Mañana on the Loop: WIND BE GONE

Aug 19- No one is moving today! We can see the spray from the lake hitting the breakwall a half mile away. I am trying to capture this on my pictures but not sure they will turn out. We even had two sailboats come in from mooring balls in the bay behind us because it was so rough. We have now moved the dingy up beside the boat in hopes it will not get pummeled there. It is a work and clean up day. Dave has checked the shaft logs and tightened them and has replaced a hose that has been leaking in our water system. I am on my third load of laundry.

A short video of very windy day

This was taken from our dock

This was the sailboat that was dragging

Even this 100 footer wasn't moving

Aug 20- We had a fitful night last night when the winds increased and waves were funneling down to our end of the bay. The noise in the aft cabin was so bad I slept in the main salon on the couch. I think between us we got about 3 hours sleep all night. Again no one is going anywhere except a sailboat in the bay that seems to be dragging. We had to get off the boat just to get away from the constant bobbing and the squeaking of bumpers so we took Koby for a long walk. This lake seems to be beating our butts right now.

This was the worst day

Do not stay here if wind from west or south

This is a natural spring area

This was a very cute playground

These condos were facing the marina

A glimpse of downtown Frankfort

A sleeping beer on a real estate office

Aug 21- It took us about a half hour just to remove all the lines from the dock so we didn't leave Frankfort until nearly 10:00 am. I was never so glad to leave a place as that one. Advice for anyone following our blog - it is a place to get out of bad weather but if you have a south or west wind do not stay at the far end of the Municipal Marina. I would either tuck into the marina to your left just as you enter the bay or go right down to the bottom of the bay on the left side. We spent the worst 2 days at those docks. We headed to Manistee next and had an enjoyable ride over there. The sun was out and it was reasonably calm. At Manistee you come into a river and the Municipal Marina was on the right side before the bridge. We tried for a pump out there but they were too busy \(1 boat gasing up and 1 boat waiting) so we finally got a slip number from a rude girl who I guess was the harbour master. We got settled and took Koby for a walk, then got in the dingy and did some exploring. We had a late dinner and Dave and I walked the main street. Nothing special - a lot of empty stores but looks like their trying to revitalize. We hadn't slept for the past 2 nights so I went to bed around 9:00 pm and Dave watched football.

The shoreline of Michigan

The shoreline is high and sandy

Koby not impressed with the rock and roll

Entering into Manistee

There is a beautiful beach on other side of railing

Heading into the river to Manistee

Private marina on left of river

Some private homes

A look down river

Some condos on left side of river

A motel and private docks

This was the harbour centre

Restaurant backing onto river

A little park in honour of veterans

A cat we have seen in other ports

A boardwalk running length of downtown

A coast guard boat and freighter

Someones pride and joy

A view of Manistee's downtown

Aug 22- We left Manistee round 8:00 am while the wind was somewhat calm. We are headed to Ludington today. There seem to be many smaller boats on the lake today as there is a fishing derby on in this area. The wind started to pick up just as we were approaching Ludington so it was nice that we were almost there. The Municipal Marina is on your left as you travel down the river. We headed right for the pump-out as we were full, full! We decided to put on diesel there as it was the cheapest yet. Once in our slip we had a quick bite and headed out for a walk with Koby. It was too hot for him to be out so we left him aboard and Dave and I went to check out the main street. It has the usual restaurants, gift stores, banks and clothing stores.