Monday, July 9, 2012. Lime Island, St. Marys River

We left Mackinac Island in the company of Believer, Kelly and Deb's boat, and headed northeast across Lake Huron. We stopped in the Les Cheneaux Islands (French for "The Channels") and anchored in Government Bay for lunch and a nice nap (my kind of travel!). Then on to De Tour Village at the entrance of the St. Marys River into Lake Huron.

Leaving Mackinac Island

De Tour Reef Light at entrance of St. Marys River into Lake Huron

We thought we would anchor overnight at Lime Island, but after we dropped our anchors on the east side of the island, away from the freighter channel, a 25 knot wind blew up from the north and threatened to drag the boats at anchor. Kelly felt this would not do! We pulled up the anchors and drove around Lime Island and tied up at an abandoned loading dock on the west side of the island, well protected and a great place to spend the night.

Abandoned loading dock at Lime Island

Lime Island was a freighter refueling station at one time, but this operation is now abandoned. What this island now has is the largest colony of Common Terns in the Great Lakes. These birds (sterna hirundo) live in colonies and they migrate to Atlantic coastal Florida, the Carribean, and South America. When feeding they hover over the water and dive underwater to catch small fish. In the  past over 6000 breeding pairs lived in Michigan, but now there are only 1600 pairs and they are listed as a "threatened species". The small piece of land where we tied up for the night was actually where a number of terns were nesting. The area was protected by an electric fence to keep out predators. The birds were very protective, dive bombing anyone who got too close to their nest.

Common Tern, from Wiki

Common Tern sanctuary

Tern eggs, mother is nearby

Lime Island also has a nice boardwalk through the woods overlooking the water with platforms for remote camping. There are also some huge fuel tanks left from the days when freighters stopped here to refuel. While tied up overnight at the Lime Island loading dock, I awoke in the middle of the night to see what appeared to be a small city floating by- a huge freighter all lit up! It seemed awfully close to us but we were protected from its wake by the small spit of land which we were docked against.

Sunday, July 8, 2012. Mackinac Island

Today was a rest day with no traveling. Early this morning I walked Daisy up to the arch rock past Mission Point Resort. She was very enthusiastic at the start but as she got more tired she wanted to stop and do more sniffing on the roadside. She must have a huge olfactory lobe in her dog brain! Mackinac Island in the morning before many visitors arrive is always very tranquil and beautiful. There is a pretty walking path near the lake shore opposite Mission Point with some wildflowers and a little pond where a frog was croaking. We had the whole place to ourselves.

At lunch we had a visit from one of our god-daughters, Liz Balcom, and a friend of hers. They are doing internships for their Michigan State University programs at the Mission Point Resort. K had found this out from Liz's mother and called Liz when we arrived on the island. She fixed the girls lunch and they were excited to have home-made food ("a fresh real tomato!"). We took them on a boat ride on Breathin' Easy around Mackinac Island, the first time we had done this also. The weather was sunny and tranquil and we all had a great time. Our visit with Liz was one of the highlights of the trip!

Cruising around Mackinac Island

Saturday, July 7, 2012. Mackinac Island

Next to the Mackinaw City  Marina is docked the decommissioned US Coast Guard ice breaker Mackinaw, which has been made into a historical exhibit. We visited the ship this morning.

Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum

Bow of the cutter Mackinaw

Mackinaw's diesel engines powering electric generators

The cutter Mackinaw was commissioned in 1944 and was the largest icebreaker in the world at the time. The Mackinaw has three propellers, two in the stern for propulsion and one in the front to churn up the ice and help push it out of the way. The 290 foot ship is powered by six diesel engines which are generators powering electric motors which actually drive the propellers. To keep the Great Lakes industries competitive in international markets, the shipping channels need to be open about ten months each year. Most years this requires opening a channel through ice in March. The Mackinaw has been replaced by a new Coast Guard icebreaker which requires a smaller crew and is cheaper to operate.

After our tour of the icebreaker Mackinaw we began our week cruise with Kelly and Deb. Their boat is a 44 foot Beneteau sailboat named Believer. To cruise together we slowed down a bit from our usual cruising speed of 8.5 to 10 knots to about 7-7.5 knots (depending on the current) if they were motoring,  and faster if they motorsailed.

Believer approaching Mackinac Island

 Our first stop was Mackinac Island where we each had reservations for two nights at the state docks. A short trip across the Straits involved staying away from the many ferries.  It is always great to safely tie up at the dock, even more so at the Mackinac Island docks we have walked by so many times on past visits. We look forward to having two days to rest here after traveling every day for the the past week.

Mackinac Island Harbor

Mooring field and Mackinac Island State Docks

Arnold Transit Company dock across from state docks

Friday, July 6, 2012. Mackinaw City

This morning we fueled up and left Rogers City. We passed the Poe Reef Light and traveled up the South Channel between Bois Blanc Island and Cheboygan. It was a real thrill to see the Mackinaw Bridge as we rounded the corner of Bois Blanc Island! We motored up the Straits of Mackinac and drove under the Bridge and then back to Mackinaw City where we docked at the Municipal Marina. Our slip there was across the dock from friends Kelly and Debbie Osborne of Jackson, who came out in their sailboat to meet us outside the harbor.

Poe Reef Light off the southeast corner of Bois Blanc Island, northern Lake Huron

K and I have always loved the Mackinaw area. Mackinac Island is the one place we vacation just about every year. To see the island, the Mackinaw Bridge, the Old Round Island Point Light, and these waters from our own boat was very special. We have found that after we visit an area from the water our perspective of that area broadens and we have a better feel for it. I think that will be true of the Mackinaw area.

 

Approaching Mackinaw Bridge from the South Channel

We never saw this view of the bridge from the Mackinac Island ferry!

Thursday, July 5, 2012. Rogers City.

This morning Shad bicycled down to the city docks and we had a visit before K and I left Alpena. We passed several shipwreck sites in Thunder Bay, and cruised east of the Thunder Bay Island Light. This is an important lighthouse for northbound vessels so they do not cut across shallow rocky shoals as they turn toward the Straits of Mackinac. Heading northwest we cruised 6 1/2 hours to our destination tonight, Rogers City.

Thunder Bay Island Light

We stayed far enough from shore to avoid shoals around the northeast corner of the Lower Peninsula. We approached Calcite, an industrial port just east of Rogers City. Several freighters crossed north of us heading toward Mackinac, and I steered well south of them, out of their way. One ship seemed to be heading closer and closer to us, in the same direction we were headed. I realized he was headed to the port of Calcite. Since we were ahead of him heading to Rogers City, I decided to call him on the VHF radio to see what his plan was so we could avoid crossing in front of him. The freighter was the Joseph H. Thompson. The conversation ran as follows:

Breathin' Easy:  Joseph H. Thompson, this is the motor vessel Breathin' Easy, over.

Freighter: This is the Joe Thompson, go to channel 8, over.

Breathin' Easy:  Joseph Thompson, this is Breathin' Easy. It looks like you are headed to Calcite. Can you tell me where you would like me to go to stay out of your way as you come in?

Freighter: Are you that little white boat off my port bow? Well, I guess you can go anywhere you want, like a flea buzzing around! Anyway, I have to wait out here until the ship at the dock is finished loading before I can go in...

Joseph H. Thompson  (dlund.20m.com)

Joseph Thompson, stern view of dedicated tug (images.mitrasites.com)

The freighter Joseph H. Thompson was initially built in 1944 as a 515 foot cargo vessel named Marine Robin. During World War II she made trans-Atlantic voyages for the war effort and was present at the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944. In the 1950's she was given a new 199 foot midsection making her the largest freighter in the world at the time at 714 feet long, and she was renamed the Joseph H. Thompson. In the 1980's she was remodeled again into a self-unloading barge. Her aft and fore cabins were removed and her stern was redone to make a notch for her push vessel. A dedicated tug was constructed with left over steel from the larger vessel's hull. She is now 706 feet long with a capacity of 21,200 tons. As a self-unloading barge-tug combination she is efficient enough to compete with newer freighters. (From www.boatnerd.com).

Rogers City Marina

We docked at the Rogers City Marina. A waterfront park has a bandshell where a concert was given this evening by a community band. The theme was "patriotic music" in honor of the Forth of July. We sat in the park next to the trombone player's wife. The music was great and the audience appreciated the performance. Wonderful small town Americana!

Rogers City bandshell

Sunset at Rogers City Marina

Wednesday, July 4, 2012. Alpena

This morning we left the Port Austin State Dock and traversed the thick weeds of the harbor with the jello-like feeling we noticed coming in, and I was happy to get into clear water! We crossed the northern part of Saginaw Bay to the west to Au Sable Point.

Crossing Saginaw Bay was the first time K and I had been out of site of land on either of our cruisers. We navigated with our MacENC laptop which has its own gps antenna, and we have two back up gps systems: the boat's built-in chart plotter and my iPhone Navionics system. We also had a portable Garmin chart plotter but it ran out of batteries and stopped working after a few days even though I plugged it into the cigarette lighter at the helm! In addition to the electronics I kept track of our position by dead reckoning, which means simply traveling a constant speed from a known position fix at a known course bearing. If you know how much time has elapsed since the last fix you know where you are. On this trip I used a kitchen timer and marked our position on our paper chart every hour. Electronics are nice but I really enjoy using paper charts and we had them for all the waters we traveled.

The water was smooth across Saginaw Bay and we turned north and went up the Michigan shore to Thunder Bay. Our stop tonight was Alpena, and the city is about 9 miles to the west from the buoy marking the bay entrance. We docked at the city dock, which is called the Thunder Bay Shores Marina. My cousin Shad lives in Alpena and we were anxious to see him and Anna. Shad took us on a tour of the town and his house. We were unable to see the Great Lakes Heritage Maritime Center in Alpena due to the time we arrived, hopefully we can visit next time we come by. Since it was the Fourth of July, a concert was being held outdoors by the waterfront. We grilled hamburgers and watched fireworks from the boat and had a great visit with Shad and Anna.

Pride of Michigan docked at Alpena

At 11:30pm a vessel pulled up to the docks called the Pride of Michigan. I recognized it as it had spent the winter docked at the Clinton River in Harrison Twp, using a bubble system to prevent ice damage. This ship turns out to be a former Navy training vessel which is now used by naval cadets with the Noble Odyssey Foundation. This is a non-profit organization which takes youth on 5-10 day trips to learn different skills. The group we saw was a diving group. Thunder Bay has a lot of wrecks and is known for its scuba diving. The ship Pride of Michigan was built in 1979, is 80 feet long, 75 tons displacement, and has twin rebuilt diesels. It is built of wood, and the cadet I spoke to said the bilge pumps are on continuously!

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