We decided to leave Hessel early because of rainy weather due in tonight. Yesterday was crystal clear but with a strong northwesterly wind that made the air temp seem colder. High yesterday was 56’ but it felt like 46’! Winds had calmed overnight a bit so since most of the trip would be protected by the southern shore of the UP. We pushed off around 1030 hrs and got into DeTour Village 1230 - 1300 hrs. Once we made the turn north and entered the DeTour Passage the northern wind was head on and blowing 25 knots! Docking was a joy! LOL! Thankfully the pod drives make docking relatively easy regardless of tide or wind conditions. I don’t think I could have docked the boat without using them. The wind was too strong and we would have to have chosen to be blown into a slip instead of maneuvering into one. We docked stern in, across the fairway from the dock office and in very close proximity to their WiFi. Rain and wind is forecasted for the next two days followed by moderating temps - highs in the 60’s! Water temp in Lake Huron was 39’ during the cruise today.

We are literally at the international border. Immediately to our north is St. Joseph Island, Ontario. To our east is Drummond Island, MI, the port where we re-entered the USA last summer. This is the main shipping route for freighters coming and going to Lake Superior. In fact, we were third in line coming across Lake Huron to DeTour Passage. In front of us we’re two freighters, one was 1083 ft long, the second was 1001 ft long. I know this by checking their details on the AIS.

We’ll explore DeTour and report on that later. Daylight hours continue to increase, now at 15 hrs 33 minutes First light is at 0509 and last light is 2158! I love it.