We left the comforts of Duncan Bay Boat Club on Wednesday morning, June 26th. Our destination was Lime Island in the St. Mary's River. We crossed the upper stretches of Lake Huron, which was as calm as its sister Lake Michigan had been, passing several lighthouses.
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| Beautiful but lonely lighthouse in midst of Lake Huron |
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| DeTour Lighthouse at entrance to St. Mary's River |
Lime Island is now a state park run by Michigan DNR. In the past it hosted a lime mining operation and a coal, later bunker fuel, fueling station for freighters. Recreational boaters can now tie up to the old cement fuel dock.
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Raydiance tied up at the old fuel dock.
Freighter passing on the outside. |
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| Rental cabins on the hillside behind Raydiance and Tom. |
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| Two freighters passing. |
Rental cabins and camping are also available on the island. The campground host told us that campers are only allowed to have campfires within designated iron rings because the leftover coal was spread throughout the island and fires anywhere else would start the ground afire!
Our only other companions for the evening were some very noisy common terns. The far end of the old fuel dock is a protected nesting area and we were told about 50 mated pairs were in residence. Seemed more like 500! We watched as a crow perched on the light stand, waited patiently and swooped down attempting to steal an egg. This would lead to all sorts of squawking and chasing. Tom got his fair share of scolding just by going close enough to inspect some stored channel markers.
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| Tom making the terns nervous. |
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Tern sanctuary.
Resident crow temporarily absent.
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The sunset that evening was not spectacular as rain was forecast and clouds formed at the horizon. A thunderstorm awakened us about 4:30 a.m., but we were very securely tied to rings in the cement wall so no worries.
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| Sunset through the coal buckets |
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