Day 4 - a drinking village with a fishing problem

The cruise from Manitowoc to Leland was conducted in dense fog. It is a bit unnerving crossing the middle of Lake Michigan where we are 40 miles from shore. The GPS with AIS helped to identify marine traffic and our radar gave us the confidence to carry on. We had two watch standers at all times. Once we approached the Michigan shore the fog lifted and we had a bright and sunny day that we thought would never end.

Leland is a commercial fishing village turned into a tourist trap. The older fishing village buildings are now all souvenir shops selling fishing-themed trinkets, cheese curds and smoked fish. You can also visit The Dam Candy Store. The closest restaurant is on the river next to a water fall. The view is quite nice. Our waitress just got her first teaching job as a kindergarten teacher and was quite happy to tell us all about it.

The Leland Harbor marina was renovated a few years ago and is one of the best on Lake Michigan. The facilities are first rate with lots of helpful dock hands. There is a posting on the bulletin board “assistant harbor master wanted – long hours and low pay, apply within.” I applied and the assistant harbor master handed me his hat and radio and said I was hired.

Tied to the dock in Leland was the 92′ wooden top sail schooner Madeline. She is 55′ on the deck level. This replica of the ship originally built in 1845 cruises all five Great Lakes giving instruction on seamanship in the various harbors she visits. The ship was upgraded to include a diesel engine. In order to move the bow around they use their inflatable dingy because they do not have a bow thruster. It took them about 30 minutes to maneuver out of their dockage this morning.

We departed Leland around 10:00 AM bound for Beaver Island 47 miles NNE. We arrived in less than two hours. I really like this power boating. After being turned away many times over the years we were finally able to get a slip at the Beaver Island municipal marina. It is conveniently located in “downtown” St James Harbor. St. James harbor is named for the Mormon minister James Jesse Sprang the self proclaimed king of Beaver Island,who was subsequently assassinated by his disenchanted followers in 1856. After being shot twice and beaten, he died 23 days later. Irish mobs from the mainland came to Beaver Island and drove away the remaining Mormons and took over the island.

First world problem – the sink and shower in the aft state room drain slowly. The obvious solution is to clear the elbow/trap and rod the PVC pipe. No luck. Still drains slowly. The owners manual mentions a sump to capture the gray water. The gray water does not drain over the side with its own through hull fitting. Some boats have the gray water drain into the bilge. That makes for a nasty mess over time. My solution is to trace the drainpipe into the area behind the stateroom wall where the bilge pump is located. Next to the bilge pump is a sump holding tank. And right there next to the bilge pump is a switch with a placard that says “auto, off, manual.” The switch is in the off position. I push the switch to manual and the bilge pump drains the sump. So, I turn the the switch to auto which should solve this first world problem. Our boat has very few through hull fittings. Fewer holes in the bottom of a boat is a good thing.

Tomorrow we will cruise to St. Ignace and stock up on supplies for our trip to Canada.

This is a photo of the top sail schooner Madeline in Leland Harbor.

A fishing shanty on the river in Leland, Michigan