Blue Water Bridge & Onward

Entry #67: N42.49.160, W82.29.397

Wednesday, June 26th & Thursday, June 27th:  Great suggestion Gary.  The friendly marina & secluded setting and raised bridge entry made for a great stay.  Hope to repeat a stay and take the time to visit the town.

With intrepidation, I left the marina around 9 am concerned about the  current under the Blue Water Bridge and the ability of NTL to make cut through it.  Fortunately, the winds were brisk and continued coming from the west.  And again, I power sailed to maximize my speed through the current.  The day was beautiful and there were power boaters everywhere.  Not a single time did one power boater slow down or take my stern.  Their wakes kept slowing me down and/or require me to alter course – each time a disadvantage against the growing strength of the current.  Due to the chop and boaters, I was unable to safely hug the Canadian side during my attempt to pass under the bridge.  I increased the throttle to an uncomfortable 3,300 rpms and held on to both the jib and main sheets while holding the tiller in case a sudden lift presented itself in the 15 knot winds.  I became a bit anxious as I saw my speed slowly reduce from 3 1/2 mph to 2 mph, then 1 mph then 0.8 and 0.7!  Finally at a whopping 0.4 mph NTL broke through and successfully passed under the Blue Water Bridge.  We did it Wilson!  Wilson?  You can open your eyes now.  We did it.

It was mid-day and I finally entered Lake Huron, my third Great Lake.  I shut down my engine and set sail for Lexington under blue skies and a beautiful breeze on my back.  I had just lifted a great weight off my back.  Given enough time, decent weather conditions and personal resilience, my quixotic endeavour is now truly doable.  I felt a sense of relief.

I was in good spirits when I reached Lexington and set Port Sanilac as my new waypoint.  The sunset was beautiful and though I was tiring I was took advantage of both the weather conditions and my spirits setting Harbor Beach as my next waypoint.  I found myself using these waypoints as place setters as I prepared to sail through the night.  As the sun disappeared to the west, the wind began to die down as well.  Soon the water was like glass.  I kept my sails up and took in the peaceful conditions while star gazing. 

I kept munching, checking my heading, the skies and weather and my surroundings in general between snoozes.  At 3 am I saw what I suspected was heat lightning just to the south and west of my position.  I re-checked my NOAA app and found no weather indicated. About 4 am I watched in awe an amazing moon rise from the east.  I took a picture and will post it along with my other pictures at some point.

The winds were coming back and at 6 am I decided to extend my non-stop trip another 45 miles and headed for East Tawas.  Sailing is a lot easier when the weather conditions are moderate. 

It was 6 pm when I docked at the East Tawas State Harbor having just completed a 33 hour 133 ‘nautical’ mile non-stop journey.  I feel good. 

Friday, June 28th:  Though I had planned to set off to Harrisville this morning, the weather wasn’t cooperating with thunderstorms all day.  So I walked to a coffee shop in Tawas and updated my blog.  And tonight I will read a good book.

Take care everyone.