Alpena to Harrisville

July 3, 2011

Left Alpena Thunder Bay Marina @ 0740 hrs and motored out 2 miles to  good water.  Winds were light out of the NW but we set the Main and Jenny (135%) jib.  Winds were fluky all day long but we only had 36 mile to cover so we enjoyed the scenery and calm waters.  Entered the breakwater of Harrisville Marina @ 1354 and were made fast to berth #4 @ 1436.

We have our nephew Robbie and his wife Kelly in the area so we decided to stay another day to, hopefully, go sailing with them.

July 4, 2011

W spent the day with Robbie, Kelly and their daughter Brin.  They took us to Lumbertown which is a monument to the Lake Huron loggers and located on the Oscoda River.  In days of old, log rafts were floated down the river to mills and ships.  That is all gone and the Oscoda River no longer has any commerce.  Also, we went to Lake Iargo Springs: a small waterfall and bubbling spring emptying into the Oscoda.  Place is surrounded in Native American legend who were displaced by Loggers.  Today the Spring has reverted back to the pristine place it once was.  One has to descend about 300 stairs to get to the bottom.

The Holding Tank overflowed this morning so I had to crank up the engine and move over to the pump-out dock.  Will have to be more careful in attending to it in the future.  It takes very little imagination to guess the foul smell of raw sewage.    It only holds 15 gallons.  I'll be happy when we get out of the Lakes and back to sea where we can discharge raw sewage after 3 miles offshore.  Nevertheless, I support the use of them and trying to keep the Lakes as clean as possible.

There are so many foreign marine life and algae that have come into the Lakes on commercial vessels that one wonders what the future holds for many of the native species.

Tomorrow we sail for Port Austin which is on the tip of the thumb at the top of Saginaw Bay.