Day 80 Wed. the 25th to Port Sanilac

 At Seven Thirty in the morning I peek out the window to see the flags on a couple boats whipping like crazy on shore. I roll over and in my mind I try to decide what we'll do here for another day. I fall back asleep. The Captain wakes me at 9:15AM announcing a departure in one hour. Yeah!

I quickly help him get things ready, make an extra pot of coffee, and away we go. The fisherman are having good luck by the pier light and rocks and, finally..... 

The sun is out bringing out the blue in the water that we've been missing.

With the wind and waves behind us, Ron is surfing with Goose. Our top speed is 9.2 and we are in Port Sanilac in no time. We maneuver around George Gradel's barges and dredges at the entrance and head right to our slip assignment from Dave.

The bikes come down and we head to the IGA for fresh fruit and some breakfast juice.

  Of course we cannot visit without going to the marine store here. Ron loads up on a couple items he cannot find else where and we get a plastic cap for a temporary fix on our deck plate.

I ride back to town to the general store looking for needles, thread and couple other things. I inquire about where I can get my hair done...nothing close, so , long story short...I call .(our next stop) for an appointment at a local salon for two days away.
Dinner at Uri's Landing above the marine and boat store is awesome as usual. Ron has a great whitefish. I had been craving cheeseburgers, so, I did it up with homemade potato chips. Yummy!

 Must make a note to ride the bike longer tomorrow. Good thing Sanilac has hills !!!

Day 79 to Harbor Beach Tuesday the 24th

Hoping that the weather is better when we get out on the lake this morning. We are headed to Harbor Beach, however, I would like to make it to Port Sanilac. From past history, there isn't much open in town and the docks are usually quite empty.

We pass the Port Austin reef light and with the small white water all along the horizon, we all know why it's there.

The sun is still not out even after a three day break! Maybe later. The nice part is that the wind is down and we have some nice rollers to start or journey. I get some reading in on the aft deck.
 The captain looks at his watch as we approach the Harbor Beach Light and makes the decision to overnight here.

The Harbor Master Lynn is as nice as can be and even runs us some ice in her cart. We chat for awhile and find out that the business activity level leaves this harbor with only one employee. So, she takes care of the docks, cleans the wash and shower rooms, services boats with fuel and pump outs, takes the trash..etc. She keeps very busy and does a fine job. Nice lady.
A bike ride was in order for me as I wanted to stretch my legs. So, I peddled up to the main entrance from the road and over by the campground. To my surprise, I found that the closed carryout from prior years had re-opened as an ice cream shop/limited grocery and a small cafe. Things must be happening again in Harbor Beach and I am glad for them. We will however cookout tonight and leave in the morning for Port Sanilac.

Day 77-78 Great Visit in Port Austin Sunday-Monday

 

The waves are still crashing the wall when we wake up this morning. I take a few photo's wishing I could have done so last night. They have calmed down to 7 footers and even the swans get out for a swim in the harbor.

A quick vacuum and a couple loads of laundry get done as Mom and Dad arrive bearing gifts of fresh tomatoes from Dad's garden, salsa made this season and some nice Mondavi wine.

The cafe up the street has had constant business since we arrived, and Mom mentioned there was a waiting line out front when they drove by. We are hoping by now that we can get a seat. We are lucky and enjoy lunch as we note that we'll be back tomorrow for breakfast.

Ron, on his best behavior, stays calm and attentive as my Mom and I go shopping at the small gift shops in town. (Just kidding). To tell the truth, I am not much of a shopper, so, I need someone with me when I go. I find some things for Christmas gifts, but, I want to "sleep on it". We'll go back tomorrow.
Back at the boat, Ron is anxious to go through the mail that has been delivered. We all end up on the top deck with some wine before dinner.
I am wishing that the weather was nicer so that we could take Mom on her annual birthday boat ride, but this year it will have to wait until we get home.
The Captain has decided on an Italian place for dinner and it turns out to be another good choice. The price is right and the pasta is good. Veal Parm is just OK.
As I took the money up to pay the bill, I meet a local farmer who has her truck outside selling leftovers from the farmers market today. She offers us some fresh basil for our tomatoes from dad, and proceeds to add a cucumber , a huge tomato  and a handful of Roma's to the mix. She and Dad strike up a conversation about her 400 plus tomato plants and how to tend to pesky creatures on cabbage. Wood ash seems to be the trick of the trade for organic type farming when it comes to cabbage worms. We take the loot and  she does not want us to pay her, however we  tip her for some seed money.

OMG , can we possibly fit ice cream in our bellies? Yes, we do. We walk to the local ice cream shop where full size statues of Jake and Elwood reside. Mom takes pictures of Ron and I.
After sunset, we pull the deck chairs inside the cabin for movie night and watch Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino before hitting the hay.

Monday did not bring a big change in wind and waves, except a small windshift. I finally caught a picture of our friendly bug eating bird. They sure are shy and very fast.

We walk to the cafe for breakfast. Casually, we order our meals and sip on coffee and water. When breakfast arrives it appears as though they got the wrong table and the food was meant to go to a bunch of football players. Our sausage was 3 pieces of 1/4 pound each, the bread was homemade and thicker than texas toast and don't forget we still have eggs and potatoes to eat with it! Dad is the only one that finishes.

The gals head back to the shops to double check some items from yesterdays shopping. I send my bag of goodies home with Mom so they make it safely for The NCYC Bazaar. I found some cool bottles and hope to add some beach glass to them.
Getting back to the boat is a bit difficult as they are putting the final layer of ashpalt in the new parking area. Along with the new bathhouse and landscaping, Port Austin is certainly a place to put on your list of stops. They even sweep for spiders twice a day on the docks :)

Oh.......Mom this is for you. Ron and Bear sure enjoy your cookies! Thanks again. Love and miss you both already.

Day 76 Tawas to Port Austin Sat.

Tomorrow Mom and Dad are planning to visit. We had hoped to be in Port Sanilac, but the wind and waves have held us further north. We leave at 9 this morning to try to get to Port Austin before the wind kicks up. Grey skies hold over our heads all the way there.

 The log turns during this voyage, it has been 1200 NM to date this trip.

Our bikes allow us some much needed exercise after we are safely at port. My eyes are on the look out for places to share with our first guests from home.

Ron and I cook out and watch the delicate sunset that does not give us any clues as to what's to come tonight at midnight.
 Ron wakes me up to white caps inside the harbor. We tend to the boat and extra lines and bumpers. I am especially surprised because the harbor is closed in so well. Lake Huron is crashing waves over the break walls. Too wet to take pictures, but what a show!

Day 74-75 Shall we stay or shall we go? Aug 19th -20th

Wow, decisions, decisions. The early bird sail boaters left at the crack of dawn again this morning hoping for some gentle breezes and flat seas. Both sailboats had charted some pretty long courses for the day.

After coffee, it appears that The Mainship is leaving and Voyager is going to wait for a storm to pass. We say our good-byes to Dave and Leslie as they back out to head to Tawas.  They have a daughter leaving for her honeymoon this weekend and they want to see her before she goes.

After turning the channel markers, we watch as they turn around and come back to the dock. They had hit bottom yesterday at the entrance of Harrisville, however, were not too concerned that it was really bad. However, upon reflection, his description of the sound was " a dentist drilling out a tooth with the drill setting on low".

I think we were all just so happy to be there yesterday in one piece that he decided to wait until today to check it, while hoping it "was not too bad". A diver is now on the way to the boat and we are keeping our fingers crossed for them. We've all been there :(  in some form or another.

After  photographing the incoming small storms it's time for Voyager to depart. They too are going for a long course across Saginaw Bay. They are quickly on their way.  I hope we run into them on Lake Erie sometime. They are within an hour of our YC. Fun people.

I had stated earlier that we would be staying put, however Captain Ron has residual effects from sitting in Presque Isle for 4 days, so he announces we are leaving for Tawas, he can't sit still. He's not anxious to get stuck again so soon and I am with him on that. Looking at the weather forecasts suggests that we'll have better chances of making Port Austin on time to meet my Mom and Dad if we move. Port Sanilac is likely already out of reach to meet them there as originally planned. Ron is also anxious to hook up with friends from  WCC who have a boat atTawas YC.

The Captain and I felt badly leaving Dave and Leslie to fend for themselves, however, they are in good hands and pretty close to home. It's likely someone will be coming to get them after we see the photo of  their prop. Uuuuugh, can you say ouch!

Light winds and waves less than 1' as we leave the dock. Both storms have passed and Ron sets a course to Tawas. We arrive around 3:30PM at the gas dock just in time for the wind to shift and slam us into the boards. Felt like some hockey player just came out of nowhere and checked  us against the wall. No harm done, just bad timing. The wind continues to blow and makes it difficult to get off the fuel dock and proceed to our slip. With the help of the dock hands, we follow The captain's orders and all works out well. Dinner on board of grilled pork loin and leftover pasta.

Oh my,  Patti's up at the crack of 11AM Friday. The Tylenol PM did not take effect as quickly as I  needed  the night before. So, I am up and at 'em and Ron's getting tomato soup and grilled cheese going for lunch. I make it my breakfast. It was quite yummy.

After studying the map of town, we head to the meat market and find most everything we need there. It's a small grocery too. Riding back to the boat, we decide to take the bikes to Walmart for some drugstore type items we needed. It was a good reason to do some extra bike riding. After all the exercise in Presque Isle, I was wanting to keep it up.

A friend and former co-worker of Ron, along with her husband have emailed that they are heading our way and will call when they get on the road. By 7PM, we decide to go to eat without them, which worked out well. Mary and Gary had eaten on their drive up from Chelsea. They order beverages and we catch up while Ron and I finish dinner. We had a nice walk back to the boat and visited for awhile more. They soon took off to stay with a family member instead of on their boat at the YC. Ron and I enjoyed their company and we sat up for awhile after they left. Nice evening.

Day 73 What was the weather forecast? Aug 18 Wed.

Everyone is anxious to leave, including The Wild Goose II. When I look outside, the sailboats have already left and they probably have a couple hours on us. Well, I guess with the trawlers, you can afford to sleep in if you are all planning to meet up later in the day.
Our ride is great and by the sounds of the sailors on the radio... they are having a ball! Exuberent and Wind Spirit are enjoying nice winds of 17 apparent and waves 1-2'.  By 9AM we are well past the channel and the Mainship, Excellent Adventure is ahead of us and the single engine CHB trawler, Voyager, just leaving behind.

We are all headed to Harrisville for our third night as a group. We'll be joined by the folks on Wind Spirit in Harrisville.

Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse is abeam at 11:45AM and I soon make us some lunch. Turns out it is just in the nick of time as the winds pick up and the waves begin to build. In an hour we are in 4-6' seas and the wind shifts from SW to S. The Captain and I plow through them pretty good, and the Mainship is so far ahead we cannot see them...they will miss most of this. The sailboats however, are now taking the rears.

By 4:30 everyone is safely in their docks and although the seas were rough, it appears everyone is tired and HAPPY for the challenging ride.
The happy hour flag goes to The Mainship and we all get to try something new. Anny, from Voyager has made us an appetizer of jellyfish. Don't tell anyone, but as it was passed to me, I said that "I have already tried it, thanks" and since they all had had enough to drink, they believed me.  Everyone else seems to enjoy it. Anny  fills us in on the goodness of these foods  and others full of protein and natural vitamins. What a pleasure meeting everyone. We'll all be going different ways tomorrow. That is, if the weather cooperates.

Days 71-72 Aug 16-17 Presque Isle

We join up with Prue and Burt from Sandusky Sailing Club to take our bikes out.  They went to the old lighthouse yesterday, so, today it's the new (built in 1870) lighthouse we head for. We leave them to explore and climb the 109' as we did last year and  Ron and I head to the trails. We are ready to walk the trails and explore the rocky beach on the North End of the Isle. 

Happy Hour takes place on the docks between boats to stay out of the direct forces of the wind. We are with Dave and Leslie from MI who have a beautiful 40' Mainship Trawler, and Burt and Prue who are sailing a Hylas 44. After an hour or so, we head up to the restaurant for a great dinner with some more new friends.

The wind is still howling Tuesday morning and everyone decides to do boat chores along with prepare their boats for tomorrow's anticipated departure. Happy Hour moves inside to Wild Goose II this evening and then we separate for dinner. We've exchanged DVD's again tonight and early to bed.



 New PI Lighthouse



Day 70 April 15th to Presque Isle

A day behind "schedule", we have a nice offshore breeze and mostly sunny skies, so we depart Rogers City for Presque Isle in anticipation of a lot of exercise riding our bikes to the two lighthouses, museums and maybe even to the inland lake. It's a 20 mile trip and no need to hurry except for the afternoon forecast is calling for showers and winds after 2:30pm. Steve, from Voyager and Ron talk about all sorts of trawler issues and share their experiences...teak work, engines, delamination, fuel tanks, leaky windows....boy stuff. I start to prepare for Presque Isle.

Pleasant ride over, passing both the old (1840) and the new (1870) lighthouses and keepers homes with nice views from the water.

Last year Ron climbed both to the top, and I was able to make the old one. Views were great from both.

A storm is forming after we are all tied up and anticipating the bike ride. The cloud formations are quite unique, although my shots did not quite pull off the full effect. A water spout tries to develop near shore, We get a quick afternoon storm and then the sun comes out. Wind shifts and we are in for cooler weather.

We change our minds about biking, so, in goes the dinghy. At first we head out towards the old lighthouse and museum, but the wind has kicked up some waves and we have the camera with us. Turning around, we go a bit faster with the bow up and head to the beach.

With the dinghy onshore, we wade around in the shallow sandy bottom and take photo's. Ron wins the "picture of the day". I have been watching these small moth-like yellow butterflies the past few days and cannot get a photo. I finally did get one in the weeds, however, later, Ron got some great shots of them in the sand. Way cool!

Presque Isle in french means...almost and island. That is likely the reason we have passed numerous areas on the waters named the same.
Nice day of play again with a great sunset and Captain Ron movie :)