You Can Never Have Too Many Friends

Marilyn delivered Tamassa through Lakes Huron and Erie. Dan and Julie (left)

Broomstick horse racing during Kentucky Derby party at 2019 GLCC Lake Erie Rally in Leamington, Ontario.

Doug Jackson

★ GLCC member since 2009 ★ Role: Vice Commodore ★ Vessel: 2012 Lagoon 421 cruising catamaran, 41’, Bleu Lagoon ★ Home Port: Cedar Point Marina, Sandusky, OH

Like most members, Doug and his wife, Pam, joined because they wanted to cruise the Great Lakes, and the GLCC had the most up-to-date information on marinas and anchorages. They got the harbor reports — and so much more. A club benefi t Doug recently learned of is the boat insurance program. This insurance policy is negotiated by the GLCC to provide broader boat coverage for less money.

Club events are a favorite for Doug and Pam. They “give us a destination to explore, and a place to meet old friends and create new ones,” Doug says. “We can use the harbor reports to gain the knowledge needed to cruise to a new location. Once at an event, there are activities, meals, typically games, socializing, training/ seminars — all of which provide a great boating experience.” At events they’ve met fellow boaters who have become lifelong friends.

They have paid it forward by becoming part of the club’s management team. Doug and Pam started as port captains for Cedar Point Marina. He later became a director-at-large, and currently holds the offi ce of Vice Commodore of the GLCC. Pam serves as the club’s port captain coordinator.

While they enjoy exploring new places, their favorite spot on the Great Lakes is probably the North Channel, “with its rugged looks and picturesque setting.”

The Great Lakes Cruising Club unites boaters across the fi ve lakes

— and beyond. BY FELICIA SCHNEIDERHAN

In 2014, Julie Thorndycraft and her husband, Daniel DeWeese, were new to the cutter rig sailing scene. They had just bought their 1999 Gozzard G37, Gaviidae, and became friends with a large group of sailors in Minnesota.

“Most of them were Great Lakes Cruising Club members and became our mentors,” Julie says.

Julie and Dan were considering club membership and decided to check out the annual Rendezvous, which that year was being held at Lake Superior’s Barker’s Island. At the event, they invited one friend out on the water for the afternoon, and ended up with eight experienced Great Lakes Cruising Club (GLCC) sailors onboard.

“Every one of them had years and years more experience than Dan and me,” Julie says.

They got out on the water to fi nd some pretty big winds, gusting up to 25 mph. Gaviidae started making a weird humming noise. Julie turned to her friend, past club Commodore Niels Jensen, and asked, “what should we do?” She remembers he said, “Well, Julie, your boat is talking. What does it have to tell you?”

In the next few minutes, she recalls: “All these sailors went into this unspoken action plan. The next thing you know, the boat is sailing perfectly quietly. We learned more in 30 minutes…”

No surprise: Seven years later, Julie and Dan are active members.

Lifelong friendships

Founded in 1934, the GLCC’s original mission was to give members a way to share cruising information. Its log book and harbor reports are still one of the biggest draws for members. More than a thousand of these vetted harbor reports are updated frequently by boaters who have personally visited the areas. The reports help cruisers plan, navigate in the location, and also provide information about nearby essentials: Provisions, maintenance, restaurants and must-sees. Sometimes, these reports are the only information available on wilderness anchorages.

The GLCC also offers a huge network of members, including about 200 port captains who serve as port experts and hosts. The club has many regular events, including the annual Rendezvous, rallies and flotilla cruises. Members often meet up informally in

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JULIE THORNDYCRAFT; DOUG JACKSON, MARILYN KINSEY AND THE GREAT LAKES CRUISING CLUB

Taking dinghies to Turnip Rock.

Dan and Julie (above) and the bow of their boat, Gaviidae.

marinas and remote anchorages, cultivating lifelong friendships based on a shared love of boating.

Sharing lessons learned

Today, Julie and Dan own a 47-foot 2003 Gozzard G41. This one is also called Gaviidae, which is Latin for the loon family (the loon is the state bird of Minnesota). Though Duluth is listed as the port of registration, they don’t moor their vessel anywhere long enough to claim a home port. The GLCC log book and harbor reports have proven invaluable to their non-stop cruising. So helpful, in fact, that Julie chairs the harbor reports committee, and she and Dan serve as report editors.

“We’ve gotten into some absolutely amazing little hurricane holes that we would have never known about had we not been a part of GLCC,” Julie says.

Early on, though, they failed to consult a harbor report, which left them with their boat up on the rocks in the remote Lake Superior anchorage, Old Dave’s Harbor.

“It was nerve-wracking, to say the least,” Julie says. “I was on the bow, he was at the helm. We were using hand signals and between all the rigging and everything else, he missed my hand signal to go to starboard, and instead we went up on the rocks.”

The winter after the ordeal, they decided to get headsets, jokingly called “marriage savers.” When Julie called the company to ask if they had a Valentine’s special, they said no, but that’s a great idea! The owner gave her two discount codes, one specifi cally for GLCC members.

They were going very slow and fortunately did no damage to the boat. A storm was on its way, and the wave action coming through helped lift them off the rocks.

“Because we got stuck there for three days in the storm, we got really familiar with that little hurricane hole. Every time the wind calmed down, we took our dinghy and took soundings so we could fi gure out how to get out of it.”

They brought that information to the club’s harbor report — and also became port captains for that little hurricane hole. For Julie, one of the biggest surprises of membership is how friendly and helpful club members are.

“You’ve got people with different views, but everybody has the same thing in common — they love being on the water and love their boats. Boaters just tend to go out of their way to help each other.” ★

Marilyn Kinsey

★ GLCC member since 1989 ★ Role: Escanaba, MI Port Captain, and contributor to northwest Lake Michigan Logbook entries ★ Vessel: 1989 Bristol 35.5c Built, 35’6”, Adena ★ Home Port: Escanaba Municipal Marina, Escanaba, MI

Marilyn sails Adena with her husband, Glen Brown, as the captain, who does a lot of the maintenance and enjoys sailing as much as she does. “I remind him I am the admiral of the fl eet — including a bunch of old dinghies.”

Her club stories are full of people she has met along the way. “Sharing fun with friends is continuing today and tomorrow!”

Wilderness anchorages are among her favorite spots. The GLCC Wilderness Rally at Obstacle Island remains one of her favorite club experiences: “for the excellent planning and leadership. Jim Wooll led us, in our live-aboard boats and in dinghy trips, to places we would have never ventured on our own.” Later Wilderness Rallies were delightful too, she says, because of members who were familiar with the safe navigation access.

Lots of GLCC members contribute to the Harbor Reports, she says. “A special thank you to Log Book Editor Julie Thorndycraft for all the work she does to edit and clean-up GLCC member contributions.”

Members have come out for them in many ways, including when they were delivering a trawler, Tamassa, downbound in areas of lower Lakes Huron and Erie that was new to them. “The hospitality of GLCC members along the way was very helpful,” Marilyn says. This welcoming spirit translates to land, too. “Driving my car across Canada to and from the Sault to Maine, I have been welcomed with superb hospitality from a number of GLCC members.”