Today was our run from Port Austin to Presque Isle. We were up at 6:30 and getting ready to head out by 7:30. Dan called his brother Johnny to tell him we were on our way and he asked us to wait for him. He was bringing us some presents. So our 7:30 start time got pushed back to 8:00am.
The wait was well worth it. Johnny brought us some smoked pork chops that I have grilling in our convection/grill/microwave for dinner. He also brought us some of his thick cured bacon, some breakfast sausages, and quite a few different varieties of hunter sticks. I am looking forward to some great appetizers and snacks with those hunter sticks. We have maple brown sugar, honey barbecue, teriyaki and jalapeno and cheese.
When we left Port Austin the seas were about 1-2’ and we had a nice SW wind. When we crossed Saginaw Bay they probably rose up to 2-4’s. I was feeling a bit nauseous as we went along because we were taking the waves on the side. I think it was a combination of motion, two cups of tea and mostly fruit for breakfast. I laid down on the settee in the bridge and took a half hour nap. It made a huge difference and I felt much better..
We were pretty much la la la ing along on our route north until Thunder Bay. Just about the time we hit that area; the wind changed and started coming from the north. The waves started to kick up and we really found some rough seas. We started to see 5 footers and pretty soon they were 6 foot. We caught the occasional 8-9 footers and they started to break over the bridge and bimini.
The last hour before the harbor I had to move down to the aft deck to hold on to our bikes. The waves were hitting so high on the boat that it seemed like we were going through the rinse cycle at the car wash. My butt was rising up out of my chair like a roller coaster at Cedar Point. We had all the canvas up on the front and Dan was still getting soaked through the zipper on the center piece. He soaked up three large bath towels with water. My cowboy was yelling, "yeehaw"!
Dan stared to move in closer to shore to try and avoid some of the really big ones and that’s when we started to play dodge em with the gill net buoys. It seemed like we just avoided one set and came across another. They are marked by a buoy with a flag and then some round orange balls floating on the surface. It’s hard to tell which direction they are running and who knows how deep they are. You almost don’t see them until you are right on top of them. They were a pain in the ass.
We were both pretty comfortable as far as temperature until the wind changed from the north. Then we had to go and put on pants again and jackets.
Brrr, me and my blankie
Just north of Alpena we saw the remains of a shipwreck. It is marked by a buoy. My pictures are okay; we didn’t want to get too close.
Shipwreck Remains
We got into the harbor at Presque Isle about 1:00pm. We took on 140 gallons of fuel and sterned into our slip. Our last two marinas had regular docks so we were able to get on the boat from the side door and bow in. This one has floating docks; so we need to get on and off the boat from the swim platform. We are longer than the dock so our bow sticks out 4-5 feet past it.
We cleaned up most of the water mess and adjusted our lines and hooked up to electric. I made us a sandwich; it was a long run without food! I told Dan I was going to go below and catch a little nap. He wasn’t going to join me; but ended up coming down and laying next to me to talk and two hours later we both woke up refreshed. Fighting those winds and waves was exhausting.
After our nap we did some more housekeeping and took the marina walk to check out all the boats and facilities. Michigan does a beautiful job with her marinas; they are very well kept and clean. This harbor is very cool because it has a rock bottom. You can see right down to the bottom; the water is so clear. It makes the boats look like they are suspended in the water.
Time to Relax
We enjoyed our dinner tonight and now that the winds are dying down we are sitting on the back deck listening to all of our neighbors kibbutz. Tomorrow we stay here and will go for a bike ride to see the two lighthouses that are here.
5 hours on the water today, 97 miles.
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