AquaFennatic Great Loop Blog: Leland, MI to Ludington MI

Aug 23^th – It was a sunny and extremely windy day. We stayed in Leland and enjoyed the nice weather. We walked along a number of side streets to take in sights of the area and then walked along the beach in search of Leland blue rocks which seem to be sought after by many and sold in the local shops. Maria has been growing a collection of rocks, however I don’t know if she has any Leland blues. A sail boat that had engine problems left the marina today and we watch his boat rock and roll in the large waves and couldn’t believe he left in these windy conditions. Apparently he had to get back, however he would be in for at least 4 hours of travel with a large following sea that was traveling faster than his boat could travel. I wouldn’t want to be him. We went for docktails with Mike, Deby, Bob and Judy, however Maria’s allergies were really bothering her thus we didn’t go with the group to dinner, instead Maria relaxed on the couch and we watched the last episode of the mini series that we started to watch a while back. The winds are expected to continue until Thursday morning thus we will most likely have to stay in Leland for one more day.

Aug 24^th – It was a stormy and extremely windy day. We were awakened by a crashing sound of thunder this morning in the pouring rain. The winds got stronger as the morning progressed and we started rocking and rolling in the slip. It looks like it’s going to be one of those days where we’ll be doing a few jobs inside the boat and then watching a movie or two. Maria’s allergies are still bothering her thus she spent the morning relaxing in bed reading a book. As the day went on Maria started to feel better and the sun began to shine, however the winds were as strong as ever and I thought we were going to be blown away! Mike and Deby came over to our boat for docktails.

Aug 25^th – It was a warm day with moderate winds. We got up early to travel from Leland to Frankfort MI. The winds have dropped and the waves have dropped as well to between 2 – 4 feet however our trip was somewhat uncomfortable since the waves were hitting us on the beam which is the side of the boat. When we arrived in Frankfort we decided to stay in a marina since the winds are supposed to pick up again tonight, however they should drop enough that we’ll be able to travel again tomorrow morning. We walked into town and found they had 24 cans of Molson Canadian beer on sale for $15 ... Wow ... I haven’t ever seen Molson Canadian for so cheap! We also walked along the beach and out towards the lighthouse.

Aug 26^th – It was another sunny day with moderate winds. We got up early to travel from Frankfort MI to Ludington MI. The winds were supposed to be light with 2 foot waves, however the reality was that the winds were higher than expected and we had a following sea that consisted of 4 foot rollers that made it a little uncomfortable, especially when you hit rogue waves which were larger and caused us to rock and roll. We decided to anchor today since the winds will be light tonight. We went for a dingy run to check out the area and the clouds came out which made it a bit cool. Once we were back at the boat the sun came out so we soaked up the sun and I went for a swim in 74 degree F water. A boat that anchored beside us visited with their dingy and we found out that they are from Penetang ON and they are doing the loop as well. Later in the afternoon a pontoon boat came up to us with 2 couples that are both gold loopers. One of the couples were AGLCA Harbor Hosts and offered us any help we may need. They were the nicest people and helped us recharge our internal batteries since Maria was getting a little home sick. After dinner they came back to deliver us a taste of home ... a case of Molson Canadian. Thanks Mark and Vicki from Blue Willow and Jim and Connie from Patriot! You made our day :)