The Huron Home

The closer we got to the end of St. Mary's River our excitement skyrocketed and the water glowed with an oceanic-like iridescence in comparison to the dark waters of Superior.  My home, my lake and we had finally arrived!  The winds were right on the nose causing uncomfortable scattered chop all the way to Les Cheneaux islands.  Our communicative teamwork was necessary as the entrance was tricky navigating due to multiple shallow reefs combined with all sorts of buoys and markers.  Rather, it was intense because the waves rocked us all about while the wind shifted and howled meanly at us. We're still working on healing our scars from THE Superior Storm: Huron Islands (see earlier entry.)  We entranced into a safe calm bay in Government Island and were delighted to find other sailboats anchored and scattered tents along the shores.  We weighed anchor, felt safe and passed out immediately. 

 

We woke to a warm beautiful morning on the Day of Independence.  Made a slightly impromptu decision to head to Mackinaw Island...because our names are Corey and Megan we NEVER NEVER NEVER make real set-in-stone decisions AHEAD of time.  The wind was on the nose again so we had to make very wide tacks, but made great speed just over 5 knots. 

Because we decided to visit Tourist Capital of Michigan on its busiest day of the year, our only choice was to dock off the Arnold Ferry loading dock on a smaller dock haphazardly built.  There was a constant wake from all sides due to ferry traffic, so we threw off two anchors, tied our spring lines and dock lines, totaling 6 lines off the boat=no harm done to our beloved Zephyrus. 

We loitered and observed.  Three days on the island passed and not a cent was spent apart from $23 a night for dockage. We had the privileged of getting off the dehydrated clogged streets and spent the evening with Corey's friend  Kyle whose family had rented a cozy cottage in the quiet neighborhood.  They too sent us off with leftovers, filling our food stash once again. [THANKS!!!]  Although the island is Tourist Capital, I developed a warm appreciation seeing all sorts of people riding bikes around the island during our 8 mile impromptu stroll around it.  You can't help but love a place where no motors exist and families giggle under the sun together on bicycles.

We left at sunrise the next day.  Just after our departure thick fog rolled in and all landmarks were lost.  We navigated for the next two hours solely off plotting points and GPS coordinates and made steady progress.  Luckily on the multiple crossings of shipping channels that pass through this area, no ships were encountered in the fog.

Motor...motor....motor we motored our way to Presque Isle after a quick stop at Rogers City.  [Above: Corey is always finding ways to be more comfortable..you gotta hand it to him!] A perfect anchorage and pleasant evening and visit to the infamous "ghost lighthouse."  The next day we made another long haul to HARRISVILLE.  My summer-home turf and where my parents keep our sailboat Outlandish.  It was surreal entering the place of my childhood on my own boat, on the water and into the harbor where my family's boat resides.  As I pulled into the docks across from Outlandish, I was filled with such pride and accomplishment.

For the next week we will be lost in the warm waters of Lake Huron at my family's beach home just up the coast........
-Megan