Raydiance: Northern Michigan

With all the trouble we had getting our anchor to set in Bear Drop, Tom has decided to add more chain to our gear and also upgrade to a heavier anchor. He thinks maybe this one at DeTour should do the trick!

The ride from Blind River to Drummond, Michigan and on to DeTour, Michigan was very smooth. Quite a contrast from our run from Bear Drop to Blind River. As we neared Drummond, Tom took down our Canadian reciprocal flag and the Ontario flag and replaced them with the yellow quarantine flag.

Beautiful, calm water on the western end of the North Channel

At Drummond Yacht Harbor, the customs' official came to our boat at the dock and we cleared customs with no hassle. We did not need to go through immigration as we were required to do in Florida. From Drummond, the run to DeTour, Michigan was only about 6 miles. We arrived at DeTour to find almost an empty marina. Come to find out, they were closing on Sunday to begin dredging and 5 million dollars in dock renovations. DeTour is a Michigan DNR - run harbor.

Lonely Raydiance at DeTour Marina

We had dinner Wednesday evening at a local bar that had wonderful hamburgers. While there we met Jeff who had come into the harbor after us on a 40 foot sailboat. He is planning to single-handed sail the Chicago-Mackinac race next summer. Now that is gutsy. By the time we arrived back at the harbor a few more boats had arrived.

We decided to grill some steaks on Thursday and invited other boats to join us. The impromptu potluck was delicious with everyone contributing a dish or two. The other boaters were on sailboats--two from Milwaukee area, Jeff and Richard, and Ann and John from Traverse City. Ann was a fourth grade teacher so we naturally talked school. Jeff is a pilot with Southwest and Richard, retired from IBM, is a flight instructor. Such interesting people we have met!

Potluck at DeTour
L-R Tom, Linda, Jeff, Ann and Richard

Friday everyone else left, but we decided to wait until Saturday as we were not in a hurry and the wind/wave report looked much better if we waited. In the afternoon we took a walk to the ferry dock and watched it load. It can hold as many as 35 cars and it operates 24 hours a day. We slightly feel its wake in the marina. The passage between Drummond Island and DeTour is the main shipping channel from Lake Huron to the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, so freighters and ore boats are a common sight.

DeTour to Drummond Island car ferry

Large ore boat on choppy channel

While at the ferry dock, Tom noticed the Linda Jean tied up next door. Since my name is Linda Jeanne, I had to take a picture of it!

This carving called the Passage Keeper is across the street from the marina. I asked a shopkeeper in town about it and she told me it had been carved about 5 years ago. Apparently the old cottonwood tree was a nuisance and the owner of the property had it cut off about 15 feet from the ground. Then he hired a chainsaw artist to create the statue. It took about two weeks to carve this. At one time it held a wooden lantern, but that has not been replaced at present. It is very impressive.

We left DeTour Saturday morning and had a smooth five hour ride to St. Ignace, passing several lighthouses on the way. All are automated now days, but I read that you can sign up to stay and be a lighthouse keeper for a few days at the DeTour Reef light. Anybody interested? I certainly would not want to be in there during a storm.

DeTour Reef Lighthouse

Lighthouse in Lake Huron

St. Ignace has a very nice marina, and it was quite full over Labor Day. The Duncan Bay Boat Club from Cheboygan, MI was there in force. We met several of them Saturday night as we watched a fireworks display over the water. One couple, Charlie and Linda Thomas, were gold loopers, and we enjoyed sharing stories with them. They invited us to their pancake breakfast the next morning and encouraged us to stay at their marina when we get to Cheboygan next summer.

Pancake breakfast with the Duncan Bay Boat Club
Charlie and Linda Thomas, gold loopers

Everything fell into place at St. Ignace. Pat and Jim, my sister and her husband, were joining us for a week, but didn't want to drive over and have to come back for a car. So they took a bus from Menominee, MI with a group of people coming to Mackinac to walk the bridge on Labor Day. The bus made a two hour stop at the marina in St. Ignace to allow the riders to browse a craft fair taking place there. This worked out great for us as Pat and Jim were bringing several boat parts we had bought by phone and had shipped to their house. We weren't sure how they were going to manage their luggage and the boxes, so this stop at the craft fair was just what we needed. After unloading and packing an overnight backpack each, they headed for the dock next door to catch a ferry to Mackinac Island with the rest of the tour. We joined them via ferry later that day and spent a few hours touring the island, buying fudge as all good fudgies do, and celebrating Pat's birthday at dinner. They stayed on the island that night and we took the ferry back to Raydiance. The next day we all took part in the annual Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk. More on that in the next installment.