On Monday, August 22 we woke early in the morning and began preparations for the short 4-hour cruise to Mackinac Island. This day was by far the best weather day we had on the lake during the entire vacation with sunny warm skies and smooth water. We cranked up the music and Natalie and the girls sunbathed on the deck while I ensured we didn’t run into any problems en route. The course takes us through a narrow channel northbound and past the Gray’s Reef Light and the Waugoshance Lighthouse.
The Grays Reef Light is a lighthouse located in northeastern Lake Michigan, 3.8 miles (6.1 km) west of Waugoshance Island in Bliss Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 and is an impressive site seemingly in the middle of the expansive lake. We kept the Grays Reef light to our port as we cruised north and once we passed it we were able to turn eastward into the Straits of Mackinac. The historic Mackinac Bridge could be seen 10 miles ahead!
The Straits of Mackinac can be very busy with pleasure and commercial boating traffic all around. We were very fortunate to see the M/V James R Barker, The Interlake Steam Company’s first 1,000-foot freighter pass under the bridge in front of us.
We arrived at the marina around 4:00 PM and docked without incident despite only having inches to spare between the sides of Take Five and the pilings. Our view forward from our boat was spectacular, with Fort Mackinac straight ahead of us and the bustling downtown to our left. We simply couldn’t wait to get settled and start exploring over the next three days.
