Kim Jo IV: July 22 and 23, 2011, Friday & Saturday

Saturday, July 23, 2011

July 22 and 23, 2011, Friday & Saturday

Friday, Lime Island State Park to Mackinac Island State Park, MI: Another beautiful morning and St. Mary's River was very calm. We were only 8 miles from DeTour and we were back in Lake Huron for the last time. After a nice day on the water we checked into our marina and went for a walk around the Island. It was very busy with a lot of tourists riding bikes and a lot of horse drawn carriages as Mackinac Island does not allow any motorized vehicles. There were all kinds of shops on the main street and there must have been at least 20 "Fudge Shops" within a 6 block radius. I don't know how they can all keep in business. This was the first marina that we have seen full in a long time. We called for reservations and they were full but this is a "Harbor of Refuge" so the had some slips available on a first come first serve basis and we lucked out. We had a very nice meal at the Seabisquit restaurant.

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W84 36.839

CO's comments: Too damn many people. I will never, ever, come back to this island.

Saturday, Mackinac Island State Park to Beaver Island Marina, MI: We got going by 07:00 to try and beat the storm forecast for this afternoon. It was a very foggy and overcast morning but the lake wasn't too bad at first. By 07:55 we enter into Phase 22 of our journey; Lake Michigan. As time went on the lake got a little rougher and at it's worst we had 3 foot rollers at our starboard and a very strong wind at our port making steering the boat challenging. We got to Beaver Island without any thunderstorm. They all went south of us. As of right now, it doesn't look like our luck will hold for tomorrow, but we will wait and see. Beaver Island is very quaint, not at all commercialized as Mackinac Island. We walked the town this afternoon before dinner. We met newbie Loopers from here that will be starting their loop next week. They had that same excitement in their eyes and voice that we had last year at this time. It's hard to believe that we will be done in just 4 to 6 weeks.

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My sister Sharon at Mackinac Island
with Mackinaw Bridge in background

Me at Mackinac Island with
Mackinaw Bridge in background

Leaving Mackinac Island on 7-23-2011

Mackinaw Bridge on 7-23-2011

CO's comments: On our way to Beaver Island a boat tried to call the harbor on Channel 16 to no avail. Another boat came on and told him to call Channel 9; he did with no answer. The boater called back and asked if they could be of help. He said he left Charlevoix this morning and wanted to get to Beaver Island. Charlevoix is 55 miles from the Mackinaw Bridge and 33 miles from Beaver Island. He thought he could see the Mackinaw Bridge from his present location. A second motor vessel asked him if he had his charts and he said no. Then was asked if he had a chart plotter and he said no, but I have a compass. He was advised to go ashore and buy a chart of the area as "Grays Reef" is very dangerous if you do not stay in the channel. The guy did not know where he was and said he didn't need a chart. That is the last we heard of him til we got close to Beaver Island, then we heard him on the radio again saying he was at the north end of Beaver Island and he couldn't find the harbor. He ended up flagging some boats down to bring him into the marina as he ran out of gas. Unbelievable; totally unprepared.