Well, it was a little bit of a rough night last night. The wind howled all night and the boat was blown around in every which direction. There were not any storms like the forecast predicted, but my dad was on anchor watch all night. I, however, slept relatively soundly in the aft cabin. Oblivious to the creaking and groaning of the anchor rode against the bridle all night long.
It was a cold night and another cold morning. We bundled up in our cold weather gear again and took our time sipping our coffee before departure; as we knew that it would be our last bit of warmth for quite a long time along our 6 hour sail to Northport, MI.
We were also surrounded by fog for most of the trip over which made navigating by the naked eye almost impossible. It’s kind of eerie when you’re in the thick of it. You’re trying to scan the horizon and your surroundings for objects with one eye and using the other to watch the radar to see if any blips appear across your screen. It’s an exhausting task! Not to mention bracing yourself as the 2-3ft swells hit you across the beam and rock you back and forth helplessly.
As we were just about to round the Leelanau Peninsula, the fog broke and we were able to get a little bit of sunshine. It took a while for us to warm up; as the winds were still out of the north across the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. Nevertheless, as we rounded the peninsula, we began to feel a little of the warmth from the land again.
Pulling into Northport was a breeze. The waters had calmed and the air temperature returned to a tolerable level.
The sunsets have to be one of my favorite parts of this trip. Incredible contract between land, sea, and boat. Fascinating photography!
