Our North Channel Trip

Ahoy,

We're planning a trip up to the North Channel this year.  Our route starts in Lake St. Clair, then takes us up to Port Austin, Alpena, then Mackinac Island.  From there we head across to Meldrum Bay in the North Channel.  Form there we'll explore several anchorages and marina's on the way South till we end up in Tobermory.

We'll be taking pictures and videos along the way and plan to share them along with descriptions of the incredible sights and sounds of the North Channel and Georgian Bay.

This is an image of where we ended up going on this trip.

To see Charlotte's blog of this trip visit https://www.facebook.com/TigsToyFourNow/

Day 1 Port Austin

We're off to a good start.  Left home around 9:40am and had a nice ride up the St. Clair River.  Got our picture taken by Steve and Clair as we went past their dock.

Stopped in Port Huron for fuel and lunch.  Sadly the Thumb Coast Brewery is no longer in business so we had to anchor in front of a beach in Lake Huron and made lunch there.  We no sooner finished eating and we had visitors.  Steve and Clair came by to wish us well on our trip.

It was a long ride, about 4 and a half hours all together, but we got to Port Austin without issues. We ran into some 1 foot rollers that were spread way out so it made the ride a little like a roller coaster at times. But not a bad ride.

Once in port we found a place to eat and Charlotte took some sunset pictures.

Forecast for tomorrow looks good.  Should be a nice ride to Alpena.

Day 2 change of plans

This morning we were talking to the folks docked next to us and they mentioned that Presque Isle was a better destination than Alpena harbor. Then at the gas dock an conservative officer told me the same thing, that if we didn't have to go to Alpena then we might want to skip it.  She called the Presque Isle marina for us and they said they had a slip for us. So headed to Presque Isle instead.

The water in Saginaw Bay was a lot like what we got on the way up to Port Austin. But once we got 2 hours North and closer to shore it calmed down to trailing 1 foot rollers.

Slowed down to get pictures of Thunder Bay Island lighthouse.  We've been to the light before. But can never have enough lighthouse photos.  Went to get back on plane and something sounded funny. Noticed I lost steering. Shut down and open the engine hatch for a look. Took a while to figure it out but a pulley for the V belt failed. As in came apart. The belt was still in one piece but glad I picked up a spare. 

Called BoatUS for a tow. Operator says they don't have a service provider in the Alpena area but they'd call the Coast Guard and Sheriff. Then the Coast Guard calls. Said they heard that Tow Boat was on their way and are we alright. I explain that the lady at BoatUS told us nobody was on the way. Coast Guard says they'll call back.

About 20 min later the sheriff boat shows up. They ask if we need help bit don't seem aware of our call.  I give them our status and they offer a tow.  While they get in position Coast Guard calls back to check on our status. Tell them help has arrived.

Next is the 12 or so mile tow to Alpena at 6MPH....

Tied up in the marina.  There is a marine store here which will be open at 9am.  I have the old pulley out.  The bearing ceased.  Came out easy and should go in easy.

Day 3 Alpena (stranded)

Monday morning at 8:55 I went up to the marine store here in Alpena marina. The owner saw me sitting on a  bench and asked if I was waiting for him to open or just holding the bench down. Showed him the exploded pulley and he nodded.  He said he didn't carry parts like that but he could put me in touch with a Merc dealer.

Spoke to the Merc dealer and got the part nailed down and ordered.  Went ahead and ordered 2. Might as well swap out the pulley on the Port motor while I'm at it. His wife will bring them here once they arrive at the shop.

I went up to thank the marina owner and give an update. He gave me a map of the area and suggested some places to check out.  Have to say the folks here are very accommodating.

We walked to the NOAA Marine Heritage center. It's a small museum that has a glass bottom shipwreck tour.  We decided to go on the tour. From reading the exhibits there are estimated to be 150 wrecks in Thunder Bay. So far they know the exact locations of about 50.

We got on the tour boat Lady Michigan. She has 2 Decks. Top is open except for the pilot house. The bottom has the viewing area and more seats.

Before we got going I mentioned to the captain that it was us he hailed while being towed in.  We were in the channel getting switched to a side tow when they were returning from a tour.  He starting asking about our boat and out trip.  We filled him in on our adventure.

The tour was about 2 hours. Once clear of the channel and at cruise speed the captain invited us to sit with him in the pilot house. We chatted about the area, his experiences and ours.  When we got near the first wreck we headed down to view and he said to come back for the return trip.

The water is fairly clear and the wrecks are fairly shallow.  These things have been under water around 150 years but there is still a lot you can identify.

The eclipse was taking place and we tried to get some pictures. The best ones were when it was cloudy. We got to see the sun at about 50% blocked.

We saw 1 more wreck and went by Thunder Bay Island lighthouse (which is where this part of the adventure started).

On the way back we sat with the captain again.  He asked when we'd have the part we needed to get back under way. We said Tuesday. He said we'll you will be in Alpena a couple more days then.  That's when we found out there were gale warnings for Tuesday and Wednesday. Waves of 4 to 6 feet with possible 10 footers. 

We'll watch the weather and see what we end up with but for now we appear to be stuck in Alpena.

Day 4 Presque Isle

9am I went to the marina store and bought a new bulb for the dinghy fuel line. The old one was dry rotted and ready to come apart.  And what should be waiting for me but the pulleys. UPS had just delivered them.

Went ahead and replaced the pulley on both engines. Put the spare belt on the starboard engine and kept the old working pulley and old belt as spares. Both engines are now operational.

The forecast was calling for gale force (30 mph) wind and waves of 4 to 6 feet.  But the local observation was 15 MPH wind and waves of 1.5 feet. So we decided to see how much progress we could make.

Our target was Rogers City, 50 miles away.  Mackinaw is 100 miles from Alpena, way too far for rough conditions. We headed out around 11:30. It was a little bumpy for the first 7 or 8 miles.  Then when we got past Thunder Bay Island it got really windy and we saw 2 foot waves.

Turned North and did OK until we made the turn West near the top of the mitten.  Then we hit the full force of the wind with 6 foot waves.  We had gone about 20 miles and were close to Presque Isle.  A big (over 6 foot) wave sent us up pretty high.  I had to drop off plane and slow to about 8 mph.  We were about 7 miles from Presque Isle by then. So we decided to head there instead.  Once we got in the bay, the waves calmed down but the wind was still howling.  We got into the marina and our well with some help from the marina staff and got settled in.

Went to Old Presque Isle lighthouse.  Then took a walk on the breakwall.  There is a small party store and a restaurant here, but not much else. 

Forecast for tomorrow is the same, really windy and serious waves so we'll be hanging out here 1 more day.

Day 5 Presque Isle

No change in the weather. The wind is howling and the waves are high.  While we're waiting out the bad weather we got laundry done and cleaned on the boat some. 

After lunch we walked to New Presque Isle lighthouse. We visited here several years ago but it's a pretty light and worth a visit. We walked up the lighthouse tower and took pictures.

After supper we may take a walk out on the breakwall, then pack some things up and watch a movie.

Weather tomorrow looks very good. We're going to try to leave by 8:30 after we get a pump out. 

Fingers crossed for quiet weather here on out.

Day 6 Mackinac Island

We left Presque Isle around 8:30. We had good water until the last 25 miles which put us in sight of Bois Blanc Island.  It got too rough to stay on plane.

We pushed along at 10mph for about 5 miles then the water flattened out and we could get back on plane.

We came in past the entrance to the Mackinac Island Harbor and headed to the Mackinac Bridge.  Once under the bridge we cheered for having hosted to Lake Michigan!  Then since we were in the neighborhood we ran over to St. Helena Lighthouse and took pictures from the water. We headed back toward the bridge swinging down to McGulpin's point to try and glimpse the lighthouse there but it wasn't visible from the water.

After a few selfies with the bridge in the background we headed in to the Mackinac Island Harbor.  The marina is nice and they have a helpful staff but no gas dock. We'll have to motor over to the only gas dock on the island before we leave.

We spent the afternoon and evening walking along Main Street shopping for souvenirs. Supper was at the Pink Pony.  We found the grocery and will pick up some provisions.

There was some evening entertainment. Just before dark a 40+foot sailboat was coming in to the well almost across from us. They mis-judged their speed and hit the dock then swung and took out the power/water post breaking the water line inside and sending a stream of water about 15 feet up.  The marina staff took care of it quickly and made the area safe.

Tomorrow we'll do the touristy stuff (fort, horse drawn tour).