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.