Category Archives: Everything Else!

I always thought that Mackinac Island was my favourite place to visit but I now think that Petoskey is much more interesting and certainly not as touristy. There are tourists of course, but they seem like normal people, not the usual “Disney World” type.

First of all, docking was very easy. Someone actually greeted us and caught the lines – that was already wonderful especially since the dock is very high and I wasn’t looking forward to jumping off and falling into the water!

Secondly, the dock people were very efficient and gave me a nice little package that included a map of the town (how novel!), the washroom codes, and the internet password. I usually have to beg someone for the code and am not sure why it is such a big secret!

Thirdly, Petoskey has the greatest bike path! I rode along Lake Michigan on a paved pathway for 20 km. I could have gone to Charlevoix but didn’t have the time or energy.

Finally, the shopping was excellent! I got everyone’s Christmas gifts in one swoop! The restaurant we went to was also good – the service was quick and the food excellent.

The only thing that was not so great was the shower. It was clean and the water was hot but it was low flow. However, that was a minor inconvenience, and I was still able to get nice and clean!

Tomorrow we are literally leaving at the crack of dawn! We are going to try to make it to Government Island which is about fifteen miles past Mackinac. I think it will be a long day!

Check out our new boat!

The Split Crow was launched on Thursday! Lots of work to do still though but Dennis has been working nonstop repairing and replacing a variety of things. The cabin is still pretty much torn apart and we are still waiting for most of the seat cushions, but progress is being made. The new t.v. was installed and it looks great! Of course, we immediately began watching an episode of Seinfeld…

Today’s problem was the windlass – it didn’t want to work! Then we remembered that the engine had to be running first before it would do anything. That happened once last year too and we were quite relieved when we figured it out.

We put the boom on – wow! Is it ever heavy!! Good grief – I’d hate for that thing to swing by and hit someone in the head! Tomorrow, the weather should cooperate, so maybe we’ll (who me?) do some polishing. That appears to be an activity preferred by these sailor type people!

Well! The sun was out and the wind was up but the temperature was a balmy 12 degrees on the shore so you can imagine how cold it was out on the water! We persevered though and made the two hour crossing of The Big Sound to the anchorage at Killbear Park in our winter jackets, hats, and mitts. The trip wouldn’t have been so cold but we didn’t have our dodger installed yet, so we were very exposed to the “northern” elements!

Leaving the dock, of course, was a challenge and quite daunting for me since I am totally inept when it comes to steering. I still worry that I will throw the boat into reverse instead of forward. This stems from our original boat – a 27 foot Halman Horizon. For some reason, Bob (Mr. Modify), the previous owner, installed the engine controls backwards so I learned his system and if I do say so myself, I became pretty good at it. Anyway, the Split Crow’s controls all go the correct way – push the lever forward and you actually go forward.

Dennis, the captain, held the lines while I moved the boat slowly away from the dock. He quickly jumped on, ran to the steering wheel and thankfully took over! I just sat there and looked out at the white caps behind the breakwall, and insisted that he wear his PFD. I really was only thinking of myself knowing that if he fell overboard, I’d never be able to dock the boat again, let alone save him!

We headed out into the Big Sound and had a great time crossing. Lots of waves, some spray even came over the bow and splashed us, but the Split Crow pushed her way through it and I felt very safe (except for the fact that the water temperature was so cold that if I fell in, I wouldn’t last very long, but that’s beside the point).

As I already mentioned, we anchored at Killbear Provincial Park. There were four other boats in the anchorage and everyone had their winter jackets on. We sat on deck for a while but eventually got chased inside because of the cold. We had a good dinner, and then the toilet broke, so Dennis spent the rest of the evening fixing it.

The next day was uneventful. There was no wind so we motored back in the rain with a temperature of 9 degrees. Our wet weather gear was excellent and kept us toasty warm! Dennis was given a list of things to fix though, in addition to the toilet. The refrigerator, the autohelm, the radar… Oh well, having a boat certainly keeps his mind sharp – he has to know how to fix everything! (Keeps him out of trouble :))