Day 78

Nicolet Bay - Egg Harbor

• Start 9:50 AM
• End 11:30 AM
• Underway 1:27 Hours
• Distance 9 miles
• Total Miles on Trip 1536
• Av Speed 6.4 knots
• Weather Clear Sunny 70 Degrees winds WNW 8MPH

We tried to get a slip at Egg Harbor, but there were none available. Steve & Jane (Sabbatical) had a slip, and we were on a waitlist. My backup plan was to anchor in the bay right outside of the marina. Again the bottom was a sandy clay mixture that held the anchor well.

When Steve and Jane arrived we took the dinghy to shore and joined them for lunch and grocery shopping. The grocery store was a little upscale, but more interesting was that they had as much space allocated to beer, wine and liquor as they did food.

After returning to the boat, we made plans to dinghy back in and join Steve and Jane for docktails later in the evening. As we were hanging on the boat the wind started building out of the north, and the boat was rocking enough to make stuff fall off the shelves. We decided that going to shore was out of the question, and I was concerned about the anchor holding. Nicolet Bay was big enough that had we drifted, I would have time to start the motors and move the boat. In Egg Harbor we were less than 100 feet from rock sea walls and shorelines. My concern was the wind was blowing at least 25MPH, and the forecast was only for 10-15MPH winds, calming down to 5MPH after 11pm. I no longer trusted the forecast.

Even though the marina did not have a slip for us, we decided to head into the marina and dock at the closed fuel dock for the night. Most if the public marinas on the great lakes are listed as Harbors Of Refuge, given you dock space in the event of weather or mechanical difficulties. I took advantage of that. I knew I would be on my way before the gas dock opened at 8am.

We had planned on two nights in Egg Harbor, but without a slip, we choose to move on to our next stop, across Green Bay, back to Michigan, we will head to Menominee City Marina.