The Mayhew’s Great Lakes Adventure
For Brian and Kathy, boating is more than a pastime – it’s an important part of their lives that has taken them on remarkable journeys and helped them to create countless memories. After many years exploring waters from Florida to Maine, they set their sights on a new challenge: a summer adventure on the northern Great Lakes. Their journey became an experience full of discovery, challenges, and an even deeper appreciation for life on the water. It’s a story that reflects the spirit of boating and the connections it creates.
A PASSION FROM THE START
Brian’s love for the water started early with fishing trips in small outboard boats with his dad. It wasn’t long before waterskiing joined the lineup after his dad bought a used aluminum runabout with a Johnson 35 engine. These childhood summers spent on the water ignited a passion for boating that would last a lifetime. Kathy got into boating later in life but she quickly fell in love with it. “We both lived on Kent Island (Maryland) and each of us had a boat, so we shared that interest from the start,” she said. “Our second date was on my boat,” Brian added. “It was a beautiful day, we anchored in a cove and had lunch on board. Looking back, maybe that was a sort of a mutual compatibility check?” Decades later, that compatibility has translated into countless boating adventures shared together, and a life where exploring the world by water plays a big part.It’s a story that reflects the spirit of boating and the connections it creates.
LIFELONG BOAT OWNERS
By age 10, Brian saved up enough money from summer jobs to buy a small wooden daysailer and learned to sail on the lake near his family’s home. “My friends and I had a ton of fun with that little boat!” he recalled. Twenty years later he bought an 18-foot Wellcraft ski boat, and from then on boating became a constant in his life. When children arrived, so did the need for a larger boat. Enter “IV PLAY,” a 1993 Cobalt 272, which became a family favorite on the Chesapeake Bay. “All three of our kids learned to water ski or wakeboard on that boat as did many of their friends,” Brian said. After many years of fun on the Bay, it was time to either overhaul it or replace it. The whole family liked the boat so much we had it completely restored, then moved it to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. “Our kids grew up on it, now our grandkids are, and after 31 years the whole family is still having fun on “IV PLAY” every summer!”
THE PERFECT MATCH: THE TIARA 36 CORONET
Today, Brian and Kathy’s primary vessel for adventure is their Tiara 3600 Coronet, aptly named “JUST IV FUN.” Living in South Florida, they needed a boat that could handle everything from exploring the Bahamas to casual cruises with friends. “We needed a well-built, seaworthy boat with plenty of enclosed and air-conditioned seating, decent cruising speed, plenty of range, a big cockpit for diving and fishing, and a comfortable cabin for a couple. For cruising the Bahamas and Gulf side of Florida, we also wanted a shallow draft,” Brian explained. They found a Tiara that met all of these requirements at the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show. Then, they customized the boat by adding racks for Scuba tanks, and for the out islands in the Bahamas where tank refills and fresh water are hard to find, they added a compressor to fill their tanks and a water maker.
JUST IV FUN has taken them on adventures that only boating can offer. In 2019, they embarked on a 4.5-month trip from Ft. Lauderdale up to northeastern Maine and back. Brian explained, “We also took her on side trips up several rivers including the Hudson, Connecticut, and some in Maine, and visited just about every place we had ever read about or heard of. We traveled more than 3800 nautical miles and lived on the boat most of the time.” Kathy added, “And miraculously were still married when we got back to Florida!”
EXPERIENCES ONLY BOATING CAN OFFER
The Mayhews have created countless lifelong memories on the water. Boating has opened doors to experiences that would have been unreachable any other way, including unforgettable encounters like: Swimming and free-diving with wild dolphins in the ocean near Bimini; a humpback whale surfacing less than 100 yards in front of their boat going into New York Harbor; idling along next to a 20-foot hammerhead shark leisurely cruising on the surface in the Gulf Stream. “JUST IV FUN has taken us to so many places we could not reach any other way, and so many experiences we could not have had any other way, our family refers to it as the ‘Magic Carpet,’” Kathy said. “A retired yacht captain in Portsmouth told us about a perfectly restored 1600s fishing village on a remote island off the coast of Maine. So we went out there and it was absolutely surreal, like a movie set,” Brian added, “and in the Exumas we had an entire island with turquoise waters and a pink sand beach all to ourselves”.
FINDING THEIR PATH TO WALSTROM MARINE
When the Mayhews started planning their adventure in the northern Great Lakes, they asked Tiara to recommend a “home base.” Tiara’s customer service team recommended Walstrom Marine’s Cheboygan location. “Walstrom is a Tiara dealer with a full-service yard and small marina at Cheboygan,” Brian explained. “It is on Lake Huron, very close to northern Lake Michigan, and easy to get to Lake Superior from there, so it was the perfect home base for us.” Trusting Walstrom’s expertise, the couple arranged for their Tiara 36 Coronet, JUST IV FUN, to be transported from Florida to Michigan with the help of Brink Marine Transport. Walstrom’s team ensured that everything was ready for the summer ahead. “Walstrom’s people at Cheboygan were great to deal with!” Brian shared. “Dave Cope and his staff are outstanding, and like so many other folks we met in the upper Midwest, very friendly and helpful.” From their base in Cheboygan, the Mayhews set off to explore waters unlike any they’d experienced. “After more than three months on these lakes, all we can say is ‘Wow! What an amazingly beautiful area to explore by boat!’” Brian reflected. “Crystal clear water and air, huge expanses of hills and forests, miles of cliffs and sand dunes, gorgeous beaches, waterfalls, thousands of islands, great fishing, lots of wildlife, really good craft beer, nothing is crowded, and the people are sooo nice everywhere.” “Huron, Superior and Michigan are so beautiful and there is so much to see and do, it is hard to choose a favorite – but if we can only pick one, it would be Superior,” Kathy said.
ADVENTURES AND ENCOUNTERS ON SUPERIOR
“All of these lakes are beautiful but for scenery Superior has an advantage because it is so big, pristine, and wild, and the coastline varies so much,” Kathy shared. Brian summarized their route this way: “The south side starts with huge beige sand dunes, then colorful cliffs and big sea caves, and forested mountains the rest of the way. The west side has cliffs, waterfalls, and huge mesas near Thunder Bay. At Isle Royale a ranger briefed us on what to do if we encountered a wolf or a moose, like the grizzly bear briefing you get in Alaska. The northwest part has a lot of big islands, the entire north coast is very rugged, and there are caribou on the Slate Islands. The east side has a huge wilderness area with no roads near the lake for 100 miles but there are plenty of protected coves to anchor in.” Kathy added: “Some of our favorites on Lake Superior are Huron Island Lighthouse, Pictured Rocks, northern Keweenaw Peninsula near Copper Harbor, Madeline Island, Isle Royale, the Slate Islands, and Indian Harbor.” The quiet, pristine surroundings and encounters with bald eagles and other wildlife added to the magic of their time on the “Big Lake.”
HURON’S NORTH CHANNEL & GEORGIAN BAY – CLOSE BY AND GREAT CRUISING
Lake Huron’s North Channel offered a contrasting, gentler beauty that the Mayhews found enchanting. With its many quiet islands and protected anchorages, the North Channel became a favorite. “Huron’s North Channel is easy to reach and has a lot of beautiful islands and coves to anchor in and explore by dinghy,” Brian explained. White quartz outcroppings on the mountains are eye-catching because they look like snow on the ground among the pine trees during the summer! Georgian Bay has even more islands and some very pretty fjords like Baie Fine and Collins Inlet, but it is busier than North Channel. Crossing Georgian Bay to Bruce Peninsula is well worth it because the scenery is a lot different with high headlands, long narrow bays, and pretty little towns. Compared to Superior, Huron’s North Channel and Georgian Bay have narrower expanses of open water, more islands and coves, more towns, and all of these things are closer together. Among Brian’s favorites were “the cove on the north side of Hotham Island, the Bustard Islands, Lions Head village on Bruce Peninsula, the Antique Boat Show at Hessel, the restaurant in the Anchor Inn at Little Current, and Split Rail Brewery on Manitoulin Island.”
LAKE MICHIGAN’S NORTHEAST COASTLINE: CULTURE AND SCENERY
In contrast to the wilderness on Superior and Huron, Lake Michigan brought a mix of scenic coastlines and vibrant towns. The Mayhews explored the area from Sleeping Bear Dunes up to Little Traverse Bay, where they found plenty of small towns with rich local culture, great restaurants, and unique shops. “All of the towns in this area are nice and each one has its own character,” Kathy explained, calling out Leland, Traverse City, Suttons Bay, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs as favorite stops. The clear, inviting waters of Michigan’s northwest coast made it a great spot for anchoring out and spending lazy afternoons swimming and sunbathing. “Lake Michigan’s coast from Sleeping Bear Dunes to the north side of Little Traverse Bay is beautiful with hills, crystal clear water, really nice beaches, and it offers an amazing variety of year-round recreation,” Brian shared.
WEATHER CHALLENGES AND “WEATHER DAYS”
While they experienced mostly calm conditions, the Great Lakes’ weather can be unpredictable, so they relied on a personal rule they learned over the years: “Go when the weather is nice, leave early and get to destination by noon.” But even the best-laid plans sometimes went awry. An appointment ashore ran late, made their departure from Cheboygan much later than planned, turning that leg into a bit of a challenge and the only rough ride they had during three months on these lakes. “We left Cheboygan about 4 PM for the short run over to Detour Village on the north side,” Brian recalled. “The wind had been from the east all day, was fairly brisk as we cleared the breakwater, and the deeper water had white caps.” Heading northeast we were angling into the waves and wind with sheets of cold spray hitting the windshields and fogging them up. Stopping fogging caused by very cold spray was a new challenge for boaters accustomed to cruising in warm seas. “Our first reaction was to turn on the heat with the fan on high like you would in a car but this made the fogging worse. So we turned on the air conditioning which helped, and turned to parallel the waves to reduce the spray. That solved the fogging problem and gave us a much better ride” but after this experience Brian noted, “We never left late in the day again.” Whenever weather, mostly high wind and waves, kept them ashore, they discovered even more things to do. Among their “weather day” adventures, they explored Copper Harbor’s rugged mountains, toured the Canadian Bush Plane Museum in Sault Ste. Marie and a huge “Laker” (ore ship) in Duluth, watched huge waves striking the cliffs and sea caves on Madeline Island’s north shore, and hiked to a big waterfall near Thunder Bay.
CHALLENGES AND GENEROSITY
One of the biggest challenges they faced was finding enough diesel fuel to explore the remote on the north and east sides of Lake Superior. “There are no marinas or docks with diesel fuel after you leave Red Rock at the NW corner of Superior until you get to Soo, and no commercial tow services on that half of the lake,” Brian explained. So they faced the dilemma of how to get enough fuel to continue exploring Superior’s untamed northern and eastern shores and get to Soo with a healthy reserve. Fortunately, the kindness of strangers came through. After sharing their fuel dilemma with a fellow boater in Thunder Bay, they were connected with a guide willing to bring a120 gallons of diesel out to their boat and do boat-to-boat refueling. “We had to trust a marina owner in Wawa we never met, who vouched for a guide in Marathon we didn’t know,” Brian said. “To our great relief, our trust in these strangers was justified.” This act of kindness allowed them to continue their journey and fully experience Superior’s wild beauty.
WALSTROM MARINE: A TRUSTED PARTNER
From the initial planning through the summer and into early fall, Walstrom’s team was there to provide a warm welcome, guidance and great service for the Mayhews. “Every encounter we had with Walstrom’s people was very positive,” Kathy shared. Whether assisting with last-minute maintenance, offering advice on local attractions, or simply greeting them with friendly smiles, Walstrom Marine’s Cheboygan and Harbor Springs teams made a lasting impression. “Their mechanics were very busy but when I told them we had no fresh water in the cabin because our pump quit, they replaced it the same morning,” Brian noted. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: A RETURN TO THE GREAT LAKES With so many memories created over the summer, Brian and Kathy found it hard to say goodbye to the Great Lakes. The warm waters of Florida are home but the wild beauty and friendly communities of Michigan, Huron, and Superior left a deep impression. Even as they returned to Florida, plans were already taking shape to bring JUST IV FUN back to the northern Great Lakes the following summer. Walstrom Marine played a pivotal role in their unforgettable experience, and the Mayhews are already looking forward to reconnecting with the team in Cheboygan next year. For Walstrom Marine, it’s been a pleasure to support Brian and Kathy’s journey on the Great Lakes. We look forward to being part of their next adventure and to helping them explore even more of what these remarkable lakes have to offer.
