Day 77: Rogers City to Mackinac City

29 June, 55 miles. We breakfast on bagels and crispy bacon (microwaved), and are off the dock a bit before 0730, into a sunny morning with a slight breeze (cool) and a flat sea.

We run on that flat water all the way to Mackinac City, albeit with a thundery shower or two on the way... good washdown for the boat.

The lighthouse at 40-Mile Point is prominent and we cut across Hammond Bay to a turning point off High Banks that heads us into the South Channel below Bois Blanc Island and then between the Poe Reef and Fourteen-Foot Shoal lighthouses (which amuses Preston, as the water is more like 25 feet deep) and straight on, through some rain, to arrive at Mackinac City in clear, humid weather with a tolerable breeze for docking at the Straits State Harbor Marina.

As we approach Mack City, we see the last and largest bridge we'll encounter (tomorrow) on this leg of our expedition. For a long time after completion in 1957 it was the world's largest suspension bridge. It's important for us too, in that it's the point at which Lake Huron joins Lake Michigan, so tomorrow we'll enter our fourth and final Great Lake.

What a ride it's been, across bodies of fresh water so extensive you often can't see the opposite shoreline. And even when you can, it's like taking a boat from Nugget Point in South Otago direct to Cape Saunders on the Otago Peninsula. Stunning!

We swivel our way (with the help of our thrusters) into our marina... a 'doh-ce-doh' as Preston calls it), and scarper quickly to catch a ferry for a fast 15-minute across to Mackinac Island, a local tourist playground. We've had this planned, hence the early afternoon arrival at Mack City.

For any Kiwi reading this, let's say that Mackinac Island is Arrowtown (NZ) on quadruple steroids, with the main street by the waterfront. Apart from its greater size, the main difference is that motor vehicles are not allowed in this town. Consequently, all transport--even the rubbish collection from street bins--is horse-drawn. Pooper-scooper employees with bike-drawn trailers are evident around town. We had a great afternoon there!

We rode our fast ferry back to the mainland, I bought some fudge (for which the area is apparently famous. 5 flavours - Peanut Butter with Dark and White Chocolate; Orange & Cream; Mocha; Vanilla; and Cookies & Cream 😄😄😄.Read more