Presque Isle, MI August 6, 2016

We knew last night that we had to get out of Rogers City. If we thought the Oom_pah band was loud the night before, that was nothing compared to the country western band last night. I was in bed nice and early, sleeping like a baby until I wasn't at 11:00. I awoke to the loudest music I ever heard while I was on a boat. We closed the hatches, then the windows. We turned on Kerry's DC fan. Then we turned on the air conditioner fan. Then I got out the earplugs I had purchased for Jim's visit (which I did not need as he does not snore anymore). With the earplugs I only heard the thump, thump of the base. I don't know when they stopped, but at 1:00 when I awoke I thought they were done, until they came back from break. I decided that if we could get into Presque Isle we were out of here. Can you imagine what is in store for Saturday night? So much for Nautical Fests! Note: Big Jim says I should have put country boots on and joined them!

The wind was blowing about 14 when we left, with a forecast to build later. The seas were running behind us at 3 1/2 feet. Annie was doing her downwind tour of the lake, but it did not bother me because I had my face in James Patterson's book, "Sail." We left at 9:00 and arrived at 11:00. The trip was 17.6 nautical miles with an average speed of 8.3 knots. Highest speed was 11.3 surfing.

Before we left we watched the start of an Olympic bicycle race. The television has been working well on this trip. Because it works so poorly in Vermilion I thought I had a problem, but now think it's just Vermilion's location that is the issue. We watched the end of that race after we returned from our bike ride in the afternoon.

Presque Isle is very pretty. Gorgeous actually. The entire Michigan shore line is beautiful, with miles of deserted sandy beaches. Presque is French and means almost an island. We took a bike ride after lunch. They have two lighthouses here, a 30' old one and a 113' newer one still in use. We rode to both and I walked up the 130 steps of the tall one. We rode to the seashore too, and I visited one of the many swimming beaches here. Lake Erie got so cheated of bays, harbors and sandy beaches. In addition, Michigan has invested in their natural assets and you can tell.  Here are some pictures of our day.

Bell buoy marking the entrance to Presque Isle. It's neat to hear the bell ringing as you pass.

Tall newer lighthouse from the water.

Kerry on the ground view from the top of lighthouse.

Steps going down. I got a bit dizzy!

Older 30' lighthouse.

In the small world category, Jeff Stockard's old boat, French Kiss, docked near us. We chatted with the new owners who live in Tawas MI. They tried to get us to stop there on our way home. Kerry was sold when they said there is a Ben Franklin's store there. I tried to talk them into cheering for the Buckeyes when we play Oklahoma. They said they would have to pull the shades down if they did!

There is a restaurant right near the marina which is famous for their whitefish. I think it is the one we stopped at on my retirement cruise in 2007. I still remember that whitefish dinner. I hope it is as good as I remember. Tomorrow we set sail for Harrisville, 42 miles from here. Mild winds but rolling leftover seas are forecast. No rain or storms are forecast for the near future. We roughed out an itinerary over cocktails that should have us home around the 15th.