Cheryl's notes:

We left St. Mary's River this morning and motored into Lake Huron. We noticed right away that our electrical problem was back. It seems that the engine vibration caused our new connection to work loose. Luckily, the lake was flat calm and while Tom watched the horizon up above, John and I crimped a new connection to the alternator. Mission accomplished again, and we were back on our way.

About ten miles into our route, the wind picked up. We sailed about 15 miles and got her up to 9.44 knots. What a ride. This is what the boat is meant to do. John made me take a picture of the speed instrument to prove the feat. We were planning on staying the night at Presque Isle Marina, but the wind turned on our nose and we were bucking the waves. We ended up tucking into Roger City, Michigan. We landed smack in the middle of a local celebration. What a town. Behind the marina is the local city park. Half of the parking lot is covered by a big white tent. The town folk are all of German and Polish decent. We attended a benefit dinner tonight that included a smoked pork chop, a polish sausage, fresh whitefish, a baked potato, coleslaw and strawberry shortcake for $10. Did I mention that the tent contained a laid wooden dance floor and stage? The real fun started at 8:00 with the local polka band.

For our friends in Port Superior Marina. We have decided that we love the state of Michigan. Every marina that we pull into has attendants on the dock waiting to take our lines. They do that for every boat that enters the marina. The standard rate for a boat our size is $37 a night. Every marina has been clean and well maintained. Most are staffed by Michigan DNR employees. Looks like a great job for outdoor lovers.

John's Notes:

Finally, we got to sail a little today. Strayed way off our plotted course but had one hell of a sail. According to the GPS or SOG averaged 7.34kts. Cheryl already told you about our top speed of the day. Boat is handling exceedingly well. We ran with a full main and about a 120% genoa. Took lots of spray over the bow, but for those of you that are wondering, our lumber is exactly in the same place that it was when we left Bayfield. Everyone asks what the lumber is for. That is always a good conversation starter.

I was disappointed that the repair that I made yesterday only lasted for one day. I think I was just too consumed with the fact that I even found the problem that I didn't take enough care when I did the repair. Did a much better job today, even if I did have to do it in the middle of Lake Huron.

Ran into another Catalina 36 owner today on Glory B. Picked up a couple of good ideas from him. Actually, there is yet another one docked right next to us but nobody knows who the boat belongs to. Doesn't even have any sails on it. The name is Majik.

We aren't making the forward progress we thought we would make but we are having fun anyway. We would rather have spent more nights anchored out but the distances, available anchorages and the weather have not cooperated with us. The places we have stayed have been fantastic though. Minnesota and Wisconsin could take lessons from Michigan about how to operate a marina. We realize that these are not full service marinas but the services they do offer are absolutely top notch. It doesn't make any difference if you have a Catalina, a Hinkley or an Alumicraft, they treat everyone the same. We are going to miss Michigan.