The crew member we were waiting for showed up right in time Saturday. The latest addition to the pillage is my dad. Having drove in from Massachusetts for this sail he was fired up and looking for adventure. Kevin and I had spent a whole day at anchor enduring a none stop rain Friday and was ready to move on to the next stop and dryer weather. We got the chance the next day and took it. With an afternoon start we rolled out and sailed past Harbor Beach (the largest fresh water harbor in the world) up around the "thumb" to Port Austin. A full day of 65 miles of sailing. We attempted to anchor but between the shallow water (the Great lakes are almost 4 ft low right now) and the over abundance of weeds made it impossible. The weeds made it difficult to back up enough to set the anchor that was left sitting on top of the vegetation. The boat towing/salvage dude motored by licking his chops while shaking his head was a bad sign. So we struggled through the weeds and assorted rocks kissing the keel to find a dock deep enough to slip into. Port Austin is a very boat friendly town. The sunsets over the water are famous. There are a few restaurants and gift shops along with a wild little bar and the usual grocery store, hardware store and Laundromat. The day I sailed out of here last year half of the town burned down leaving a large hole where several businesses once stood. We took a day off and relaxed at dock for a couple of days and soaked up the town. This is one of my favorite harbors in Michigan. Kevin abandoned ship on Tuesday and headed home due to a doctor's appointment Leaving Dad and I to foolishly follow a storm cell out of the harbor headed across 50 miles of open water trying to make Harrisville. A bad decision who's memory I will take with me to my grave. But we took our lumps like men and have bar tales to tell of our troubles............

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