After 1 1/2 seasons, we had mixed emotions about leaving Cheboygan. We made good friends there, enjoyed the cool days and the blue water, but it was time to move on and we were ready to get back to cruising. We left Cheboygan County Marina on July 13 with the assurance of rain, but calm winds and water. The forecast was accurate. It rained all the way to De Tour Village and then began to merely sprinkle as we pulled up to the dock at Drummond Island Yacht Haven.
Drummond Island is the seventh largest lake island in the world. Think about that for a minute. It surprised me. There are only about 1200 year round inhabitants, and that fact I can understand. There is a ferry that runs from De Tour Village, other than that, there’s not a whole lot here. Oh, except spiders, big spiders. There’s a bunch of those critters. These were on the boat next to us. Eeeeeew.
For a mere $12 we were able to rent a wreck and take a little driving tour. Lunch at Esther’s was included.
The marina is a full service yard with indoor heated storage for winter. Thanks fully for this guy they also do a lot of repair jobs. He had a very bad day.
We had planned to stay on Drummond only 2 nights, but weather dictated otherwise and we chose to wait out another rainy and windy day at the marina. We also hoped to go up to the Soo Locks, but an opportunity arose that we couldn’t resist. We had been wanting to go into Charlevoix, but it is a very popular spot and very difficult to get reservations. Most of the marinas in Michigan must be booked through the Michigan Dept of Natural Resources website- midnrreservations.com. The marinas will only give reservations over the phone for ”day of” bookings. They also have a percentage of slips held back in case of dangerous weather. They are considered Ports of Refuge. We’ll for shits and giggles, as we were trying to decide where to go after the Soo, I looked at Charlevoix and holy cow they had an opening on July 19 and 20. We immediately nabbed the slip and then began to figure out how to get there by then. From Drummond, we would have 2 long days of cruising. The easy decision was to cancel our reservation at Sault St. Marie and begin heading west. I crossed my fingers and checked Beaver Island. Our luck was holding. We could get into Beaver on the 18th and that would mean only a 35 mile run into Charlevoix. Anyway, we readjusted our plan and decided to anchor in Marquette Bay in the Les Cheneaux Islands on the 16th, head to Beaver and anchor the 17th, take a slip on the 18th and then get into Charlevoix on the 19th.
Coming next- Back to Beaver and on to Charlevoix
