Salty Dog's Great Loop Adventure 2018 - 2019

Salty Dog's Great Loop Adventure 2018 - 2019
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Fort Lauderdale (Fiesta Way), United States ‐ Apr 18, 2019

June 30, 2019

+7

April 18, 2019: Fiesta Way, Fort Lauderdale

April 18, 2019: Fort Lauderdale (Bahia Mar Marina to Fiesta Way) map & log

June 30, 2019: Tarpon River Loop (our Sunday afternoon 5-hour dinghy adventure)

We've been living at Fiesta Way for about 10 weeks now. Much of that time has been taken up with getting settled in and having a few minor repairs done to the house. But now I (Evan) am beginning to f...
Fort Lauderdale (Bahia Mar Marina) ‐ Mar 1, 2019

February 28 - March 31, 2019: Fort Lauderdale

March 1, 2019: Fort Lauderdale (Cable Marine to Bahia Mar) map & log

2019.03.01 Florida's Atlantic Coast 2 - Fort Lauderdale

February 28 - April 18, 2019: Fort Lauderdale (Bahia Mar Marina)

After the couple of days at Cable Marine, we left on March 1 for Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale Beach for a month's stay before heading north. Fort Lauderdale is a place we'd always considered fo...
Fort Lauderdale (Cable Marine East) ‐ Feb 27, 2019

February 27, 2019: Miami Beach to Fort Lauderdale map & log

+13

February 27, 2019: Miami Beach to Fort Lauderdale

2019.02.27 Florida's Atlantic Coast 1 - Miami Beach to Fort Lauderdale

February 27, 2019: Miami Beach to Fort Lauderdale

It's been a long while since the last update and so much has changed! We left Miami Beach Marina for Fort Lauderdale on February 27 taking the four and a half hour no-wake route up the intracoastal wa...
Miami Beach, Florida ‐ Feb 21, 2019

+16

February 20-26, 2019: Miami Beach, Florida

+10

February 20, 2019: Key Largo to Miami Beach, Florida

2019.02.20 Florida Keys 3 - Key Largo to Miami Beach, Florida

February 20-26, 2019 - Key Largo FL to Miami Beach, FL

On Wednesday morning we left Anchorage Resort in Key Largo and headed up the mangrove-lined Jewfish Creek into Barnes Sound. After passing under the Little Card Sound Bridge, we entered Little Card So...
Key Largo, Florida ‐ Feb 17, 2019

+10

February 17-19, 2019: Marathon to Key Largo, Florida

2019.02.17 Florida Keys 2 - Marathon to Key Largo, Florida

February 17-19, 2019 - Marathon FL to Key Largo FL

It was difficult to say good bye to Marlin Bay Marina, its lovely pool, lovely grounds and expansive view to the blue waters in the north, but we'd been there for two whole weeks and it was time to mo...
Marathon, Florida ‐ Feb 8, 2019

+16

February 3-16, 2019: Marathon, Florida
Dolphin Research Center
Marathon, Florida ‐ Feb 3, 2019

+4

February 3, 2019: Key West to Marathon, Florida

2019.02.03 Florida Keys 1 - Key West to Marathon, Florida

February 3-16, 2019 - Key West FL to Marathon FL

It had been a fantastic stay at Key West, but the possibilities to stay any longer in Key West had run out (every slip was fully booked). So on February 3 morning, we got up to brilliant sunshine, no...
Key West, Florida ‐ Jan 18, 2019

+34

January 18 - February 2, 2019: Key West

+4

January 18, 2019: Marco Island to Key West, Florida

2019.01.18 Gulf Coast 13 - Marco Island to Key West, Florida

January 18 - February 2, 2019 - Marco Island to Key West FL

After having stayed a lot longer in Marco Island that we had anticipated, we eagerly got our act together this cool clear Friday morning so that we could cross the Florida Bay to Key West. As a trip o...
Marco Island, Florida ‐ Jan 13, 2019

+10

January 9-17, 2019: Marco Island

January 9-17, 2019 - Naples FL to Marco Island FL

With some regret (for lost dining opportunities), we cast off from Naples and headed south down the Gordon River. We had thought to take the Rookery Bay ICW route on the inside but within a hundred ya...
Port of the Islands Marina, Florida

+28

January 13-14, 2019: The Everglades
Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge
Port of the Islands Marina, Florida
Everglades City, Florida
Chokoloskee, Florida
Marco Island, Florida ‐ Jan 9, 2019

January 9, 2019: Naples to Marco Island, Florida

2019.01.09 Gulf Coast 12 - Naples to Marco Island, Florida
Naples, Florida ‐ Jan 4, 2019

+10

January 4-8, 2019: Naples

January 4, 2019: Sanibel Island to Naples, Florida

2019.01.04 Gulf Coast 11 - Sanibel Island to Naples, Florida

January 4-8, 2019 - Sanibel FL to Naples FL

As we left Sanibel, there was a fair amount of fog which eventually burned off to yield a sunny calm day. Heading out of the marina, we turned tot he southeast and out the Matanzas Pass to the open Gu...
Sanibel Island, Florida ‐ Jan 2, 2019
Shell Point Village, Ft. Myers, Florida
Sanibel Island, Florida

+7

January 2-3, 2019: Gasparilla Island to Sanibel Island, Florida

2019.01.02 Gulf Coast 10 - Gasparilla Island to Sanibel Island, Florida

January 2-3, 2019 - Boca Grande FL to Sanibel FL

Threading our way out of the channel that led to Uncle Henry's Marina, we then turned right passing through the break in the old Northern Railway causeway and rejoined the ICW. We headed south along t...
Gasparilla Island, Florida ‐ Dec 30, 2018

+13

December 30, 2018 - January 1, 2019: Cape Haze to Gasparilla Island, Florida

2018.12.30 Gulf Coast 9 - Cape Haze to Gasparilla Island, Florida

December 30, 2018 - January 1, 2019 - Cape Haze FL to Boca Grande FL

With Christmas holidays over and having had a chance to get Salty all fixed up for the New Year, we left the calmness of Aquamarine Palm Harbor and entered what is the boating equivalent of a busy fre...
Cape Haze, Florida ‐ Dec 20, 2018

December 19, 2018: Sarasota to Cape Haze, Florida

2018.12.19 Gulf Coast 8 - Sarasota to Cape Haze, Florida

December 19-29, 2018 - Sarasota FL to Cape Haze FL

Red sky at night gave us misty rain in the morning in Sarasota. Good that we were leaving as the forecast looked pretty grim for the next day when we were originally supposed to depart. We headed out...
Sarasota, Florida ‐ Dec 17, 2018

+10

December 17-18, 2018: Gulfport to Sarasota, Florida

2018.12.17 Gulf Coast 7 - Gulfport to Sarasota, Florida

December 17-18, 2018 - Gulfport FL to Sarasota FL

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day with light breezes and cast off midmorning from Gulfport. Heading out into the Boca Ciega Bay we took a left only to discover that the Route 682 Bridge was not going...
Gulfport, Florida ‐ Dec 15, 2018

+13

December 15-16, 2018: Clearwater Beach to Gulfport, Florida

2018.12.15 Gulf Coast 6 - Clearwater Beach to Gulfport, Florida

December 15-16, 2018 - Clearwater Fl to Gulfport, FL

Rainy Saturday morning. We cast off in the rain and headed south down the ICW toward St. Petersburg. Most of the ICW is no wake zone so we had to proceed fairly slowly the 25 or so miles past Belleair...
Clearwater Beach, Florida ‐ Dec 8, 2018

+4

December 8-14, 2018: Clearwater Beach, Florida

+4

December 7, 2018: Apalachicola to Clearwater Beach, Florida

2018.12.07 Gulf Coast 5 - Apalachicola to Clearwater Beach, Florida

December 7-14, 2018 - Apalachicola, FL to Clearwater Beach, FL

We got up before sunrise and prepared Salty for the long day ahead of crossing the Big Bend. We left just after sunrise and headed out through the Apalachicola Channel, then through the St. George Sou...
Apalachicola, Florida ‐ Dec 6, 2018

+22

December 6, 2018: Sandestin to Apalachicola, Florida

2018.12.06 Gulf Coast 4 - Sandestin to Apalachicola, Florida

December 6, 2018 - Sandestin, FL to Apalachicola, FL

After sleeping in and then reading the weather forecast next morning in Sandestin when we got up, to our great consternation it became clear that a weather window for crossing the Big Bend was opening...
Mexico Beach, Florida
Panama City, Florida
Sandestin, Florida ‐ Dec 5, 2018

+4

December 5, 2018: Pensacola to Sandestin, Florida

2018.12.05 Gulf Coast 3 - Pensacola to Sandestin, Florida

December 5, 2018 - Pensacola, FL to Sandestin, FL

Today we were not absolutely certain of our destination - we thought Fort Walton Beach might be a good stopping point, but we were thinking of the next day when we had to go for about a 100 miles or s...
Destin, Florida
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Gulf Breeze, Florida
Pensacola, Florida ‐ Dec 3, 2018

+22

December 3, 2018: Orange Beach, Alabama to Pensacola, Florida

2018.12.03 Gulf Coast 2 - Orange Beach, Alabama to Pensacola, Florida

December 3-4, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL to Pensacola, FL

We set out mid-morning for another light day of about 30 miles to visit Pensacola. Once in the channel, we proceeded up to Wolf Bay, then through Bay La Launch and to Perdido Bay, where the Alabama-Fl...
The Wharf, Orange Beach, Alabama ‐ Dec 2, 2018

+10

December 2, 2018: Mobile to Orange Beach, Alabama

2018.12.02 Gulf Coast 1 - Mobile to Orange Beach, Alabama

December 2, 2018 - Mobile, AL to Orange Beach, AL

We left Dog River Marina mid-morning as we didn't have but 40 miles to travel today. After a pump-out and a last visit with the pink kitty that lived at the gas dock, we embarked out of the Dog River...
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
Dog River Marina, Mobile, Alabama ‐ Dec 1, 2018

November 26-December 1, 2018 - Dog River Marina, AL

After the long wet ride home from New Orleans, it was time to see if we could get all the service folks working on Salty so that we could soon make headway down south to warmer temperatures. Every nig...
Fairhope, Alabama

December 1, 2018: Fairhope, Alabama
Dog River Marina, Mobile, Alabama ‐ Nov 28, 2018
Mobile, Alabama

+13

November 28, 2018: Mobile, Alabama
Dog River Marina, Mobile, Alabama ‐ Nov 25, 2018
New Orleans, Louisiana ‐ Nov 19, 2018

+28

November 19-24, 2018: New Orleans

November 19-25, 2018 - New Orleans, LA

Under cloudy skies, we left Natchez following Route 61 down to Baton Rouge and then to Houmas House and Gardens, a well-known antebellum house on the Mississippi. The owner actually lives in the house...
Oak Alley Plantation, Vacherie, Louisiana

+7

November 19, 2018: Great Mississippi River Road, Louisiana
Houmas House Plantation, Darrow, Louisiana
Natchez, Mississippi ‐ Nov 15, 2018

+52

November 15-18, 2018: Natchez, Mississippi

November 15-18, 2018 - Natchez, MS

On the morning after our arrival in Mobile, we moved from the gas dock over to a covered slip at Dog River Marina where Salty would spend the next 10 days out of the weather. It was appreciably darker...
Dog River Marina, Mobile, Alabama ‐ Nov 12, 2018

+10

November 12, 2018: Demopolis to Mobile, Alabama

2018.11.12 Rivers 14 - Demopolis to Mobile, Alabama
Mobile Bay
Mobile, Alabama

November 12-14, 2018 - Demopolis, AL to Mobile, AL

We left Demopolis in the pre-dawn drizzle to travel the 3 miles to the Demopolis Lock (down 40 feet). The forecast said it would be a rainy cold terrible day - and it was. Torrential rain on and off a...
Confluence of Mobile and Tensaw Rivers
Mobile River
Confluence of Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers
Coffeeville Lock
Bobby's Fish Camp, Silas, Alabama
Demopolis Lock ‐ Nov 11, 2018
Demopolis Yacht Basin, Demopolis, Alabama

+21

November 11, 2018: Columbus, Mississippi to Demopolis, Alabama

2018.11.11 Rivers 13 - Columbus, Mississippi to Demopolis, Alabama

November 11, 2018 - Columbus, MS to Demopolis, AL

After returning from Birmingham, returning the rental car and resolving some boat maintenance issues (oil change, etc.), we left Columbus Marina at dawn to ensure we would have enough daylight to make...
Confluence of Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers
Heflin Lock
Bevill Lock
Stennis Lock
Columbus Marina, Columbus, Mississippi ‐ Nov 10, 2018
Birmingham, Alabama ‐ Nov 7, 2018

+16

November 7-9, 2018: Birmingham

November 7-10, 2018 - Birmingham. AL

The South is not what you think it is - and I guess I'm addressing the Yankees out there, who like me have hardly ever gone below the Mason-Dixon Line (sorry, DC and Florida beaches don't count). We d...
Columbus Marina, Columbus, Mississippi ‐ Nov 6, 2018

+22

November 5-6, 2018: Columbus, Mississippi

November 4-6, 2018 - Fulton, MS to Columbus, MS

The next morning we set out with bright skies and headed to the Fulton Lock a few miles down river from the Midway Marina. A number of other boats came along with us, but since it was not a tremendous...
Waverley Mansion, West Point, Mississippi
Tennessee Williams Home, Columbus, Misssissippi
Columbus Marina, Columbus, Mississippi ‐ Nov 4, 2018

+16

November 4, 2018: Fulton to Columbus, Mississippi

2018.11.04 Rivers 12 - Fulton to Columbus, Mississippi
Aberdeen Lock
Amory Lock
Wilkins Lock
Fulton Lock
Fulton, Mississippi ‐ Nov 3, 2018

+21

2018.11.03: Iuka to Fulton, Mississippi

2018.11.03 Rivers 11 - Iuka to Fulton, Mississippi

November 3, 2018 - Iuka, MS to Midway Marina, MS

We got up early to start the journey down the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. Other boats left at the crack of dawn and because we only had 53 miles to go to our next stop we waited until the fog burned...
Rankin Lock
Montgomery Lock
Whitten Lock
Bay Springs Lake
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
Aqua Yacht Harbor, Iuka, Mississippi ‐ Nov 2, 2018

November 1-2, 2018 - Iuka, MS

Even though there was purportedly a great service department at Aqua Yachts, apparently everyone was sick or too busy and couldn't change our oil and other fluids for our maintenance milestone. Yet we...
Shiloh Battlefield National Military Park, Tennessee

+4

November 2, 2018: Shiloh Battlefield National Military Park, Tennessee
Aqua Yacht Harbor, Iuka, Mississippi ‐ Oct 31, 2018

+13

October 31, 2018: Cuba Landing, Tennessee to Iuka, Mississippi

October 31, 2018 - Cuba Landing, TN to Iuka, MS

After Cuba Landing, the river becomes much more narrow and is no longer the wide expanse of the Kentucky Lake. We followed the course of the Tennessee River down to mile 208 and turned off into the mo...
Pickwick Lake
Pickwick Lock
Tennessee River

2018.10.30-31 Rivers 9 & 10 - Kentucky to Tennessee to Mississippi
Cuba Landing, Tennessee ‐ Oct 30, 2018

+7

October 30, 2018: Grand Rivers, Kentucky to Cuba Landing, Tennessee

October 30, 2018 - Grand Rivers, KY to Cuba Landing, TN

After coming back from Nashville, we did some basic preparations to leave, but decided because we had no locks the next day that we would leave a bit later. Fortunately we did, as there was early fog...
Kentucky Lake
Barkley Canal
Lake Barkley
Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, Kentucky ‐ Oct 28, 2018

+12

October 19, 2018: Paducah to Grand Rivers, Kentucky

October 19-20, 2018 - Paducah to Grand Rivers, KY

Leaving the Paducah docks, we could look up into the mouth of the Tennessee River behind Owens Island. We were advised against following the Tennessee River to Grand Rivers, Kentucky even though it is...
Paducah, Kentucky
Nashville, Tennessee ‐ Oct 25, 2018

+25

October 25-27, 2018: Nashville

October 25-27, 2018 - Nashville, TN

We left Memphis and drove up the I-40 across half of Tennessee to Nashville. Along the way, we crossed the Tennessee River, and spied the marina where we would be staying in less than a week at Cuba L...
Memphis, Tennessee ‐ Oct 21, 2018

+58

October 21-24, 2018: Memphis

2018.10.22 The March of the Ducks at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis

October 21-24, 2018 - Memphis, TN

We had planned on going the 160 miles up the Cumberland River to Nashville to visit that famous city, but upon calling the only dockage facility within the city limits, we were informed that the appro...
Blytheville, Arkansas
New Madrid, Missouri
Cairo, Illinois
Paducah, Kentucky
Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, Kentucky ‐ Oct 19, 2018

+4

October 20, 2018: Grand Rivers, Kentucky

2018.10.19 Rivers 8 - Paducah to Grand Rivers, Kentucky
Barkley Lock
Confluence of the Cumberland & Ohio Rivers
Confluence of the Tennessee & Ohio Rivers
Paducah, Kentucky ‐ Oct 18, 2018

+10

October 18, 2018: Paducah, Kentucky

+13

October 17, 2018: Kaskaskia Lock, Illinois to Paducah, Kentucky

2018.10.17 Rivers 7 - Kaskaskia Lock, Illinois to Paducah, Kentucky

October 18, 2018 - Paducah, KY

We enjoyed strolling around the City of Paducah and went to the River Discovery Center, a museum that had a great history of Paducah's maritime past as an important hub of water traffic. It became imp...

October 17, 2018 - Kaskaskia Lock, IL to Paducah, KY

Sunrise in these parts is now at 7:15 am - so we got up in time to leave by about 7am - just when it was light enough to see debris on the water. Of course, it was a clear sunny morning and the sun br...
Lock 52 (decommissioned) ‐ Oct 17, 2018
Lock 53 (decommissioned)
Olmsted Lock (under construction)
Confluence of the Ohio & Mississippi Rivers
Southern-most point of Illinois
Kaskaskia Lock Wall

+13

October 16, 2018: Alton to Kaskaskia Lock, Illinois

2018.10.16 Rivers 6 - Alton to Kaskaskia Lock, Illinois

October 16, 2018 - Alton to Kaskaskia Lock, IL

After 5 days in Alton, we decided now that the river had crested and there was visibly less debris in the water, we would set out for the 83-mile stretch to the Kaskaskia River and overnight on the wa...
Confluence of the Kaskaskia & Mississippi Rivers
Hoppies Marina ‐ Oct 16, 2018
St. Louis Gateway Arch
Chain of Rocks Lock
Chain of Rocks Canal
Confluence of the Missouri & Mississippi Rivers
Mel Price Lock 26
Alton, Illinois ‐ Oct 15, 2018

October 12-15, 2018 - Alton IL

After our bright sunny day in St Louis, a wave of gray skies and rain overtook us. Although Alton Marina is a state of the art marina within close reach of a great little 19th century river town, the...
Great Rivers Museum at Lock 26
Alton, Illinois ‐ Oct 11, 2018
St. Louis, Missouri

+10

October 11, 2018: St. Louis, Missouri

October 11, 2018 - St. Louis, MO

We were almost going to take the train into St. Louis but the Amtrak train schedule left us too little time to explore the city - so we rented a car at Enterprise to take the 30 minute ride to downtow...
Alton, Illinois ‐ Oct 10, 2018

+16

October 10-15, 2018: Alton, Illinois

October 10, 2018: Grafton to Alton, Illinois map and log

October 10, 2018: Grafton to Alton, Illinois

2018.10.10 Rivers 5 - Grafton to Alton, Illinois

October 10, 2018 - Grafton to Alton, IL

Over the last day or so, we've been speaking with various fellow travelers and with dock masters as well as reading boater forum postings and even Facebook postings on the conditions of the Mississipp...
Confluence of the Illinois & Mississippi Rivers
Grafton, Illinois ‐ Oct 8, 2018

+25

October 8-9, 2018: Grafton, Illinois

October 8-9, 2018 - Grafton, IL

Grafton is a small town (pop: 650), but it has a huge personality. Named after the town of Grafton, Massachusetts - the town where the founder came from - it was built as a center of trade at the mout...
Pere Marquette State Park Lodge
Grafton, Illinois ‐ Oct 7, 2018

October 7, 2018: Peoria Heights to Grafton, Illinois map & log

+11

October 7, 2018: Peoria Heights to Grafton, Illinois

2018.10.07 Rivers 4 - Peoria Heights to Grafton, Illinois

October 7, 2018 - Peoria to Grafton, IL

We got up a 6am in the dark to prepare the boat to leave the IVY Club, and within minutes of first light, we left the marina ensuring not to hit roof of the covered part of the marina while at the sam...
Western-most point of the Great Loop
LaGrange Lock
Logsdon Tug Service
Havana, Illinois
Peoria Lock
IVY Club, Peoria Heights ‐ Oct 5, 2018

+7

October 6, 2018: Peoria, Illinois

+7

October 5, 2018: Ottawa to Peoria, Illinois

2018.10.05 Rivers 3 - Ottawa to Peoria Heights, Illinois

October 6, 2018 - Peoria, IL

Next day we dedicated to exploring Peoria a bit. Because the highway outside the IVY Club in the direction of Peoria was fairly hostile to bicycles - no shoulder, no sidewalk - we took an Uber to the...

October 5, 2018 - Ottawa to Peoria, IL

We awoke to pouring rain, but we had arranged with some other boaters the night before that one of the party would call the Starved Rock Lock at 6am and see whether we could all get through the lock 1...
Starved Rock Lock
Heritage Harbor, Ottawa ‐ Oct 4, 2018
Starved Rock State Park

+13

October 4, 2018: Starved Rock State Park
Heritage Harbor, Ottawa
Ottawa, Illinois

+13

October 4, 2018: Ottawa, Illinois

October 4, 2018 - Ottawa, IL

The Heritage Harbor Marina is a fair way out of the town of Ottawa. To our delight, we discovered that there were bike trails running along the tow path of the old Illinois & Michigan Canal right behi...
Heritage Harbor, Ottawa ‐ Oct 3, 2018

+13

October 3, 2018: Joliet to Ottawa, Illinois

2018.10.03 Rivers 2 - Joliet to Ottawa, Illinois

October 3, 2018 - Joliet to Ottawa, IL

When we awoke in the dark the next morning in preparation for our pre-sunrise departure, we inspected the area around the boat and discovered massive mats of grass and debris surrounding the boat. Rat...
Marseilles Lock
Dresden Island Lock
Junction of Des Plaines and Kankakee Rivers
Brandon Road Lock
Joliet, Illinois ‐ Oct 2, 2018

October 2, 2018: Chicago to Joliet, Illinois map & log

+7

October 2, 2018: Chicago to Joliet, Illinois

2018.10.02 Rivers 1 - Chicago to Joliet, Illinois

October 2, 2018 - Chicago, IL to Hammond, IN to Joliet, IL

Because of Salty's height (18.5 ft with radar post down), we were unable to go down the Chicago River to the Illinois River because of a 17-foot railroad bridge downtown. However, we are able to go do...
Lockport Lock
Electric fish barrier
Santa Fe RR Bridge (19.7')
Junction of Chicago and Calumet Rivers
O'Brien Lock
Torrence Ave. Bridge (22')
Calumet River
Hammond Marina, Indiana
Chicago ‐ Oct 1, 2018

2018.09.23 Lake Michigan 8 - St Joseph, Michigan to Chicago, Illinois
Waldron Drive

October 1, 2018: Waldron Drive
Lakeview East, Chicago
Chicago ‐ Sep 23, 2018

+28

9/23/2018 - 9/30/2018: Chicago

+7

9/23/2018: St. Joseph, MI to Chicago, IL

September 24 - October 1, 2018 - Chicago, IL

What can be said about Chicago? So different from New York City, so strikingly beautiful in its geography and so stunning in the curation of its architectural skyline and tasteful design of its parks...

September 23, 2018 - St. Joseph, MI to Chicago, IL

After two days of rough seas, all the weather indicators and forecasts said that the route to Chicago would be very calm. This is the first crossing during which we theoretically should lose all visua...
Saint Joseph ‐ Sep 20, 2018

+16

9/20/2018: Saugatuck, MI to St. Joseph, MI

2018.09.20 Lake Michigan 7 - Saugatuck to St Joseph, Michigan

September 21-22, 2018 - St. Joseph, MI

The winds and waves on Lake Michigan held us from going anywhere these two days. We spent the time by cleaning up the dinghy with a cleaning solution obtained from Wolf Marine that gave it a white bri...

September 20, 2018 - Saugatuck to St. Joseph, MI

It rained all night and early in the morning - thunderstorms passed over. By mid-morning, there were signs of the skies clearing up and as we left Kalamazoo Lake, the clouds finally parted and blue sk...
Saugatuck ‐ Sep 19, 2018

+13

9/18/2018: Grand Haven, MI to Saugatuck, MI
Windmill Island Gardens, Holland

+10

9/19/2018: Holland, Michigan

September 19, 2018 - Saugatuck to Holland, MI

We decided to take the ambitious 30 mile roundtrip to Holland Michigan on our bikes. There were thankfully broad bike trails and lanes that led us all the way to the picturesque town on Lake Macatawa,...
Saugatuck ‐ Sep 18, 2018

9/18/2018: Grand Haven to Saugatuck, Michigan Map & Log

2018.09.18 Lake Michigan 6 - Grand Haven to Saugatuck, Michigan

September 18, 2018 - Grand Haven to Saugatuck, MI

We awoke to a hazy humid day and decided that instead of going to Holland, where all the marinas are far from town and things to see, we would go to Saugatuck, which has a reputation as picturesque ha...
Kalamazoo Lake
Kalamazoo River
Grand Haven ‐ Sep 17, 2018
Fruitport

+10

9/17/2018 - Grand Haven to Spring Lake / Fruitport, MI

September 17, 2018 - Grand Haven to Fruitport, MI

Overnight the duality of the port showed itself - not only is this a haven for pleasure craft, but at 1am we heard a strange sound like rain but grinding. We looked out to see in the dark a 650 foot t...
Grand Haven ‐ Sep 16, 2018

+19

9/16/2018: Ludington, MI to Grand Haven, MI

9/16/2018: Ludington to Grand Haven, Michigan Map & Log

2018.09.16 Lake Michigan 5 - Ludington to Grand Haven, Michigan

September 16, 2018 - Ludington to Grand Haven, MI

The water was calm and flat - so we decided to make the 50+ mile trek down to Grand Haven. Passing Little Point Sable, White Lake/Whitehall and Muskegon...
Ludington ‐ Sep 15, 2018
Big Sable Point Lighthouse

+10

9/15/2018: Ludington State Park

September 15, 2018 - Ludington, MI

On a clear sunny hot day, we took our bikes out to Ludington State Park to see the Sand Dunes and the Big Sable Point Lighthouse. The bike trail course was flat and straight north out of Ludington. Th...
Ludington ‐ Sep 14, 2018

+16

9/14/2018: Frankfort to Ludington, Michigan

9/14/2018: Frankfort to Ludington, Michigan: Map & Log

2018.09.14 Lake Michigan 4 - Frankfort to Ludington, Michigan

September 14, 2018 - Frankfort to Ludington, MI

The weather was sunny and calm today and looked like a great travel day. It was and, sorry, the video will be a bit dull. From Frankfort to Luddington is almost a straight-shot down the coast with one...
Frankfort ‐ Sep 13, 2018

+35

9/13/2018: Leland to Frankfort, Michigan

9/13/2018: Leland to Frankfort, Michigan Map & Log

2018.09.13 Lake Michigan 3 - Leland to Frankfort, Michigan

September 13, 2018 - Leland to Frankfort, MI

Leaving Leland Township Harbor you get the impression of diving into a symphony of shades of blue from the sky down the gunwhales hard to capture by camera. It's no wonder Michiganians (or Michigander...
Leland ‐ Sep 12, 2018

9/11/2018: Charlevoix to Leland, Michigan: Map & Log

September 12, 2018 - Lelanau Peninsula

The Lelanau Peninsula is famed for its wines, smoked fish and fruit. We hopped on our bikes to explore this cornucopia of Michigan and see for ourselves what was out there and left very impressed at i...
Northern Latitudes Distillers

+22

September 12, 2018: Leland Winery Tour
Leland ‐ Sep 11, 2018

+18

9/11/2018: Charlevoix to Leland, Michigan

2018.09.11 Lake Michigan 2 - Charlevoix to Leland, Michigan

September 11, 2018 - Charlevoix to Leland, MI

Prior to leaving Charlevoix harbor, we took Salty on a short loop through Lake Charlevoix, the larger lake past the Round Lake where the marina was located. We had about 30 minutes to kill as we waite...
Lake Michigan
Pine River Channel
Round Lake
Lake Charlevoix
Round Lake
Charlevoix ‐ Sep 9, 2018

+29

9/10/2018: Earl Young "mushroom houses" in Charlevoix

+11

9/9/2018: Mackinac Island to Charlevoix, Michigan

September 9, 2018 - Mackinac Island to Charlevoix, MI

The calmness of the waters unfortunately didn't last for long - around 4 am they picked up and by 8 am were worse than the previous day. We had looked at the forecast the previous evening and thought...
Lake Michigan

2018.09.09 Lake Michigan 1 - Mackinac Island to Charlevoix, Michigan
Mackinac Bridge
Straits of Mackinac
Mackinac Island ‐ Sep 6, 2018

+30

9/6/18 - 9/9/18: Mackinac Island

+13

9/6/2018: Drummond Island to Mackinac Island, Michigan

9/6/2018: Drummond Island to Mackinac Island, MI: Map & Log

September 7-8, 2018 - Mackinac Island, MI

Visiting Mackinac Island is like stepping back in time, but with waaay too many fudge shoppes (l lost count after 12 or so). Most of Mackinac Island is a Michigan State Park with strict rules on motor...

September 6, 2018 - Drummond Island to Mackinac Island, MI

Late the previous evening we were watching the news on TV and suddenly heard a slam against our hull. The wind had picked up and a sailboat trying to enter bow-first the slip next to us was caught by...
Lake Huron

2018.09.06 Lake Huron: Drummond Island to Mackinac Island, Michigan
De Tour Passage
Drummond Island Yacht Haven ‐ Sep 5, 2018

+10

9/5/2018: Meldrum Bay, ON, Canada to Drummond Island, MI, USA

9/5/2018: Meldrum Bay, ON, Canada to Drummond Island, MI, USA: Map & Log

September 5, 2018 - Meldrum Bay, Ontario to Drummond Island, Michigan

Looking at the forecast, it seemed we had an open weather window in the morning to make it to Drummond Island Yacht Haven. The marina is on the north side of Drummond Island, Michigan and safe from th...
Crossed the border back into the USA

2018.09.05 Northern Channel 3 - Meldrum Bay, Manitoulin Island to Drummond Island, Michigan
Northern-most point of the Great Loop, Canada
Meldrum Bay ‐ Sep 4, 2018

+13

9/4/2018: Benjamin Islands to Meldrum Bay, ON

9/4/2018: Benjamin Islands to Meldrum Bay, ON: Map & Log

2018.09.04 Northern Channel 2 - Benjamin Islands to Meldrum Bay

September 4, 2018 - Benjamin Islands to Meldrum Bay, North Channel

We woke up in the Benjamins to rain, lots of rain, pouring down. The forecast luckily was mostly just for rain, not so much thunderstorms - so we pulled up anchor and headed out for Meldrum Bay. Nearl...
Vidal Bay
North Benjamin Island anchorage ‐ Sep 3, 2018

+22

9/3/2018: Killarney, ON to Benjamin Islands

9/3/2018: Killarney, ON to Benjamin Islands: Map & Log

2018.09.03 Northern Channel 1 - Killarney to Benjamin Islands

September 3, 2018 - Killarney, Georgian Bay to Benjamin Islands, North Channel

We left Killarney late morning to being our crossing of Lake Huron's Northern Channel. After fueling up, we decided to build in an excursion to Baie Fine (pronounced "bay fin", no French intonation) t...
Little Current
Baie Fine
Killarney Mountain Lodge Marina ‐ Aug 31, 2018

+31

8/31/18 - 9/3/18: Killarney

+11

8/31/2018: Bustard Islands to Killarney ON

August 31, 2018: Bustard Islands to Killarney, Ontario map and log

September 1-2, 2018 - Killarney, Georgian Bay

Killarney is a tiny town that up until 40 years ago was only reachable by water, but has been rebuilt as a resort town. Killarney is built along a straight fjord-like cut, the Killarney Channel, betwe...
Killarney Channel

2018.08.31 Georgian Bay 7 - Bustard Islands to Killarney

August 31, 2018 - Bustard Islands to Killarney, Georgian Bay

The wind had picked up from the east and the Bustard Island anchorage was a lot more breezy than the day before, as well as the sky being overcast and gloomy. We had known that today was not to be as...
Collins Inlet (west)
Mill Lake
46.00 latitude
Collins Inlet (east)
Beaverstone Bay
Bustard Islands anchorage 2
Bustard Islands anchorage 1 ‐ Aug 30, 2018

+12

8/30/2018: Britt, ON to Bustard Islands

8/30/2018: Britt, ON to Bustard Islands: Map & Log

2018.08.30 Georgian Bay 6 - Byng Inlet to the Bustard Islands

2018.08.30 Call of the Common Loon (filmed in the Bustard Islands)

August 30, 2018 - Britt to Bustard Islands, Georgian Bay

The day started out brilliantly with a clear blue sky and crisp dry air and we set out with hopes for a great cruising day as that the Georgian Bay was forecast to have low winds and waves. And it was...
Wright's Marina, Britt, Ontario ‐ Aug 29, 2018

+7

August 29, 2018: Parry Sound to Britt, Ontario

August 29, 2018: Parry Sound to Britt, Ontario map and log

August 29, 2018 - Parry Sound to Britt, Georgian Bay

We left mid-morning to traverse the expanse of Parry Sound which was calm as it is very protected. The landscape here is less developed than other parts south of here due to the fact that most of Parr...
Byng Inlet ‐ Sep 2, 2018

2018.08.29 Georgian Bay 5 - Parry Sound to Byng Inlet
Pointe au Baril ‐ Aug 29, 2018
Dillon, Ontario
Big Sound Marina, Parry Sound ‐ Aug 26, 2018

+7

August 26, 2018: Fryingpan Island to Parry Sound, Ontario

August 26, 2018: Fryingpan Island to Parry Sound, Ontario map and log

2018.08.26 Georgian Bay 4 - Frying Pan Island to Parry Sound

August 27-28, 2018 - Parry Sound, Georgian Bay

The weather was completely lousy - rain, thunderstorms and heavily overcast - for Monday and Tuesday. The weather, wind and wave forecasts were equally dismal such that we decided to stay in the Parry...

August 26, 2018 - Fryingpan Island to Parry Sound, Georgian Bay

The rain let up overnight and the sun came out on this Sunday morning, as we cast off for Parry Sound. The course from Fryingpan Island to Parry Sound led us through the Devil's Elbow (not so sinister...
Henry's Fish Restaurant, Fryingpan Island ‐ Aug 25, 2018

+4

August 25, 2018: Indian Harbour to Henry's on Fryingpan Island

August 25, 2018: Indian Harbour to Henry's on Fryingpan Island map and log

2018.08.25 Georgian Bay 3 - Indian Harbour to Frying Pan Island

August 25, 2018 - Indian Harbour to Fryingpan Island, Georgian Bay

We pulled up anchor on this overcast midmorning and headed out in the direction of Fryingpan Island where we planned to stay overnight at Henry's Fish Restaurant. We made our way up through the island...
Indian Harbour ‐ Aug 24, 2018

+14

August 24, 2018: Beausoleil Island to Indian Harbour

August 24, 2018: Beausoleil Island to Indian Harbour map & log

2018.08.24 Georgian Bay 2 - Beausoleil Island to Indian Harbour

August 24, 2018 - Beausoleil Island to Indian Harbor, Georgian Bay

Another beautiful blue sunny sky greeted us and we set off after breakfast for an anchorage at Indian Harbour - about 14 miles from Beausoleil Bay. After wending our way out of the Bay through a narro...
Wana Keta, Beausoleil Island ‐ Aug 23, 2018

+10

August 23, 2018: Midland to Beausoleil Island

August 23, 2018: Midland to Beausoleil Island map & log

2018.08.23 Georgian Bay 1 - Midland to Beausoleil Island

August 23, 2018 - Midland to Beausoleil Island, Georgian Bay

After a frustrating six full days of technical help aboard the Salty Dog from both Cummins and Mercury, we finally reached a point of diminishing returns and where the vessel seemed to be functioning...
Midland (Bay Port Yachting Center) ‐ Aug 10, 2018

+4