Mahi Mahi- Sun Jul 6; Vermillion Ohio to Lake St Clair Miller Marina (*** We’re Home ***)

Well, this is it – our last blog post.

We’re Home !!!!

As many of you know, our original plan was to arrive home, back at Miller Marina in Lake St Clair, on Monday July 7th – to coincide with Jonell’s Birthday.

Well, it was about 1pm on Sunday during our ride from the Vermillion Municipal Docks. We were planning on staying somewhere near the base of the Detroit River & Lake Erie (Gibralter, Mi), we would have arrived about 2-3pm, and had a short ride to Lake St Clair on Monday morning.

Then Captain Luck said “we’re only about 5 hours away from Miller Marina”.
Somewhat surprisingly, both Deena & I immediately replied – “Ok, let’s do it, lets go home tonight”.
We called Jonell to confirm if she was OK with the 1-day early arrival, and more importantly – could she come with my truck & pick us up.

We arrived at Miller Marina about 6:30pm.
It was a very long 12 hour day / 95 mile ride.
The waves on Lake Erie & the current in the Detroit River limited our blazing speed to an average of 8 mph.

Unfortunately due to our 1-day early arrival, our normal greeting party of John/Cheryl Nelson & Al Oleszko were not available. But we were greeted by several other Miller Marina locals, who had heard all about the trip, and helped us get tied up.

After gettin’ tied up in Mahi’s new home at Miller Marina, we then presented Deena with her Gold Looper Burgee. Jerry is a Gold Looper, Mike is a Gold Looper, the Mahi Mahi is a Gold Looper – but the end of this trip was the completion of Deena’s 1st Official Great Loop.

For those of you who don’t know – The Great Loop is a journey around the eastern half of the United States by boat. It is usually about a 1 year long trip covering about 6000 miles, thru a series of Lakes, Rivers, and even the Gulf of America & the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The 2200 miles that we did in this trip, completed Deena’s Loop started in 2018.

Deena began her Loop with Jerry on the Mahi in August of 2018. After completing about 2/3 of The Loop, while in South Carolina – Jerry & Deena thought “why are we bringing the Mahi back to Michigan”. So they left the Mahi in South Carolina during the fall of 2019 & that launched the next 6 years of their annual pilgrimage between Little River South Carolina & Marathon Key Florida. The Mahi became their “Winter Cottage”.

The Mahi will now be their “Summer Cottage” in Lake St Clair.

Back to our arrival at Miller Marina.
Our timing was very fortuitous, there was a storm brewing. We had just given Deena the Gold Looper burgee, battened the hatches, loaded the truck, and as we were leaving for a late 7:30pm dinner – the clouds broke loose and it was pouring rain.

So that’s the way the great 7-week trip from South Carolina to Lake St Clair ended.
The trip was a very fun, very exciting, & sometimes fatiguing.
We were able to see many great sites, we met some increadibly nice people, and continued to learn more about the beloved Mahi & the wonderful waterways that connect Lake St Clair to the rest of the world.

Thanks for following our travel blog.
Your Reading & Comments, kept me motivated to write during those late nights.

I would also like to thank my bride Jonell, for allowing me to join The Lucks “Guilt-Free”, for an amazing 7 week experience. The trip definitely drummed up the ole Looping feelings from 2017/2018.

Farewell until the next voyage,
Mike, Deena, & Jerry

Mahi Mahi Trip Stats
Locations = Little River South Carolina to Miller Marina in St Clair Shores Michigan.
Distance = 2217 miles
Time = 51 Days
# of Ports = 34
# of Marinas = 26
# of Anchorages = 8
Diesel Fuel Costs = $4020 / 1082 Gallons / Ave=$3.71, High=$4.15, Low= $3.15)
Marina Costs = $4015 (Ave=$154 per night, High=$170 , Low= $42)

Port by Port Summary

1. Little River SC – May 13
2. Wrightsville Beach, NC (WB Anchorage) – May 14
3. Beaufort, NC (Beaufort Yacht Basin) – May 15
4. Gale Creek (Anchorage) -May 16
5. Bellhaven, NC (Bellhaven Marina) – May 17
6. Tuckahoe Point (Anchorage)- May 18
7. Coinjock, NC (Coinjock Marina) – May 19
8. Hampton Va (Salt Ponds Marina) – May 20/21 (High Winds)
9. Ellyson, Md (Ellyson Cove Anchorage) – May 22
10. Solomons Island, Md (Solomons Island Yacht Club) – May 23
11. Annapolis, Md (Annapolis Yach Basin) – May 24/25
12. Chesapeake City, Md (Anchorage) – May 26
13. Cape May, NJ (South Jersey Marina) – May 27/28
14. Atlantic City, NJ (Farley State Marina) – May 29/30/31
15. Manasquan, NJ (Hoffman’s Marina) – June 1
16. New York City, NY (Anchorage @ Statue of Liberty) – June 2
17. Crouton on the Hudson, NY (Half Moon Bay Marina) – June 3-8 (9/11 Mem, West Pt)
18. Marlboro, NY (Marlboro Yacht Club) – June 9/10/11 (waiting Locks 16 & 17).
19. Kingston, NY (Kingston Historical Museum) – June 9/10/11 (waiting locks 16 & 17)
20. Albany, NY (Albany Yacht Club) – June 12/13 (waiting Locks 16 & 17)
21. Schenectady, NY (Donovan’s Mohawk Harbor) – June 14
22. St Johnsville, NY (Municipal Marina)- June 15-20 (disabled-throttle part delay)
23. Ilion, NY (Village of Ilion Marina) – June 21
24. Marcy, NY (Mooring Wall @ Erie Lock #20) – June 22/23/24 (waiting on locks 20,21,22)
25. Central Square, NY (Winter Harbor Marina) – June 25
26. Oswego, NY (Oswego Marina) – June 26
27. Rochester, NY (Shumway Marina) – June 27
28. Welland Canal (Mooring Wall), Port Weller, Ont (Lake Ontario) – June 29
29. Welland Canal (Sugarloaf Marina), Port Colburn, Ont (Lake Erie) – June 30/July 1
30. Erie, Pa (Wolverine Park) – July 2
31. Ashtabula, Oh (Kister Marina) – July 3
32. Cleveland, Oh (Oasis Marina) – July 4
33. Vermillion, Oh (Municipal Docks) – July 5
34. St Clair Shores, Mi (Miller Marina)