Up A Not-So-Lazy River

 And cruising the Mitten

With our hearts full, all our new provisions stowed, and the new TV installed, we bid adieu to Lake St Clair and began the trip north on the St Clair River toward Lake Huron.    The St. Clair River stretches some 40 miles with an elevation climb of 4-6 feet northbound and, because of its narrow channel, as much as a 3-knot current.  It also offers three different channels at its mouth.   We (well, really Garmin Navionics)  choose the Middle Channel, which took us past dozens of beautiful, but low-lying “cottages” 

(“Cottage” is Great Lake-ese for what we call a “cabin” and covers an equally wide range of structures.   From “snow-white mansions” to “little shacks”, as the song goes*)  

Observing the cruising speeds of the locals, we set a 9-10 knot pace upriver.  About a mile in, we were “notified” by a pair of locals in a pontoon boat that selected Michigan waters (including the Middle Channel of the St Clair River) have special no-wake rules for vessels more than 26 feet in length.   And that we were clearly in violation.   While they may have been well-meaning and we were clearly in the wrong, the conversation was limited by the fact that they only possessed a single adjective (which they employed repeatedly).  We slowed down, apologized, and wished them well (while quietly bemoaning our lack of a stun grenade. Sheesh!)

Once we joined the main river channel, we  were able to resume a 10-knot cruise and found we could actually get on plane.  Normally, this occurs at 12.5-13 knots, but with the current pushing the water by us at 3-knots, we could hold a 13-knot speed thru the water with a speed over the ground of only 10 knots.  Pretty cool, huh!  (Our friends on the trawler Lady Jane with their 7-knot cruise speed found themselves crawling at 4 knots and being passed by sailboats)

Our voyage ended at Desmond Marine in Port Huron, where we had an appointment for some boat maintenance.   Top of the list was a 200-hour oil and filter change for our Volvo diesel engines.  (Some of you may recall a colorful 2020 post on this topic.  Suffice to say that Commadore Kathleen has not forgotten that experience and has forbidden DIY efforts in this area. )  We also asked Desmond to take a crack and removing a rather embarrassing bend in one wing of our Delta-style anchor.

In a world where more boatyards answer the phone with “We’re booked out (insert number between 3 and 10) weeks”,  Desmond Marine was like a NASCAR pit crew.  We only gave them 5 day’s notice and within an hour of our arrival, they had us moored at their fuel dock, had the anchor off the boat,  and sent a lanky (an important trait!) young man into the engine room with 12 gallons of oil and the required filters.  Within the same afternoon, the anchor was back with the kink removed.   We liked them so much, we also bought 250 gallons of diesel fuel.  Ka CHING!

While at Port Huron, we connected for a dinner with fellow Loopers LadyJane, Happiness Is, Bye George, Liberty Call.   Happiness Is is captained by Rommel Torres.  And yes, he is named for that Rommel.  The one of Afrika Corps fame, that is.  So how does a nice Latino boy from El Paso get named for a WWII German Field Marshal, you may ask?   It seems his mother adored the actor James Mason.  But naming a Mexican kid “James” was not going to cut it.  But James Mason portrayed Erwin Rommel in the 1951 blockbuster, The Desert Fox.  So, Rommel Torres he became and remains.  A character and a great guy who is always ready to help.   

Two friends on LadyJane and Bye George suffered medical emergencies at Port Huron significant enough that they had to store their boats and fly home (FL and TX) for treatment.  In the case of Bye George. Kathleen was instrumental in locating a boatyard that would store a Tollycraft 48 on short notice AND a captain who would deliver the boat to the yard some 450 miles away.  (BIG time heavenly brownie points for her!)   We Loopers are mostly of a “certain age” and thereby prone to medical issues.  Having the Looper community to assist in an emergency makes all the difference in the world. 

Our business at Port Huron complete, we began our voyage on Lake Huron.  And it is, by far, our favorite body of water to date.   Clean blue water,  good (or at least predictable)  weather, interesting ports of call, and, best of all, Michigan DNR marinas.   The state of Michigan, within its own park system and in partnership with municipalities, has established a network of Harbors of Refuge on Lakes Huron and Michigan.    Originally intended to protect the commercial fishing fleet, these now serve as first-rate marinas for recreational boaters and fish charter operators.  Then are well designed (including substantial breakwaters against the storms that can ravage Lake Michigan and Lake Huron), well managed, and reasonably priced.   A refreshing change from the wildly variant commercial marinas we have encountered.   Good goin’, Michigan.

Note the BIG breakwaters in the backgroud

Moving north from Port Huron along the eastern shore of the Michigan "Mitten", we stood into marinas at Port Sanilac, Harbor Beach, Harrisville and Presque Isle State Park.  (A special shout-out to the harbor team at Port Sanilac who drove Commodore Kathleen to a nearby Emergency Room for treatment of a pinched nerve in her hip as a result of a fall on the main cabin steps during a rough, wet passage.   With muscle relaxants, heat, cold, and massage  therapy, she is now on the mend.)

Admiral Maggie like Lake Huron

Presque Isle Lighthouse

View from the top

From Presque Isle, we will make our foray "Up North", via the De Tour Passage to ping a few Canadian cell towers.  But that is for next time……

Thanks for following.

Be sure to follow us on NEBO