Integrity Cruise

Day 131: Macinac Island to Petosky, Michigan

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Day 131: Wednesday, August 24th: Today we made an early start since we wanted to go a little over 50 miles. We left the marina and passed the huge light marking the right side of the Straits just outside the harbor. Look closely to the right of the light to see Fort Macinac in the early morning light:

This lighthouse marks the left side of the Straits; we headed westward:

We said goodbye to Macinac Island village and Fort Macinac:

The Macinac Bridge across Macinac Straits is awesome. It's about five miles long, including approaches, and 135 feet above the water. It was completed in 1957 at a cost of $2,300 (just kidding). The "laker" ship is under the bridge; he is about 800 feet long. This bridge is a "WOW"!

The two support towers are reminiscent of the Golden Gate and are awesome. This is the south tower:

This is the north tower. Note the ever-present painting and maintenance equipment:

Looking up from below the bridge gives one an eerie feeling. Not many people see a big bridge from this perspective. It was interesting to note the grate for a roadway. We suspected it helped keep the bridge clear of ice and snow in the winter, since it was a rather large mesh grate:

We cruised in almost flat water. We were now in Lake Michigan which is noted for its rough seas and unfriendly changing weather. Today, it was a docile pussycat. Our first waypoint was this abandoned lighthouse. Quite ugly compared to most!

We turned south for about 35 miles of pretty comfortable cruising then eased eastward into Petosky harbor. We had mail waiting here and needed to stop. The first thing we noticed was the parasailers in the bay; Bill decided not to do that:

The nearby clock tower tolled the hour and half hour. The nice things were: It stopped at 9:00pm and it was exactly on time. Those are Mountain Ash on the right:

Here's Integrity in her berth. The marina is one of about fifty of the state-owned marinas in Michigan. They are amazingly well built and amazingly inexpensive to stay in:

Did we tell you we bought a BOSS anchor in Penetanquishene at the south end of Georgian Bay in Ontario? It's an imitation Bruce anchor, good in the grass and clay bottoms of this area. We now have three big anchors:

Our friends from Sheetless, Bob and Joyce, drove over from Charlevoix, about eighteen miles away, and took us shopping at Home Depot and Wal-Mart. The first time we have seen these stores for a long time. They stayed for a quick cocktail hour and headed home.

Position tonight: N45 01.131 W085 45.729

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