Departure Eve

I just found a short story snippet I wrote in 2013. I was looking for something else (that I didn’t find). I feel like there was supposed to be more, but I didn’t write it. I wish I left myself some notes about the “boring reason” that I didn’t take the boat to St. Ignace in the first place. And where was I going? I feel it was to the Sea, but then where? It would have been late in the season to cruise the Great Lakes. I must have been heading out the St. Lawrence, but where after that? South? East? Oh well. Preserved here for no real good reason:

Well, that’s the last of it. I tell ya, it feels like I’ve been doing nothing but putting things away for the past several hours. Looking at the chrono, it appears there is more truth than sarcasm in that statement.

After the party today, Mom and Dad stayed here to help clean up and get the last of my supplies loaded. I’m so glad they did, as there were tons of dishes and bits of stuff left all over the place. I would have been busy for several more hours yet, if it weren’t for their help. It was so nice of the marina to let us use so much space for the past few days. I know it is their off-season and all, but they didn’t even charge me extra for the space, though I offered several times. Those Mertaugh boys are good people.

Now that all of my supplies are packed-away, I’m just about ready to shove-off. The plan right now is to get a good sleep tonight, and spend tomorrow with the family over at the house in St. Ignace. I’ll be spending the day visiting with them, getting my passage plans updated, and getting those shared-out to the folks who will be monitoring my progress. I will also be having my Dad help me to plot the major course waypoints on the paper charts. I have everything punched into the electronic chart plotter for primary navigation and planning, but I don’t always trust these modern marvels. I’m making this passage solo, so I think it is highly important to have the paper charts set up and ready to go, just in case the chart plotter quits.

After an early dinner with them, I’ll be parking my car in their garage, and they will take me back to the Carmen Anne in Hessel. The next morning, at first light, I’ll be off.

The weather reports look good for the start of my journey. I’ve been watching them closely for the past couple of weeks. I have the slip reserved for a few extra days, just in case we got some uncooperative weather moving through. The rest of this week looks like nice, sunny, mid-September UP weather.

I’ve had a bunch of people ask me why I didn’t just take the Carmen Anne down to the marina at St. Ignace, and then leave from there. That’s actually an interesting story, though I’ll save the boring details for a log entry one day when I’m becalmed and not wanting to start the motor.