Travel day - Northport to Leland.
Chilly overnight and morning. Was mid 50's. Calm with winds predicted to fill from southeast.
Did engine prechecks about 600 am. Made lines ready to easily cast off. Shut down all power on boat ( I call out to wife "Making it a dead boat!" ) and shut down shore power. Turn engine start battery to "ON". Start engine....set throttle to 1200 rpm to bring up to temperature. Watch voltmeter slowly climb up to 13.8 ish. Oil pressure good. Water temp slowly begins to climb. All looks good.
Turn back on essential boat 12volt circuits...Pilot House Instruments, Bow Thruster, Refrigerator and Bilge Pump.
Check chartplotter and other Instruments. Talk briefly with wife about maneuvering plan to leave dock and marina...time to go.
Depart smoothly. Wife begins pulling and stowing 4 fenders even before we are out of marina. I put in a couple initial waypoints. We're off.
Smooth calm waters with a sunrise in clear skies at 630 am is such a satisfying way to begin a day. Today was one of those !
Front with rain and wind is forecast for today around noon. We have about 26 miles to cover before then. With starting up and the slow down to approach the destination marina and dock, I plan on averaging about 6 mph. Budget 5 hours time. Make note of time and jot down engine data. Calculate ETA at three waypoints. Make pencil notes of same on paper chart.
Route today goes east a couple miles from Northport. Rounds three red buoys before heading north up around Leelanau Peninsula, turns west, then turns south to Leland. All told the ground distance from Northport to Leland appears to likely oy be 10 or 12 miles. But going up and around the point will take a lot more.
One odd thing today...up over the Peninsula there were 4 folks in parasails with a backpack motor and propeller flying about. I remember occasionally seeing them over beach at Galveston but these are the first we have seen on the Loop.
Swells are coming in from the north so they become a bit more pronounced as we lose the protection of Leelanau Peninsula. It is a pleasant rhythmic up and down. Good speed of about 6.5 knots.
We can watch the building clouds sliding in from the west and can make out curtains of rain falling in the distance out over open Lake Michigan. Its definitely moving our way. But we should beat it into Leland.
By 830 we are under the clouds and the sun is gone for today. The Michigan shorline is big steep sandy cliffs along this stretch. Deep 200 foot plus waters here.
Leland harbor has a big breakwater and a channel that shoals every year. Charts show 2 1/2 to 3 feet but it has been dredged recently. Contact marina via radio to confirm...yep...8 to 10 feet now.
Reach breakwater mouth about 1030...rain getting close but not an issue.
Dockmaster gives us our slip number and some directions....make a smooth docking and hook up 50 amp shorepower again. Shut down and record hours and data. Do post trip engine and systems checks...record in logbooks...all good.
Rain begins !
Check my texts...today a visit from snowaggie is planned. Our first Aggie contact since we left Texas back on Halloween !
Today was just a regular good normal day !