Friday, 2 August – Blind River to Drummond Island – 42 mi.,
3035 cum mi.
Calm, partly cloudy, 56 degrees. We cruised calm open seas,
passing some islands, including Propeller Island which we dared not get near (for obvious reasons). It started raining as we approached Drummond Island. We
entered the USA at 10:20 AM. Although we enjoyed Canada and her people, it was
just a good feeling to be back in the USA. Back to unlimited cell phone data
and normal minutes without the huge surcharges. When we arrived at the Drummond
Island fuel dock, a customs officer boarded the boat (no pictures allowed), asked some questions, and
took away 3 clementines and a lime. He was not very friendly. We heard later
that he was the only border officer there who isn’t friendly, but we didn’t
have any problems – just his attitude needed a little adjustment. We loaded up
with the least expensive fuel we’ve seen since leaving New York. And we took
down the courtesy Canadian flag we
were flying. Later we met some kids who were
checking out the boats at the marina. They were attending a sailing camp and
had just arrived. We eventually
recognized one of them as Jacob from Jericho, VT – who went to nursery school
with our granddaughter, Chloe. We couldn’t believe how we bumped into someone
we knew!
Saturday, 3 August – Drummond Island to DeTour – 6 mi., 3041
cum mi.
Clear, breezy, 57 degrees. We got an early start toward
Mackinac Island, but the winds got too rough, and they issued a small craft
advisory, so we spun around and sought refuge at DeTour Harbor Marina. We were
followed by several other boats seeking refuge from the winds, including
Mooring Dove (Galen and Becky) 
– gold loopers on their second time around.
DeTour turned out to be a jewel. The IGA grocery also sold liquor – so cool after all the provincial LCBO stores in Ontario. We discovered a
local hangout with the greatest wet burritos. And they had a concert
in the park next to the marina- a great band and lots of fun-loving people on ATVs, bikes, including a couple who just bought a Nordic Tug and were planning on doing the loop next year.
Sunday, 4 August – Detour to Mackinac Island – 37 mi., 3078
cum mi.
We docked next to another looper boat –
JimKat – with really nice folks – Jim and Kathy from Cincinnati. 
We biked
around the 8-mile circumference of the island, including past Arch Rock and through the state park. Beachcombers were piling up rocks into cairns - don't know why. We dined with Jim and Kathy at the Pink Pony – great food on a deck overlooking the hotel’s hot tub and our marina.
Monday, 5 August – Mackinac Island to Beaver Island – 43
mi., 3121 cum mi.
Beautiful day, 60 degrees. We left with our new friends on JimKat.
The lighthouses and the Mackinac
bridge were our landmarks through the Straits of Mackinac. And the ferries were
already bringing more tourists to the island, some of them were turbos – like
jet skis – no props, but a lot of water squirting out behind the boat. As we
went further west, it turned cloudy and windy, especially across the open water
Tuesday, 6 August – Beaver Island to Harbor Springs – 35 mi., 3121 cum mi.
Mostly cloudy, breezy, 66 degrees. The south winds were not
calming down as predicted, and we hesitated in cruising in the 2-4 ft seas, but
we did – at an angle - and we survived, with an occasional 6 footer that gave us a roller coaster ride. We headed for the Irish Boat Shop for service, including a haul out and prop repair (remember when we grazed a rock in Roger’s Gut in the North Channel?). And we met more loopers. We docked next to Mooring Dove who was in for similar repairs.
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