Mackinaw City, MI August 3, 2016

We have officially started home. I estimated that the trip home would be 400 miles or so. Today we did  72.8 miles traveling from Leland to Mackinaw City, so a big chunk is behind us. We left at 8:10 this morning and it took us 8 hours and 20 minutes for the trip, averaging 8.8 knots. Our top speed was 10.4 knots surfing down a wave.

Jim and Jola stayed overnight on Annie last night. After a breakfast of scones from the tea party, they packed up and went to Northport, Petoskey and then Mackinaw City where they caught our dock lines. They are staying overnight here and returning home tomorrow. Jola took this picture last night in Leland.

Jim took this picture of Annie coming down the channel in the Mackinaw City Marina. The foredeck hand is ready for docking as you can see.

The depth sounder on my Garmin chart plotter did not work 1/3 of the time, and worked fine 2/3 of the trip. Strange. I did pick up a radio transmission from a boat 22 miles away, so it looks like the AIS/radio combination may be OK. I will not know for sure until I am able to determine how far I can transmit.  Jimbo can help me with that when I get back to Vermilion.

Driving Annie downwind with big waves drives me nuts. It's like gybing downwind all the way. First a wave comes and swishes Annie about 30-50 degrees to port. Then the autohelm senses that we are too far left, so it steers right to offset the amount we went left of the rhumb line. Then a wave comes and the process starts all over again. Whenever I am following someone I think they must be amazed about the course I am steering. Excalibur tracked straight which is what I am use to. I hand steered around the abandoned lighthouse marking Grey's Reef!

I traveled up the lake with a big freighter, Bace Comeau, a 275 meter ship. I knew it's identity and size from my AIS. Even way out in Lake Michigan we had company. Besides that freighter there were many sailboats and a car ferry coming and going to Beaver Island.

We went under the Mackinaw Bridge again today as we said good bye to Lake Michigan. It's a great sight and I still cannot resist taking pictures of it.

We are staying 2 nights here, mainly so Kerry can recharge her batteries and catch up on laundry. She slept today the first four hours of the voyage and the last 2. The shower and traveling has her exhausted.

Barb sent me two pictures of the crew from the shower today. Pretty attractive and happy shower goers. That is Stephanie with Anne.