July 21. 2017 Look Out Frankfort! Here We Come!

Up at six this morning. We have about a nine hour travel day ahead of us. Our goal was to be on our way by seven. At 7:15 we slipped our dock lines and headed out into the bay.  Presque Isle is a beautifully protected harbor. It is a great spot to anchor out and avoid marina fees if you are so inclined. As we left the channel we saw three sailboats anchored across the bay.  Our plan is to stop here on our way home and stay a couple days. 

As we left the marina the wind was out of the NW quartering our bow; it gradually shifted to our SW and was quartering our stern. That made for a much more comfortable ride. No white caps in the morning just some low waves.  The marine forecast this morning called for waves less than two feet and it was spot on. The boat was very dewey this morning. Dan had to use the windshield wiper to be able to see where he was going. It took a long time for the dew to clear. It was a pleasantly cool morning. We were able to keep our isinglass and canvas all up on the bridge for the whole trip.  That makes for a much quieter ride.

I took advantage of the downtime to try and tame my hair.  It's a constant battle with the wind to tame it and keep it off my face.

Poe Reef light off Bois Blanc Island. 

Just after 9:30 we were passing Cheboygan. We could already see the Mackinac Bridge in the distance. 

We were at the straits by 10:30. 

Coastguard cutter Mackinaw. It is moored next to Straits Harbor.  Permanently.  We took a tour of it some years ago.  It's nice how they incorporated it into the harbor renovation.

Our timing could not have been better. My sister Sue was on her way north to Baraga in the Upper Peninsula and stopped in Mackinaw City and took pictures of us from shore. 

I took a picture of Sue and my niece Shaunee taking pictures of us.  LOL

Shaunee took a phone picture.

We hope Sue got some nice pictures of our Time For Us III with the bridge in the background. We won't know until she gets to a computer. I'll post them later.

Meanwhile here are the pictures I took. 

Once we were through the straits we set our course for Gray's Reef. My sailboat blogging buddies aren't the only ones that have to contend with reefs. Ours were just formed by glaciers instead of coral. 

We rounded the buoy to set our course South through Grays Reef passage. It was very well marked with Reef lights and buoys. We kept on heading South past Beaver Island and the Manitou Islands. We ran into a fog bank just south of Gray. We had less than 100' of visibility for about two miles. It always makes me nervous running in fog; even with radar. The lake continues to be hazy; but visibility improved. 

An hour out of Frankfort we were both agreeing that nine hours was a very ambitious day. We were ready to be off the lake. 

We pulled into Betsie Lake and Frankfort Harbor at 4:30. The lake was so good to us today; the winds were calm and we pretty much only contended with swells and no white caps. It was a bumpy ride at times; but soft bumps. LOL. And the boat ran great. 

As we started into the Frankfort Channel I called in to the municipal marina. They don't take reservations; but I was assured a couple months ago that they were not necessary and that they had never turned anyone away. Well, they were full up for the night!  Ack!  I called the other two marinas in Betsie Lake that could accommodate a boat our size. Full too!  I was in a panic. We probably could have anchored out; but our generator wasn't working and we were expecting company. 

We pulled up to the municipal gas dock and moaned a bit about being on the water for nine hours and not wanting to backtrack or go farther south. We told them how MUCH we'd been looking forward to our time in Frankfort. They took pity on us and let us spend the night at the gas dock. It even had fifty amp power. 

Talking to the marina manager Dan learned that sailboats were returning from the Chicago to Mackinac race that ended on the 19th. So we're competing with a LOT of sailboats. Something we'll have to plan for on our next trip over this way. 

While we were at the gas dock Dan filled up the boat. Cheapest diesel we've seen all year. $2.50 a gallon. AND if you took on more than a hundred gallons they knocked off another ten cents!  Yay, $2.40 a gallon for 398 gallons. 

We secured the boat and did our wash down. I warmed up some more meatloaf for dinner and we had some yummy Kraft Mac & Cheese for dinner. Bed was nine o'clock. We were both pretty tired.