Mackinaw City, MI to Port Washington, WI

This blog will cover August 10 - 19.

The route for this blog.  Lake Michigan = BIG WATER!

Saturday, August 10.  Still in Mackinaw City as the wind and waves were expected to be even bigger this day.  We walked to the nearby beach to see how the ferry was weathering the crossing to Mackinac Island.  We heard the crewman on the loud speaker warning passengers that they will get wet on top.  Sooooo glad we went the day before.

August 10th is also my birthday.  I have a theory--it always rains on my summer birthday.  We went to a nearby pub with Karla & Paul and they told the waitress it was my birthday.  She created this out of 2 chocolate chip cookies.  : )  

Sunday, August 11. Karla & Paul invited me to join them at the local Catholic Church in Mackinaw City. Darth had some work to do on the boat so he stayed behind. Later, Karla cooked fresh fish that was caught while their family was visiting and I brought salad and made mexican corn on the cob. All was delicious and we celebrated our friendship and said our good-byes. They would be heading down the eastside of Lake Michigan while we would be going to the westside. This is good-bye for now to our lovely friends.

Monday, August 12.  Karla took this photo as they passed under the Mackinac Bridge.  We were a little later and didn't get the colors in our photo.  Water described as rolly.

Our destination was Beaver Island, 35nm away.

The Beaver Island Marina had courtesy bicycles so we rode to the little town.  Its  an interesting little island.  The sign says Beaver Island Jail, built 1910 burned 1931. 

Beaver Island has a rich history, including being settled by Irish fishermen, becoming a Mormon kingdom, and being home to a self-proclaimed king.  The island is 58 square miles and the largest and only inhabited island on Lake Michigan.  We were glad to stop there as our destination was Escanaba which was over 100nm from Mackinaw City.

Tuesday, August 13.  We had the best water we would have on Lake Michigan. 

Our destination was Escanaba, MI to visit Darth's aunt. uncle and cousins.  We were so relieved the 75nm would be such an easy cruise.

We were joined by cousin Dan and wife Lori.  They took us to a delicious restaurant in town.  We came back to a nice sunset and quiet marina.

Wednesday, August 14. We rode the bikes to the town of Escanaba. We were told the Elmer’s Grocery store was good for the few groceries we needed. Escanaba was easy to ride to and nice to see the homes between the marina and town. Later in the afternoon, cousin Steve brought Aunt Bev and Uncle Jerry to see our boat. We would join the rest at a nearby restaurant.

Pictured from left to right, cousin Dan, Darth, me, cousin Steve, Aunt Bev, Dan's wife Lori, Uncle Jerry, Danielle (cousin Connie's daughter) and Connie.  It was so nice to see the family.  They all traveled to Escanaba and we were thankful they did.

Thursday, August 15.  We left Escanaba in the dark to hopefully have calm water.  That was not to be, this was the beginning of why I'm leary of boating in Lake Michigan.  It was sporty, but the sunrise was pretty.  Destination:  Sturgeon Bay, WI 61 nm away.

We walked to town and saw a interesting way to incorporate solar panels. 

Friday, August 16. Due to weather we stayed another day at Sturgeon Bay. We received a message from nearby new looers Deanna and John on a 34’ Nordic Tug -Stuga. They had many years of sailing experience but are new to trawler life. It was nice to meet them and wished them well as they begin their loop.

Saturday, August 17.  We left early, the canal from Sturgeon Bay to Lake Michigan was nice and calm. 

Our destination originally was Sheboygan, but as the water was semi calm we pushed on for 93nm to Port Washington.

The wind did pick up!  All of the crew on this sailboat were on this side seeming to put as much weight as they could while the sails gathered speed.  We saw several similar boats sailing.

Our guys were staying steady the whole way!

Though it was an easy cruise, 93nm is a looooong way.  We were happy to arrive at Port Washington.  This pier is one we walked to several times during our stay.

This is St. Mary's Catholic Church located up on the bluff in Port Washington.  It was nice to take a walk after the long cruise.

Going back to town from the bluff we came upon a deer. 

Port Washington is a pretty town.  We ate at the Steerage Dining Saloon--the restaurant decor was showing a ship as it would be for third class. We enjoyed the food and atmosphere.

Sunday, August 18.  What a difference a day makes!!!  The wind came up with 30mph gusts.  Not a go day at all!

The town was having a car show.  This car has a bumper sticker saying 'I break for fish'.  

We walked through many models at the nearby park.  Alot of 'old guys' (our age) looking at cars made in the 60-70's.  There were other year models--it just was fun to see cars that brought us back to high school parking lots way back in the day.  Darth took alot of photos and shared with his buddies.

The fish car on display.

Back out on the pier--water splashing over the bulkhead.

Monday, August 19. We were visited from a fellow Ranger Tug 29 owner—they intended to leave and head north. It was still a ‘no go’ day as the waves had not had a chance to settle.

The day was beautiful, we walked out to see how the Ranger Tug would be once out in the lake.

The boat can take so mwuch more than people.  I heard from them later, they wished they would have stayed and hung out for the day.  It was sporty.

Showing the rare blue super moon over the Port Washington Marina.