Boat club meets in Escanaba this week | News, Sports, Jobs

Courtesy of Escanaba. Sailor Terry Reynolds shot this photo of Lori Sprague (center), co-chair of the Great Lakes Cruising Club’s 2024 Rendezvous of Dexter, Michigan, flanked by Judy (left) and Jon Hollander (right), who are in Escanaba this week to participate in the club’s annual Rendezvous, which is held in a different location each year.

ESCANABA — The Great Lakes Cruising Club (GLCC), a boating organization that provides its members with information and reports on more than 1,000 ports in the region, is in Escanaba this week for its annual meeting. The group meets in a different location each year; the last meeting was in Cleveland. This is Escanaba’s first time hosting the event, and it coincides with the Midsummer Race, an annual tradition of the Escanaba Yacht Club, which spectators can watch tonight from the tip of Sand Point.

The official dates for the meeting are July 14-18. GLCC members from out of town began arriving Saturday and will stay through Thursday, according to Lori Sprague, co-chair of the 2024 GLCC meeting.

83 visitors have come to Little Bay de Noc for the event aboard 39 vessels currently moored alongside local vessels in the Escanaba Yacht Harbor. They come from ports in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Ontario.

However, “Many boaters live far away from their home port. In addition to the states and provinces mentioned, there are also people from Florida and South Dakota here,” said Sprague.

Three boats that call Escanaba their homeport belong to GLCC members. Of particular note is Sprague’s “Endurance,” built by Roy Ness and docked at the wall in front of the harbormaster’s office.

“He (Ness) designed and built it right in his workshop in Escanaba,” said Sprague of the large steel trawler. “It’s unique.”

Rendezvous co-chair and Escanaba Harbor Captain Marilyn Kinsey, who has been a sailor for about 70 years, owns “Adena”, A sailboat that will keep them at one of Escanaba’s many moorings—if you count the slips, docks and moorings, the local marina has room for 165 boats.

Another GLCC member from Marquette also has his boat stored in Esky.

A wide range of activities has been organised for club members – many of them private, others are public events. During the four-day meeting, club members will be treated to several presentations: Gregg Bruff, local artist and sailor from “Arcturus”, discussed his series of paintings by “Workboats of the Upper Peninsula” on Monday; Ann Jousma Miller of Gladstone will speak on Tuesday about the history of Delta County and its lakeshore communities; Troy Henderson of the Michigan History Center is scheduled to speak on Wednesday about the UP’s history in the iron industry.

Local residents can enjoy a visit to the marina today, Tuesday, when food trucks such as Bobaloon’s, Wildman’s Munchie Mobile and Blue Cat Burrito serve lunch and dinner.

The Midsummer Race, hosted by the EYC, is expected to flood the bay with sailboats tonight – the usual local competitors will be joined by a number of guests from the GLCC. Local residents can best watch the action from Sand Point at the end of Water Plant Road, where the race committee will begin raising flags at 6:50 p.m. to mark the start of the race.

While in the area, members can also experience other things the community has to offer. The program includes a tour of Lakeview Cemetery with the Players de Noc and dinner at the House of Ludington, as well as self-guided tours of the Delta County Historical Museum and Sand Point Lighthouse.

The GLCC flag consists of five connected links arranged in a circle.

“If you see people wearing GLCC gear, be sure to welcome them to Escanaba and ask them about their boat.” said Sprague.