JACKIE B III Going Loopy

This is the beautiful suspension bridge over the straits of Mackinac, between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.  The bridge connects the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. This is the beautiful Grand Hotel featured in the movie, “Somewhere in Time,” starring Christopher Reeves. The island also has an historic fort built during the Revolutionary War by the British.  It was surrendered after the war but captured during the first land battle of the war of 1812. There is so much beautiful architecture here spanning three centuries including French Rustic, Military, Colonial, Victorian, Carpenter Gothic, Greek Revival, Colonial Revival, Classical Revival among others. This is where we stayed for two nights.  What a great place to be weathered in.  Also with a little rain, the island was less crowded our second day. Ferries and ships of all sizes make frequent stops here. We were glad to be at the farms side of the harbor. By far the most interesting thing about Mackinac ...

We left the white cliffs of the Killarney Mountains and headed backs through Little Current to the smooth pink granite of the Benjamin Islands.  We tied up to the shore on Crocker Island, One of the islands that make up the Benjamin Islands because of forecasted winds and the crowded anchorages on the other islands. Plus we had our trusted dinghy and we went exploring. The waters were pristine.  Mike had to go snorkeling. I am a big chicken in cold water. But I did go wading. It felt great on my knees. Everywhere we looked the views were breathtaking. If you look closely you can see many boats anchored in the distance. We really enjoyed this place and wish we had had more time to explore.  We will probably come back next summer. This is the view from our anchorage before we went to bed. The weather is dictating our trip from here on out. Gore Bay is on Manitoulin Island and provided a very safe place to be during the forecasted storms. They even had a water park, but they...

We left Killarney early in the morning.  We needed to get too Little Current for a delivery and unfortunately this was a festival weekend and slips were on a first come first served basis. We arrived in Little Current, but needed to wait for the swing bridge to open.  This is a two lane highway and the only road access to Manitoulin Island. Mike was able to squeeze into the only spot along the dock behind this beautiful teaching ship.  They had many young people on board learning the ropes, even climbing the rigging. Roy in the photo above right runs the Cruiser.Net and is the Looper Harbor Host.  He allowed us to make a huge shipment to his home and he delivered it to the dock. He also invited us to a happy hour in town. This is an example of Cruisers helping Cruisers.  We met these folks at the happy hour and mentioned that Mike couldn’t find a barber. She set up on our stern and our friend Jerry also got a haircut. Mike “paid” her by providing Orange Crushes ...

The next day we made our way through the rocky channels of Georgian Bay to another picturesque anchorage next to Stairs Island.  We were the only boat there that night and it was our base of operations for exploring waters that were non navigable for the Jackie B III. But our little dinghy was up for the challenge.  I kept watch for the rocks and we found the hidden beach before the waters opened up again. Our goal for this exploration was the Ojibway Club.  They have gasoline for our dinghy and a small but well provisioned market.  The locals send their children here for “camp.”  Some bring their children and others drive themselves in various small craft.  We arrived at the end of the day and it was very busy for a while. After picking up a few things from the market we had a lovely walk around the island on the club trails.  It was great to move after being in the boat all day. We made our way back to the anchorage and had a great dinner One of our ...