Jim Willett is our new Port Captain for Barcelona Harbor, N.Y. (E-3.5) & Conneaut, Ohio (E-5). If you stop by, please give him and Kathy a hearty "Ahoy!" Here's a little about their boating experiences... Kathy, the four kids and I relocated to Erie, Penn. in 1986, and I purchased our first sailboat, a Tanzer 22. It was our learning boat, and learning by watching others and reading all we could. Please click here to read further.
GLCC News
After serving as GLCC Port Pilot and Harbor Report Chair since 2012, plus being involved in Harbor Report editing prior to that, Lou Bruska has decided to retire. Commodore Barzyk was pleased to recently announce that Julie Thorndycraft and husband Dan Deweese have agreed to assume duties as Harbor Report co-editors effective April 1st. For more information on Lou's contributions over the years and Dan's and Julie's extensive backgrounds as they take over this critical GLCC function, click HERE. Thanks and best wishes to Lou, and congratulations to Julie and Dan.
Mike Powers has been appointed Port Captain for an additional harbor; Monroe, Mich. (E-23). His homeport is located at Bolles Harbor, Mich. (E-22), where he and his wife Kathy have served as GLCC Port Captains since 2012. They have been members of the Monroe Boat Club since 2008 where Mike has served as Power Fleet Captain, Financial Secretary, Rear Commodore, Vice Commodore, Commodore and Past Commodore. He previously served the I-LYA as Trustee in 2015 and as Powerboat Chair in 2016 and was honored by being named Mid-America Boating’s Skipper of the Year in 2016. Please click here to read on!
Ahh, spring... If you’re in the northern region of the States, you might not be feeling it yet. Just like the spring issue of Lifeline, you know it's coming! This edition has many events in store for the boating season. The first installation of the Founders Award about Niels & Vicki Jensen’s 42-day, 3 Great Lakes Cruise is a good read, with enticing photos that’ll get you thinking of summer. There are recaps of past events and boat shows, a handful of new Port Captains, new Members, and the popular lighthouse trivia dedicated page, which also has our Calendar of Events. We hope you enjoy some light reading while the harbors thaw! Click here to access the 2019 spring Lifeline magazine, and here for updates and information on GLCC Events.
Now is the time to join the Great Lakes Cruising Club during our annual January and February Membership Drive. Click here to join and save $25 off the $90 initiation fee during January and February. Watch a quick video about the Club here.
Please join us in welcoming Mary Micket as newly appointed Port Captain for Irondequoit Bay, N.Y. (O-5.7). Mary has volunteered the past few years in the GLCC booth at the Toronto Boat Show and attended the Lake Ontario Rally for many years. This year she is part of the event’s planning committee. As Port Captain, she looks forward to helping fellow GLCC cruisers visiting Irondequoit Bay. Here's a bit about her and her husband's crusing experiences... My husband Wes and I began boating in the late 1980s by renting house boats and cruising in the Thousand Island area of the St. Lawrence River. In 2001 we purchased our first boat, a 32-foot Wellcraft cabin cruiser. Southpoint Marina in the Irondequiot Bay is minutes from our home and we enjoyed many nice weeknights onboard after work. Please click here to read more..
Congratulations to newly appointed Port Captains George Dew and Hélène Carrière for Collins Bay, Ont. (O-14)! George is a retired engineer / project manager; Hélène is a retired university administrator. Residents of Gatineau, Québec, they have sailed out of Collins Bay since 2017. Both learned to sail while members of the Georgian Bay Sailing Centre, which operated out of Parry Sound in the early 1980s. From the first time they met on a dock in Parry Sound they cruised together on the club’s Edel 22 and Gib’Sea 36. During that time George’s experience also included two Great Lakes transport trips between Parry Sound and Kingston (Lake Ontario) via the lakes and the Welland Canal. Please click here to read on.
We welcome new Port Captains for Marblehead, Ohio (E-16.6) Alan & Eileen Clark. Here’s what Alan had to say in their bio… While raising two children we were looking for a way to bring the family closer and eliminate outside distractions. We have always had a love for water. Sailing looked so relaxing while challenging and intriguing, it enticed us look further into this sport. I started sailing when I was 40 and coaxed my wife Eileen into it also! On Grand Lake St. Marys, Ohio, we raced and cruised a Catalina 22 for ten years. We then moved up to a Catalina 25, racing and cruising on Grand Lake St. Marys for eleven years. We trailered our Catalina 25 to Cleveland for their race week (we took second place!). This was our first experience on Lake Erie with our boat. Please click here to read more.
This issue of the Lifeline will be a nice read as you relax in your favorite arm chair by the fireplace. The winter issue has lots of information on coming events including Spring Break 2019 and updates on past times. The cover is unique in that the photo refers to the flow of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Foundation updates us on how the annual “Bilge Auction” plays a big part in grant accrual and asks that members keep supporting and look for opportunities to allocate donations. The highlight of the issue is the Annual General Membership Meeting article where we learn who has been appointed/re-appointed to our board. Finally, the editor has taken the liberty to post a couple safety-related articles, which you are urged to read! Remember to check out the 2019 Boat Show information on page 8. Click here to access the 2018 winter Lifeline magazine, and here for updates and information on GLCC Events.
Director (and Rear Commodore (Ret)) Mark Lifter was recently presented the Theuerkorn Award by the Detroit Yacht Club for his outstanding contribution to that organization. Mark has been the President of the DYC Foundation since its formation which has overseen the restoration of the historic DYC building which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Mark received the award from DYC Commodore Ray Batt. Also an active member of the GLCC, Mark is currently a Director, was Rear Commodore, Region 47 for 5 year and is Port Captain, Detroit (M-54),
One of the highlights of the presentations made during the Annual Meeting Dinner are the awards given to our members for outstanding contributions to the GLCC. This year, the award recipients are Past Commodore Niels and Vicki Jensen (Founders Award), Port Captains Sandi & Bill Matley (Award of Merit), and Port Captain Cynthia Sunstrum (Kivell Award). Click here to review the purpose of the awards. Other presentations made at the dinner were Awards of Appreciation to retiring Board members Rear Commodores Roger Hankle and Bob Ogur and Director Vern Meyer. Jim Ehrman was presented his burgee for being elected Rear Commodore, Region 53. Picture is of Port Captain Cynthia Sunstum receiving her award from Commodore Rich Barzyk.
Stephanie and Paul Carrico have been connected to the Northern Michigan (Oscoda to Alpena) area for the last decade, having met in Alpena prior to getting married. They currently reside in Oscoda during the summer months. Please welcome them as newly appointed Port Captains for Oscoda (AuSable River) (H-64), Harrisville (H-64.5) & Alpena (H-66), Mich. Paul has been boating his whole life, primarily on powerboats, but has some sailboat racing experience. Stephanie came to boating through sailing, racing Hobie Cats in the Pacific while attending high school. Please click here to read further.
Let’s welcome (M-14) Leland, Michigan’s new Port Captain Dan Cline! Dan has enjoyed cruising Lake Michigan with his wife Linda on their Island Packet 320 sailboat since 2004. They recently moved to Traverse City & their boat Wildwood berths close by at Betsie Bay Marina in Frankfort (M-16), where Linda holds her Port Captain title. Both are devoting time to exploring northern Lake Michigan, Green Bay, and the Great Lakes. Dan serves as a Director on the GLCC Board and is currently the Chair of the GLCCSchool committee, and previously served on the Club's Website committee. Click here to read more.
Let's welcome Bill Bailey as the newly appointed Port Captain for Elk Rapids, Mich. (M-7)! Bill is a retired teacher who spends his summers onboard Cavalier in Elk Rapids while not cruising to the many harbors, and his winters skiing. He started sailing over 30 years ago on a Hobie 16 and enjoyed competing in CRAM (Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan) races for a few years. His current boat is Cavalier, a Freedom 32 that he purchased in Huntington, N.Y. He sailed her from Long Island to Bay City, Mich., and has been cruising the Great Lakes ever since, having sailed all except Superior. Please click here to read more.
Charles' Final Journey (video courtesy of Adam Mastis): Friends and loved ones gather for the release of GLCC Past Commodore Charles W. Brittan Jr's ashes off the bow of fellow Past Commodore James C. Achesons' boat Lady J. GLCC Chaplain Nelson Stone presided with a commending eulogy. Charles served the Great Lakes Cruising Club membership for 17 years, from 1963 until 1984, as a Director, Treasurer, Rear Commodore, Vice Commodore, Commodore (1980-1981), and finally again as Director as well as Past Commodore in 1982-1984. He was a long-time resident of Illinois and retired to Belleview, Fla., where he resided with Sue Meyer. Please click here to view the video on YouTube.
Fall Lifeline — it's here once again, commencing the official end of summer. Soon we'll be stashing our boats and making preparations for the coming of winter. This fall issue of the Lifeline promises some good reads while looking back at the wonderful memories we've made around our Great Lakes. After the Rendezvous article and centerfold, Lifeline boasts the conclusion of Dave & Colleen Wray's Founders Award log. Port Captain Pat Somers wrote an informative book review on The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan. Remember to check out the 2019 Boat Show Schedule on p. 4 and a few save the dates — some fun events to look forward to in the non-boating months! Click here to access the 2018 fall Lifeline magazine, and here for updates and information on GLCC Events.
The Best Great Lakes Anchorages: Five seasoned boaters from the Great Lakes Cruising Club share their favorite getaway spots in this scenic cruiser's paradise. Niels Jensen: When my European friends and family ask me why I sail the Great Lakes — and Lake Superior in particular — I often say that Superior is the size of Austria, and there's nothing like the Great Lakes in the world. They are truly unique. Long recognized as an arm of the ocean, the Great Lakes cover about 95,000 square miles and have enough combined shoreline to span nearly halfway around the world. They can be rough, challenging, and are never to be taken lightly. However, as those of us who are out there know, they provide an enticing playground for summertime boating adventures, provided you keep a close eye on the weather, have a suitable boat for where you plan to go, and know what you're doing. Click here to continue reading at the BoatUS.com.
Patricia (Pat) Somers has been boating with her husband Brad Somers, Rear Commodore SW Ontario (Ret.) and Port Captain for Amherstburg (D-82) and Bob Lo Island (D-86), Ont. since the early 1980s. Now that she is a retired (sort of) health care executive, Brad and she look forward to spending July and August on Somerscape their 37-foot cruiser traveling the Great Lakes. Pat continues to consult internationally for Accreditation Canada (a Canadian health care regulatory body), but is adamant about keeping July and August devoted to their boating passion. Please click here to read more!
An extensive fire in the Perry Sound area of Georgian Bay, Ontario (Parry Sound 33 fire) has grown to over 11,000 hectare (27,000 acres) as of 8/3/2018 and has caused the closing of the Small Craft Route north of Britt/Byng Inlet. Boaters must travel outside of the restriced area beween Byng Inlet and Beaverstone Bay outside the Bustards. Also there is no fuel available between Killarney and Byng Inlet. Please refer to Harbor Reports for Byng Inlet to the Bustards .and Bad River to Killarney.
Joe McKeown has accepted appointment as Port Captain for Point Edward, Ont. (H-2) which is right around the corner from Sarnia, Ont. (D-3) where he has held this same title since June of 2013. Joe came from a boating family, with his great grandfather a founding member of the Detroit Yacht Club and a long line of GLCC members. Growing up, he spent many of his childhood summers around boats (albeit of the power variety) at his family’s cottage in Amherstburg, Ont.; learning about boats, family and the beauty of the Great Lakes. He is a licensed Coast Guard Captain and ran a charter and dive boat in the BVI for a time. Please click here to read more!
Mike Kohut, who spends his winters in the in the Florida Keys and summers aboard his trawler, Blue Chip, has been appointed as the new Port Captain for Mackinaw City, Mich. (H-76.5). Let's give him a cheerful, "welcome aboard"!! Here's a bit about he and his wife's cruising experiences. Please click here to read more!
The US Customs and Border Patrol have announced a new cell phone or tablet app for pleasure boater for reporting their arrival into US. This app, CBP ROAM (Reporting Offsite Arrival - Remote), can be downloaded from Google Play Store or Apple App Store at no cost. One will need to set up an account at login.gov to create profiles about the travelers and conveyances. It can be used by all travelers coming into the US via private vessel no matter the nationality of the traveler or the vessel. Please see https://www.cbp.gov/travel/pleasure-boats-private-flyers/pleasure-boat-…; Also, an article on theboatgalley website has additional information: https://theboatgalley.com/us-check-in-via-roam-app/
For a complete review of check in requirements for both US and Canada, please see the revised article by Brad Somers, Rear Commodore (Ret), US and Canadian Border Reporting Requirements.
If you're heading through the Detroit River, please stop at Gross Ile, Mich. (D-74) and say hello to newly appointed Port Captain Thomas Buckley. He has been boating for over 50 years. His first boat was a 12-foot plywood kit by Montgomery Ward. He moved up from the 12-foot to present 47-foot Bayliner. He has spent time cruising the Great Lakes mostly on Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron and the North Channel. He is a prior Marine Deputy and Boaters safety instructor, as well as a Boating Accident Investigator. He completed USCG 100-ton Master Licensing Course. Tom and his wife Carol live aboard their 47 Bayliner Motor Yacht from April to November. He is a Past Commodore for the West River Yacht & Cruising Club (2014).
Let’s give our newly appointed Deputy Port Captain Scott Ross for Lorain, Ohio (E-13) a warm welcome! Scott has been boating on Lake Erie with his wife Betsy and family since 1988. They have owned their current boat, a 1988 Marinette fisherman for 19 seasons and currently dock at Son Rise Marina on Sandusky Bay. Please click here to read more.
The western part of Lake Erie has been declared as "impaired" by Ohio Gov. Kasich which will lead to tighter regulations for agriculture and others that release nutrients into the lake. Lake Erie has experienced massive algae blooms in recent years and environmentalists have sued to have the lake declared impaired. Ohio was the last holdout. Click here to read more.
Please welcome newly appointed Deputy Port Captain Bill Lehner for Sandusky, Ohio (E-16)! Here's a brief bio on his nautical endeavours: I have enjoyed boating since my preteen years as a “frequent” family activity. I am proud to have carried the love of the water on to our three grown children and soon-to-be six grandchildren. Karen and I have owned small sailboats (22, 27, and 32-foot) for the majority of our 48 years of marriage. Cruising areas have varied from local lakes and rivers, in my early years, to charters in the Florida Keys, Bahamas, Virgin Islands, The Dry Tortugas, Cuba, and ten fantastic days on a 45-foot Magic in the Greek Isles. Karen and I have enjoyed annual trips to the Lake Huron / Port Huron area. I have also participated in the delivery of several boats from Port Clinton to Philadelphia, and Long Island. Please click here to read more.
After over 80 years, the GLCC is still able to create new Harbor Reports. Jim Wooll whose years of gunkholing around the Great Lakes has done it again with a new Harb
WOW! Where does the time go?? It’s that time of year again. The 2018 Mid-America Boat Show is going on January 18–21. GLCC will have our presence here at the show and are asking for members to help with the booth. If you have never done it, you don’t know what you’re missing! Look at what you get for helping out. You meet all kinds of people! New boaters, experienced boaters, people just looking at getting into boating. You have the opportunity to show and tell what GLCC means to you and how it will help them enjoy the water. Please click here to read more.
The Toronto Boat Show will open its doors in less than two months and we need your help to make the Great Lakes Cruising Club’s (GLCC) participation a success!! This year the show runs from Saturday, January 12 to Sunday, January 21, 2017 inclusive (10 days). For more information about the show, check out their website. To read further please click here.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently completed an emergency dredging project in Keweenaw County to restore the Grand Traverse Harbor channel for commercial and recreational boating. The $246,230 dredging project, undertaken by Marine Tech, LLC of Duluth, Minnesota, through the DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division, pumped 9,000 cubic yards of sand to a beach area north of the harbor. Previous dredging at the harbor was done by the DNR in 2015 and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2009 and 2003.
Meanwhile, more extensive sand removal and containment efforts are needed to protect important lake trout and whitefish spawning habitat on Buffalo Reef and a juvenile whitefish area south of the Grand Traverse Harbor, which is situated on the east side of the Keweenaw Peninsula, northeast of Lake Linden. Read rest of article.
Let's welcome newly appointed White Lake, Mich. (M-21) Port Captain Chip Sawyer to the alliance of GLCC helping hands. Here's a porthole glimpse of this sailor's story: I began sailing at the age of five. “Cruised” the western shoreline of Green Bay in a homemade eight-foot plywood pram with a bedspread sail. Probably put 200 miles on that craft. Graduated to a Seagull class sailboat at about the age of ten and began competitive racing. At age 17, I began cruising (North Channel, Georgian Bay, Lake Superior, half a Great Loop) in earnest with the then GLCC Port Captain for Menominee, Mich. aboard his 45-foot converted schooner. Please click here to read more!
Newly appointed Port Captain for Wye Heritage Marina, Ont. (GB-22.4), Paul Strub is quite the explorer. Let's give him a warm welcome and if you stop by; be sure to give him a holler. Here's a little insight of his "learning the ropes"... I was introduced to the cruising lifestyle around the age of ten while watching an episode of PowerBoat Television. They did a feature on Killarney and the North Channel. After watching the episode, I knew I had to eventually have a boat. Finally, in 2007 I got my first pocket cruiser, a 23-foot Cooper Yachts Prowler. I kept this boat four seasons as I learned the ins and outs of boating. Click here for further reading.
For the 2nd time in three years a troubling and very toxic algae bloom has occurred across Western Lake Erie. For more information click this article from the Cruising Odyssey ezine, an on-line powerboat-focused publication of Blue Water Sailing magazine: http://cruisingodyssey.com/2017/10/04/toxic-algae-blooms-cover-western-…;
Past GLCC Commodore Niels Jensen's narrated video of his August trip from Lake Superior's Apostle Islands to the GLCC Lake Superior Rally in Silver Bay, Minnesota, certainly whets one's appetite to attend a regional rally or the annual rendezvous. Check it out here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXA_MP89cNM
Let's welcome Lynn Dupuy with a hearty "ahoy!" He is our newly appointed Port Captain for East Harbor, Ohio (E-167). Here's what he says about his boating experiences: I have been around boats and water as long as I can remember. I began by running around with my cousins in the swamps of Louisiana in a 10-foot johnboat. In high school I taught swimming, diving and canoeing classes for the YMCA. Fortunately, I married someone who enjoys boating as much as I do. Our first boat after we got married was a homemade dinghy that accommodated one person comfortably and two people uncomfortably. Please click here for more reading.
We're very happy to welcome newly appointed Port Huron, Mich. (D-1) Port Captains Dale and Teena Lashbrook. Their love for boating began on their 20-foot Carver Son of a Sailor. In addition to cruising in the “Blue Water Area,” basically Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron, they trailered their Carver to places in Michigan such as the Les Cheneaux Island, Inland Waterway, and Traverse Bay. Please click here to continue reading.
The crew of the Pride of Michigan, which includes 30 Sea Cadets and Captain Luke Clyburn, are grateful to the Great Lakes Foundation for a $5000 grant. The grant will help replace the 25-year-old inflatable, which functions as the support vessel for their many dives into the Great Lakes to help train the sea cadets as the Great Lakes are explored. The Pride of Michigan will proudly be flying the Great Lakes Cruising Club burgee throughout all her cruising on the Great Lakes. Captain Luke and the crew of the Pride of Michigan welcome your visit whenever you see them in any Great Lakes port. Please click here to keep reading.
028/08/2022 Corrected link to yacht club. JM Congratulations to newly appointed Port Captains Eric and Cynthia Sunstrum! The couple have co-chaired the Lake Ontario Rally for the last two years and worked behind-the-scenes on other GLCC events. We appreciate their efforts and welcome their support as Port Captains for Ivy Lea, Ont. (SLR-33). They discovered the joys of cruising in the 1000 Islands and Lake Ontario when they bought their Tanzer 22 (Moon Dance) in 1981. A new house and the birth of their daughter later interrupted their Great Lakes cruising until they purchased a Tanzer 7.5 (Whisper 2) in Brighton in 1999. Ivy Lea has been homeport for the Sunstrums since then. Please click here to read further.
Those who missed the outstanding August 18-20 GLCC Lake Superior Rally in Silver Bay, MN, are invited to visit the GLCC Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/glcclub) where you'll find several posts highlighting activities and photos from the event.
The combined work of the Township of Leland, Mich., the Township Harbor Commission, and a fundraising campaign titled Dig Deep for Leland Harbor (M-14), brought out the generosity of the public that enabled the harbor to be open this summer, and for many summers to come. Notable among the public donors was the Great Lakes Foundation, with a grant of $10,000. Please click here to read more.
While attending last weekend's Lake Ontario Rally, Henry W Williams, Port Captain for Rochester, N.Y., and former recipient of the GLCC Admiral Bayfield Award, received his Burgee recognizing 50 years of membership and dedication to the club. Congratulations Henry!
For more information on the Rally click here and also check the GLCC Facebook page.
For pictures and highlights of the July 2017 GLCC Rendezvous in Sturgeon Bay check out the GLCC Facebook Page.
The reporting requirements for owner/operators of a private boat entering Canadian waters, carrying 29 people or fewer have been modified. This was published on the Canada Border Services Agency website June 29, 2017. The reference web page is: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/pb-pp-eng.html Note: the web page has a lot of good information on it as is worth reviewing. Please click here for further reading.
On June 9th. 2017, Great Lakes Cruising Club members; Commodore Mead and spouse Joann, Vice Commodore Barzyk and spouse Patti, Past Commodore Wallbank and spouse Mariette and Office manager Yvonne Murray had the honor of attending the formal dedication of the Dr. James C. Acheson Maritime Gallery, in the recently renovated and opulent Port Huron Carnegie Museum. Please click here to read further.
Official-Looking Vessel Documentation Renewal Notices Can Lead to Confusion and Higher Costs. Our Thanks to Port Captain Denny Dutcher (West Harbor, Ohio E-16.8) for bringing this to our attention! ALEXANDRIA, VA, April 6, 2017 – Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) Consumer Protection Department is advising boaters with vessels having a US Coast Guard Certificate of Documentation to be wary of any letter arriving by US mail offering renewal. An increasing number of BoatUS members have complained that these letters direct them to websites that may be mistaken for the actual US Coast Guard Vessel Documentation Center located in Falling Waters, West Virginia, and appear to show a significant increase in the annual fee to renew US Coast Guard (USCG) documentation. The USCG web site is https://www.uscg.mil/nvdc/ (Removed link to BoatUS announcement as it has been removed)