Saturday, June 16

Harbor Day celebration - Sheboygan

Sturgeon Bay Canal - entrance to Lake Michigan

As of late, we started the day in a rather relaxed fashion.  While on my morning run Charlie pondered the long term forecast for the western shore of Lake Michigan.  Today, would be our best shot at covering a long distance in relatively mild conditions.
We departed Fish Creek at 11:00 am to begin the 100 mile run to Sheboygan, WI.  The 20 mile stretch on the Green Bay side of the Door County Peninsula was along a bluff lined shore  dotted with impressive real estate......... a lovely way to end our tour of Door County
Sturgeon Bay and the Sturgeon Bay Canal lie on the southern end of Door County.  The canal was carved out of a narrow section of the Door County Peninsula to allow freighter access into Green Bay without having to navigate the shoal-ridden Ports Des Morts (Death's Door) Passage.  Today, for pleasure boats on Lake Michigan, it offers easy & safe entry into Green Bay's protected waters.
Boating on Lake Michigan is always a challenge and today was no exception.  Along the 80-mile run of the western shore we encountered building seas with rollers up to 5-feet, intermittent rain showers and fog.  In the fog & pounding along on choppy seas, we lost sight of land.  Charlie was glad to have the Garmin chart plotter up and running again.
This body of water deserves the utmost respect - even in today's conditions, which were not horrific - it proved to be somewhat exhausting.

Sunset Trail - bike/jogging path Fish Creek

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Harbor Centre Marina in Sheboygan.  The boaters were extremely friendly and the facility top notch - hot tub & all.  The town was celebrating "Harbor Days" which included a nice display of fireworks followed by the distant sounds of a lively rock band ....... a perfect warm-up to the upcoming July 4th celebrations.