Great Loop Overall Statistics to date:
Statute Miles: 3062.9
Average Miles/Day: 47.1
Total Hours Underway: 419
Average speed (mph): 7.4
States Transited: 12
Total Days: 146
Travel Days: 65
Locks: 43
Fuel Purchased: 680.5
Miles / Gallon: 3.5
Nights at Extra Days
Marinas: 37 73
Anchor: 18 6
City dock: 3 0
Free Wall: 8 4
Mooring: 0 0
Travel Day 61 Leaving Les Cheneaux
After 6 nights on anchor at several different areas around the islands, we set out at 7:30AM for a short 2-1/2hr trip to Mackinac Island. We traveled at only 5 knots in order to arrive late enough in the morning that they might allow us in earlier than the official 1:00PM "check-in". Seas were mostly flat with a slight swell on the beam from a 5mph southerly wind. Beautiful cool morning to be out and underway. It was a very short day. We took a gamble and got to the harbor a bit early in case our slip was available. It was not. So we idled around outside the harbor for about an hour before coming in. It gave us an opportunity to take some spectacular drone video, though!
Travel Day 62 Leaving Mackinac Island
We left at 6:00am to take advantage of a wind speed of 0. It is staying dark longer in the morning now, so we are not able to leave as early as we could during the mid-summer. About 8hrs scheduled on the route today to Petosky. The Straits of Mackinac we're absolutely flat all the way up to the bridge where, on the Lake Michigan side, there was some very small chop from a light wind out of the west. By 10:00, heading south, the wind came up out of the Southwest at about 10-12mph making it a little lumpy for us --- just off the bow. We had planned to anchor deep in Little Traverse Bay for the night, but with a pretty large swell coming straight in from the West and the fact that the marina had a slip available we went ahead and tied up to the dock in order to more easily see a little bit of the town.
Travel Day 63 Leaving Petosky
We only have two-and-a-half-hours travel time to Charlevoix today, so there was not much urgency to get out early. This was a good thing since it was foggy and smoke-filled on the bay early in the morning. We left around 9:00 and matched our speed to time our arrival at the Charlevoix opening Bridge on its schedule of opening on the half-hour, at 11:30 AM. We arrived right on schedule and tied up at the municipal marina in a very calm harbor. We plan to spend a few days here and explore the town.
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Great Loop Travel Days (GLTD):
061: Mackinac Island MI from Les Cheneaux Islands MI
062: Petoskey MI from Mackinac Island MI
063: Charlevoix MI from Petoskey MI
Map of our Overall Great Loop travel:
GLTD061 Mackinac Island MI (from Les Cheneaux Islands MI): With a VERY short travel day, we enjoyed coffee at anchor and made a leisurely departure from the Les Cheneaux (Hessel, MI) anchorage at sunrise.
I was so excited to spot 2 eagles on the same tree branch on a small island. Can you see them?
Double eagles – zoomed in. Gorgeous!
We arrived at Mackinac Island mid-morning, well before their policy check-out times.
Our slip was still occupied so we “held station” outside the harbor.
The yellow track shows our “holding pattern”. 😊
Ray took the opportunity to fly the drone. A short video is here:
We were fortunate our friends on mv JADIP were already in the marina. They were able to confirm for us when the previous occupant left (right at check-out time).
After getting clearance from the harbor master, we entered the harbor – only to find a boat in our assigned slip!
We made another call to the harbor master and found out the departing boat had engine trouble and needed to get back to the slip. Fortunately (again), we were assigned another slip, and were docked at Mackinac Island State Harbor within minutes.
Not to Miss: Food: Once SCOUT was secure, we walked with mv JADIP to have lunch at Pink Pony. The wait was already 1+ hours! 👀 But, we found 4 seats at the bar (open seating). Score! ✅ We enjoyed it so much, Ray & I went back another day for light dinner at the patio bar. Smoked fish dip was delicious!
🍀Traveler Tip: Restaurant wait times may be shorter for dinner than lunch.
We were in Mackinac Island for 2 nights. We think the island is more crowded during the day, when day-trip tourists are on the island from the ferries.
The crews of JADIP and SCOUT only had 1 overlapping day together on the island, so we went sightseeing together. After lunch, we walked nearly a mile to tour Grand Hotel. The view from the porch was “grand”!
After drinks in the Cupola Bar, overlooking the blue waters of Mackinac Straits (between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan), …
… we splurged for a taxi carriage ride back downtown.
History of cars, ‘horseless carriages’, on Mackinac Island: M-185 is the only state highway in the country where motor vehicles are not allowed.
When a smattering of motor vehicles first started appearing on Mackinac Island, a group of carriage men petitioned the village council to prohibit the “dangerous horseless carriages” that were frightening their horses. Village leaders enacted the ban on July 6, 1898 and it has stayed in place to this day!
Horses first arrived on Mackinac Island around 1780 when the British used them to haul parts of Fort Michilimackinac from the mainland near present-day Mackinaw City over the ice to the island.
In addition to emergency vehicles, the golf courses on Mackinac Island allow golf carts. And many of Mackinac Island’s year-round residents use snowmobiles to get around in the winter.
As for deliveries on Mackinac Island, however, there are no mail trucks or UPS trucks. Deliveries are made by horse-drawn dray.
This passing mail and UPS delivery coachman was friendly and waved for our photo. 😊
Back at the marina, we relaxed a little, then walked back downtown to do some t-shirt shopping before checking out the only brewery on the island. Great Turtle Brewery & Distillery is named after “Mackinac” (which means Great Turtle). We were twice-lucky: we got a patio table and there was live music while we were there. 😊
The next day, we were BUSY, starting with a 5-mile sightseeing walk.
This rocky beach provided stark contrast for the beautiful blue waters and morning fog of Lake Huron.
Next stop – Arch Rock: Mackinac Island has many rock formations, but the most famous and unique of them all is Arch Rock. It stands 146 feet above Lake Huron, which is nearly 15 stories tall and is more than 50 feet wide. Ref: https://www.awesomemitten.com/arch-rock-mackinac-island/
Arch Rock is a natural limestone geological formation that developed during the Nipissing post-glacial period, […] about 7,500 years ago. Arch Rock is a unique formation because the type of limestone — breccia — is rare in the Great Lakes region. Also, the arch took thousands of years for it to form. Erosion of the rock continues because it’s porous, which allows moisture to enter through cracks, freeze, and expand.
The island was once a national park (1875), but it became a State Park in 1895 – the first Michigan state park.
The walk up the 207 steps to the top of the arch was well worth it.
On the way back to town, we walked along the Mackinac Island Botanical Trail. The most entertaining stop was this hand crank-powered Sounds of The Forest display.
Our next stop was Ste. Anne’s Cemetery. One of the oldest headstones in the cemetery is for Mary Biddle, who was eight years old when she fell through the ice and died in 1833.
Churches: Little Stone Church, c.1900 (left). Mission Church (Presbyterian), c. 1830 (center) is judged Michigan’s best example of the New England Colonial church style. Trinity Church (Episcopal), c. 1882 (right) has an altar of hand-carved walnut and two chancel chairs, made by soldiers at the fort.
The oldest congregation on the island, Sainte Anne’s Parish (Catholic), c.1878, maintains baptismal records that date back to 1695.
It has an interesting French Canadian history.
GLTD062 Petoskey MI (from Mackinac Island MI): We left the marina at “o’dark-thirty’ to cross Mackinac Straits before wind picked up. Wind was zero when we left, and the Straits of Mackinac was glassy. (Very rare according to the locals).
We soon passed under Mackinac Bridge, which joins the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan, still in glassy water.
“Mighty Mac” opened to traffic in 1957. The Mackinac Bridge is currently the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world. [and…] the longest […] in the western hemisphere. The total length of the Mackinac Bridge is 26,372 feet [(5 miles)]. The length of the suspension bridge (including anchorages) is 8,614 feet.
All suspension bridges are designed to move to accommodate wind, change in temperature, and weight. It is possible that the deck at center span could move as much as 35 feet (east or west) due to high winds. The deck would not swing or “sway” but rather move slowly in one direction based on the force and direction of the wind. After the wind subsides, the weight of the vehicles crossing would slowly move it back into center position.
WHAT??? 😮
📞 Same-day marina planning: Michigan’s DNR site showed a large slip available in Petoskey, but it was too late for me to reserve. I called the marina and learned there are no large slips available (right now). They could take us on in a “partial face dock” at the end of a dock, but that didn’t seem like a good option for SCOUT.
I called back a little later in the day, shortly before arrival, and reserved a slip that was now available. Yay!
By 10 am, wind had increased to 10 knots off the bow across the open water, and we started taking some spray over the bow.
By early afternoon, we were docked at Petoskey Marina. Yet again, this is a nice harbor for the traveling boater. The town is bustling with parks, shops, and restaurants.
Beards Brewery was our first stop. We were thrice-lucky: great weather, great seats outside, and live music!
Not to Miss: Food: Our next stop was dinner at The Back Lot Beer Garden. I had a delicious lamb taco from one of the 6 or 7 food trucks on the lot – Happy Tacos. After I had already started a tasty pineapple jalapeno margarita (pre-mixed by “On the Rocks”), the bartender offered us a house-recipe spicy watermelon margarita that she had mixed in error. It was so delicious, even Ray liked it!
🌎 Small World: As I walked down the dock for a picture of the sunset, I met a nice couple on a boat hailing from New Bern NC, where we first moved aboard SCOUT!
GLTD063 Charlevoix MI (from Petoskey MI): With just another short run to Charlevoix, we made a leisurely departure from Petoskey mid-morning. Seas were glassy flat. Skies were smoky from wildfires out west!
By noon, SCOUT was docked along the beautifully landscaped waterfront of Charlevoix City Marina.
Interesting fact: I learned from a local area boater that the founder of “Four Winns” Boats owns the big blue house across Round Lake from the marina. The estate is actually a huge boat house, surrounded by a home.
HGTV said, in 2014, that Winn stores more than 30 boats in the boat house, including the S.S. Magoo (from the Disney movie, Mr. Magoo). Trulia provides some great interior photos of the home and boat collection.
After checking in, we walked about 1 block for lunch at The Villager Pub.
Ray remembered the fish sandwich from when he came to Charlevoix to look at our first trawler, mv Tug O War.
In the afternoon, we exchanged boat tours with fellow loopers on mv The Journey. We had met this happy couple briefly back in Port Huron, and they followed us out of Petoskey that morning.
mv The Journey is a bigger version of the American Tug we used to own, mv Drifter.
We had 2 full days to explore Charlevoix – and we needed them!
Earl Young Mushroom Houses: Master builder Earl Young built 26 houses and 4 commercial buildings in Charlevoix that are commonly referred to as Gnome Homes, Mushroom Houses, or Hobbit Houses. As an artist, he created homes that fit the site, rather than forcing the landscape to accommodate the design. He used mostly stone, limestone, fieldstone, and boulders that he found throughout Northern Michigan. Each of these houses […] was designed to blend in with its surrounding landscape and feature […] wide, wavy eaves, exposed rafter tails; cedar-shake roofs; and a horizontal emphasis in design.
This photo shows the Half-House c.1947 (left) and the Thatch House c.1918.
The Half-House or Honeymoon House as its also called was built in 1947. It was originally designed and intended as a surprise honeymoon getaway for Earl Young’s daughter. Considering the size….the family lived there until they outgrew the house (after 2 children) […] A dispute over property lines etc. caused Earl Young to get frustrated and cut his original design in half directly on the property line of the neighboring house.
The Thatched Roof House is the most visited and most photographed house in Charlevoix. It was Young’s first attempt at designing/building a house without blueprints and his first attempt at a thatch roof. Young had to hire an architect to draft blueprints, and ultimately completed the house -- without a thatch roof. Read the tour blog below for the interesting history of this house, which underwent renovations in 2015 to add this thatched roof.
“Boulder Manor” was Earl Young’s true pride and joy and labor of love. […] He bought the property in the early 20’s and started piling up the boulders….it wasn’t until 1928 that he was actually able to start on building. Production and construction began with fervor and Earl Young was working with a mission until disaster struck. The Great Depression hit with vengeance. It was not only the single worst recession the country had ever endured…but it hit Young especially hard and he lost his beloved Boulder Manor to the bank after being unable to make the payments. While the unfinished house sat….and sat….and sat, Young had worked on other houses in the area, saving his money.
Construction started up again and the house was complete in 1940.
Along the way…Earl built a children’s playhouse complete with electricity and working fireplace in the back of the house. Since construction of the main house took so long, he needed a place for his 4 kids to hang out without bugging the workers.
The Sucher House was built in 1949. For design inspiration, Young stood back on the road looking out over the property, and suddenly realized he was looking at 1/3 grass, 1/3 water and 1/3 sky. The “Thirds house” is built in 3 main sections and has 3 chimney’s and 3 windows in front. When you look out from inside, you see 1/3 water, 1/3 grass and 1/3 sky.
The rock wall represents water: Its up and down, in and out and even has waves crashing at the ends. Ref: https://www.mushroomhousetours.com/2018/05/10/the-sucher-house/
On the way back, we stopped to search for Petoskey stones. We were unsuccessful ☹
Petoskey Stones: The Petoskey stone, Michigan’s state stone - and its lesser-known cousin, the Charlevoix stone – are unique to the Great Lakes and can be found along the shores of Michigan’s lower peninsula.
At the bottom of this photo from the referenced website, the Petoskey stone is fossilized pre-historic coral fossilized rugose coral […] a Petoskey stone consists of tightly packed, six-sided corallites, which are the skeletons of the once-living coral polyps. The center of each polyp was the mouth and contained tentacles that reached out for food.
More rare than Petoskey stones, Charlevoix stones have smaller exoskeletons, giving them a honeycomb-like appearance.
The first thing I saw in this landscape photo was a Petoskey stone! It was right under my nose! 🤨
Open this little photo to find the Petoskey stone.
Not to Miss: Food: To wrap up our 3.5-mile walking tour of Mushroom Houses, we had lunch at Stafford's Weathervane Restaurant, which was built by Earl Young in 1954, starting with the foundation of a grist mill.
First, the restaurant. We sat on the patio overlooking the canal and bridge to Round Lake. While there are few designated gluten free menu items, the kitchen presented me a deconstructed gyro, even plating the pita separately for Ray to enjoy with his chowder.
Now, architecture history. The Charlevoix Library link below tells the interesting history of the Weathervane, including setbacks Young encountered, again, due to World War 2. The highlight of the restaurant, for Young, had to be the 9-ton boulder of the main fireplace that Young found while building houses and hid, buried, for 26 years. The stone resembles a map of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
Not to Miss: Food: The next morning, we had breakfast at Smoke On the Water. Smoked Pulled Pork Hash was delicious and plentiful; we shared one meal and brought home leftovers.
Dunes: After breakfast, we walked 5 miles, roundtrip, to the beach and sand dunes at Mt. McSauba Dunes Trail.
I was surprised how much this looked like the southern Atlantic coast, but it’s fresh water, with no tide. Weird!
Along the walk, we passed a small snow ski resort. This seemed a very strange sight in the hot weather of the day among the sand dunes!
🛑 Weather Delay: We stayed 1 extra day in Charlevoix, waiting for 2-foot waves to subside that would have been directly on our beam as we traveled (lots of rolling). Based on reports from other loopers who travelled Lake Michigan the day we were supposed to leave, I think we made the right decision.
Milestone: We’ve travelled over 3000 Statute Miles -- about half of the roughly 6000 miles around the loop!
What’s next? Weather – wind direction – will determine whether we travel the Michigan side or the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan. Watch for the next blog to see which way we travel next.
Click here to view our previous blog posts: https://n37scout.wixsite.com/travels/blog
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