GLCC News

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.

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.

02/14/2025 updated HR number and link JM 02/08/2022 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)

"Saturday December 16th  I’ve paddled 3582 miles. It’s been a life changing adventure but... Winter is here and it’s time to stop. Thank you to everyone who has supported me in this endeavor. Thank you to all of my team members and hosts..." Kayak racer Traci Lynn Martin has spent most of year 2017 kayaking to break the existing world record for the most miles traveled by kayak in a year. Her route was to include the circumferences of each of the Great Lakes, however, her journey has come to an end due to the frigid temperatures, ice and high winds this December. She started in Port Huron, Mich. at the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse and concluded in Lake Ontario in Canada. Please click here to read more...

Please join us as we thank and congratulate Port Captain’s Brad Somers and Ed Mahoney on being appointed another port of watch! They volunteered and were assigned the additional responsibility on October 22, 2016; Brad for Bob Lo Island, Ont. (D-86) and Ed for Cleveland, Ohio (E-10). Please give them a call or stop by and say “hello” next time you are “cruising” through one of the ports — by land or by sea!

London is a landlocked city in southwestern Ontario that Dave and Kathy Spencer have called home for most of their lives. Despite the absence of navigable water in London, Dave has spent most of his life sailing dinghies and runabouts thanks to a family cottage on the Trent Severn Waterway. Dave and Kathy didn’t get into the joys of cruising until 2005 when they bought a good old CS27. They got hooked while cruising from Bayfield, Ont. up to Georgian Bay’s North Channel and back several times. Since then, they have graduated to their beloved Catalina 34, Good Idea, and have moved their home port to Lion’s Head to enjoy its proximity to the North Channel and the wonderful anchorages on Georgian Bay within a couple of hours sail of Lion’s Head — perfect for a weekend getaway. Please click here to read more.

Member Fred Bagley, a frequent writer for sailing magazines, is featured in the 40th Anniversary issue of Cruising World. He writes about cruising into uncharted waters in Georgian Bay.  Besides his wife Jennnifer, he credits GLCC members Jim & Bobbie Wooll and Ron & Jo Dwelle for leading him into "white" areas. Click the title to read his article "Uncharted on the Great Lakes."

Dan and Linda Cline, previous Port Captains for Port Sheldon (M-23.5) since January, 2014 have enjoyed cruising Lake Michigan on their Island Packet 320 sailboat since 2004. Originally berthed in Holland, Michigan, they recently moved to Traverse City this year and moved their boat Wildwood to Betsie Bay Marina in Frankfort (M-16) to be closer to their new home; subsequently becoming the harbors new GLCC Port Captains. Both are expecting to devote more time to exploring northern Lake Michigan, Green Bay, and the Great Lakes. Please click here to read further.

The 1884 wreck of the J.S. Seaverns has been located near Michipicoten Harbor along the remote Canadian Superior shore. A team of divers including Ken Merriman, recent speaker at the 2015 Lake Superior Dinner meeting, found the wreck and captured the stunning images and video in this article. 

     Andy has been sailing since summer camp back in the 1960s. In the 1990s he started sailing keel boats out of Bayfield on the east side of Lake Huron and has spent many summer weeks in and around Tobermory and in the North Channel. Several years ago he and Jann went to the dark side and became power boat cruisers, and relocated to Port Lambton. Please click here to read more!

Daniel DeWeese and Julie Thorndycraft on Gaviidae blog about the 2016 Wilderness Rally at http://gaviidaesails.com/ramblings/great-lakes-cruising-club-2016-wilde….

We want to congratulate Dan & Julie on being the winners of the 2016 Founders Award winners with their blog of their 2015 cruise. The blog will be published in an upcoming issue of the Lifeline.

Great Lakes Crusing Club Member Spotlight - Matthew Cook & Walt Grabowski                                        GLCC members Matthew Cook and Walt Grabowski, are out on Lake Huron this month conducting an underwater inspection of the water intake. The sixteen foot wide, six mile long tunnel has a capacity of 400 million gallons a day, and was the site of one of the worst construction accidents in Michigan history. Click here to read more

This week's GLCC Facebook Page administrator's report noted that our GLCC FB page has now passed 500 likes, and one of the page's posts from last week has now reached over 3,700 viewers! The club's Facebook presence is positioned to help introduce our club to the broader boating community, hopefully attracting potential new GLCC members while complimenting the more club-specific content and information provided on the club's glcclub.com web site.Click here for more information and a link to the GLCC Facebook page.