ssloop: Leland-Frankfort

Our cruise from Northport to Leland was a little rocky, but we were glad we made the run when we did. It was hot and sunny when we arrived Leland so we dropped the dinghy, headed out to Lake Michigan and cruised along the sandy coastline. That evening we walked to a nearby restaurant where we ran into Tim & Eileen VerStrate high school friends from home. Tim is a builder and customer of Steve and awakened the captain to the fact that his time away from work is ticking down! Argh!

As predicted, the weather turned ugly on Tuesday. Leland Harbor is a unique harbor. Rather than a channel to an inland lake or river it is simply a marina surrounded by a rocky breakwater right on Lake Michigan. So while we were protected from waves we were exposed to the wind and therefore bounced around in our slip.

The cool, wet, windy weather on both Tuesday & Wednesday kept us land bound (no boating on the Pura Vida or the dinghy). Are these the dog days of summer? For excitement we walked the nearby beach with the big waves a crashing.

On Thursday with umbrellas in hand we caught a bus at 8am to Traverse City. We spent the day dodging rain drops, exploring the town and even took in the movie Mr Holmes. After the movie, Sheli asked how they made Sherlock Holmes look so old in some scenes and younger in other scenes. The wise captain replied "it's simple, they filmed all the young scenes, then filmed the old scenes after he captained a boat on the Loop for a year!" HaHa! Traverse City was the largest city we've been in quite some time so it was a fun day.

Friday morning after checking the weather and allowing the lake to settle somewhat from the previous day's winds we untied our lines and headed out. We had hoped to anchor out for the night at South Manitou Island but our weather window (wind) dictated that we carry on to the next safe harbor - Frankfort. Our 40 mile trek started out somewhat rough, then smoothed out and then the winds and waves began to build again as we neared Frankfort. We pulled into Jacobson Marina around 3:00pm. Later in the evening Steve's sister Sue and husband Randy arrived by car from Grand Rapids to spend a couple days with us.

Saturday morning Sheli & Sue went shopping to the local farmers market while Steve & Randy toured Betsie Lake on the dinghy. In the afternoon we drove to Sleeping Bear Dunes and climbed the dunes for a view of Lake Michigan and the Manitou Islands. Wow! After our hike we checked out the small town of Glen Arbor. It was a beautiful but windy day.

Sunday morning with umbrellas in hand we walked to the Frankfort United Congregational Church. After church, with umbrellas overhead, we scampered back to the boat in the rain. The rains continued until mid afternoon. Once the rains stopped, Sue & Randy headed for home. The winds continued to strengthen into the evening and night causing Captain Elvis to claim the next morning that we "rocked and rolled" more than any other night of the trip. (He even went out in his underwear during the night to adjust our dock lines.)

We will continue to wait out the weather for a safe opportunity to move on. There are 6 other Loopers here doing the same.

Leland Harbor right out in Lake Michigan.