Today is Thursday, and actually, one day ahead of when we thought we might make the move from DeTour Village to St Ignace. Our neighbors on the dock were already taking their lines off when we peered out the bedroom windows this morning.
We watched as about a dozen other boats untied and left the docks and Marina by 8.30am
We too decided to leave, having studied the weather, waves, forecasts et al, and made the executive decision that we didn't want to sit around another day when the wind had dropped to an acceptable level, and the waves were no longer frenzied white caps.
The marina is almost empty again, after about a dozen boats left, this morning. You can see that the wind is still blowing across the top of the water.
We ate our breakfast and drank our coffee...not totally relaxed, but enough not to have indigestion, and then hustled to ready the girl for leaving. Our first port of call was directly in front of us at the Marina....Pump-out! We didn't have any help leaving the dock, despite still being blown onto the uprights, and we had already withdrawn the fenders so that they didn't get shredded by the upright posts. The staff were busy filling up two yachts on the fuel/ pump-out dock when we decided to leave, but Waz felt comfy going forward then backing down on the end of the dock opposite. We accomplished this is fine style, with two hands ready to catch our lines when they were thrown.
We got the most efficient pump-out with the newest machines, ever! Woohoo! The staff had received excellent training, and wore safety gear and rubber gloves etc.
They dropped our front line first to let the bow be blown out from the fuel dock, and then finally the stern line. Waz backed her up, did a 180 turn and we were off outta there:)
It took me a while, in the freezing cold, to get the fenders in and the lines secured. after leaving the dock. I was leaving them tied to the rails, because we would need them again when we pulled into St Ignace.
We were already out into the St Mary's River when I finally made my way upstairs to put my sheepskin slippers back on and warm myself. The DeTour light house was directly in front of us.
The wind was reasonable, as we went down river with the current...touching 9+ knots... and the water was choppy, but not more than 1-2 feet. We felt then that we had made a good decision to leave. It was 9.45am.
We were going into the main shipping channel, initially, and were reminded of this as a ship came up the River.
DeTour Village from the River
Apparently you can book a night or more in the Light House! Hmmm...it was SO exposed! But I guess that is the whole point of it...right in the middle of the channel into the St Mary's River.
There were a lot of LITTLE boats out in the middle of the choppy water, and we wondered how on earth they can sit there in those conditions, fishing! I guess you would think it was a good day, if you grew up in these parts, lol.
It was freezing. Even colder, in the salon this morning, than it had been the previous day...60F!
The temperature outside had to be in the 40's. The wind chill was not fun!
We had a good 4 hours motoring ahead of us, and as we turned into the shipping channel towards Mackinaw Island, the wind picked up. So did the waves. What had been 1-2ft was now 2-4ft. The wind was gusting fit to blow the roof off. Sustained winds would have been 20-25knots....COLD knots.
Fortunately it was sunny, and in the sun it was almost...ALMOST ...warm enough to shed a layer. We didn't...not then.
2 hours into our journey we heard the MayDay call from one of the boats we had docked with at DeTour Village. These folks are also Loopers. They were calling on behalf of one of the other boats...which had left the marina after the rest of the fleet, but before us. The boat was without power (electricity) and engine. It was 'dead in the water', as they say. The person calling was nowhere near the distressed vessel, and couldn't see it. Radio contact was made between the vessel and Coast Guard, and we checked the coordinates to see how far we were from them. Initially the coordinates made no sense, but fresh ones indicated they were about 5 miles ahead of us, and at 2 o'clock to port.
We made a visual sighting of the boat in the distance, and radioed Coast Guard that we had a sight on them, and would make way for the distressed vessel, with which we were familiar.
The sea conditions were deteriorating, and we now faced 4-6ft waves, which crashed over our bow, and the spray came over the top of the fly deck. The other vessel was side on to the waves, and rocking and rolling, which they admitted was MOST uncomfortable. The couple onboard, apparently fairly seasoned Pacific Coast sailors, were a little distressed, particularly the wife, but they didn't indicate that they wanted any assistance other than our constant presence to reassure them, until the Coast Guard vessel could get to them. We had no idea about the ETA of the CG, and we motored slow circles around them.
The condition of their dinghy caused us much concern, as it was halfway off it's platform, but they were aware of this and had secured it as best they could, under the circumstances.
The wind was still sustained at 25 knots, gusting up to 40 knots, probably. The 45 ft BayLiner didn't appear to be in danger of tipping or getting swamped by waves, so we just observed and kept circling. Finally we spied a tiny orange vessel on the horizon, and within 10 mins, the Coast Guard vessel was with us. They circled the vessel several times, evaluating the situation, before radioing us to let us know they had the situation under control and our assistance was no longer needed. We could resume our journey.
Behind us, we could see the CG vessel with the BayLiner in tow, and were happy that all was well, and we could keep going.
We kept our course for St Ignace, and slowly the waves and wind reduced and the trip became easier.
I was glad that I had gone through the boat putting things on the floor, before leaving DeTour.
Our lunch consisted of some salami slices, eaten out of the wrapper, a bag of mixed nuts and finally, an apple each. The lake made it impossible to work in the galley, and we didn't feel particularly hungry until we docked, around 3.30pm.
Finding the opening of the Marina was a bit of a challenge. We knew what it looked like on the chart, but actually getting a visual on it was something else. It appeared that we were headed straight for a Light House, but couldn't distinguish the opening from the breakwater surrounding the marina.
Obviously we made it!
In actuality, the opening for the marina is tiny! and it does a right angle turn as soon as you are past the light house. With the wave action, this was a risky entry!
Looking back at the entry from our safe dockage.
The rocks along the breakwater could be seen going down into the crystal clear water.
We got a little too close to the breakwater, and Waz had to back up to take another run at getting us into the dock. The wind was making it challenging!
We were tying starb'd side, but in retrospect should have gone in port. I didn't have everything ready for a port side docking, as I was putting fenders out in the rock and roll of the outer waters, and it wasn't safe to be moving the heavy and large fenders in those waters.
Fortunately for us, our neighbor on the dock and a woman from another boat came to our aid. We had no idea where the Marina staff were, to help us!??? They had communicated with Waz to tell him which dock to tie up at, but were not there when we needed them.
So, we were now safely docked at the Town Marina at St Ignace. Phew!
Don't let the blue sky fool you...the clouds might give more of an indication of the wind!
A cup of coffee with some dessert (bread pudding) was called for to settle our stomachs, and we then set off to visit the Marina office and pay for our two nights...and find some dinner. It was 5.15pm.
I had two sweatshirts on, it was so cold, and put my hood up against the wind. We had been told to go to The Galley Restaurant for dinner...the best fish! and we made our way down there. The Farmer's Market was also happening, so we stopped by and bought some wild raspberries ($3 for a large container) a zucchini ($1- large) a bunch of baby carrots, fresh from the ground ($3) and a home made loaf of pumpernickel bread ($4) :)
We walked along the main drag looking in shops and finally reaching the restaurant. The Galley is a family style restaurant and was almost empty when we arrived. Within about 15 mins, the place was full! Amazing. Just as well we got our orders in before the crowds arrived!
Waz opted for the Fish Sampler, which included trout, whitefish, and two other fish I cant remember...enjoying the trout in particular. I ordered the Walleye, which was light and flaky and delicious.
No room for dessert...besides, we had fresh wild raspberries to eat, later.
As we walked back to the boat, we found some musicians setting up for a concert in the marina. They didn't appear to have many clothes on, which amused me, being all rugged up:)
A cup of tea warmed us up again, once home, and we settled in for a bit. It is freezing down in our bedroom, and I wondered if it would warm up at all...probably not. This called for drastic action....the Down Duvet was removed from the front stateroom and is now on the bed...along with an extra rug should we need it. I guess we could put the heater on? lol.
It is only 63F in the salon at 9.45pm. Time to go and have a hot shower and get into bed. Waz is already asleep and I have a feeling I wont be far off myself.
I did the bulk of the driving, today, and it was hard physical labor keeping us on track. It is better that I am occupied in these conditions, and I have a very understanding Captain! He intuited that! No problem, and he taught me how to do circuits and bumps in heavy seas, around the distressed boat.
We had a visit, after we arrived, from the fellow who had made the mayday call for his buddy boat. He was most apologetic about not being there for their friend, but grateful that we were there, and when he heard us respond, over the radio, he felt they would be safe.
Waz's NZ Coast Guard training came to the fore immediately, and if necessary, he would have gone to their rescue on the dinghy. I am sure I would have coped without him, if it was required of me. Thankfully we didn't have to test that theory out.
Ok, Im outta here, and with luck, we will have a good day on Mackinaw Island tomorrow.
Some scenes from our evening walk.
The Ferries are crazy fast, around here, and have the rooster tails!
Excellent blog...so good to have met you and will love following your journey down the Michigan coastline. PSR
ReplyDeleteThanks PSR...Great to meet you too. We look forward to meeting you somewhere down the line:)
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