Lake Huron

 Friday, August 19, 2022

Leaving Port Austin we made our way to Harrisville, MI, and maybe our favorite marina and town on Huron.  The weather was good...but the direction of the wind caused us to swing back and forth with the boat.  Waves were coming in on the side of the boat.  Wayne and I both took Bonine and tried our best to get Maggie to do the same.  Not even in a ball of banana would she consider it.  And...she was just fine.  It was a 53 mile trip today and we arrived at about 2:30.  

Harrisville Harbor Marina has a great location in town and is one of the most accommodating marinas we've ever had the pleasure of using.  They even have a courtesy van with which they will gladly take us to and from restaurants, or, in our case, to the grocery store in town.  I walked over for the exercise and called for a ride back with my loot.  

That evening we spent washing clothes.  Hey!  Do we know how to live or what?!  The marina has 2 washing machine and 4 dryers.  Perfect ratio for a large laundry job.

Saturday, August 20, 2022

We woke up this morning and the weather prediction for open lake travel (we were going to stick close to shore when possible...but would be passing by Thunder Bay and be in the "open lake."  Last night the forecast called for wind 5-10 and waves under 2 feet.  This morning it was wind 10-15 with gusts up to 20 and waves 1-3.  Hmmm.  We really wanted to go so we decided to start out and if we had trouble or it was too uncomfortable we'd duck into Alpena for the day.

Turns out, it was a great day for traveling where we were headed.  We had what is called a "following sea," which means the waves were hitting the back of the boat and taking us for a gentle ride.  Normally we'd be going 8.5 or 9.  Today, with the push from waves, we were going 9-10 mph almost the whole 57 miles.  We got here at 1:30 and docked among sailboats and catamaran.  

This place is so unique.  Looking at it with binoculars as we got close we saw the marina, building, and a whole lotta trees.  After we docked and started walking around we saw there was more.  Specifically, a deli right across the road with pizza, sandwiches...and ice cream!!  Oh, and there were about 2 houses in sight.  Feels very remote and very relaxing...

Tomorrow we're headed for Cheboygan, MI, about 57 miles from here....