Day 9 & 10- East Tawas, MI.

Wow! I’m catching up on where we are! Don’t get fooled- I’ll have day’s where I don’t catch up, because…

So at this point we’re realizing we have to plan a bit ahead, and Mackinac Island is a definite must-do. Lauren has already expressed how we will not be taking a ferry to the island, when we are here on our boat! So this brings us to our current location; notice we spent 2 days here…we made a reservation at Mackinac for 8/14 and 8/15. We would be there sooner, but there were no reservations available before that, and weekends were sold out since spring time! I guess we have to slow down!

Our original destination after leaving Harbor Beach was Port Austin. That was about 30 miles or so, and it was around the ‘mitten’ then a bit south.

We had looked at our next few ports, and saw that after Port Austin, we had to cross the Saginaw Bay and head north again toward East Tawas. According to one of our guide books, there was another stop south west down the mitten before heading back north. Lauren was questioning why we would go south? The next town was further south: Caseville.

As we left Harbor Beach, the water was as flat as could be. Hardly any wind, and smooth, flat waters ahead of us. I was cruising at the usual RPM’s, and bumped it just one notch higher- 1700 put us at 7-7.2 knots- we were flying to our standard! As we continued on staying well off shore, clear of any shallow water and rocks, it was clear we were making great time.

Lauren came up and suggested going straight to East Tawas, instead of Port Austin? At this speed, we’d make it there with only adding a few (3) hours, and we wouldn’t go south to get north! I was sold immediately, as I watched the nautical miles increase. This took us across the middle of the bay, which has depths of over 140 feet. The depths actually help keep the water smooth, as opposed to Lake Erie which can get choppy and bigger, close together waves due to the shallowness.

We were cruising along at up to 7.5 knots! This was when the waves would align with our course and give us a ‘push’ forward.

All was well, except the nagging feeling I had as we were moving along- the steering didn’t feel right…I could tell something was up, as I was turning the wheel, and it didn’t seem to respond as usual. I have seen this before: upon launch this spring, I had literally no steering. I made it to dock by some miracle, and my father, Jack and I took some time to find and fix the problem. A little power steering fluid and a new, custom made fitting (thank you, Menyharts Plumbing!) and all was well.

I Left Lauren at the helm and went to the rudder room. I found out my suspicions were correct. There was a leak of power steering fluid on the clean towel I had left under the steering arm from last time. I could see the drip of fluid, but was happy to see the custom piece was not the culprit. I suspect there was a build up of pressure when I tried to over-steer when the boat was on auto pilot. I have back up fluid for this situation and was prepared for this. I powered down, put her in neutral, and filled the power steering reservoir. I also used a ‘leak stopper’ formula, so we’ll see how that works out.

We continued on toward our destination now that the steering was fixed. Again making almost 7.5 knots on a smooth, flat bay!

We neared East Tawas and the charts are again showing lots of ship wrecks and rock/obstructions. Even with the high water, I don’t want to take a chance! So we maneuvered to the channel markers, and came into the harbor. Saginaw Bay had started to pick up a bit in wind and small waves as we entered, but the harbor was mostly flat. We headed toward the area listed as a good anchorage and soon found ourselves in 4 feet of water, at least a 100 yards from shore! Holy smoke! If the water was normal level, we’d be on dry land!

We found a spot away from the couple of boats already anchored, and secured the ship. The other boats left a soon as we were secure. As we were doing so, Lauren yelled out “Franks in the dinghy!”. Now, at this point when I hear Lauren yell and Franks name, I immediately think he fell/jumped in the water! As I was processing what she said, I looked back and down , to see Frank sitting in the dinghy…whew! He’s not in the water…but how did he get in there??! When we come into a harbor, I will either pull the dinghy close to the stern (rear) or along side, so I have more control and know where it is…HOW DID HE GET IN THERE?? This will be a mystery for me and I don’t think I really want to know.

So we dropped anchor, and basically jumped off to take Frank into shore. Apparently he needs to go! I would usually sit and make sure the boat is secured and not dragging for at least 30 minutes before I would even think about leaving it, but this was a special circumstance- HOW DID HE GET IN THERE?!

We took him to shore and I was chatted up by someone at the marina. Nice fellow, told us about the state harbor and town across the bay, and helped us push off to return to Klondike.

We decided to stay here another day and explored the town this afternoon. They have free ‘day docks’ which you can stay at until late evening. We took the bikes around and went to a Walmart for some supplies. Frank has learned to run alongside the bike for an exercise bout. This gets him to grass quicker, so he’s down with it. The water is so clear you can see bottom, and we went for a nice swim in the morning too, and are now anchored back on the protected side of the harbor.

Our next stop is Harrisville, MI., which is another ‘Harbor of refuge’, which looks like it has plenty of space to anchor, and is listed as a stop along the route. We may fuel up as I hear the prices are good there, but we’ll have to see what tomorrow brings!

Keep on keeping on!