Day 18 - Seaquest

We awoke at 6:00 am in St. Ignace surrounded by thick fog. No rush to get out of the harbor. The fog lifted at 8:00 am and we were headed out under the Mackinaw Bridge at 24 kts by 8:30 am.

We watched two boats head out earlier. One of the boats was Misty who quickly disappeared into the mist. We used our time in the harbor to vacuum the boat with the central vacuum system and fill the water tanks. We filter the dock water before we put it in our tanks.

We made a quick 24 mile run to Grays Reef light and throttled back to 7 kts for the next 26 miles to conserve fuel. A storm hit us on the way and with about 7 miles to go to reach the harbor a second storm was coming so we throttled up to get into Harbor Springs. There is a big boat sailing regatta in Harbor Springs after the Mac Race each year. This is the Little Travese Bay Yacht Club Ugotta Regatta. The race boats get priority for dockage at the municipal marina. We called in this morning just after one of the race boats, a TP 52, decided to drop out of the race and head home. It was like winning the lottery, especially since we needed a marina to ride out the storm predicted for tonight and tomorrow. Here is the Lake Michigan marine weather forecast for the north lake area.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING THROUGH LATE MONDAY NIGHT

TONIGHT NORTH WINDS TO 30 KNOTS. MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE EVENING…THEN PARTLY CLOUDY OVERNIGHT. WAVES 4 TO 6 FEET.

MONDAY NORTH WINDS TO 30 KNOTS. SUNNY. WAVES 4 TO 6 FEET.

MONDAY NIGHT NORTH WINDS 5 TO 15 KNOTS BACKING WEST AFTER MIDNIGHT. MOSTLY CLEAR. WAVES 2 TO 4 FEET SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FEET AFTER MIDNIGHT.

Yes, it looks like Tuesday will a better day to continue our cruise. Monday will be a layover day. We will sleep in past 6:00 am and have breakfast at Turkey’s. Turkey is a local resident that played football for Harbor Springs high school. One day at practice he pulled a ham string and started limping. Then he pulled a second ham string and couldn’t walk so he wobbled off the field. The coach yelled out – “look at that, he’s walking like a turkey.” Fifty years later the nickname still sticks to him. Turkey opened a restaurant that has great pizza and a great greasy spoon breakfast.

A continuation of the description of daily life on a Changing Latitudes.

We have a routine to check the engine and transmission fluid. This includes a general inspection of the engines and engine room to look for any fluid leaks or other problems. The batteries are checked to make sure the water level is correct. If they are low we add distilled water. We have two holding tanks for the toilets. This is called black water and we watch the levels and get the holding tanks pumped out at the fuel dock from time to time. The sinks and shower are called gray water and they drain into the lake.

We have a double sink in the galley (kitchen area) to wash the dishes. First world problem – We have a full size jacuzzi on board but we do not have an automatic dishwasher. What’s with that? We take turns washing the dishes with Andy and Priscilla getting the most time on the job. We have a convection microwave oven that allows us to bake as well as microwave our meals. We also have a two burner electric stove. With all electric appliances we have to be plugged in or run the generator in order to cook. Our refrigerator is 2/3 the average size with a freezer on top. We make our own ice using ice trays. We have not purchased a single ice cube on this trip. Thousands for fuel but not one cent for ice.

As I am writing this blog the north wind is increasing and causing the battle flags on the racing fleet docked around us to flap and the halyards to start to whistle.

Here is a photo of our neighbor on the dock. This is a 150 footer named Seaquest. She is registered in the Cayman Islands. I was told the family owns two of them. I wonder what time we should invite them over for sundowners?

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