June 4, 2006 – Mile 1217 to 1328, 111 mi run
Frankfort, MI –Mile to Mackinaw City, MI.
We left this morning at 7am in 55 degree, sunny, flat conditions. Heading North, we crossed the 45th parallel at 9am, meaning that we were now closer to the North Pole than the equator. To Port is Manitou island and there’s a shipwreck sitting right out off the beach. I want to say, how cool, but I’m sure the crew on board when it happened didn’t think so…
Around noon we alter course from Mackinaw to Beaver Island for fuel, since St. Johns Harbor is about 50 mi closer than Macinaw City. The water on Lake Michigan right now is like glass, and the air coming off of it is like from a refrigerator. Coming up to Beaver Island, we’re in 360’ of water. Once in the harbor, the water looks just like we’re in the Florida Keys, deep blue, green and crystal clear. Water at the fuel dock is about 7’ and the stones on the bottom are clear as day. We pay $3.79 a gallon, and took on 280 gallons, no discount for cash, no discount for quantity. I was griping about the cost, but little did I realize that I would pay more, much more….
Back out on the Lake, past the shoal markers for Vienna, East, and Gray’s Reef Shoal. Around 6pm we can make out the uprights on the Mackinaw Bridge and we’re still more than 25 miles away. As we get closer, you can see large windmills up on the hills at the shore. At 7:40pm we’re under the bridge. It is truly awesome, spanning more than 5 miles across. Entering the harbor for the marina, we’re crossed by the ferry that shuttles over to Mackinaw Island. It’s a hydrofoil with a rooster tail about 80’ high.
We stayed in Mackinaw City Marina where the water in the slip is 14’ deep and you can clearly see the bottom. Mackinaw City looks like something at Disney. Everything in the downtown area looks to be newly remodeled with all of the store fronts complementing each other. There must be 20 fudge shops within eyeshot of where we ate dinner, which was the “Key Hole Bar”. Local food at it’s best.
Pics are from the harbor in Beaver Island, (check out the clarity of the water) the bridge at Mackinaw, and Mackinaw City Bridge.