Day 16 - I can see the USA from here!

Today we were up at 6:00 am and off the hook and underway by 7:00 am. We had perfect timing to catch the 8:00 am swing bridge opening at Little Current, 7 miles away.A typical day on Changing Latitudes begins with the generator starting. Now we can make coffee for Dale, hot chocolate for Andy and green tea for John. Priscilla sleeps in because we do not need four crew to get underway. We often have oatmeal for breakfast because it is quick and easy. To cast off and get going, One person goes forward and removes the Mantus harness from the anchor chain and forward cleats. The harness keeps pressure off the windlass (anchor hauler outer). In a big wind you do not want the weight of the entire boat to be on this one small point.Next we remove the covers from our instruments. This includes two Raymarine Hydrotouch GPS's, an auto pilot and a depth sounder. We use the smaller Raymarine for the radar. We start the engines by first pressing the synchronizer button and then turning the key for each engine. Those 480 horse power Volvo turbo diesels roar to life. Next we turn on four switches on the dashboard for the instruments and VHF radio. Then we turn on all the instruments. After the engines are warmed up two crew go forward and raise the anchor using the windlass. We bring a bucket and brush to the bow to clean the mud off the anchor and chain as it comes into the boat. The crew directs the helms person which way to move the boat to retrieve the anchor. You do not want to pull a 32,000 pound boat around with your windlass. Once the anchor is secure in the bow roller, the chain break is set and the shackle is secured to the chain to keep the anchor from slipping out.Then we get underway by charting a course on the GPS and pushing the electronic throttles forward. The transmission and throttle are integrated into one handle per engine. We operate on two hour watches. Every two hours we shift the helms person so the person on the helm is alert and rested.On the off watch Dale reads, Andy works on her devotions and reads, Priscilla reads and does 3D Suduko puzzles and I am learning to play the Ukulele. I can play a version of Over the Rainbow that would bring a tear the the eye of the famous Hawaiian ukulele player Brother IZ.More on life aboard CL in tomorrow's blog.I use Navionics chart plotter software on my iPad. It is a great route planner. We always know how far we are going and the best route to get there. It is also a good back up to our built in GPS. It works offline. No Internet connection required. The GPS in the iPad tracks our exact position.The wind picked up in the morning and made the first half of the 60 mile trip a little lumpy. Then it flattened out for the second half.There is a sailboat regatta that runs from Gore Bay to Little Current. We had a great view of the fleet this morning flying their spinnakers. With a west wind it was all downhill for them. A nice fast ride.On Saturday we will return to the USA and check in with US Customs at the camera phone at the harbor masters building on Mackinac Island. We are so close to the USA I can see the USA from here. Almost.Photo - This is the helm of Changing Latitudes on our trip to Mackinac Island.