We woke at 4:30 am at the Presque Isle Marina; much earlier than usual, excited about the day ahead. After drinking a pot of coffee, we took a walk out the marina pier and watched a bright red sun rise over the pine trees. This is a big day for us! We'd decided to make the 75 mile trek to St. Ignace where we'd complete our Great Loop adventure. A part of that decision was the impending rough weather forecasted for the next few days. Our other option was to move to Cheboygan. That would leave us only about 20 miles from our final destination. Instead, tt made sense to just make our last day a long one. We needed to get to Door County in time to catch a plane to Connecticut in a little over a week. Timing was tight!
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| Sunrise over Old Presque Isle Light |
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| Mystic at Presque Isle |
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| Sunrise peeking over the pines - Presque Isle, MI |
After packing up our folding bikes and securing them along
Mystic's deck, we were ready to head out onto Lake Huron. We slipped past the red channel marker in Presque Isle Harbor and turned north on the lake. It was a cool morning with light winds. As the day opened before us the temperature rose and warmed us.
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| Passing Old Presque Isle Light |
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| Passing New Presque Isle Light - tallest light on Lake MI |
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| New Presque Isle Light |
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| New Presque Isle Light |
Passing the red channel marker Presque Isle Bay
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| 40 Mile Point Lighthouse - Rogers City Michigan |
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| 40 Mile Point Light - Lake Huron |
While we cruise, we monitor the Nebo tracking app to see if other Loopers are nearby. We noticed that LegaSea had left the sheltered North Cove at Presque Isle and were catching up to us. We sent messages back and forth with Paige who told us that they planned to stop in Cheboygan. She said they would slow down as they passed and take photos of Mystic on her last day on the Loop. This was a wonderful surprise and a early celebration of our accomplishment. It meant so much to us to share this moment with Paige and Jim.
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| Beth at the helm as LegaSea passes Mystic |
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| Jim and Paige wave to us from LegaSea's deck |
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| LegaSea moves ahead |
Photos by Paige on LegaSea
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| Mystic heading for St. Ignace |
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| Mystic under the Looper Burgee |
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| Mystic on Lake Huron |
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| Close up shot - Mystic |
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| Sharing our wake crossing with LegaSea |
By the time we got to the Straits of Mackinac we were weary. We'd covered more than 200 miles over the last few days. We'd been pushing to keep on track since we passed under the big Blue Water Bridge and entered Lake Huron. The channel between Cheboygan and Bois Blanc Island was busy with fishing boats and sailboats zig-zagging around us. We could see big dark clouds approaching from the southwest and knew it was possible we wouldn't beat the weather. We passed Mackinac Island under increasingly rough and windy conditions.
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| Poe Reef Lighthouse off of Cheboygen, MI |
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| The Mackinac Bridge |
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| The Grand Hotel - Mackinac Island |
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| Mackinac Island Ferry |
As we approached St. Ignace harbor, a ferry cut in front of us. Dave made a quick u-turn maneuver to get out of it's way then lined Mystic up for the entrance. We'd requested a slip that was starboard tie but found it was actually port tie when we got there. We thought we had enough time to move our fenders but the wind pushed us up between the two docks at a rapid pace then took control away from Dave and swung Mystic's bowsprit dangerously close to a big trawler. Between the two of us, we were able to fend off just in time to avoid a collision. Mystic's bow swung away from the trawler but, in the process, our bowsprit smacked into a dock post. The impact cut through a 3x5 section of the varnish that protects the wood. OUCH! That bright work is sacred to us!
We needed a few moments to secure Mystic and catch our breath after this near catastrophe. It is another reminder that things can get complicated in an instant on a boat. Wind and docking conditions are not always perfect. We got lucky! After acknowledging that we'd dodged a bullet on our last day on the Loop we were ready to celebrate. We toasted our arrival with a glass of our son's home brewed Meade then headed into town for dinner. It was a busy Saturday night but we found seats at the bar at MI Patio Bar and Grill across from the marina. We ordered a beer and fish tacos. The bartender told us there were fireworks which we could watch from our boat. A local guy sat next to Dave and began chatting with us. He asked where we were from and got really excited when he learned that we'd just completed America's Great Loop. He informed us that he would be starting the Loop in two weeks. He wanted to celebrate our accomplishment with a toast. Dave suggested peppermint schnapps but our new friend wanted to go big and ordered tequila.
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| Our new friend in St. Ignace |
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| MI Patio Bar and Grill |
Needless to say, we never saw those fireworks. Instead, we chatted about our Great Loop experience, and answered questions for several hours before making our way back to Mystic for a much needed rest.
WE MADE IT!!! We left Knife River Minnesota on September 4th, 2016 and arrived in St. Ignace on August 21, 2021. After over 6,000 miles and almost exactly 5 years of travel, we crossed our wake, completing the circumnavigation of the eastern United States aboard our Alberg 35, sailing vessel Mystic.
We stayed in St Ignace for two nights, mainly to wait out weather but also to rest. The morning after our arrival we woke to high winds; happy that we pushed to get there before the weather changed. We walked to the Dollar General for groceries then got our bikes out to explore the area further. We rode south to view the Mackinac bridge from the shoreline, making it to the Vistor's Center along the roadway that takes cars over the bridge. We could have ridden our bikes over but decided it wasn't for us. One of us is a bit afraid of heights!
Scenes around town - St. Ignace Michigan
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How Cool! 350 Years Old!
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| Things to do in St. Ignace |
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| Wawatam Lighthouse St. Ignace |
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| North Graham Shoal Bouy |
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| Bentley's Cafe |
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| Movie Theatre |
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| Murdick's Fudge |
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| Zac & Mac's Chocolate Haus |
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| The Gold Mine |
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| Indian Village Shop and Museum |
On our way back, we stopped at the Double Decker for ice cream. I had Peanut Butter Mackinac Island Fudge and Dave had Strawberry Cheesecake. He found a piece of plastic embedded in his treat. It appeared to be a piece of the tub lid. He told the server so she could check for other broken pieces.
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| The Double Decker |
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| Our folding bikes at the Double Decker Patio |
We walked to the American Legion Park to watch an outdoor concert with the Rough Boys, finding a nice spot on the lawn to relax and enjoy the show. We were slowly unwinding from our hard journey. Back aboard Mystic, we began planning our way to Marinette where we would leave our boat for the winter. We would be hauling out early so we could catch a flight to Connecticut on the 29th. Our schedule didn't leave much room for error.
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| 85 foot Appledore IV Tall Ship on Lake Michigan |
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| View of the Appledore IV Tall Ship from American Legion Park |
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| Seagull - front row seat at the Rough Boys concert |
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| The Rough Boys Concert |
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| Sunset over Mystic at St. Ignace |
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| Mystic at St. Ignace |
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| Moon over St. Ignace Municipal Marina |
The Rough Boys concert wrapped up our adventure nicely by covering a Bob Seger favorite. Our long journey is complete but our adventure is not over. It's time to turn the page and explore more of our world aboard Mystic. We're deep into planning and negotiating where we'll go next. We'll regroup in Marinette next spring and begin a new chapter in 2022.
The Rough Boys - Turn the Page
See here I am
On the road again
There I go
Turn the page...
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