Entry #88: N45.51.975, W84.43.147
Sunday, July 28th (Day 84) – It was a calm and peaceful morning when I got up at 5:45 and got underway for St. Ignace. It was a good couple of days and I was sad to go but ready to go. The clock was ticking and the forecast was promising. The breeze from the south soon filled in to 8 knots and I was moving a solid 4 ½ knots under sail. I didn’t like my mainsail reefing system so I had reconfigured it during my stay in Beaver Island. I tried it out when the winds began to pick-up and it worked much better but I still was not fully satisfied. As I approached the Mackinaw Bridge, I couldn’t believe the number of powerboat traffic. I seemed to be on their rum line and didn’t appreciate their wakes and inconsideration.
As I passed under the Mackinaw Bridge I celebrated sailing my 4th Great Lake this summer and completing my 3rd Great Lake circumnavigation. The winds had shifted and as I approached the St. Ignace Municipal Marina they were coming from the west at less than 5 knots. It turned out to be one of my most enjoyable sailing days of the trip thus far.
I was assigned a Slip #19 and next to me in slip #27 was a Cal 27 sailboat. I got to talking with the skipper as I had in most ports of call. He lived in St. Ignace and one might call him a salty dog sailor – having sailed all his life and new the area extremely well. When he found out that I was heading to De Tour on Drummond Island on my way to Sault Saint Marie he was persistent in suggesting I head to a small town called Hessel and follow the canal east to De Tour rather than in open waters. He even took out his chart for me to study. I casually thanked him but had every intention of taking the shortest route to De Tour – open waters.
That evening I took a shower, walked about 5 miles to stretch my back and bought a hamburger for dinner. I checked out the forecast before retiring and fell asleep visualizing tomorrows route to De Tour.
Day 84 / 44 nautical miles / 2424 total nautical miles.
Never Too Late For 