What's one more lock - Drummond to Cheboygan

Weather is always a factor in whether or not to move and Wednesday's (8/15) offered a perfect one day window for crossing the northern end of Lake Huron.  According to the forecast, if we did not move on Wednesday we would be stuck at Drummond Island for at least three days as a deep low located to the north in Canada moved east with associated thunderstorms and 20 to 25 MPH winds over open waters.  This was an easy decision as there is not much on Drummond.

The trip to Cheboygan some 40 mile south west requires a run down the De Tour Passage and then a 30 plus mile crossing of Lake Huron.  We made the crossing in seas less than 1 foot.

De Tour Reef Light

Jan's Tern following in relatively calm seas

We departed Drummond Island Yacht Haven at 8:00 AM and docked five hours later at the Walstrom facility, which is just a short walk to a very together downtown (it even has an opera house).

Cheboygan is a working port.  It is home to the 240 foot USCG Mackinac, an icebreaker and buoy tender, a tank farm, barge traffic and a ferry that runs back and forth to Bois Blanc (Boblo) Island

Bois Blank Island Ferry entering the harbor

Cheboygan is also unique in that it has 40 miles of inland waters that are accessed by a lock on the Cheboygan River just south of downtown.  The waterway runs south west from Cheboygan through rivers and lakes.  It stops a few miles short of Petosky Michigan on Little Traverse Bay (Lake Michigan).  It can handle up to 65 foot boats drawing up to 5 feet of water.

Bob and I decided late in the afternoon to explore the inland waters by dingy.  According to Diana, who was sitting in the cabin with Kodi as I launched the dingy, Kodi became excited as she heard the hydraylic platform lowering and walked up the cabin stairs and started scatching the door.  Diana let her up on deck and she watched as we made preparations to depart.  Bob agreed that she could come along.  We asked her if she wanted to "go for a dingy ride" and she climbed in.

Five minutes later we were at the lock, which has an 15 foot lift.  Needless to say, locking through with a dingy is considerably easier than with a 35,000 pound 50 foot boat.

When the lift was complete we got a surprise.  The lockmaster announced that the fee was $6.00 each way.  This was actually more expensive than the lock fees on the Trent Severn where we paid $234 for 46 locks ($5.08 per lock).  When viewed as a cost per foot, the Cheboygan Lock was $1.83 for the 11 foot dingy versus 10 cents for Guided Discovery.

We went approximately 5 miles south on the waterway, which dead ends 10 miles from Lake Michigan.  The segment of the waterway we saw was lined with homes, some of which we very nice, docks and boats. 

View of the waterway

This appeared to be a very nice single fanily

We learned, after going up on plane in a uninhabited area (from a passing boater), that most of waterway is a no wake zone.  This explains the large number of pontoon boats that we saw.

Kodi spent most of the trip on her usual bow perch, which attracts lots of attention from passing boats.  Speaking of passes, the lockmaster gave us a pass of the $6.00 fee as we locked down.

Kodi looking for obstacles, shoals and cats

On our return trip we got a good photo of a 53 foot Trumby built in 1962.  Notice the pedestrian bridge over the river.  The yacht is moored on public dockage adjacent to a lovely park that also houses the Chamer of Commerce.  According to signage in the window, the 53 is one of three Trumpys on the Great Lakes and one of the 448 yachts built by Trumpy. 

Kodi admires a 53 foot 1962 Trumpy Motor Yacht

These Trumpys bring back memories of my growing up years.  I was first mate on two Wheelers, a 55 footer (looks just like this Trumpy) and later a 65 footer owned by a boat shoe manufacturer, the Randolph Manufacturing Compay out of Brockton, Mass.

We had dinner on Wednesday alfresco at The Boat House with Bob and Jan.  It was very good.

Thursday was rainy as forecasted.  Diana and I enjoyed dinner at Mulligans (a pub) and took in the Will Farrel movie, "The Campaign," at the downtown movie theater just 6 doors from the restaurant.  It was absolutley hilarious.  A must see.

The weather on Friday improved considerably.  The rain was gone but the winds were still strong from the west.  That brought LOVELY cool temperatures.  YES! 

Two major Friday events.  The first was a two mile walk south on Main Street to the supermarket with Bob and Jan.  The second was a visit to a papermill.

Usually I do not comment on mundane activities like shopping. But this one had a twist.  The plan was to walk to the market and cab back to the marina with our groceries.  Glitch.  There was no cab available in Cheboygan.  The driver had quit.  Cheboygan County to the rescue.  They run a special bus service that acts like a taxi cab in that the responds to calls and drops you at your destination.  We waited less than 5 minutes as it was nearby and the senior rate was $2.00 per person.

The second event was a tour of the Great Lakes Tissue Company.  The idea was Bob's and it was suggested as we were crossing Lake Huron.  We stopped by on our walk to the market to inquire if they gave tours.  The answer, not scheduled but if you're intersted come back at 3:30.  Very informal.

Jan and I presented ourselves at 3:30 (Diana and Bob opted out) and got the most amazing tour conducted by none other than the General Manager, Nancy Maxwell.   While informal, it was comprehensive and totally responsive to our questions.

Nancy Maxwell, General Manager and "tour guide" standing by recycle stock

Short history: The original owner, Proctor and Gamble, produced Charmin toilet tissue and Pampers diapers at this plant.  Today it is privately owned and produces paper rolls and finished goods (toilet tissue and paper towels) that are bought by jobbers who brand them and sell them to retailers.   Under P&G it employed 800 people.  Today only 98.

What made this plant unique is that they these 100% recycle materials including milk and orange juice containers.  It also produces at least 50% of hits power from hydroelectric from the dam in the vicinity of the lock that we traversed on Wednesday.

Operating paper mill runs 24 X 7

Back side of the mill where liquid paper hits the dryer

Nancy showing us a commercial paper towel roll for restroom dispensers

Toilet paper exiting the machine

I have a theory as to why the General Manager conducts tours.  Although we did not formally discuss her motive, I think Nancy is into "managing by walking around" and the tour provides her the opportunity to watch her operations in a casual way.

We've always wanted to visit Cheboygan and we were not disappointed.  Good food, convenient downtown, movie theater, opera house, great parks, 40 miles of waterways, a great plant tour and a $48 dockage fee, the lowest we've paid since the Western Rivers. 
And Kodi had a great time with her friends, Daphne and Kaylee.

Written by Les.