Detroit/Port Huron/Port Sanilac

Detroit

August 27

Detroit

August 27

After a long day of travel, we pulled into the Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle around 5 p.m., with just enough time to chill out, clean up, and put on our “Boogie Shoes” before going to Motor City Casino to see KC and the Sunshine Band. Here's a bit of trivia: What's KC's name? At 59 years of age, he rocks, and it is apparent that he is really having fun! We bought tickets just before the show, and got 4^th row center seats. It pays to get last-minute tickets at a casino when they release seats that aren't being used for casino guests. Another bit of trivia: How many records has the band sold? After the show, we were drawn like magnets to the casino – Rob to slots and me to blackjack – and the positive vibes from the show stayed with us. “That's the way, uh huh, uh huh, we like it, uh-huh, uh huh!”

Trivia answers: Harry Wayne Casey and more than 100 million records.

What we learned: When traveling from Belle Isle to Detroit, take the ferry across and call BJR Limo Service (Thanks, Ron!). Five Guys burgers beat McDonalds as a late-night snack!

Downtown Detroit

Detroit River • U.S. on Left • Canada on Right

KC and the Sunshine Band

Port Huron

August 28

The cruise across Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River was beautiful. I had always made an assumption that water spanning the great lakes all looked like Lake Erie. WRONG. The water up the St. Clair River has a turquoise hue, and is crystal clear with color variations determined by depth. We stayed at Port Huron Yacht Club, which was the hopping. Michigan has more boats registered than any other state, and from what we saw, people in Port Huron really enjoy their boats! The boat traffic, both with sail and motor boats, was non-stop. Downtown Port Huron, a quaint city that dates back to the 1800s, appears to be struggling in spite of its vibrant boating community. Our thanks go to Brock, Port Huron's dock master, for his hospitality.

Port Huron Bridge

Port Sanilac

August 29

When leaving Port Huron, we passed under the Blue Water Bridge, the second busiest crossing between the United States and Canada after the Ambassador Bridge at Detroit-Windsor. We docked at Port Sanilac Harbor Commission marina, where they had laundry facilities and a near-by grocery store. We walked to the grocery store, and utilized the marina's courtesy vehicle for a ride back. when asking the driver what he recommends to tourists when they are in town, his response was, “If you ask me, nothing!” After putting away groceries, it was laundry time, followed by cocktails and appetizers on Gary Forte's boat, where we met his wife, Sheryl, and their friends Sheryl and Dick, who plan to sell their 42' Hunter sail boat, buy a trawler, and do the great loop next year. The Forte's have a 42' Californian trawler that Gary is consistently updating. Our thanks go to them for their hospitality.

Blue Water Bridge

Flags just past Blue Water Bridge

Sheryl, Dick, Sheryl and Gary

Sunrise at Port Sanilac

Lady Royal at Sunrise

Put In Bay • August 26-28

We arrived at Put In Bay, tied up at a mooring ball, and took the Boardwalk water taxi into town. While we thought mooring would be a serene way to enjoy the island. We knew the island was about "rockin' and rolling, but didn't think it would mean so in this sense! After having lunch at one of the Boardwalk restaurants, we walked around town, toured the island on a golf cart, listened to Mustang Sally at the Beer Barrell Saloon; and Bob Gatewood and the Calabash Band at the Round House. We continued rockin' and rolling through the night, and relocated to a calmer area the next morning. Although weekdays on the island are fairly quiet, the above mentioned establishments have music daily. After working for a while, we enjoyed spending time on the island, and listened to music by 7^th Heaven; and Joe Bachman & Crew.

What we learned: When the boats around you in a mooring field move, move with them!

Put In Bay's Boardwalk... now that needed a caption!

Only 2315 miles until Key West!

Too cute... I meant the swings and sand
(but we're pretty cute, too!)

Perry's Monument

Sunrise behind sail boat in mooring field.

The Loop Begins!

Vermilion

August 25, 2010

We pushed off from Edgewater Yacht Club Tuesday, August 24 at 1 p.m., heading to Vermilion. The lake was choppy, with about four-foot waves, until turning into the Black River. Vermilion is a quaint, beautiful town, with homes and private docks lining the river. The people we met couldn't have been friendlier. We first pulled into a dock at the wrong marina, only to find friendly neighbors who told us the dock master just down the river was expecting a 42' boat from Edgewater. My error! It gave us a little bit of extra experience docking, and made Rob sweat just a tad more! When tying up at the correct dock, we were immediately told about a couple, whose boat was just a few slips down from us, who had completed the loop. We then met Dan and Judy Kernell, who shared some stories and advice. Tips shared were: first and foremost, take your time and have fun; get bicycles; and get a shotgun (Marc, if we get one, it's not becuase of them... but because of you!). They also suggested we go to dinner at a local pub called Rudy's, which we did. After a good night's rest, well, as good as it gets with trains going by every 10 minutes, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise, walked around town, and headed toward Put In Bay.

Quote of the day: At 8 ½ knots, Key West is a long way from here!

What we learned: Hold on tight!

Who we met: Tom and Brian at Vermilion Boat Club; Dan and July Kernell, fellow loopers.