There is only one picture but a story to tell. We left Mackinaw City on Sunday, 7/17 to continue through the Straits of Mackinac to Lake Huron and Government Island in the Cheneaux (aka the Snows) Islands. It was an easy 21 mile course on this hot, humid and windless day. Government Bay was recommended to us by a number of boaters as it has 4 sided protection, mud holding ground and a beach with a campsite. We are members of the Great Lakes Cruising Club (GLCC) and membership provides charts and harbor reports and Government Bay looked pretty good. We dropped in 13 feet with good holding, deep to shore, no rocks and a mile to the west shore—pretty perfect conditions.
Mollie loved the dinghy ride and had a great time at the beach retrieving sticks with a Springer spaniel. We enjoyed a lazy afternoon of reading, jumping into the 60 degree water as well as a delicious trout dinner.
We turned in early, but were awakened by a deep rumbling of thunder and a Marine Warning on our GPS. It indicated a wide band of T-storms with 30-40mph headed our way. We checked our anchor line which was solid and let out 20 more feet of scope for extra safety for an 8:1 scope. We readied our emergency equipment (headlamps, headsets, rain gear) and talked about strategies if our anchor broke free.
By 11pm, the sky was ablaze with lightening all around us, the winds began to howl and the thunder monster was getting closer. We had 2 powerboats anchored, 1 was 200 feet to port and the other, 300 feet to starboard, and all boaters were on deck in ready mode. The west wind built 20-25-30 mph accompanied by horizontal, torrential rain. We were glued to our GPS Anchor Watch, compass and wind meter and shuttered when at 33 mph and a wind lurch, our anchor dragged 80 feet!
Bob started the engine to keep us in place and be ready to reset the anchor, but not in building 40 mph winds at midnight in a bay we did not know. We danced with the savage wind for an hour with Bob going slowly forward with each wind thrust backwards. The powerboat to port broke free of its anchor and was drifting perilously close to us as the boaters struggled to get up their anchor rode and lash their anchor and finally, after Herculean effort, pulled away.
Bob maintained a steady hand on the wheel ever mindful of the danger of the anchor rode getting tangled around our propeller if he went too far forward. We continued to drag a total of 200 feet, but by 1am, our anchor had reset in 12 feet of water as the wind started to die back down to 35-30-25-20-15. We breathed a sigh of relief, tested our anchor line and it was solid. We went to bed but not really to sleep just waiting for more to come. We learned later that the Chicago-Mackinac sailing racers were caught in the very same storm with one boat capsizing, killing two sailors and we pause to remember them.
And how did Mollie do during the storm? Mollie slept in her crate and did not even stir. What a great boating dog!!!!
Mollie loved the dinghy ride and had a great time at the beach retrieving sticks with a Springer spaniel. We enjoyed a lazy afternoon of reading, jumping into the 60 degree water as well as a delicious trout dinner.
We turned in early, but were awakened by a deep rumbling of thunder and a Marine Warning on our GPS. It indicated a wide band of T-storms with 30-40mph headed our way. We checked our anchor line which was solid and let out 20 more feet of scope for extra safety for an 8:1 scope. We readied our emergency equipment (headlamps, headsets, rain gear) and talked about strategies if our anchor broke free.
By 11pm, the sky was ablaze with lightening all around us, the winds began to howl and the thunder monster was getting closer. We had 2 powerboats anchored, 1 was 200 feet to port and the other, 300 feet to starboard, and all boaters were on deck in ready mode. The west wind built 20-25-30 mph accompanied by horizontal, torrential rain. We were glued to our GPS Anchor Watch, compass and wind meter and shuttered when at 33 mph and a wind lurch, our anchor dragged 80 feet!
Bob started the engine to keep us in place and be ready to reset the anchor, but not in building 40 mph winds at midnight in a bay we did not know. We danced with the savage wind for an hour with Bob going slowly forward with each wind thrust backwards. The powerboat to port broke free of its anchor and was drifting perilously close to us as the boaters struggled to get up their anchor rode and lash their anchor and finally, after Herculean effort, pulled away.
Bob maintained a steady hand on the wheel ever mindful of the danger of the anchor rode getting tangled around our propeller if he went too far forward. We continued to drag a total of 200 feet, but by 1am, our anchor had reset in 12 feet of water as the wind started to die back down to 35-30-25-20-15. We breathed a sigh of relief, tested our anchor line and it was solid. We went to bed but not really to sleep just waiting for more to come. We learned later that the Chicago-Mackinac sailing racers were caught in the very same storm with one boat capsizing, killing two sailors and we pause to remember them.
And how did Mollie do during the storm? Mollie slept in her crate and did not even stir. What a great boating dog!!!!
