21-Jul-2004 -- After sailing in the Port Huron to Mackinac Island Sailboat race the crew of the 37 foot Jeaneau sailboat, War Chant, visited 45N, 83W.

This year's race had very light winds in Northern Lake Huron and we finished at 14:04 on 20-July-2004 or about 24 hours later than expected. We droped off 2 crewmembers that had to return early and picked up one additional crewmember for the return trip. On Mackinac Island (a popular tourist attraction in Michigan) we took time to have a hamburger in the Pink Pony (a watering hole popular with sailors) and a quick swim in the harbor.

We left Mackinac Island around 17:00 on 20-July-2004 under motor and mainsail. The crew for the return trip included boat owner Tom Weyand, Jim Weyand, Henry Weyand, Dave Hearsch, Mike Hearsch and Joe Mason.

The confluence is about 100 statute miles by water from Mackinac Island and the trip took about 12 hours. The nearest major landmark is the Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse which is 10 statute miles WNW from the confluence.

We arrived at first light or civil light. Conditions at the confluence were foggy with visibility limited to about 200 meters. Because of the low visibility it is difficult to distinguish the pictures from any other point on Lake Huron.

Because only two crewmembers were awake at the confluence the celebration was limited to a grin and we resumed our return trip to War Chant's home port on Lake St Clair.

Recommendations to future visitors include planning on arriving during daylight and/or periods of better visibility. It would be nice to add a picture of Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse to the archive.

Visitors are warned that this area is subject to heavy freighter traffic and of course smallcraft should pay attention to weather advisories from the NOAA and USCG.

Coordinator's Note: Reasons this visit is incomplete:
- not enough 'required' photos
- distance from confluence > 100m