Stockton Island to Ontonagon, MI ~ September 8, 2016

We left Buffalo Bay on Tuesday morning, September 6th and sailed over to Stockton Island for the night in order to put us a few miles closer toward Ontonagon, Michigan. We were completely out of touch except an occasional text that made it's way through. We were able to get messages to our kids, Brielle and David, along with a couple of friends who had texted us to check in. We swam ashore on Tuesday and hiked. The water is much warmer than over on the Minnesota side of the lake. Our first night, we anchored at Quarry Bay with the plan to leave for Ontonagon Wednesday morning. There was a severe head wind that would have made the crossing unbearable, if not impossible. Instead we moved over to Presque Isle Bay to spend the night.

Fog bank rolling in from the West

Anchorage at Presque Isle Bay, Stockton Island

The next 36 hours were rough; kind of like being at a Cross Fit boot camp that lasted 10 hours. There was a lot of pulling, pushing, lifting, climbing, squatting, balancing and gripping going on. It started with a really harrowing night anchored at Presque Isle Bay. We’d attempted to make the run to Ontonagon as planned Wednesday morning but turned back because of the unforgiving easterly head wind we’d have to beat. The anchorage we chose made sense at the time, as protected as it was from the elements. Several other boats joined us. During the night the wind increased and shifted and we were suddenly in an onslaught of wind, rain, rolling seas, bouncing and bobbing and just plain old misery in only 15 feet of water. Dave sleeps through just about anything but I woke him at 1:30 with my anxiety over the horrific sounds coming from on deck. Everything including lines, shackles, tarps, & sails were rattling, flapping, creaking and moaning in the wind. We were swinging on our anchor chain, the wind was howling at a roar, and it felt like we were going to be cast adrift and crash on the sandy shore of the Island. It was too late and too dark and too dangerous to move to a different anchorage. We were in this until it was over! What did I do? I made a cup of Zen tea and played solitaire. I finally fell asleep around 3:00 am. In the morning, Dave was excited to point out that the Mantus Anchor held firm! "That’s the Peace of Mind we invested in last winter!" he boasted. 

Not quite at the 8 foot stage, surfing the waves

Battling the elements

As soon as Dave could rouse me to consciousness he wanted to head east to Ontonagon. We knew this would be a long day of about 8-10 hours. We had the wind on our side this time. Forecast called for the sky to clear by mid day, a SW wind to build to 5-10 knots and 3-5 foot waves. What we got was winds at 15-20 with 30 mph gusts. We saw 8 foot seas, I kid you not, and had rollers lift us right up out of the water then surf us forward at 10 knots which is very fast on Mystic. At best, it was uncomfortable. Dave reminded me of our crossing from Bermuda to Mystic, Connecticut years ago. We got caught in a BIG storm 50 miles off of Montauk Point. There was a lot of praying going on that night! “Today was not nearly as bad as that trip; not even close!” he said! But today was tough and scary at times. Dave got deep bruises on his legs from fighting the tiller; proof of how hard he worked to keep us on course. He wouldn't let me take a picture of them.

Rocking & Rolling

Following Seas

Surfing Lake Superior

Passing the Porcupine Mountains

We were both very happy to get to Ontonagon. We met the Dock Master, Brenton, on Friday morning. We had a lovely chat with this young man and learned that he is leaving for Florida on his motorcycle as soon as the marina closes for the season. We exchanged contact info and hope to run into this fellow adventurer again while on this journey! On to Houghton, Michigan Saturday morning. A perfect day!!! We earned this one!

Entering Ontonagon Channel

Breakwater Entrance Light Ontonagon, MI

Ontonagon Lighthouse built in 1866