Tuesday, August 22 Off shore on Lake Huron
1230 10 NM East of Point Aux Barques
The wind is still out of the west and holding at 15 to 20 knots. The Bumboat continues to ride on a beam reach. GREAT SAIL!
The crew is, at best, just aware that we are sailing..... let alone having a possible Top 10 sail.
The crew has just noticed the meteor shower taking place for the past few hours and are now trying to see who can see the most meteors. The Captain believes most of the streaks they are seeing have nothing to do with celestial bodies.
0130 10 miles off of the Michigan shore NE of Harbor Beach
All of the crew is still pretty fired up. A while ago the Captain had to remind them not to leave their seats unless they were going below. Ben and Alan are being watched closely due to their erratic behavior.
0200 East of Harbor Beach
The wind is fantastic. We still are screaming along on a beam reach, full sail, 9 to 10 knots. This couldn't of been scripted better.
The crew has flamed out. It is as if a switch was turned off. They are now laying about the boat in various stages of slumber.
It is quiet again. Gregg and I can hear the wind and waves as they interact with the vessel. Gregg is going below to catch some sleep. I will try later to catch a few winks.
0500 10 NM Northeast of Port Sanilac
Since midnight we have seen a steady stream of lakers going upbound and downbound Lake Huron. We are inside the Upbound Laker course...but, they don't appear to be sticking too close to the charted courses tonight. Right now I have six lakers within 10 miles of the Bumboat, all being tracked by our radar.
0550 4 NM Northeast of Port Sanilac, 80.5 NM
All of the lakers have behaved predictably except for one rogue heading right at us. It is about 5 miles ahead and closing. Gregg and I decide to fall off the wind and try to get some distance between us and the laker. The laker passes between us and shore within a half mile of the Bumboat. It was strange that the laker was so near shore.
The crew is still passed out.
1015 Blue Water Bridge, 111 NM
Most of the crew is up as we approach the Blue Water bridge. We have just started the engine a little while ago. Our sail last night was a Top 10 sail; beam reach most of the night, 7 to 10 knot boat speed, 2 to 4 foot seas, crystal clear sky, meteor shower..... perhaps the only downside was some of the racket the crew made....
1745 Lakeview Marina in Windsor, Ontario, 161.5 NM
We had an uneventful motor down the St. Claire River and across Lake St. Claire. We stopped briefly in Lake St. Claire to clear some grass out of the engine cooling intake.
Since the Captain didn't sleep last night.... and the crew was looking a bit whacked..... we decided to spend the night at Lakeview Marina in Windsor.
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Lake Huron sunrise |
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Party boys at 0930 |
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Ben was wacked |
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Fort Gradiot Light, just west of Blue Water Bridge |
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South of Blue Water Bridge after leaving Lake Huron |