Good luck searching for Petoskey stones!

Dam .. so cool … wishing I was meandering Down a lake 60 miles today!

Not just any lake as well. I lived a few blocks from Lake Michigan for many years. It is a mysterious, beautiful, massive body of water, as deep as a 65 story building at its deepest point. Waves have reached over 20 feet during storms.

I saw this video recently from another Great Looper who got caught in a storm on Lake Michigan.

She looks upset.

Arrived Petoskey. Big mileage day but nice conditions.

Nice marina. Walkable town. Pubs and beers on my immediate agenda.

Couple lighthouses. Easy route finding and navigation. Depths average about 150 feet today. Clear clear blue water.

Plan is to spend a few days cleaning this ole girl and catching up on chores.

Clock tower right at the base of the docks makes for nice background sound.

Great photo!

It actually looks like OP's boat.

My boss is about to retire. Bought a 50' sailing boat and this is the first thing he plans to do. Had never heard of it until he mentioned it (and this is the second time hearing about it).

A sailboat seems like a PITA with all the bridges he will encounter.

TRIDENT said:

---

A sailboat seems like is a PITA with all the bridges he will encounter.

---

FIFY

What if he was captured by vicious Canadian pirates?

Last reading on Marine Traffic says he's still in Petoskey, which he said they would stay at for a few days. .

maroon barchetta said:

---

What if he was captured by vicious Canadian pirates?

---

Truedue probably put him in jail thinking he was a retired truck driver and for not wearing a mask on the open ocean …

Monday travel day.....

Sunday night was final night in Petoskey. Headed to Charlevoix this morning.

Both places are pretty popular vacation areas and its clear why. Scenic ! Rolling hills, BIG sand dunes and beaches, clear water with bottom visible in 10 to 15 feet , expensive vacation homes, super coho fishing and lots of interesting pubs.

Wind forecast today was east becoming northeast then north and increasing from 7 knots to 15 plus. Departed marina about 730...nice seas...headed west with following wind and seas..

Winds freshened and true to forecast began to bend around north. Navigation was straightforward...parallel the shoreline westward. I like to stay a couple miles offshore so as to miss conflicting with the pleasure boats trolling with WIDELY SPACED planer boards. The boards pull the trolled lines 100 feet or more to both the port and starboard so going around a boat trolling requires a wide pass. The waters here are 100 to 250 feet deep anyway so I just hang a couple miles offshore and avoid the fishermen.

About an hour in the seas began building from the north. This makes them a beam sea...not pleasant conditions in any boat for an extended time. They were not terrible....solid 1's and 2's...but short period makes it a rocky rolley ride..

Charlevoix has a breakwater entrance and then a 15 foot clearance Bridge. The bridge opens for 3 minutes before to 3 minutes after the top and bottoms of the hours in daylight. Radio contact outside those hours. Timed it right...slowed pace for 10 minutes and then went right through.

Ritzy marina. Expensive vacation homes. Dancing water fountain in the marina !

Spend two days here.....next stop will likely be Northport....weather permitting.

The marina has a webcam. If you check the "last 6 hours" time lapse you can see us arrive/dock on the right hand side of the frame....or use live view to "stock" us in real-time.

https://www.9and10news.com/weather/cams/charlevoix-marina/#6hour

nice job backing into the dock

Hah ! Thanks....but in real time it was not one of my smoother docking.

Crosswinds are the devil when blowing away from your intended docking point. No scrapes or anything but it just wasn't a smooth and pretty one.

But like airplanes.....any that you can walk away from....right ?

I have zero boating experience like this or desire to do this. But I'm loving reading about this adventure! Thanks for the continued updates. I've had fun following along on a map.

That water and lakeshore look so refreshing, especially compared to the surface of the sun that Texas is.

We agree !!! We are loving the Temps and hate bringing it up to family.....but then again....it feels pretty dang nice to rub it in just a little bit....77 here late afternoon.

Current conditions and views from here.....

https://www.9and10news.com/weather/cams/charlevoix-marina/#6hour

TailG8TR said:

---

Hah ! Thanks....but in real time it was not one of my smoother docking.

Crosswinds are the devil when blowing away from your intended docking point. No scrapes or anything but it just wasn't a smooth and pretty one.

But like airplanes.....any that you can walk away from....right ?

---

I have a 38 ft whaler on clear lake .. parking that dam thing when it's windy is no fun …. I have a couple nice rub marks from coming in hot .. but in the end it's just boating and it happens .. for each bad one I make 10 good dockings

BTW.....just logged on and checked....Marine Traffic currently showing us positioned correctly in Charlevoix.

Have moved across Traverse Bay to Northport.

Left about dawn.

Will post a summary and follow up a bit later after taking care of boat maintenance chores.

Wednesday travel day update .....

Really liked and enjoyed Charlevoix. Very clean and tidy. Easily walkable town. Wife and I walked and admired several of The Mushroom Houses. Said to all have been designed by the same architect about a century ago. Must be about 30 of them scattered around town. Private residential units still occupied.

Community band/orchestra concert in the bandshell Park area adjacent to the marina last night. It is one of several events we have just stumbled into on our Loop.

Our departure time this morning was dictated by two factors....enough light...and the Charlevoix bridge schedule. The marina in Charlevoix is on Round Lake. There is a busy roadway into Charlevoix over the canal which connects Lake Michigan to Round Lake. The bridge only opens 3 minutes at the top of the hour and 3 minutes at the half hour. Bridge clearance closed is listed as 11 to 15 depending upon the source. As configured currently we need about 18.5 feet so had to have an opening.

Sunrise is about 630 anyway so we awoke 5:45 ish and had coffee, made engine fluid checks, arranged lines and stowed things for an open water crossing of Traverse Bay. Slipped lines about 6:20....idled out of marina and to the channel near the bridge with nav lights on. One other Loop boat was already there about 2 mins ahead of us....short wait...and up go the drawbridge leaves.

Passed under and into the short canal leading out into Lake Michigan.

I could tell right away the swells from yesterday and last night had NOT settled down completely. We immediately began a rhythmic hobby horse motion as we transited the canal.

The wind forecast would suggest an early southwest wind followed by a shift to the west. My hope was it would hold up as correct. That would mean we would be in the lee early as we headed straight west rounding land before we headed down bay and would again have protection from land to our west as we headed south. Nope.

Wind was fairly fresh out of the southeast as we left the breakwater. Some seas were already building and that meant the wind woul be raking upwards the whole length of Traverse Bay. Yep. Sure enough we began to see whitecaps and twos building to 3's.

Turned south into Traverse and kinda plowed into the head seas coming up from southeast. Winds kicked up for about an hour around 800 to 900 and we had white water splashing for awhile. Slowed progress down to make a more comfortable ride.

About 900 the winds began to shift and filled in the southwestern and western directions. That part was the forecast and it was better since we had land limiting fetch to our west. Made our turn at the three red buoys about 3 or 4 miles east of Northport. Straight shot in to a well protected marina.

Smoke from fires is pretty thick today in the marina. Often makes it hazy but today it is a strong campfire smell as well.

Couple days hanging here in Northport. Gonna change out reverse gear oil. Wife doing laundry. We will catch some beers before dinner and browse a couple restaurants.

I know. Iknow....tough life !

Those houses look like they handle snow well.

Thanks for the update. The pictures are great.

I check for updates every day ! Great pics