This blog will chronicle our (Pat and Patty Anderson's)
cruising adventures on the Great Loop!
DAY 129 - August 7, 2017
We got up and out early for the cruise from Northport to Sleeping Bear Bay! We knew that we would have favorable conditions on the Lake - a north wind would be pushing us south. But first we had to get out of Grand Traverse Bay! And to do that we had to travel north for a bit up to the Grand Traverse Light, right into the teeth of the north wind! Here is our track from Northport to Sleeping Bear Bay.
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| Screenshot of track from Northport to Sleeping Bear Bay |
Once around the point, we were finally able to turn south, and with following seas, we had an easy and fairly quick trip down to Sleeping Bear Bay. The anchorage we had chosen was at the foot of Lake Street, just off the public boat ramp. The large building in the background of the picture below is a resort named "LeBear," and is really the landmark to guide boaters to the anchorage! We got quickly anchored, and while Patty took a nap, I paddled to shore and went into Glen Arbor, which is only a couple of blocks up from the lakeshore.
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| Screenshot of Sleeping Bear Bay anchorage |
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| Daydream anchored in Sleeping Bear Bay with LeBear Resort in background |
Glen Arbor has a lot of typical tourist town businesses, but it also has a serious IGA grocery store. I only scoped it out, because I had not brought my wallet or shopping bags. Back at the boat, I took Baxter to shore, and he made friends with all the people and other dogs on the shore!
Baxter and I also walked between Lake Street and Manitou Street along the beach. The foot of both streets is public right of way. The Lake Street pavement ends at the beginning of the boat ramp. The Manitou Street pavement ends well short of the lakeshore, but there is a little public picnic area with a fire ring and a sandy beach. The beach between Lake and Manitou is all private but there is a very nice sign reading "Private beach (really!). No alcohol. No beach fires. Leave it as you found it." The locals I talked to explained that it is OK to walk on the beach, as long as you follow those rules and stay out of the back yards of the houses! This is a very enlightened approach as I see it, because people are going to walk along the beach anyway!
After dinner, I went back to the IGA with my wallet and shopping bags for a little more shopping! I got Baxter another bag of dog food, Patty and me a couple of jars of peanuts, some pork chops, and what I had my eye on from my earlier trip, "market made beer brats." I got four of them, which weighed a pound and a half, so you know they were big! We'll grill them on the Magma and see if they meet my expectations soon!
Once again, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset over Sleeping Bear Bay!
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| Sunset over Sleeping Bear Bay |
Tomorrow we are off to Frankfort, where we will meet Chris Oberski, who lives in Frankfort, has been dreaming of doing his own Loop, and has been following this blog since the beginning. We are looking forward to meeting Chris!
Unlike WA and HI (and maybe others) the beaches in MI are not public property. A lot of the beaches in MI are privately owned and you can exclude people from being on yours. Most beachfront property extends 100' into the water. In most cases if you are walking the beach and minding your own business, people don't mind if you are on their property. If you decide to settle in on someone's beach, they usually let you know if they object. And there are some people who get upset and let you know it if you even set foot on their beach (like the people next door to my parent's place).
ReplyDeleteBeautiful sunset! Many coastal states claim the beach up to high tide mark to be public--and you cannot prohibit people from transiting--even cannot fence off your "beach"--Also many states mandate some "public" access to the beach. One of the issues in Florida-is when dredging new sand up, to "nourish" the beach--because littoral flow or storms remove it--is that public or private?
ReplyDeleteNo tides on the Great Lakes. I am surprised that it is not public up to "high water" mark--so you could at least walk in the water..
In Washington, beaches can be privately owned with no right of access. On lakes, the shoreline is either public or private - but the land beneath lakes (and rivers and streams) is owned by the state. Still, I would not recommend trying to wade past Bill Gates' or his neighbor Jeff Bezos' homes on Lake Washington! The situation with tidal lands is more complicated. Usually, the land below the ordinary high water mark is public. However, in early statehood days, the state sold SOME tidelands to the adjacent upland owners. So it is a patchwork that requires study of assessor records. Birch Bay is like that - some but not all the tidelands are privately owned. However, nobody has ever to my knowledge tried to stop anybody from walking in the tide pools when the tide is out!
ReplyDelete