Sept 6th -Finally out of Misery

This morning we hoisted anchor and made our way to Burnt Island on one engine. When we got there we were greeted by a gentleman named Paul. Paul advised us that the diver was on his way and he had put a fresh pot of coffee on just for us. So we trod on off to his house and meet the kids, the wife (who is the lady Steph talked to on the phone) and then the brother in law Drew shows up,then Drew's mom....well you get the picture.  Turns out Burnt island is the home port for Purvis Fisheries and it is a family run business where 3 sibling (married with children) and mom and dad all live and work. What a bunch of wonderful people too. Within minutes we felt like we were part of the family. Paul was already teasing us about our adventure on Misery Bay and his little guy; named Gareth was taken over with curiosity. Gareth is one of the 5 kids that came to greet us, but he reminded me so much of Jim when he was about 10. Red hair, freckles and full of energy. I took him on a tour of our boat and before long he was giving tours to everyone else! Mike the Diver from a farm fishery up the way came over with his truck. Is short order he had removed the rope that was impeding our progress (see pic) and he also did an inspection on our shaft and struts. When all was said and done we were there for about 2 hours and when we asked for the bill, we were told no charge. Mike said he had to come down this way anyway, so no big deal for him, said he charged his own tanks at home so there is no expense for him and it was an easy job. Drew and Paul made some calls to the coast guard, long distance calls to Stephanie, calls to divers in the area etc.. and they refused any cash for this either. Wow, we were flattered and ever so grateful. Before we left, Paul's wife went to print up the weather report for us so we would know where we were headed and Paul went over the charts with us, detailing all the best routes to take, what to avoid and approximate times and mileages. I could kick myself in the ass for not taking a picture of the gang as they were all on the shore line waving us good bye when we left. (sorry Purvis Family)

   So we headed off into 10-15knot winds, rising to 20knots but hitting us head on. The forecast said 3-4 foot waves but by mid afternoon we were hitting 5-6 foot waves. About an hour out of Detour we called the coast guard to report we were in the US and she said we had to report to Drummond Island. That was an extra 25 miles for us and we would be getting there in the dark. Drummond island also did not have any space for us to dock so that would mean leaving after we checked in and that would be dangerous in waters we did not know. After some discussion we came upon the fact that we have Nexus cards and she said "why didn't you say so earlier." Checked in to the US without stopping anywhere and we got to Detour Michigan in daylight safe and sound. Whew!

   Once in Detour we were greeted quickly by Ted and Debbie (see Pic) they are from Chicago and they were on a 61 foot Hatteras. What a gorgeous boat and a wonderful couple. We chatted briefly and then they left, but when we arrived at the restaurant for dinner, they had just ordered a drink and had not ordered food yet. They asked if they could join us and we chatted over dinner. Ted and Debbie have sailed these waters quite a bit and were very helpful with directions and tips while going down Lake Michigan which is where we are headed next. We had a lovely time with them and great conversation so a really nice end to a good day.