Thursday July 12, 2012. Lime Island again.

This morning we toured the Valley Camp Museum, which is an old freighter docked next to the Kemp Marina in Sault Ste. Marie. The ship carried bulk goods from 1917 until 1967. It was turned into a museum which has exhibits showing all parts of the ship, displays of native fish in large aquariums, and a lifeboat from the Edmund Fitzgerald. We looked at the sleeping quarters and eating areas of the hierarchy of crew members from ordinary sailors to the captain, and the pilot house.

Valley Camp Museum (greatlakesdigitalimaging.com)

We then left the Soo and traveled downstream on the St. Marys River. We followed the Mesabi Miner, one of about a dozen Great Lakes freighters of 1000 foot length (we saw several others of this group on the trip). The downstream maneuvering for these ships is very convoluted and difficult. At one point the Mesabi Miner appeared to have its propellers in reverse to negotiate a tight turn. Because of the current  and its momentum it continued to travel downstream at about 3 knots in this area. Bumping the edge of this narrow channel would not do anyone any good!

Mesabi Miner stern view (photography-on-the.net)

Mesabi Miner bow view (greatlakesfreighters.4t.com)

Tonight we anchored out for the first time. We went to the southeast side of Lime Island just north of DeTour Village, where we had tried to anchor on the way up. The weather was great this time. We brought the dinghy down and took Daisy ashore. The anchorage was peaceful and quiet. I set an alarm to wake up at 2:30am to see if we were dragging anchor and we hadn't budged.

Dinghy Swashbucklers

Wednesday, July 11, 2012. Sault Ste. Marie

This morning Kelly and Deb joined us on Breathin' Easy for a trip through the Soo Locks. We had never been through a major lock before and we appreciated their help. The American Soo Locks are larger and all the freighters use them, whereas the Canadian Soo Lock is smaller and is used by the tour boats and pleasure craft. The process turned out to be straightforward. We entered the lock at the lock masters' instruction (green light was turned on) and came alongside the north wall. We looped two lines around vertical plastic coated cables at the stern and the midpoint of our boat. The doors of the lock closed and we were raised 25 feet as water entered the lock. The upper gates opened and out we went. The hardest part was keeping the boat in position in the river current prior to entering the lock. The process reversed on our way back as we were let down 25 feet to the downstream level.

Soo Locks, Canadian Lock on left (from Wiki)

Canada Soo Lock (tripadvisor.com)

After going through the lock we cruised up the St. Marys River to Whitefish Bay. We went as far as the Iroquois Point Light, just far enough to say we touched our hull into Lake Superior!

We returned through the lock and tied up at the George Kemp Marina again. After dinner we watched a concert of a large steel drum band and walked around Sault Ste. Marie ("walk around" a town usually implies ice cream was consumed).  Kelly and I went to the observation platform to watch a huge freighter lock through the American Soo Lock. There appeared to be only a couple of feet clearance on each side!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012. Sault Ste. Marie

We left Lime Island and cruised up the St. Marys River this morning (there is no apostrophe in "Marys"). We passed the Round Island Lighthouse (not the light of the same name by Bois Blanc Island), which is now a private residence.



St. Marys River Round Island Lighthouse, from roundislandlighthouse.com




 We were passed by the freighter Saginaw. This freighter is 639 feet long, 72 feet wide, and has a 7000hp steam turbine engine, with a maximum service speed of 16mph. She certainly zipped past us!

Saginaw upbound just past Lime Island where we had spent the night, passing Believer

 The St. Marys River splits into one way branches around Neebish Island, and we took the upbound (eastern) branch to Sault Ste. Marie.This is tricky navigating for freighters, and there are lots of aids to navigation and more range markers than I have seen anywhere here.

We arrived at the George Kemp Marina for a two day stay. A couple of blocks from the marina is the Antler Restaurant, famous for its decor (walls covered with stuffed animals) and its birthday greetings (lots of chimes and whistles)!

Antler Restaurant, from senicpathways.com

Monday, July 9, 2012. Lime Island, St. Marys River

We left Mackinac Island in the company of Believer, Kelly and Deb's boat, and headed northeast across Lake Huron. We stopped in the Les Cheneaux Islands (French for "The Channels") and anchored in Government Bay for lunch and a nice nap (my kind of travel!). Then on to De Tour Village at the entrance of the St. Marys River into Lake Huron.

Leaving Mackinac Island

De Tour Reef Light at entrance of St. Marys River into Lake Huron

We thought we would anchor overnight at Lime Island, but after we dropped our anchors on the east side of the island, away from the freighter channel, a 25 knot wind blew up from the north and threatened to drag the boats at anchor. Kelly felt this would not do! We pulled up the anchors and drove around Lime Island and tied up at an abandoned loading dock on the west side of the island, well protected and a great place to spend the night.

Abandoned loading dock at Lime Island

Lime Island was a freighter refueling station at one time, but this operation is now abandoned. What this island now has is the largest colony of Common Terns in the Great Lakes. These birds (sterna hirundo) live in colonies and they migrate to Atlantic coastal Florida, the Carribean, and South America. When feeding they hover over the water and dive underwater to catch small fish. In the  past over 6000 breeding pairs lived in Michigan, but now there are only 1600 pairs and they are listed as a "threatened species". The small piece of land where we tied up for the night was actually where a number of terns were nesting. The area was protected by an electric fence to keep out predators. The birds were very protective, dive bombing anyone who got too close to their nest.

Common Tern, from Wiki

Common Tern sanctuary

Tern eggs, mother is nearby

Lime Island also has a nice boardwalk through the woods overlooking the water with platforms for remote camping. There are also some huge fuel tanks left from the days when freighters stopped here to refuel. While tied up overnight at the Lime Island loading dock, I awoke in the middle of the night to see what appeared to be a small city floating by- a huge freighter all lit up! It seemed awfully close to us but we were protected from its wake by the small spit of land which we were docked against.

Sunday, July 8, 2012. Mackinac Island

Today was a rest day with no traveling. Early this morning I walked Daisy up to the arch rock past Mission Point Resort. She was very enthusiastic at the start but as she got more tired she wanted to stop and do more sniffing on the roadside. She must have a huge olfactory lobe in her dog brain! Mackinac Island in the morning before many visitors arrive is always very tranquil and beautiful. There is a pretty walking path near the lake shore opposite Mission Point with some wildflowers and a little pond where a frog was croaking. We had the whole place to ourselves.

At lunch we had a visit from one of our god-daughters, Liz Balcom, and a friend of hers. They are doing internships for their Michigan State University programs at the Mission Point Resort. K had found this out from Liz's mother and called Liz when we arrived on the island. She fixed the girls lunch and they were excited to have home-made food ("a fresh real tomato!"). We took them on a boat ride on Breathin' Easy around Mackinac Island, the first time we had done this also. The weather was sunny and tranquil and we all had a great time. Our visit with Liz was one of the highlights of the trip!

Cruising around Mackinac Island

Saturday, July 7, 2012. Mackinac Island

Next to the Mackinaw City  Marina is docked the decommissioned US Coast Guard ice breaker Mackinaw, which has been made into a historical exhibit. We visited the ship this morning.

Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum

Bow of the cutter Mackinaw

Mackinaw's diesel engines powering electric generators

The cutter Mackinaw was commissioned in 1944 and was the largest icebreaker in the world at the time. The Mackinaw has three propellers, two in the stern for propulsion and one in the front to churn up the ice and help push it out of the way. The 290 foot ship is powered by six diesel engines which are generators powering electric motors which actually drive the propellers. To keep the Great Lakes industries competitive in international markets, the shipping channels need to be open about ten months each year. Most years this requires opening a channel through ice in March. The Mackinaw has been replaced by a new Coast Guard icebreaker which requires a smaller crew and is cheaper to operate.

After our tour of the icebreaker Mackinaw we began our week cruise with Kelly and Deb. Their boat is a 44 foot Beneteau sailboat named Believer. To cruise together we slowed down a bit from our usual cruising speed of 8.5 to 10 knots to about 7-7.5 knots (depending on the current) if they were motoring,  and faster if they motorsailed.

Believer approaching Mackinac Island

 Our first stop was Mackinac Island where we each had reservations for two nights at the state docks. A short trip across the Straits involved staying away from the many ferries.  It is always great to safely tie up at the dock, even more so at the Mackinac Island docks we have walked by so many times on past visits. We look forward to having two days to rest here after traveling every day for the the past week.

Mackinac Island Harbor

Mooring field and Mackinac Island State Docks

Arnold Transit Company dock across from state docks

Friday, July 6, 2012. Mackinaw City

This morning we fueled up and left Rogers City. We passed the Poe Reef Light and traveled up the South Channel between Bois Blanc Island and Cheboygan. It was a real thrill to see the Mackinaw Bridge as we rounded the corner of Bois Blanc Island! We motored up the Straits of Mackinac and drove under the Bridge and then back to Mackinaw City where we docked at the Municipal Marina. Our slip there was across the dock from friends Kelly and Debbie Osborne of Jackson, who came out in their sailboat to meet us outside the harbor.

Poe Reef Light off the southeast corner of Bois Blanc Island, northern Lake Huron

K and I have always loved the Mackinaw area. Mackinac Island is the one place we vacation just about every year. To see the island, the Mackinaw Bridge, the Old Round Island Point Light, and these waters from our own boat was very special. We have found that after we visit an area from the water our perspective of that area broadens and we have a better feel for it. I think that will be true of the Mackinaw area.

 

Approaching Mackinaw Bridge from the South Channel

We never saw this view of the bridge from the Mackinac Island ferry!