What a neat thing to do!  I’ve got a brother-in-law like that and shared a couple of adventures with him too. Thanks for sharing.

On Thu, Jul 27, 2023 at 9:50 PM Lee Kuhn <lvjkuhn at gmail.com> wrote:

> Cool adventure! Thanks for sharing.
>
> On Thu, Jul 27, 2023, 6:03 PM ROGER PIHLAJA <Roger_Pihlaja at msn.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi All,
> >
> > Some people complain about their in-laws.  I go on high adventures with
> > mine.  On July 11-13, 2023; my brother-in-law, Ken Mild and I mounted a
> > mini expedition to the Waugoshance Shoal Lighthouse (WSL).  WSL marks the
> > western entrance to the Straits of Mackinac.  The lighthouse was built in
> > 1851 and deactivated in 1912 in favor of an unmanned automated light
> > mounted on a steel tower nearby.  Over the years, there were a number of
> > fatalities both construction workers and light keepers.  The lighthouse
> is
> > said to be haunted!  During WW-2, both the US Navy and the US Army Air
> > Corps used WSL as a practice bombing target.  The US Navy had a flight
> > school complete with an aircraft carrier in Chicago, IL and the US Army
> Air
> > Corps had a flight school in Traverse City, MI.  Both military programs
> > sent pilot trainees on bombing missions to WSL and back.  Ken and I
> camped
> > at Wilderness State Park about 12 miles west of Mackinac City, MI.  We
> made
> > the trip in my Walker Bay 3.4 meter (11 feet 1.8 inch) Rigid Inflatable
> > Boat (RIB) with a Honda 9.9 hp outboard.  The first image is a GPS track
> > log of our voyage.  You can see I-75 crossing over the Straits of
> Mackinac
> > via the Mackinaw Bridge between Mackinac City in the Lower Peninsula and
> > St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula.  The over the water distance from Big
> > Stone Bay Launch Ramp to WSL is about 10 miles 1-way.
> >
> > [cid:image002.png at 01D9C0B5.2B64F330]
> >
> > You don’t just go into the Straits of Mackinac in an 11’ LOA RIB without
> > checking the weather.  Fortunately, Lake Michigan was kind to us.  On the
> > morning of the July 12th, we had a nice stable weather window for the
> > morning.  We got an early start, visited WSL, and were back at the launch
> > ramp by 12:30 PM.  By then, the lake effect on shore wind was kicking in
> > and we had 2-3 ft waves that were building.  Despite the waves, we were
> > able to get the RIB back onto the trailer without any damage.
> >
> > The second image is me with WSL in the background:
> >
> > [cid:image005.jpg at 01D9C0B5.2B64F330]
> >
> > WSL is home to a large cormorant colony now.  In the picture, you can see
> > them all over the lighthouse.  Downwind of the lighthouse, there was a
> > strong ammonia odor from their guano!  They did not like having us near
> the
> > lighthouse.
> >
> > The 3rd picture is Ken leaning on the bas of WSL:
> >
> > [cid:image009.jpg at 01D9C0B5.2B64F330]
> >
> > The whole area around WSL is very shallow with boulders above and just
> > below the water.  We had to be careful not to damage the prop.  We had
> > several spare shear pins and even an extra prop just in case; but, we
> > didn’t need to use them.  We decided not to enter the lighthouse because
> > the cormorants were very riled up and the mess they’ve made is simply
> > disgusting!  In any case we would have needed rock climbing gear because
> > there is no stairway or ladder.
> >
> > The 4th picture is the RIB back on the trailer at Big Stone Bay Launch
> > Ramp:
> >
> > [cid:image011.jpg at 01D9C0B5.2B64F330]
> >
> > Roger Pihlaja
> > S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >
> > Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for
> Windows
> >
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