45°51′2″ N 84°36′57″ W

Today was a layover day in St. Ignace, MI. The marina here is very nice so it was no hardship at all to spend an extra day here resting a bit and catching up on chores.

Chris & I both did our laundries & we washed Ananda. Chris did the stern & the starboard side & I did the bow & the port side. I changed Ananda’s engine oil while Chris made an expedition to the local grocery store for a few more provisions. It all evens out. This photo shows me on the engine oil extraction pump. It’s an easy, but time consuming process to draw all of the oil out of the engine & get ready for the new stuff.

Vikings! As I have noted in previous blog entries, there are several tall ships in this area. Last week we saw an American tall ship & a Norwegian Viking ship headed out of Sturgeon Bay, WI to Green Bay City. Both ships were an impressive sight. Then we saw them again when we were in Green Bay City.

Yesterday when we arrived in St. Ignace we saw the Norwegian tall ship “Draken” in the marina. This boat is amazing. It is the largest Viking vessel in existence today. The size & scale of her is a sight to behold.

If you have an opportunity to see her at one of her stops I encourage you to make the effort. You will be happy you did.

Portside Neighbors. Yesterday I made a blog entry about our starboard neighbor, Bren. This afternoon we met our portside neighbors Chris & Diane aboard their 36′ Catalina sailboat named “Gunkholer”. Chris & Diane are from Kalamazoo, MI & they have been sailing the Great Lakes for many years. They bought their boat new in year 2000 & it still looks like new today. Chris & Diane were kind enough to come aboard Ananda & give us some tips on good anchorages to head to during our passage back into the North Channel. It’s great to meet new people & to share experiences.

Cheers!