Although there was a heavy overnight dew on Saturday morning, the air temperature by 10 a.m. was already in the 60-degree range and the sky was broken clouds. However, just to have some flexibility in clothing—and schooled by many prior years of cold weather—I started with five layers: short-sleeve t-shirt, long-sleeve t-shirt, long-sleeve sunscreen shirt, thermal vest, a hoodie jacket, a wool watch cap, gloves, and a rain jacket (just in case). However, the mist and fog on the lake soon burned off and strong sunshine appeared.
About 10:30 a.m. six boats departed from the dock at Silver Beach on the northwest shore of Mullet Lake:
- David and Kathy on Pau Hana, OUTRAGE V-20 Suzuki 115-HP
- Don and Elsa on Don's Dauntless, DAUNTLESS 17, Evinrude E-TEC G2 115-HP
- John and Holly on A Lil' Mischief, MISCHIEF 15, Evinrude E-TEC 60 H.O.
- Bob and Wilson (canine crew) on Carol Ann, STRIPER 15 with Yamaha 90-HP
- Sam and Mallory on Full Boat, pre-smirk 16-footer, Yamaha 150-HP
- Chris and your author on continuousWave, REVENGE 22 W-T WD, 225-HP Evinrude E-TEC
- Dave and Mindy on See Ya, GUARDIAN 22 Yamaha 250-HP
- Don and Gail on Whitewater, OUTRAGE 21 Yamaha 200-HP
The six boat fleet cruised at planing speeds toward the mouth of the Indian River at the south end of the lake, while the two-boat fleet cruised slowly downstream on the river to meet them. Soon assembled into an eight boat fleet, we continued upstream in the Indian River at no-wake speed, through the town of Indian River, and then into Burt Lake. There we headed north on Burt Lake with a warm southern tailwind, aiming for the large daymark at mouth of the Crooked River. By this time the skies were clear, there was brilliant sunshine, and the air temperature was already 70-degrees.
Entering the Crooked River, we encountered minimal opposing traffic, so most of the boats could continue on-plane up the river for a mile or so, to the first no-wake zone. After passing through the long no-wake zone in the warm sunshine, the opposing traffic on the river was increased, so getting on plane for a high-speed run across Hay Lake was somewhat limited.
Pau Hana suffered propeller damage while running on plane in the first stretch of the river and had to abort the trip to Alanson. David and Kathy turned back, heading slowly toward the town of Indian River.
By about 12:45 p.m. the remaining seven boats were in Alanason, where we again found enough slips at the public dock for everyone to tie up. The distance run from By Brook was 23.5-miles, with a mix of open water on-plane operation on the lakes, and slow speed operation in the rivers.
We then walked to lunch at the recently re-opened Depot Tavern, where we could enjoy some tasty casual food at outdoor tables in the very nice weather. Indoor eaters could watch college football games on a 96-inch HDTV screen.
By 2:15 p.m. were were ready to depart Alanson and head downstream. The air temperature was in the mid-70-degrees, the winds had reduced to practically calm, and it truly was t-shirt weather. The speed in the rivers always seems faster when we are going with the current.
By this time of the afternoon there was considerable traffic in the river, so runs on plane were limited. At Burt Lake the south wind had dropped to calm so the headseas were very small, and a long and comfortable run on plane was enjoyed.
With damaged propeller, Pau Hanna was only able to make about 6-MPH speed. She had limped back to Indian River, and was tied up adjacent to the launch ramp there. See Ya and Whitewater were going to haul out and go on their trailers there. Dave and Mindy would be heading north, so they would drive Kathy back to the Pau Hana trailer, which at parked at the Mullet Lake launch site about 12-miles north.
Eventually everyone returned, either by boat or car, to Silver Beach for a wonderful evening meal, prepared by gourmet Chef Elsa. The main course was Beef Bulgogi, and the aroma from this Korean dish had been stimulating everyone's appetite for a two hours. Paired with steamed rice, scallion pancakes, and Kimchi, it was delicious.
PICTURES
From Saturday, September 27, 2025
- Fig. 1. Bob and Wilson aboard the STRIPER 15 the Carol Ann in the Indian River marshlands.
- Bob-Wilson.jpg (110.92 KiB) Viewed 471 times
- Fig. 2. Don and Gail (hidden) on OUTRAGE 21 Whitewater and Dave and Mindy on GUARDIAN 22 SeeYa, Indian River Daymark 43.
- Don-Gail-Dave-Mindy.jpeg (187.24 KiB) Viewed 463 times
- Fig. 3. John and Holly followed by Don and Elsa, in the no-wake portion of the Crooked River.
- JohnHolly-DonElsa.jpeg (238.85 KiB) Viewed 471 times
- Fig. 4. Don and Elsa heading downstream in the Crooked River near Alanson.
- Don-Elsa.jpeg (190.43 KiB) Viewed 471 times
- FIG. 5. The STRIPER 15 Carol Ann in a very shallow and weedy slip at the public dock at Alanson.
- STRIPER15.jpeg (238.64 KiB) Viewed 471 times
- Fig. 6. A REVENGE 22 W-T Whaler Drive, continuousWave, almost in the weeds at the Alanson docks.
- REVENGE22WTWD.jpeg (223.83 KiB) Viewed 471 times
- Fig. 7. The 16-footer Full Boat at Alanson dock.
- FULLBOAT.jpg (155.56 KiB) Viewed 470 times
- Fi. 8. The classic OUTRAGE 21 Whitewater at Alanson dock.
- WHITEWATER.jpg (212.18 KiB) Viewed 469 times
- Fig. 9. The GUARDIAN 22 SeeYa at Alanson dock.
- SEEYA.jpg (230.9 KiB) Viewed 468 times
- FIG. 10. The rare white gelcoat MISCHIEF 15, A Lil' Mischief at Alanson dock.
- ALittleMischief.jpg (216.88 KiB) Viewed 465 times
- Fig. 11. Don's Dauntless, a DAUNTLESS 17.
- Don'sDauntless.jpg (189.42 KiB) Viewed 460 times
- Fig. 12. Pau Hana's aluminum propeller after blade strike. (Photo Credit David H.)
- propellerDamage.jpeg (76.44 KiB) Viewed 385 times
(Photographs by the author, unless noted otherwise.)
APPENDIX
Some previous years at Mullet Lake can be seen in prior articles
2015 https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=20&p=467
2018 https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3926&p=22113
2019 https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4940&p=28329
2021 https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6712&p=39122
A good reference article on the northern Michigan Inland Waterway:
Inland Waterway: Cheboygan to Conway:
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewto ... 62&p=18031