Into Wisconsin

Sue goes "swimming" in Lake Michigan!
With 68 degree water temp, she
didn't stay in the water long!

On September 4 we left our friends on Beaver Island Michigan & headed out onto the mean Lake Michigan.  The weather forecast was marginal for a lake crossing, but since we’re a big luxury yacht with a captain and crew well-seasoned, “the ship set sail for a three-hour tour…”  It’s beginning to sound like déjà vu all over again!

The winds were E 10-20 and the waves were 1-3’, but we found that was “normal” for Lake Michigan.  With a beam sea part of the way, we took some pretty heavy rolls and all the furniture inside the cabin started “walking” to the starboard side.  We also got into two areas where the overall major currents circling Lake Michigan were passing between Beaver and Fox Islands.  These strong currents opposing the direction of the wind, caused some turbulent water & “square waves”.  We had seen this situation several times before, but I didn’t imagine it happening on the Great Lakes.  It apparently is common enough that on the Wisconsin side, there is a passage between islands called “Porte des Morts” or “Death’s Door”.

Natural caves at water's edge on Washington Island

We made the 8-1/2 hour crossing to Wisconsin & anchored for the next 2 nights on the north side of Washington Island.  It was a nice remote cove among the water-side bluffs, but we had no phone or wifi service (yes, there are still some places in America remote enough!)  We anchored in 30’ of water (and let out a 4:1 scope!) because the bottom rises quickly from 150’ deep to the shoreline in only about 100 yards.

 

 

Warm weather on Labor Day weekend brings out
the masses!

Lots of visitors looking at "the big boat" at anchor

After two nights, we headed south to see if we could get into a marina for the upcoming cold front.  There was no room at the inn, so we went to Nicolet Bay on Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula to anchor for the night.  There we met up with about 75 other boaters, many many jet skis, paddleboards, kayaks, and hundreds of people on the beach.  Apparently this cove is not a secret any longer.  They were all enjoying the last weekend of summer with the warm weather.  I guess that’s what you do when you only have 3 months of summer (unlike in the Gulf Coast).  Folks were actually swimming in the 68 degree water!  Sue & I sat on the swim platform & dangled our feet in the water.  The water wasn’t too bad, after your feet went numb!

So Labor Day Monday, after all the locals head home to their J-O-B, we’ll go to a marina at Sisters Bay to sightsee around Wisconsin’s Door County.  Cruising guides say this is some of the prettiest country, so we’ll ride bikes around to see for ourselves.