Manana: EGG HARBOR AND FISH CREEK

We spent Wednesday the 30th exploring Sturgeon Bay. Although it is one of the larger towns in the area we got around to seeing most of the older downtown area along the bay. Sturgeon Bay has a lot of history, but one of the most impressive part of that history is still going on. There is a massive ship building facility on the bay that built many of the battleships during World War II. There is a large maritime museum and, of course, lots of tourist like shopping. We were accumulating information where we could anchor out as we went along, since the marina fees can get expensive after a while.

On Thursday morning we were on our way out of Sturgeon Bay. We got a great view of the ship building yard from the water and saw about a half dozen huge tankers and freighters in different stages of construction. Door County is famous for the lighthouses too, and we got to see our second one on the way into Green Bay at the point by the Potawatomi State Park. We turned north with a destination for Egg Harbor with, of course, the wind on our nose. We adjusted our course and pulled out the sails and shut down the noise maker (motor). The wind still wasn't very co-operative. It kept shifting, dying and then gusting in different directions. We got in about an hour of sailing until we had to alter course to avoid some commercial fishing nets, and decided to just drop the sails and motor, since we were fairly close to Egg Harbor.

Light House near Potawatomi State Park

The marina staff in Egg Harbor were very friendly and helpful and let us tie up for free to the municipal dock to explore the town. It was fairly small and was, once again, mostly tourist oriented shopping. We were back to the boat in a couple hours and decided to go on to our next stop, which was Fish Creek. Supposedly there is some decent anchorages there.

Egg Harbor

Fish Creek was only a short hop up the coast so we were in well before dark. We were told we could anchor anywhere outside of the mooring field as long as we weren't blocking the channels. We found a nice spot just outside the mooring field buoy and dropped the anchor. It held on the first try with plenty of swing room all around us. After checking several times to make sure we weren't dragging, we decided to get the dingy into the water and go explore some music we heard coming from shore. When we got into town the only place that seemed to be busy was Bay Side Bar and Grill. We had an appetizer type meal and, of course, a few cocktails. We had a good time watching the people and some of them came over to join us in conversation. After 10, there was supposed to be an open mike, so I was preparing to play a few songs, but it turned out to be a jam night for some of the locals. The music was good and we enjoyed the people but were ready to head back to the boat for a good night sleep. The anchorage was nice and calm when we went to bed, but by morning, the wind had shifted to the Northwest and was blowing straight into the harbor, bringing the waves with it. The forecast, at first, said it was supposed to shift to the South and calm down, so we decided we could hop over to Nicolette Bay after we were done exploring Fish Creek and get another calm anchorage for the night. There are very few anchorages on the peninsula that are protected from the North, Northwest or Northeast winds and waves. We wandered through the town and a few shops then walked over to the Peninsula State Park and hiked through the woods for a couple of miles. The weather was not improving, in fact, it was getting worse and starting to rain. You probably figured out by now, the forecast was wrong. It seems there was this stubborn low that was spinning over Northern Michigan and that was not co-operating with the forecasters. Nicolette Bay was out of the question. When we got back to the Bay, the boats were really rocking out in the anchorage. We checked with the Town dock and they said we could hop into a slip if it got bad (at $74.00 per night!). The forecast said the winds were supposed to calm down, so we decided to go to the famous Fish Boil at the White Gull Inn, knowing we still had the option of grabbing a slip. The boil was interesting and the meal was great. It was still raining when we left but the winds seemed calm in town. My friend Steve had called to see how we were doing and I was talking to him when we turned the corner and could see the bay. I probably said something like Oh S----t! The winds were blasting and so were the waves. We decided we should try to get into a slip, however, it was dark, there was no-one around to help and the wind would make it difficult to get into the slip without a lot of drama. And of course, that anchor that was holding on so tight was probably not going to give up easy, especially in the dark. We stopped in the Bay Side Bar and one of the waitresses and her husband offered to help if we needed it. Back on the boat, it was uncomfortable and noisy, but the anchor was holding good and we decided to ride it out and move in the morning when there would be people around and we could see what we were doing. Denise decided it would be quieter and more comfortable to sleep in the cockpit, so she bundled up and did the anchor watch. We got Manana moved into her slip this morning and we are nice and comfy right now, as the nastiest of the storms are just beginning.