Back in the USA!

September 13 – 16

Last Friday was a full moon here in Louisville. That day had been quite overcast all day in the North Channel for our crew who were still in Canadian waters. Debbie stepped out on deck later that evening and the full moon peeked out from the clouds. Great pic Deb!

The crew had been holed up on Meldrum Island with all of the other 34 inhabitants for 3 days waiting for the winds to subside. On Sunday, the 15th the winds calmed and the seas laid down so Whisky Business departed with plans to get to Mackinaw City, Michigan, crossing back into the USA. It was not to be as the winds picked up so they did get to US waters but stayed in the quaint village of De Tour. Left this morning at 7:30 planning to run all the way to Charlevoix, Mi. which is a great town on the lake. Fog had other plans. Fog rolled in this afternoon stopping them in Mackinaw City where they refueled. Only $700 in fuel today. Winds are looking good for another travel day tomorrow for a run of 55 miles to Charlevoix.

This image of a Great Lakes freighter Debbie caught with her iPad is eerily similar to the freighter SS Edmond Fitzgerald who was lost with 29 souls on board on November 9, 1975. She was caught in a storm with hurricane force winds and waves up to 35 feet in height! Had she been able to endure one more hour underway she could have made port. She sank in 530 feet of water so quickly the captain had no time for a distress call. Rough seas can show up in a heartbeat on the Great Lakes. Waves of 35 feet? Uh, that’s almost as tall as a 2 story house stacked on another 2 story house! Extreme caution is to be taken on these “inland seas” from October through June.

Where the hell is the captain? Debbie? Hmmmm…

See the dotted line that the Whisky Business icon is crossing? Back home in the USA!

The water is so much prettier when the sun is shining.

Have to do it. This lighthouse or other Great Lakes lighthouses just like this one seem to appear in every Looper’s blog. Guess ours should be no different.

Map of the route today. I believe the NEBO app we use is based on cell phone coverage. Out on Lake Huron you can see where they lost their signal.

Great boat name, notice the port of call.

Take a look at this boat. Debbie really likes it. I have been talking to Debbie for a year about a boat to keep on the Ohio River. It would fit on a boat lift. I believe this boat is a Marinette. Marinette’s were produced in Louisville at Standiford Field from the 60’s into the 90’s. Kind of cult boats. They sell today for what they sold for when they were new, provided they are in good shape.

The boat below is in a “Travel Lift”, a machine used to lift boats out of the water in slings. Glad this boat is NOT Whisky Business.

Up and down the coast of Lake Michigan, the tourist towns are full of fudge shops. I mean it, you simply cannot believe the number of fudge shops. All of the fudge shop photo’s that follow are located ON ONE STREET!!!