MV WILD GOOSE II: From Port to Port to Port (Austin, Sanilac and Huron)

Port Austin Reef Light, 2.5 miles out is standing proud through the heavy air when we depart for Port Sanilac. This light was built in the 1870's and re-designed to it's current configuration in the late 1890's. Lighthouse keepers lived out there until it was automated in the 1950's. By the mid 80's the US Coast Guard wanted to tear down the lighthouse, but a group of locals came to the rescue. After forming an Association, they worked to raise funds and replace the roof, doors and windows. In 2012 the light was fitted with an LED. This year the Association received a small grant to work towards the completion of their vision of a habitable lighthouse that would allow citizens to experience for themselves what it was like to live in the lighthouse. If you are interested in participating you could join the work crews that go out on a regular basis from the State Marina!

After another few miles we give up on seeing what was described to us as "turnip" rock..I guess it's supposed to look like a turnip ?? Whatever that is...

By 10AM we are going to be heading more South than East...another sign we are getting closer to home.Our next Easterly adventure will be heading to Leamington to meet up with NCYC cruisers over Labor Day.By mid afternoon we are back at the same dock we had on the way North back in July. Dave, the harbor master greets us for what is likely the last time, as he's retiring next year and we are not sure what next year will bring for us. A short walk up the hill takes us to BlueWater for a great pizza and we note that football is already on TV at the bar. The pizza is worth every step up the hill and is we're told their fish is a favorite too. Port Sanilac offers two other great places to eat out...Uri's, which is above the boat store on the harbor and The Stone Lodge which we have visited on previous trips. This is one stop we do not cook on board!

The harbor entrance is very busy and a ton of fishing boats come in and out of here, especially when their is a tournament going on. I guess they were not reading the smaller signs posted :)

While departing from Sanilac on the way to Port Huron, we noticed a familiar boat...Don and Colleen,,,maybe? No, just a sister ship to their Orangeburst Custom Built...boy do we have lot's of memories with those two!

A 9AM departure from Sanilac allowed us to pass over a de-masted schooner wreck at 10:10 AM with Lexington on our starboard beam. This triggered a need to get out a book about old shipwrecks on The Great Lakes. I would never have guessed that the first ever ship wreck was "The Griffon", a french boat, which sank in 1679. This would mark the beginning of a count that is now above 6,000 plus. It is said that in some cases, captain's who came to the lakes from ocean going vessels under estimated the power, fury and unpredictability of them.

The air is still heavy and as we approach the bottom of Lake Huron, we spot a freighter heading under the Blue Water Bridge (An American/Canadian border crossing).

Ghost Ship

By 11:30, our speed over ground has gone up by 1 knot as we start to feel the pull of the St Clair River from Lake Huron. Regardless of the good speed we miss the opening of the Military Bridge on the Black River which is just pass the PHYC and the permanently opened RR bridge landmark. Boat traffic is crazy busy and we decide to hang out in the St Clair River for 20 minutes to await the opening.