tour, and dined by the harbor. But, I think my favorite part was dinner at the Grand Hotel. After opening in 1887, the hotel welcomed guests who traveled by steamship from all around the Great Lakes and the St.Lawrence Seaway. At 660 feet it's fabled Front Porch is the longest in the world.



Lots to look at from the porch


We had a fun evening at the hotel. Proper attire is required after 6PM -- men in coat and tie, women in dresses. In keeping with the atmosphere we toasted our friendship with  Dave and Jenny on the porch before dining in the large, overly floral but elegant dining room. Later we danced to the Grand Hotel Orchestra and rode back to the marina through the much quieter streets via Horse Drawn Taxi.

Mackinac marked the northernmost point of our loop, and we are now heading south down the sunset side of Michigan. We spent two nights in Charlevoix, MI and two nights in Leland, MI.   While in Buffalo earlier this summer my niece Caroline, fresh from a course on the Great Lakes, told me that Michigan has the largest dune structure in the world --who knew?-- and so I determined to see it. Hertz delivered a car to us in Leland so we could visit the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.


The Legend of Sleeping Bear


Long ago, along the Wisconsin shoreline, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The bears swam for many hours, but eventually the cubs tired and lagged behind. Mother bear reached the shore and climbed to the top of a high bluff to watch and wait for her cubs. Too tired to continue, the cubs drowned within sight of the shore. The Great Spirit Manitou created two islands to mark the spot where the cubs disappeared and then created a solitary dune to represent the faithful mother bear. (National Park Service)

Shaped by glaciers thousands of years ago, the dunes stretch for 65 miles along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Although the Lakeshore is long and narrow, it still has the depth for excellent representations of several northern hardwood and conifer forest types, abandoned farm site meadows, wetlands, lakes, streams, and bogs and splendid examples of glacially caused landforms."(NationalParkService)

The park offers plenty of opportunities to hike the dunes (and roll back down), learn about life saving efforts for victims of shipwrecks on the turbulent lake waters, and drive through the forests. We drove, learned and hiked, but did not roll.

Wild and wonderful

An unusually calm Lake Michigan behind the dunes

Many of the dunes were quite steep. We saw a family running down this one -- the climb back up was probably not as much fun!



Se that little green patch in the center back of this photo? hat is all that is left of the mama bear -- the rest has been worn away by sand and time

The Cap'n and Dave enjoying the second row reclining seats as toured the park

According to the locals, this was the first week of summer like weather this year. Despite water temps in the 60's, this beach in Sleeping Bear Dunes was very popular. 

We saw this sign on our way to the dunes. Guess we are not so far Up North after all







Sunday, August 3, 2014

FREEDOM at the Tip of the Mitt




We crossed over from the sunrise side to the sunset side of Michigan today.  Here is FREEDOM entering Lake Michigan .....