Traverse City → Northport
September 12–13, 2026
Distance: ~22 nautical miles
Waterway / State: Grand Traverse Bay / Lake Michigan — Michigan
Locks: 0 | 0 total so far
Notable: Our first Great Loop leg—and our first weather-driven change of destination when we chose Northport over Leland.
The Trip
This was finally the day.
After years of talking about the Great Loop, months of preparing Breaking Awave, and one last morning of breakfast, checklists, storage and getting the boat ready, we pulled away from Traverse City and officially started our Loop.
Our original plan was to make Leland our first stop. But before we got there, we called the marina and learned that southwest winds were expected to build later in the day. Because of the way Leland is exposed to those conditions, the marina advised us that the swells could make things uncomfortable there and potentially create problems overnight.
So, on our very first day, the plan changed.
Instead of continuing to Leland, we headed for Northport.
The ride itself was generally comfortable, with winds around 12–15 mph and most of the waves coming from behind us. It was a good first passage—not completely uneventful, but manageable enough that we could settle into the reality that this was no longer training or a preparation cruise.
We were actually doing it.
We pulled into Northport thinking it would simply be our substitute for Leland and probably a one-night stop.
Lake Michigan had other ideas.
The Experience
Northport ended up being a much better first stop than we could have planned.
That first evening, we were invited to dinner and docktails with a group of other Loopers. Several of them already knew one another from crossing paths along the way, but they pulled us right into the group.
We spent the evening hearing stories, getting advice and getting our first real taste of the social side of the Loop. One piece of advice stuck with us right away:
If people aren’t getting together, make it happen.
The next morning, the whitecaps outside the harbor made it pretty clear that our one-night stop was becoming two. Another group of Loopers tried heading toward Leland and eventually turned around, which was all the confirmation we needed that staying put was the right call.
So instead of spending the day wishing we were somewhere else, we got the bikes down and headed for Christmas Cove Beach.
That became its own little adventure.
Julie’s rear derailleur came loose and the chain came off. We managed to get it back together well enough to continue, but the repair essentially left her riding in about the lowest gear possible for much of the route. Not exactly the scenic bike ride we had envisioned, but she kept pedaling.
Christmas Cove was worth it. The sun was shining, the lake was covered with whitecaps, people were wandering the beach looking for rocks, and we stopped for a snack and a few pictures before heading back.
That evening we walked to Fingers Crossed, where we found a surprisingly impressive bourbon selection and some very good food.
Northport had started as Plan B.
By the time we left, it had already shown us several things that would become recurring themes of the Loop: plans change, weather wins, things occasionally break, interesting places appear where you weren’t expecting them—and the people you meet can become part of the experience almost immediately.
The Challenge
Our first challenge was learning how quickly the lake could change the plan.
Within the first two days, we had changed destinations once and then stayed put an extra day because conditions weren’t good enough to continue.
The harder part wasn’t the inconvenience. It was getting comfortable with the idea that the schedule couldn’t be the priority.
That lesson came early: sometimes the right cruising decision is simply not to go.
At the Helm
Our first day also gave us some practical experience with following seas.
With the waves coming from behind, they would push Breaking Awave’s stern around and cause the bow to yaw from side to side. We found that adding a little speed helped. More water moving across the rudder gave us better steering authority and made the boat easier to keep on course.
There was also a bigger lesson in the decision to call Leland before simply heading there.
A weather forecast might tell us the wind direction, speed and expected wave height, but that wasn’t enough by itself. We also had to think about what those conditions meant for our direction of travel, our boat and the harbor we planned to enter.
That distinction was becoming much more real now that the decisions were ours to make.
