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.
GLCC News
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!
2/15/2025 Fixed links in summary JM 9/29/19 Corrected link in this article. JM
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: https://www.glcclub.com/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 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.
The 2016 GLCC Rendezvous in Superior, Wisconsin, on western Lake Superior, wrapped up on Wednesday July 20th. What a fun-filled Rendezvous it was! For a recap of some of the Rendezvous events, including pictures of selected Rendezvous highlights, check out the several GLCC Facebook Page Rendezvous posts at https://www.facebook.com/glcclub/
04/27/2023 Corrected link to harbor report. JM
We are happy to announce 2 new Harbor Reports For Lake Michigan. In the Lake Michigan Overview section, you'll find report M-00 Lake Michigan Overview and M-00.1 Commnications and Weather - Crossing lake Michigan. The reports were written by Lou Bruska and Marilyn Kinsey with editing help from Jim Wooll. Marilyn was the sole author of M-00.1, we thank her for the report. These two reports were created with next year's Rendezvous in Sturgeon Bay in mind. Lou Bruska, Log Book Editor.
02/08/2022 Removed link to unavailable article. JM Fellow Great Lakes Cruising Club member Dennis Bailey of Drummond Island, Mich. NC-1 (link available to GLCC members), and owner of a TowBoatU.S. vessel was recently featured in an article in the BoatU.S. May 25, 2016 publication. It talks about how Dennis has been helping boaters since he was a child and now owns his families’ business; Drummond Island Yacht Haven. Please click here to read the article.
Bill Stover, fellow Great Lakes Cruising Club member and Deputy Port Captain for Honey Harbor, Ont. GB-25 (link available to GLCC members) recently had an article published in the South Bay Cove Marina’s spring 2016 newsletter, Sounds of South Bay. In his piece, Bill does a wonderful job promoting the Club. Please click here to read more.
Running a search on the last name "Rohde" via the Great Lakes Cruising Club homepage happens to bring up a lengthy list of hits for this prolific couple. These long time members surely have kicked up some dust! Now they’ve affected yet another organization with their presence in acquiring another dignified title. Check out this link to the May 2016 Seven Seas Cruising Association monthly Commodores’ Bulletin announcing GLCC Director Bill and Judy Rohde as newly-appointed SSCA Great Lakes Cruising Station Hosts (a similar function as GLCC Port Captains). Click here (GLCC members only) and find a dynamic bio on the duo — direct from Bill himself. Many congratulations Bill and Judy!
UPDATE: KILLARNEY MOUNTAIN LODGE UNDETERRED BY FIRE! Killarney Mountain Lodge, the planned site of the 2018 Rendezvous, is featured in Great Lakes Boating. Holden & Carey Rhodes, owners since 2015, are GLCC members as were previous owners, Maury & Annabelle East. Phase two of a three phase plan to extensively renovate the lodge has been completed. Included is a new, full service marina. Next time you are in Killarney, be sure to check out the new boating and lodge facilities. Hungry but don't want to get dressed for dinner, they will even deliver meals to your boat!
01/20/2024 Updated link to article. JM Just in time for the 2016 GLCC Lake Superior Rendezvous, GLCC member and frequent author on Great Lakes cruising destinations, Fred Bagley, recently had his latest article on cruising Lake Superior's Isle Royale published by Sail Magazine. Check it out here!
In this Sept. 12, 2013 file photo, the Fox River flows through downtown Waukesha, Wis. A push for expanded access to water from the Great Lakes is at a key point for the city of Waukesha. A regional regulating body meets in Chicago Thursday, April 21, 2016, to consider a request from the Milwaukee suburb to draw from Lake Michigan. The group's upcoming recommendation promises to have major implications for future requests from other cities that might want to stick a straw in the Great Lakes someday. (AP Photo/John Flesher, File) Read more here.
Planning on visiting Isle Royale while you are in Lake Superior for the Rendezvous this summer? Be sure and check out member Fred Bagley's article "A Royale Cruising Ground" in the April, 2016 issue of Sail magazine. Pick up your copy now if you don't subscribe.
As a follow-up to the Wednesday 12/16 GLCC Webinar "Safety for Shorthanded Cruisers and Cruising Couples", the popular SUDDENLY ALONE (SA) program originally developed by the Cruising Club of America (CCA) and the Bonnell Cove Foundation has been repackaged as a small scale "do it yourself" presentation for sailing clubs and organizations and renamed Safety for Cruising Couples (SCC). For more information click HERE.
At the 2015 GLCC Annual General Meeting in London, ON, Executive Director of Georgian Bay Forever, David Sweetnam spoke on invasive species in the Great Lakes. The key message is to be vigilant and to help prevent invasive species from establishing themselves in these waters. Once established, the costs to eradicate them are extremely high. Here are some examples of the costs of invasive zebra mussels: • Cost the power industry alone $3.1 billion in the 1993-1999 period • Impact on industries, businesses, and communities over $5 billion • Ontario Hydro reported zebra mussel impacts of $376,000 annually per generating station
Georgian Bay Forever is a charity dedicated to scientific research and public education on Georgian Bay's aquatic ecosystem. To learn more about their efforts, please visit GeorgianBayForever.
The GLCC now has a Facebook page, but we'd like help in reaching more Great Lakes boaters. You can start helping by simply inviting your Facebook friends to like the GLCC Facebook site. It's as simple as 1, 2, 3! To start click HERE.
Great Lakes Marine Weather Guru and GLCCSchool weather instructor Mark Thornton recently created several new climatology pages on his marine weather company's web site. To view the more detailed post about this analysis with links to each Great Lake click HERE. To look at a sample analysis for Lake Huron click Huron.
We can all cite innumerable examples of radio abuse by people keying their mic without first learning VHFbasics. Plus the potential life-saving capabilities of VHF Digital Selective Calling (DSC), not to mention its convenience, seem to remain a mystery to many. Today's issue of Sail Magazine's electronic publication addresses both of those subjects. The article is short and well worth a read by both captain and crew.
Coincident with Earth Day BoatUS made its Clean Boating course available free. For more information and links to register click HERE.