Lesson Plan takes on Lake Huron

We set out from Port Huron Yacht Club toward an anchorage in Harbor Beach inlet.  We were

Blue Water Bridge connects the US and Canada

looking forward to not having to struggle against the current of the St. Clair River once we got out on Lake Huron, but we had about 1.5 miles to go to reach the lake.  As we start out of the Black River we are hitting speeds of 6 MPH or a little better.  I am pretty optimistic that we will be on the lake in a pretty short time. Well.... As you approach the Blue Water Bridge, which connects Port Huron, MI to Sarnia, ON, the channel gets narrow.  And if you remember from your science or physics class, when you constrict the flow of a liquid the velocity increases.  We were down to 2.5 MPH at one point.  I think turtles on the land were laughing at us.  It's like watching paint dry, in slow motion.  Eventually we finally made it out of the river and onto the lake.

Both sails out woo hooo

Once we were out of the channel and set course for Harbor Beach, we put up both sails and picked up speed, a whopping 8.1 MPH. (BTW: 6 kn = 6.9 MPH)

Just a few interesting facts: Lake Huron is 577 ft above sea level, opposed to Erie at 571.  So we climbed 6 ft from one Great Lake to another without going through a lock. By surface area, Lake Huron is the second-largest of the Great Lakes. The lake's average depth is 195 ft, while the maximum depth is 750 ft.

Our destination for the night was Harbor Beach Marina to get fuel and then to an anchorage in the harbor for the night.  Steve had been at the helm most of the day.  So I asked him if he was going to take it into the fuel dock.  He said he was willing to give it a shot. I gave him my most sage advice, don't hit the fuel dock and said okay, the helm is yours and I will tend to the lines.  As we started to approach the fuel dock I'm not sure who was more nervous, me or him.  He slid Lesson Plan in there like a pro. The problem is, if he starts taking on more responsibilities at the helm, that means I have to cook more.

We docked right beside of a Coast Guard boat in Harbor
Beach. Later that night I thought, I ain't scared of a Coast 
Guard boat (sometimes I feel like a little fireball) 

Our plan was to anchor for the night. But just as we finished fueling we could see a storm building over the town of Harbor Beach. The fuel dock attendant said we have plenty of doc space and it would be more comfortable on the dock. I said, ahh it will blow over and we will be fine.  She and Steve conspired against me and we somehow ended up with a slip for the night,and of all things right next to a Coast Guard boat. Jimmy Buffett sang a song about a "Coastie"  

After a brief squall we had a peaceful night in Harbor Beach, MI

If you look at the lower part of Michigan it looks kind of like an oven mitt.  Grind Stone City sits at the top of the thumb.  From there most boaters jump across the open water of Saginaw Bay to either Au Sable (35 miles) or Harrisville (48 miles).  Remember we travel at best 8.5 MPH and with the wind on our nose its 6 MPH.  So a 35 mile run is 4 to 6 hour run, the 48 mile run is 6 to 8 hours.  So when will you loose sight of land and then gain sight of it again? A lot depends on the landscape. If I am standing on the deck of my boat, let's say my eyes are 6' above the water.  I can see another small ship (one that is 6' tall)  that is on the horizon about 4 miles away.  I could see a beach that is at water level from about 3 miles away.  I can see a 100' tall hill from 12 miles away.  And if the hill is 250' tall, I can see it from 19 miles away. So on a run 35 miles across, we will loose site of land for a very short time, if any.  On a really clear day we would be able to see the land ahead before we loose site of the land behind us.  Since the 48 mile run is diagonal to the coast, we would still gain sight of the land in front us us before we lost site of the land behind us. Look for more details in Lesson Plan crosses the thumb.

Here is a little trivia question for you.  What state has the most shoreline? Michigan you say, nope its Alaska, but Michigan is second. First in the continental US.

Lesson Learned:  I'm not the only one that can pull Lesson Plan into the dock. What was that quote: Travel will humble you....something like that.