Once we retrieved Frank and got out of the bridge at St. Clair river, we had good weather ahead of us. We continued north toward Lake Huron with temps in the low 80 and a north wind. The river had a few bends as we came to the end, and I was noticing our speed was slowing down. Now we were only doing barely 5 knots, so I pushed the throttle a little more.
As we approached the mouth of the river, speed kept dropping and the water was getting rough. Hmmm, maybe it’s just the currents and other nautical stuff making this happen? We pressed on with us getting down to 2.8 knots at 3/4 power! That is something I hope to never have to experience again!
Once we cleared the river and came out on Lake Huron, we had to bear left and follow the coast for several miles until we got to the marina we had chosen. There aren’t a lot of marinas up the coastline around here to just pull in to. You really do have to plan the weather and be prepared because if you get stuck, you can’t just pull in anywhere. We have also noticed the shoreline is dotted with rocks, obstructions and very shallow areas as shown on the charts. Best to stay a mile or two from shore so you don’t bump into something or run aground.
Now the wind was coming right on our nose, and the waves were now larger since we were out of the protected river. This is starting to feel like the uncomfortable ride from Pelee Island to Detroit River. And it was. We had a couple of hours bashing into waves and a few times I was getting water up on the flybridge! The bow of the boat kept taking on water up over the anchors and I was hands on the wheel the whole time! I knew Lauren had prepared for this, so I was confident everything was stowed properly. It was not a ‘fun’ trip. We do not want to travel in that windy/wavy weather again if we don’t have to!
Once we found the marina, we pulled in with intentions of anchoring. It was clear this was not going to be a good option as the breakwall was small, and the space between where we could anchor and the docks was not very large. We did try to anchor, but we were dragging across the marina immediately, so we picked up the anchor and asked for a slip. They directed us and we tied up for the day.
Once we were secured, there was plenty of cleaning up to do. Even though we try to minimize the tossing around of items, stuff always gets loose and slides around. The cat litter needs tended to, pans put back in place, basic regrouping of our home.
I walked up to the harbor master hut to check in and noticed a boat with Rocky River as the home port! As I was coming back I stopped and asked him if he was from there? Turns out there was a flotilla of about 9 boats from CYC in Rocky River doing a 2 week tour of North Channel and going back opposite from where we came. Small world!
Lexington is another cool small town, which we explored on the bikes. We stopped at an A&W for a float and to see the cars at the car show in their parking lot. They had car hops and staff for tables, and they carried the coin dispensers on their waist! BUT they had small iPads to take orders! A mix of old and new, but it was fun. We then continued around town, wanting to go to a winery/brewery that we saw. Guess what? Closed mon-wed! Once we explored for about an hour or so, we returned to Klondike and prepared dinner. We use this time also to find out next port and research areas, anchorages and marinas. The evening was nice and the stars were amazing. The further north we’ve come, I’ve noticed the night sky is magical. Not a lot of light pollution around either.
I updated the blog a bit, walker Frank, and retired to bed looking forward to our next destination.