There was one other Looper boat here. Nauti Nell from Joplin, Missouri under the command of Mike & Twyla. Later in the day the four of us walked to the local Elks Club for drinks and then to the Boathouse Restaurant for dinner. It was fun sharing our loop experiences with one another and finding out the number of other loopers we've both encountered along the way.
8/31/11 Wednesday We got underway around 7am headed down the Michigan shore. For the better part of the day the waves were 1' to 3' except for the 45 minutes of 3 to 5 footers we encountered just to make sure we had our sea legs.
As we approached Ludington we spotted the Badger leaving port. The Badger is a 1951 ferry boat that currently runs between Ludington, Mi. and Manitowac, Wi.. At times it has carried everything from rail cars to scooters. At one time it even carried me and my bus load of people across the lake! Keeping an eye on it, it looked as though we were on a collision course. Being the prudent mariner that I am I decided to slow down and pass astern of her. A wise choice considering the size advantage of the Badger.
Other than being a bit bumpy our trip was uneventful to White Lake where we pulled in and anchored for the remainder of the afternoon and night. About an hour after we were settled in Nauti Nell pulled in off the lake and dropped the hook a short distance away from us. What a contrast between the bumpy waters of Lake Michigan and the calm waters of White Lake.
9/1/11 Thursday I awoke this morning expecting to continue travelling down the Michigan side of the lake. That is until I checked my weather sites on the computer. All three indicated seas of 1' or less for the entire lake all day long. Of course this is different from the 1' to 3' forecast that I read before going to bed last night. I quickly entered a couple of waypoints into the GPS. Calculated the travel time and made the decision to head across the lake.
We followed Nauti Nell out through the breakwater to the open waters of Lake Michigan. Nice and calm! We said our so longs to Nauti Nell and headed for Winthrop Harbor, Illinois. Only 95 miles away! The waters were calm as forecast and once out of sight of Nell we were alone in the world surrounded by beautiful blue water. In fact other than 2 lake freighters we didn't see another boat until we were about 10 miles from our destination.
A smooth crossing.
Once we were in hailing range for the VHF I called the marina and got our slip assignment and directions to it. North Point Marina is a 1500 slip marina and I didn't want to be stumbling around trying to find our spot.
We were given B-27 and told how to get there. No problem! Oops! One problem. There is a boat occupying our slip. On the radio with the control tower. Try this one. Won't fit. Try that one. Won't fit. How about this one. Occupied. By this time I'm beginning to think they have no clue! Next we were sent to A-dock where the first slip was also too narrow. Finally on the next try we found one that we had driven right by. One of the slip holders saw us wandering around and came out to help with our lines. Once secured he explained that the marina was torn apart by a tornado back in June and that the docks had been broken and shifted around causing the over wide and extra narrow slips. He said he has changed slips 4 times this summer. Anyway we are now secure with water and power and at $1.00 a foot we may stay a few days.
This marks the first time Tourist has been back in Illinois waters since the fall of 2009.
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