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!
GLCC News
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.
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
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!