Woke early to an orange sun and clear skies as we leave Mackinac Island and Round Island lighthouse heading west up the Strait of Mackinac and under the “Mighty Mac” bridge.
The Mackinac Bridge was constructed from 1954-1957. The road bed is 148 feet above the water and the bridge is about seven miles long, spanning the Straits and connecting the Upper Peninsula to the mainland of Michigan.
We are no officially on Lake Michigan.
As we travel the Upper Peninsula is to our north and the mainland to our south. On the mainland is Mackinaw City and many homes along the shore. As we travel further west the Upper Peninsula slips out of sight as we are traveling closer to the south shore.
The Straits of Mackinac are littered with ship wrecks due to some shoals, but many are in deep water which means weather played a part in their sinking. Diving these wrecks has become a tourist attraction for the area.
As we approach the western end of the Strait the mainland becomes a series of islands.
Passing these islands we get the full brunt of the southwest seas on our bow and pass an abandoned lighthouse and the lighthouse that marks the shipping channel for the freighters. We did some splashing in the waves but was not an uncomfortable ride.
Continuing on we crossed the shipping channel as it turns south and then continued west to Beaver Island, another 14 miles. The waves more on our front quarter and later on our beam, we rolled a bit for 30 minutes before finding the protection of the lee side of the island.
Came into the harbor on the north end of Beaver Island and anchored. We got in here just in time as the winds started to pick up. Our anchoring was complicated by the throttle to the starboard engine became loose, so we had to shut that engine down as it was stuck in reverse. Glad we have two engines.
Beaver Island is mostly the largest of this series of islands in Northern Lake Michigan. The island is mostly state park with beaches, lots of trails for biking and hiking and several campgrounds. There is a ferry which brings over guests and their cars to the island. Here are some shots of the harbor area.
The history of the Island is storied with Stonehenge like rock circles, Odawa Indians fur trading posts, Irish American farmers and fishermen, and a small sect of Mormon, followers of James Strang, all inhabiting the island. The island was originally named for its many beaver lodges.
Back to our story- Lunch was delayed as we puzzled out how to remedy the throttle situation. Here is Bill with his trusty JB Weld fixing, we hope, the throttle mechanism.
Well we worked all afternoon and got the system back together, but it is still not working properly. Disappointed!
Day 91 August 20. Lay day or really repair day in Beaver Island.
Woke to give the old college try a second time to fix the throttle. Well the second time worked once but not the second time. So we had lunch and Bill built a third try and while it hardened we launched the dinghy to visit the small town of St James and walk Beaver Island.
St James basically is one Main Street that curves around the bay with a history museum, stores and public town buildings and parks, one with a sandy beach, and two marinas . On the far end is a lighthouse and marine research facility and Coast Guard Station.
We walked through town and went in the Old Mormon Print Shop, which is the only remaining building left from the Mormon era of the island( 1940’s). The building now houses the history museum where we learned of the Odawa Indian fishing and fur trading, the influx of Irish immigrants who farmed and fished and lumbered the island and of course how the Mormons came and took over the island. The town of St James is named for the Mormon leader James Stang who claimed to be king of this and the surrounding islands. With the early demise of J Stang, the Mormon era on the island ended.
I finally found a beaver in this museum, but he does not move!!!
Next we walked the island with its many trails through wild forests and inland lakes and along gravel roads with a few cottages, old farmsteads and inns scattered across the north end of the island. Unfortunately, we did not get to the west side with its beaches, but saw the beaches on the north side of the island.
We did stop at a local tradition - Freddy’s Franks for their specialty, hotdogs of every variety. We skipped the ice cream, knowing we could indulge in fudge later.
Back on the boat we attempted a third fix. The third try was a charm except we put in one thing backwards. So we did it again to get it right. Unfortunately the fix did not hold for the duration so we will operate in close quarters from the lower helm til a real fix can be made. Bummer! Here is a picture of Bill's JB Weld fix to the metal fitting that broke inside the gear box.
To compensate we had a beautiful sunset and excellent star gazing. And ate fudge, always feel better with fudge.
