We left Marquette, MI after a 3 day stay and spent the next 6 nights on anchor in 2 different bays, yes, hiding from weather, while making our way into Sault St. Marie MI. We will be here for a couple of weeks as there are a few minor maintenance items that need to be completed and weather, yep that again, looks pretty dismal for the next 2 weeks in the Great Lakes.
While traveling we are always interested in meeting with fellow Loopers. Loopers don’t usually travel into Lake Superior, but we did meet a couple of them that did. Sharing stories of the adventure is always a fun time, as well as the “docktail” gatherings.
We also enjoy talking “Mainship” (boat make) with other Mainship owners and looking at each others vessels. The conversations usually get around to the mechanics and all those related issues where a lot of insight, information, ideas and fixes are shared and Michael sometimes even a spare part or two to share.
While docked in Sault St. Marie, another Mainship came in for the night. She is a smaller model than ours but there are many, many similarities, even the same countertops and cushion coverings on the v-bunk and double room beds. Chris had just bought the boat on the Lake Huron side of Michigan and his buddy, Keith, was helping him ferry it to Duluth, their hometown. Apparently they had a couple of days of really rough weather with 5-6 foot waves on Lake Huron. They were smashed around so much so that the captain’s chair sheared off it’s pedestal, which is now zip-tied in place, and something happened to their toilet, of which there is only one on that ship. We had a really good evening with them on their boat and them on ours as well. Even though both these guys had a lot of boat experience, neither of them had any experience with locks and they had to go through the Sault St. Marie Lock to get up, into Lake Superior. I was able to and quite proud to, give my insight on locking procedures. They texted us later that day that the information was spot on and they had no issues in the lock and were successfully headed to Duluth.
Well, that’s about it for now. Will get back in a couple of weeks when we head out of the Soo and back into Lake Michigan and on our way to Green Bay, Wisconsin. Keep touching back. Love to all, Gina and Mike.
