Tuesday, July 3, 2012. Port Austin.






Today we entered Lake Huron from its southernmost point at Port Huron (noaa.gov)

 We left River Street Marina in Port Huron at 7:30 am. As we were leaving the dock an older gentleman came up the sidewalk on a bicycle and spoke to me. "I know you must get tired of hearing this but you have a really beautiful boat! I love Ocean Alexanders!" I answered that no, I haven't gotten tired of hearing it and thanked him for the compliment. As we took off down the canal he followed on the sidewalk awhile admiring the boat! It was a nice way to start the day.

Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron and Sarnia

 We passed a few high performance sailboats docked along the Black River for the upcoming Port Huron to Mackinac Race. After cruising under the Blue Water Bridge we entered Lake Huron for the first time on Breathin’ Easy.

Today was our first experience with what boaters call "uncomfortable" weather in this boat. The forecast called for “chance of showers and thunderstorms”. We traveled north along the thumb of Michigan and by afternoon, north of Port Sanilac, a squall hit us. Visibility was less than 100 yards and winds gusted to 34 knots. Our radar, gps units, and depthsounder worked well, and the boat handled great. We would not have gone out intentionally into such a storm, and we don’t go out when there are Small Craft Warnings. However, if we stayed home every time the forecast said “chance of storms” we would not do much boating. We consider all the weather info we have before leaving, and if either one of us feels uncomfortable with the weather or conditions, we don’t go out.

Port Austin Reef Lighthouse

After continuing north around Michigan’s thumb we passed the Port Austin Reef Lighthouse which marks a rocky reef at the tip of Michigan's thumb. The light was built in 1878 and has an attached keeper's house. The light is now maintained by the Port Austin Reef Light Association. In 1990 the association mounted what Wickipedia calls an "heroic" effort to oust a colony of seagulls which had taken over the structure.

 After carefully passing the lighthouse we entered Port Austin Harbor. We were lucky to stay at the marina there since it is under construction this summer. Although part of the marina had just been dredged, there were a lot of weeds in the harbor. Although our depth sounder read 4-5 feet under the transducer (which is plenty of depth for us), Breathin' Easy felt as if she was plowing through jello. We docked next to a sailor who said he noticed the same thing with his boat and felt it was due to thick weeds. Because of the construction of the docks there was no electricity or water available. Nonetheless we enjoyed a quiet secure night at the Port Austin dock.

Workboat at Port Austin docks

Breathin' Easy tug envy