Great Loop Date: 08.28.2010: Move Over Mac, Here We Come…

Day 14: 382.2 miles (today: 68.8 miles in 9 hours at 7.7 mph)

With another fair weather day, Todd and I decided we should continue without a rest day and move on to Mackinaw City, MI. We would have liked another day in Presque Isle to take our bikes and explore this pristine, forested area.

Yesterday afternoon Carl Sommers, a work associate of Todd’s, came by the boat and took us to see his magnificent ‘cabin’. It has been a 4 year project he has enjoyed constructing himself, with little left but the finishing work. Carl has done an amazing job, researching and learning timber construction and leaving very little work for contractors. His land looks east over Lake Huron from the side of a densely wooded hill. The sunrise has to be spectacular, no matter the time of year! It was a joy meeting him and seeing what he has done in his retirement.

Upon returning to Presque Isle Municipal Marina, we visited with our Looper friends for an hour or so. We went to dinner with another couple. The local diner was conveniently located at the end of our dock. We had the most scrumptious crab cakes with Japanese Sea Grass marinated in Sesame sauce of some kind and a side of an awesome dipping sauce. Todd and I elected to have fish sandwiches for our main course. I’d have gladly had a few more crab cakes, they were so darn good!

For dessert, we went across the street for ice cream at the convenience store. I really wanted to look around but Todd saw dollar bills all over the place and scooted me out to the ice cream counter in less than 2 minutes. It was probably a good move since I plan to spend some of those dollars when we visit Mackinaw Island.

Both Todd and I were pretty tired when we got back to the boat. He was in bed before me. I got up before 4:15AM again and Todd followed about 30 minutes later. We wanted to get an early start.

As we prepared to leave, we both decided traveling without extra days in port is just a little too much for us. Today’s trip to Mackinaw City is a long one and we won’t get in until 5PM. We looked at the marine weather forecast and saw we currently have a five day window ahead of us. My cousin, Marilyn, and her husband, Don, are going to drive down from Saulte St. Marie to see us in Mackinaw City. We also want a day on Mackinac Island. So we made an executive decision to take an extra day in Mac City before we move on to Charlevoix.

Good by Presque Isle...even the bell buoy was ringing for us.

One last look at the Haunted Lighthouse.

And finally a good look at the new Presque Isle Lighthouse.

The trip to Mackinaw City started out with comfortable one foot waves on the port bow. The wind continued to increase throughout the day. By the time we made the turn more westerly between Cheboygan, MI and Boise Blanc Island, the winds were out of the west at 16 mph with 25 mph gusts and waves that were 2 to three feet right on our bow. It makes the ride in OB much like riding a bucking bronco…well, not quite that bad but you get the general idea.

POE (Point of Entry) Reef Light in the shipping channel between Boise Blanc Island and Cheboygan.  We were bucking pretty good past this light but it's hard to see the waves in any picture.

Again, we were pretty much by ourselves on Big Blue. We saw a few powerboats fishing as we left Presque Isle. As the day wore on, we saw a couple of sailboats and one freighter. I wasn’t able to see the name of the freighter but it looked like it could have been another Laker.

Charlie hasn’t been a happy dog all day long with all the bouncing. I finally moved him from the forward stateroom in the bow of the boat to the lower hallway where the boat’s movement was less noticeable. He would have been happier if I’d have lay down with him but listening to a loudly panting dog just doesn’t make it. He will be a much happier guy when we get into the calm of the rivers from Chicago on.

Tonight we rest. Tomorrow we hope to go to Mackinac Island on the morning ferry and attend Trinity Episcopal Church. After that, we’ll check out the island we’ve heard so much about and hopefully come back with some fudge…and, of course, some history and pictures for the blog!

Another marina, another town..

Elegante Neighbors...remember the 1963 Whiticar in Pt. Sanilac?

OB in her Mackinaw City slip.

She's a pretty girl, isn't she?

Sea Estate and N II Wishin will probably move on today if the wind and waves are down.  They were 4-6 feet yesterday in L. Michigan.  We're almost done with L. Huron!

Our other neighbor, the USCG ICEBREAKER MACKINAW WAGB-83 "An American Hero Story". "The Queen of the Great Lakes" was built as part of the war effort during World War II to meet the heavy demands of war materials and transportation during the winter months. Decommissioned in 2006, she now resides here in her namesake home of Mackinaw City. She had a 62-year career breaking ice on the Great Lakes and serving as a goodwill ambassador throughout the region.  We hope to tour her when we get back from Mackinac Island Sunday.

This marina is a Green Marina.  They use these wind turbines to supplement the power to their lights and our boats.  They also have a walking path explaining other ways they have used recycled materials and alternate measures to light their facility.  Really pretty cool.  The building in the picture is an abandoned elevator that was used to lift cars to ferry level for transportation to Mackinac Island.  This area is only for windmill use now and is called Windmill Island.

So we walk to dinner across the street and find a Corvette gathering lining up to go in a caravan parade across the Mackinac Bridge.  It made Todd a little homesick for his little green monster.

Not much history for you today.  There will be more Sunday and Monday as we explore our surroundings.  Pop quiz on Tuesday over Chapters 1 through 7!

Great Loop Date: 08.27.2010: It’s Pronounced ‘Eel’…

Day 15: 313 miles: 32 total hrs (today: 54 miles in 6.7 hours at 9 mph)

Today we had a great weather window and motored from Harrisville to Presque Isle, MI. Todd and I have been in Presque Isle, PA a couple of times and we really thought we knew the pronunciation. I’ve learned differently. We’ve been corrected multiple times now. SO here’s the facts, there is Presque Isle, PA (with a long ‘I’ in Isle) and there is Presque Isle, MI (pronounced ‘eel’). They obviously want their own distinction, so don’t mess it up!

Okay, you knew it was coming…today’s history lesson. Presque Isle is small (1691 as of the 2000 census). It’s bigger than Harrisville (514) where we just spent our last two days.  But it looks like folks are all spread out in the woods so it really doesn't look like a town, at least from the marina.  It is approximately 15 miles north of Alpena, and 15 miles south of Rogers City, so it’s kind of remote.  We were warned ahead of time to get any groceries we needed. I'm still well stocked.  Besides, Todd is taking me out to dinner.

Wikipedia says the community and the township are named for Presque Isle (literally, "almost an island") which is French for ‘peninsula’. Now I thought that was pretty cool. I’ve never taken French. I had two years of Latin which was required for entry into my Nursing Curriculum. So you French majors out there can tell me if the ‘pronunciation of ‘Isle’ in French sounds like ‘eel’.

Anyway, a large part of the township consists of that peninsula, with Lake Huron on the east and Grand Lake on the west and narrows strips of land connecting it to the mainland at the north and south ends. The community of Presque Isle is situated near the center of this peninsula and I’m guessing, a long way from the marina.

There is an infamous "haunted" (according to local rumor) Old Presque Isle Lighthouse. The New Presque Isle Lighthouse was built in 1870. We heard stories about the haunted lighthouse from our local Looper friends. Apparently, when the new lighthouse was built and the old on closed, the light keeper was not happy. So, at night, a light is supposedly visible from the old lighthouse. Electricians went in, took out all the wiring and confirmed there was no way possible for a light to be activated from the old lighthouse. Yet today, at dusk each night, a light is visible where there should be no light. They have also proven there is no reflection from the water or houses.

The Haunted Lighthouse...we easily saw it on our way into the marina.  I was too tired to walk out on the breakwall to see the light at dusk..

U.S. Highway 23 passes through the southern part of the township and runs along the western side of Grand Lake. We keep following it north and I keep calculating how long it would take us by car vs. our boat trip. I prefer the boat. It’s a lot more interesting.

Presque Isle is also home to Camp Chickagami, a camp owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. That sounds like an amazing place to have a retreat...remote, wilderness, haunted lighthouse and Big Blue Water (Lake Huron) at your feet.  Great place to connect with each other and God.

We’ve had our first day of moving around fish nets. Ask any boater how much they love fish nets…NOT! Going trawler speed really helps the reaction time for avoid this foe to our props. We have time to look for the full length of the net and decide the best way to avoid it…or, in this case, them! Fish nets are to boats what cobwebs are to bugs…not necessarily a death sentence but it sure can mess up your day.

Also going trawler speed, Todd can catch up on some window washing.  It made me a little nervous but it didn't seem to bother him.

By the way, the new panorama at the top of the blog page is the marina at Presque Isle, MI.  Finding OB is kind of like 'Where's Waldo'.

Great Loop Date: 08.27.2010: Just a Pretty Little Town…

Just a little update on Harrisville, MI. This is the nicest little town we’ve been in for a while. Everyone is so friendly and the town is so clean. It seems like every house we pass walking into and around town is well kept and has a beautiful garden. So I just had to take a lot of pictures to share with you:

 

 











The Harrisville Municipal Marina is excellent and situated at the bottom of a big hill so we look at beautiful trees and well kept grounds every day we are here.

You can see OB just to the left of my head.  We had nice, wide, wooden floating docks.

Of course when you have a happy marina in a happy town with happy people, you're going to have Happy Hour!

More Loopers!  This is Connie and Ed Fibranz from Sea Estate (Golden Loopers going for Platinum this Loop...which means they've done two loops going for multiple!), Jerry (Joan doesn't like her picture taken...she's hiding in the Defever behind everyone) Muhme in N II Wishin (pronounced Intuition) and Todd.

We are all on our way to Presque Isle, MI as I type this.  Sea Estate, N II Wishin and S/V Shady Lady with Tom and Sandy Goodreaux (sp) are ahead of us by about 4 miles.  We're starting to reel them in slowly but surely as we cruise about 9.5 mph and they cruise between 7 and 8 mph.  It is nice having them out ahead of us.  We heard Sea Estate call to N II Wishin alerting them to fish nets (oh goody!).  You know how we just love fish nets...NOT!

Oh yes, Charlie.  Charlie was pretty impressed with Harrisville too:

The only thing that got a rise out of him was when he went up to the pilothouse to get a drink and Todd had to go into the bilge to adjust the Satellite TV signal. He saw that big hole in the floor…and panic panting set in. 

 

















Once Todd replaced the floor board, he was fine. Goldens…they are so Golden.

Great Loop Date 08.24.2010: Thumbing the Thumb...

Day 12: 260 miles: 25 hours (94 miles in 10 hrs today)

OB got the break she needed.  By Tuesday morning, the wind had shifted to the ESE and the waves had decreased overnight to 1 to 2 feet.  I got up at 4AM and Todd was up shortly after that.  I finished my blog on Pt. Sanilac while I drank my 'wake-up' cup of coffee.  Todd got his course computers set up and ready to roll.  We both got dressed, got Charlie out to 'walk', brought in the power and water lines and cast off from the dock by 7:30AM.  This is the best we've done yet for getting underway!  Yay Team Russell!

Gray Skies, gray seas, ... happy Captain ;-)  Bet you thought I was going to say something else, eh?

Summertime followed us out into Lake Huron, we took our direction, they took their direction, we 'waved goodbye for now' on the VHF radio, they disappeared off our port and we were once again alone on the water.

Mid-morning we saw two freighters on the horizon.  They both disappeared and we were alone again.  By noon a little pleasure boat traffic picked up for about an hour.  A trawler passed us going north followed by three cruisers running south.  None of them were traveling together and they were a good distance apart, so they were feeling the same singleness we were.

As we passed Harbor Beach, MI, we made the decision to adjust our course and head for Harrisville, MI instead of East Tawas, MI.  The weather reports sound like another front is coming through tomorrow.  We didn't want to be caught in Saginaw Bay with another 3 or 4 day layover.  The adjusted course would only added 7 miles and an hour more to today's trip.  We saved 30 miles over all with our course change...and possibly two days travel.

This is virgin territory for us.  We've heard so many ghost stories about crossing Saginaw Bay.  The tip of the 'thumb' of Michigan disappeared from view.  All we could see was steel gray water and gray overcast sky.  Pretty boring.  The 1 to 2 foot waves remained and pushed us off of our starboard stern quarters.  The lulling back and forth motion of the boat made both Todd and I sleepy.  So to combat the sleepiness, I decided to get a jump on our next blog entry.  Todd just moved back and forth between the upper station and the course computers on the lower station, calculating this and that.  One of his calculations told him we saved $167 with our course change.

We did have a point where our inverter began complaining and brought about a lot of activity.   It charges Todd's course computer (and mine when it is plugged in) and powers the router for our internet connection.  The internet would be no loss but the course computer is our backup for our Raymarine system.  The inverter has been hooked up to our generator battery.  Todd looked at the meter and that battery had gone flat.  We couldn't even get the generator started with it.  So Todd changed the inverter connection from the generator battery to one of the engine batteries.  Walla, we're all up and running again!  Happiness reigns in the pilothouse.

Todd settled back in his captain's seat and I in my pilothouse seat.  Suddenly a little bird that looked a lot like a house wren appear out of no where on our port windshield wiper.  He was obviously looking for bugs or spiders.  He hopped from one wiper to the other for a few minutes, then out to the forward railing and flew off into no where and I really mean no where.  Here we are with no land in sight and 115 feet of water below us and a bird drops in for a visit?  While Todd was moving about in the cabin and I was standing watch, a couple of Monarch Butterflies dropped by for a visit too.  So wildlife likes investigating OB and entertaining the crew.

Currently we have 202 feet of water below us.  Since most of our boating has been on Lake Erie, we're more used to anything between three feet (in our channel between Johnson's Island and Bay Point) and 30 to 40 feet (around the islands).  We found a little deeper water in the Eastern reaches of Lake Erie but nothing like we are in now.

Finally, The sun shone and the clouds broke just before we were coming into Harrisville, MI.

Yet this was just off to our starboard side...but it kept right on tracking toward the East.  YAY!

So I've checked out the little village of Harrisville, MI, our next port.  Wikipedia tells me Harrisville was first known as "Davison's Mill" after Crosier Davison, who in partnership with Simeon Holden, had purchased land and water power rights here in 1854.  At some point they sold out to Benjamin Harris and his sons, Levi and Henry, of West Bloomfield, New York. A post office established in 1857 and the township was named Harrisville in 1860.  Harrisville is on the edge of Huron National Forest.  The Lake Huron beaches in and around Harrisville (including two state parks) have been recognized as being among the "top ten in Michigan."  Harrisville is situated along the Lake State Railway, formerly the Detroit and Mackinac Railway (D&M). The D&M is privately maintained by local citizens as part of the municipality's historical legacy.

As I close this entry, we are now in the Harrisville Municipal Dock.  It's small, quiet and nice with low to the water floating docks.  Finally we have wide docks that are easy for Charlie to walk down.  He's doing really well on the narrow docks now too.  And walks across the opening between the boat door and the dock with out panicking.  He may become a boat dog after all!

We have met two more Looper boats (Sea Estate on their second Loop and N II Wishin on their first Loop).  They are Looping together.  We also met a couple that knew we were coming.  I had met some very good friends of theirs at Put in Bay.

We may end up with another weather layover during the next two days.  Another front is supposed to come through tonight and bring 4 to 6 foot waves from the the north.

Our home for the next day or so. 

Our next stop will be Presque Isle, MI.  Todd has a work associate that lives there now and we intend to spend a few days there.

Oh yes, and Charlie...well, he seems to be adapting to his new home life well.

Great Loop Date 08.20.2010: Crossing Into Big Blue....

Day 8/ 165 total miles:

Our day started earlier with the intention to leave by 9AM and run at around 7-8 knots (trawler speed).  We both got up and around, Todd setting his intended route and I was filling the water tanks, bringing in the power cord, the water hose and all but the most essential lines.  We missed the 10AM bridge opening so didn't get down the river until after the next opening at 10:30AM.  We stopped and filled Thirsty One and Thirsty Two, taking on 174 gallons of diesel.  This was our first fueling since we started the trip.

Todd set OB's (Ocean Breeze) autopilot to take us under the Blue Water Bridge, through the channel markers leading out into Lake Huron and a point running to Port Sanilac, MI.  As we left the Black River and entered the St. Clair River, we could see and feel the current that runs from Lake Huron under the Blue Water Bridge.

The current got more intense as we neared the bridge.  We've come this way before but never took it at trawler speed.  I was busy taking pictures of places we had seen on the Blue Water Trolley Tour the day before.

The USCGC HOLLYHOCK is named after a previous Coast Guard cutter with the same name that served the United States from 1937 through 1982. The original HOLLYHOCK was launched at DeFoe Boat and Motorworks in Bay City, Michigan, and was initially commissioned as part of the fleet operated by the U.S. Lighthouse Service. When this government agency became part of the Coast Guard in 1939, HOLLYHOCK provided 43 additional years of distinguished service before it was decommissioned from the Coast Guard’s fleet on March 31, 1982. The new Hollyhock was built in 2003 and is the 14th seagoing buoy tender built for the U.S. Coast Guard by Marinette Marine Corporation, Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

Commissioned in 1921, the Huron began service as a relief vessel for other Great Lakes lightships. She is ninety-seven feet long, twenty-four feet in beam, and carried a crew of eleven. On clear nights her beacon could be seen for fourteen miles (21 km). After serving in northern Lake Michigan, the Huron was assigned to the Corsica Shoals in 1935. These shallow waters, six miles (10 km) north of Port Huron, were the scene of frequent groundings by lake freighters in the late nineteenth century. A lightship station had been established there in 1893, since the manned ships were more reliable than lighted buoys. After 1940 the Huron was the only lightship on the Great Lakes. Retired from Coast Guard Service in 1970, she was presented to the City of Port Huron in 1971.  The Huron is now a nautical museum.

The Thomas Edison Inn is described as having the gracious splendor of a bygone era. It's magnificent English Tudor architecture rises three stories toward the Blue Water International Bridges.  It was built in 1926.

Statue of Thomas Edison between the Thomas Edison Inn and the Thomas Edison Depot Museum.  There are many references to Thomas Edison in Pt. Huron.  His parents moved there when he was 7 years old.  The tour guide pointed out that he was born in Ohio BUT grew up in Pt. Huron.

The Depot Museum was more interesting to us.  We had seen the actual underground railroad bed earlier in our tour as it plunged from sight to deep underground running from Pt. Huron into Canada.  A new rail has been built beside the old and is used today to transport freight from the US to Canada...under the St. Clair River!

Passing under the Blue Water Bridges.  You can see the difference in the two spans I described in my last post.

The 9/11  CBP Memorial near the Blue Water Bridges.  September 11, 2001 was the day the employees of U.S. Customs and Border Protection were called to duty. Eight years later, CBP employees in Port Huron, Mich., gathered at 8:46 a.m. for a flag lowering ceremony to reflect on the events of that terrible day and to have a moment of silence to remember those that were lost and the heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice.  The flags are lowered to half staff for part of each day and a cross has been constructed out of pieces from Ground Zero.

Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, named after General Charles Gratiot, the engineer in charge of its construction, was established in 1814 to guard the juncture of Lake Huron and the St. Clair River. The Fort Gratiot Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in Michigan and the second oldest on the Great Lakes. The first lighthouse in this area was built in 1825 and was located approximately where the first Blue Water Bridge stands. Due to poor construction and a storm, it collapsed in 1828. In 1829, a new lighthouse was built north of the military fort. The new location made it easier for ships to spot as they entered the rapids at the head of the St. Clair River.  Originally seventy-four feet high, the white painted brick tower was extended to its present height of eighty-six feet in the early 1860s.  The green flashing light that was automated in 1933 may be seen for seventeen miles. Today, a Coast Guard station and the lighthouse watch over one of the busiest waterways in the world.

 

...and then we came across this in the middle of the channel!  A woman floating casually on an inner tube down the St. Clair River.  I still don't know if she had gotten into the current on purpose or had been caught and was now helpless.  She sure looked relaxed!  I hope she knew how dangerous her situation could get.  The current is so strong there would be no way for her to get out of the river or it's traffic until miles down the river.

Todd mentioned a boat was overtaking us.  I looked back and could see Summertime, Ray and Linda Corrette's trawler gaining on us.

Summertime in the rapids under the Blue Water Bridges.

I mentioned to Todd a trawler was actually going faster than we were.  It didn't phase him.

Ray hailed OB on the marine radio.  He and Todd chatted about their intended courses.  Soon Summertime was well past us and moving out of sight.  Seas were good during the first 3 hours of the trip.  We played chicken with one freighter during the first hour.  He won and we moved to port.  The last hour the winds kicked up from the East and we began taking 2 to 3 foot waves on the starboard beam (right side of the boat).  The rocking was annoying and became more so the closer OB came to her target, Port Sanilac.  Todd had increased our speed a little (from 6 mph to 9 mph) about 2 hours into the trip to catch up with Summertime.  He was considering increasing the speed again during this last half hour of the trip so we could get out of this annoying chop but we both decided that wasn't necessary.  We could handle it the little bit longer and continue our fuel conservation efforts.

We came into Port Sanilac Municipal Marina about 4PM.  Port Sanilac was originally a lumberjack settlement on the shore of Lake Huron named "Bark Shanty."  The town got this name because hemlock bark was dried on the sandy beaches.  The bark was then shipped to Detroit where it was used in the tanning industry.  In the late 1840s and 1850s, the settlement gained its first sawmill, schoolhouse, and general store. In 1854, Bark Shanty's first post office opened. In 1857 the village was renamed to Port Sanilac. Local legend attributes the name to a Wyandotte Indian Chief named Sanilac.  However, one source I read said the locals didn't like the idea their town had 'shanty' in the name and felt it gave the wrong impression of the town.

The autopilot brought us the whole route to just inside of the breakwall.  Todd was going to take it off outside of the breakwall.  However with the water so rough, we both decided the autopilot could overcome the chop better than Todd.  The wind wouldn't allow Todd to stern OB into the the dock (back her in), so we had to put the bow in first.  We were in a 60 foot dock, so it wasn't uncomfortable.  Port (left side) tie ups do force us to use the port pilothouse door with Charlie.  I store a lot of stuff under the portside seat that occludes that door so it forces me to temporarily move everything.

Summertime came in about 30 minutes after us.  The marina put them right across from us.  It was nice seeing two Looper burgees at the end of the dock.  Not more than a half an hour later another Looper came in.  We didn't get to know them as we'd liked.  I dropped a boat card off with the Captain (Bob) and learned they were originally from Hawaii.  They came to the mainland to do the Loop and are about 3/4 of the way through.  They intend to lay their boat up on the Lake Michigan side of Michigan and fly back to Hawaii for the winter.  So I guess we probably won't come across their wake again.

The marina was sponsoring an Antique Boat Show for the weekend.  We came here at the right time!  No, OB isn't an antique but her Captain and First Mate (Admiral) are!  They not only had all kinds of wood boats (mostly Chris Craft) but also had a food tasting tent and a beer tent with live music.  Our friends back at Bay Point would have loved the music; many post war songs as well as the 50s and 60s.  Ray, Linda, Todd and I enjoyed good food and drink as well as good music for our first evening in Port Sanilac.

Saturday the skies became overcast and NOAA had predicted 4 to 6 foot waves out on the lake, so we planned a weather day.  Many more antique boats had come in, including a 1964 63 foot Whiticar name Elegante (http://www.motoryachtelegante.com/).  This boat was a real yacht.  We were able to go aboard and tour her.

The owner and his wife were aboard as well as a husband and wife crew.  The boat was beautiful with many period pieces as well as a real wood burning fireplace that had been converted to electric logs.  It was interesting talking to the crew about their time aboard Elegante over the last 7 years.  He is the Captain, she maintains the mahogany with 20 coats of varnish (I didn't exaggerate...and it looks it!).  She also does all of the cooking and cleaning.

Elegante was in route to Rogers City the next day for some work (without the owner and his wife.  The crew told us the wife doesn't like rough water so the owner just rents a car and drives her to the next port or home.  I doubt that would work well on OUR boat!).  Once the work is completed, they will take the boat the same direction we are traveling.  However, they have to have Elegante in Ft. Lauderdale for the Fall Boat Show the end of October where it will be auctioned.  The owner says it's worth 1.5 million!  Hope they got all my finger prints off that varnish!

The Pride of Michigan, a US Naval Sea Cadet Training Vessel, was at the show as well. The Sea Cadets are 11 to 18 years old and become proficient in Scuba Diving. They then become involved in Oceanic Research conducted in the Great Lakes.  Charlie and I watched this team of about 20 young sailors go through their morning calisthenics.  During the day they conducted tours of their research vessel and educated folks about their group.  The POM packed up and left as soon as the show was over most likely to try to get these young sailors home.

Todd and I ate dinner Saturday night at Uri's Restaurant which is located above the marina store.  The food was amazing.  We had heard it was good, and believe me, it is!  We turned in early, thinking we would be able to leave at 6AM and make a long run for East Tawas, MI.

OB in her dock at Pt. Sanilac Municipal Marina (in the middle of the picture).

I got up Sunday morning at 4:30AM and found NOAA was wrong once again.  Lake Huron was still angry with 4 to 6 foot waves.  I went back to bed until 6:30AM.  Todd and I saw Elegante leaving the marina.  We watched her head north in those big waves.  She made her way well but was totally awash in the water.  Nope, not for us.  Now we were into our second weather day in Port Sanilac.  Summertime agreed.  It just wasn't a travel day.  We watched a good many of the antique boats head south.  The ride was probably not comfortable, but definitely a lot more pleasant with following seas pushing them.

Saturday we had done housekeeping projects around OB.  Todd washed the boat.  I vacuumed, washed clothes and polished some of the plethora of wood on the inside of this boat.  Stuck again Sunday (yesterday), I decided to finish up storing some of the things I had stashed in the guestroom.  We're starting to look more tidy!  I invited Ray and Linda for a New England Boiled Dinner.   I walked the few blocks into downtown Sanilac to buy some bread for dinner and get a 6 Volt battery for our big flashlight.  The hardward store where I bought the battery was the kind of store I love to wander through, so I did.  There were three boutique type stores next to it, so I checked them our too.  I found a cute little bread basket and bought it.  The bakery was small but they had a nice looking loaf of homemade cheese bread.

Ray and Linda came over around 6PM.  They brought a huge bottle of Cab Sav/Merlot.  We opened the wine and had some crackers and cheese.  We followed that with dinner and managed to drain that bottle of wine.  After dinner, I opened a bottle of red zin to have with our chocolates.  It was fun getting to know our first Looper friends better and learning about the adventures they have had.

When we went to bed last night, we already knew we would have a weather day today.  NOAA had said the waves would continue in the 4 to 6 category for one more day....and they did.  I did two more loads of wash today (the washing machine on OB is pretty small) AND am finally giving some time to catching up our blog.  Tomorrow, our plan is to leave between 6 and 6:30AM heading for East Tawas, MI.  It will be a 9 hour day unless the Captain gets bored a kicks in those big Cummins.