Days Events:

Woke to fog with visibility about quarter mile; temp 62 with dewpoint 60 [fog when the latter is within 2 degrees of former]. Bugs/spiders in evidence everywhere - it is a constant and daily effort to keep them 'controlled'. Sun came out at noon. So did the wind!

Walked 12 min. [avoiding the Can.Geese and their 'plugs'] to the Mackinaw City Municipal Marina next door and picked up Amazon packages they had been kind enough to hold. Another nice marina complex and staff - gave me a large plastic bag to carry the stuff from the shipping box; so gave her a few of my Maud's Decaff.Keurig that we had ordered.

Then, stopped at Sheplers Marine Store between our marina and the city municipal one and bought gal. of red antifreeze/coolant [Shell Rotella ELC - compatible with the Peak Global/red]. Great store with lots of supplies; and a repairs site.

Another looper came in - a 49' DeFever; from TX and they are multi-year - started the Loop in 2016 and working at it slowly.

FWIW, we are now at the most northern point in our Loop venture - latitude 45d 46.706'N, longitude 84d 43.269'W.

Maintenance:

Cleaned the strainer for the a/c pump and had to prime it afterwards; and since had the wet-dry vac out, sucked out the bilge water from yesterdays travel/rain. Coolant cap/expansion tank level remains good. Looked at the fittings at the top and photo'd it - couldn't see any loose/leaking ones. Ah well. Will keep adding fluid as needed.

Tried one of the CC cameras in the engine room - it does work with a good image [on wifi with battery power], but no place to secure it and I think one with a definite IR temperature capability might be better. Will research more.

We were able to have a 5th night here, July 3rd; but, needed to move to another slip, from A4 to A1, which is actually better because we can tie off to both fingers and make rocking more controllable. Added another fender board, total 3, to help keep us off the piling/posts, as well as another cross spring line at the stern and one on the port midships to help stop us pummeling into the stbd dock from the wind and chop.

Photos:

Several of the downtown/marina area, which is a pleasant walkabout. The history of the USCG Icebreaker is on a plaque across the street from the Starbucks [they're everywhere, everywhere!].

The old ferry terminal was next to us, before the bridge was built, and they used an elevator to lift the cars onto the ferries [see photos]! The site is now a State pier, used for barges and cargo, but has a water temperature station for NOAA as well [see photo with information plaque]. There is a cluster of small windmills beside us also, and are used to power this site [see photo].

Admirals Desk:

.....Big event of the day - defrosted the freezer. It was very heavily iced so I think it probably either lost power for a while within the last week or more likely the wind and rain caused the lid to leak. The cover we had on it got caught in the wind and I couldn't get it back on. Used my hairdryer to speed up the deicing process.

.....We walked to the main street this afternoon thinking we'd find a few grocery items. Found one store that was mostly empty, one with Wonder bread, beer and wine and one with fudge and popcorn and ice cream. This is a small tourist town. The "better" shopping is further away but there is no transportation available. Glad we stocked up earlier.

We moved the boat from slip A4 to A1 this afternoon. We were able to add an extra day to our stay by moving. The marinas are booked solid for the holiday weekend and we couldn't find anything for July 3 so we are relieved.

Looking forward to our ferry ride to and a horse drawn carriage tour of Mackinaw Island tomorrow.

That's all. Good night.

Plans:

Tomorrow we ferry to Mackinac I. They pick us up in a shuttle to the ferry terminal; will spend the day there and be back before supper.

Comments:

Ann R  •  01 Jul, 2021 - This looks like an interesting place with things to see / read about. The island should be great fun! Enjoying your posts!

Ernie R  •  01 Jul, 2021 - One more “lake” to go! Would be interesting to visit in winter!

Tom W.  •  01 Jul, 2021 -

Expect to see more great photos of the island after your ferry visit.

Helen C.  •  01 Jul, 2021 - Looks like an awesome stop even in the fog. Such great use of driftwood! Enjoy the famous island.

Bernie  •  01 Jul, 2021 - Hey guys, here’s an aromatic spider deterrent which I think works – I use it in my garage. Get peppermint essential oil put a few drops on several cotton balls, locate them here and there in the space you want spider deterrence. In the garage. I have them in a little tin cans or plastic containers

(The garage smells really good!).

Robert & Margaret  •  02 Jul, 2021 - Bernie, good idea for inside areas and will try to find some. Outside, mostly the spider broom and hosing/brushing is all we can do. Thanks.