Harbor Reports depend on you

     It’s that happy time of year: The start of another boating season on the Great Lakes. Pam and I launched Bleu Lagoon, our Lagoon catamaran sailboat on May 2. The boat got cleaned and waxed before its launch. We are getting a new jib sail, and having updated electronics installed to better enjoy our sailing season.

     Pam and I are planning a six-week cruise this summer. Our goal is to attend the GLCC Rendezvous in Escanaba, Mich. (M-101), starting July 14. Our cruise starts at our home port of Sandusky, Ohio (E-16), on Lake Erie, and will take us up the Detroit and St. Clair rivers, across Lake Huron, under the Mackinac Bridge and on to Escanaba.

     We plan on lots of stops along the way, especially in the “ritzy” area of northern Lake Michigan — Charlevoix (M-6), Harbor Springs (M-4), and a stop in Petoskey (M-5) for the 4th of July. I hope to see many of you at the Rendezvous. The organizing team has a great four-day event planned.

     As each of you take your boats out this season, I encourage you to make comments to the GLCC Harbor Reports on marinas and anchorages you visit. It is these first-hand, up-to-the-minute updates that make our Harbor Reports so valuable to all members.

     Don’t feel you have to know everything. Your Harbor Report comments are reviewed by our HR team, and those with lasting interest are added to that harbor’s report. Feel free to add information about navigation issues (low or high water, missing buoys, etc.), but also confirm the services that are available and any updates to amenities of the area, such as new laundry, new grocery store, a great restaurant, and so on.

     This process is such a part of the GLCC family. You, our members, help make the GLCC Harbor Reports the best place for information about marinas and anchorages on the Great Lakes. If you don’t know how to make updates, reach out to Director / Log Book Editor & Port Captain Julie Thorndycraft at glccharborreports@gmail.com.

     One last item to note: Our GLCCSchool  is closing down for the summer season. But what a successful year it has been. Since we made the school free to GLCC members, attendance has jumped. Recordings of sessions are available to you free. Just head to the GLCCSchool  website.

     Have fun on our beautiful Great Lakes. Be safe out there.

 Doug Jackson, Commodore