Communities on the Door County Peninsula depend on tourism and provide free concerts and art shows to attract visitors. The Harbor View Park in Egg Harbor has a beautiful view of the the marina and Green Bay. I attended a great acoustic guitar concert in the park.
The entrance to the Harbor View Park is spectacular with hundreds of beautiful flowers. After a short hike (uphill) from the marina to the park, you are right in the middle of the Village of Egg Harbor business district.
Two sailboats approach the Egg Harbor Marina at sunset.
This was my first encounter with a midwestern thunderstorm. Thank goodness I was in Nicolet Bay, which is well protected from the south and southwest, the direction this thunderstorm rolled in from.
Tonight I'll be on the hook in Nicolet Bay, after spending two nights in Egg Harbor. Egg Harbor has a beautiful new marina, with an amazing breakwater, made out of HUGE granite boulders.
The Village of Egg Harbor is very small but supports a large tourist population this time of year. I had a very nice crossing from Sister Bay to Egg Harbor and Ticaboo chugged along at 6.5 kts. at 2800 rpm, into a light wind and 1 ft. seas.
I knew that sooner, or later, I'd be at the wrong place at the wrong time and would have to button up Ticaboo, for a big blow. I left Egg Harbor at 10 a.m. this morning for the 2.1 hr. cruise to Nicolet Bay. I wanted to arrive early in the afternoon, in order to get a good place to anchor and beat the predicted thunderstorms.
When I left Egg Harbor there was a good breeze, out of the west, with a beam sea, so I put up a small steadying sail and ran along at between 6.8 and 7.0 kts. at 2800 rpm. When I arrived in Nicolet Bay it was busy. Nicolet Bay is part of the Door County Peninsula State Park and there are hiking trails, swim beach and other facilities in the bay.
Because of the forecast for thunderstorms I put out bow and stern anchors, with the bow pointed to the southwest, where the storms were to come from. I was monitoring channel 16 and the weather on channel 4. One announcement on channel 4 got my attention: A severe thunderstorm watch was issued for Door County, soon to be followed by a severe thunderstorm warning. Winds could gust to 50 kts. and there was the possibility of large hail.
I closed up Ticaboo and got ready for the blow and right on schedule it hit. The picture above shows how the leading edge of the thunderstorm looked as it crossed Nicolet Bay. The sky turned very dark and the wind started blowing very hard.
Ticaboo didn't move as the 22 lb. Delta, plow anchor, off the bow dug into the sandy bottom. Nicolet Bay was recommended to me by several boaters, because of the excellent holding ground. I was glad I had put out the stern anchor, as it kept Ticaboo from swinging, which wouldn't have been good, as other boats were anchored nearby.
Channel 16 came awake and boat, after boat, called the Coast Guard for assistance. In the open waters of Green Bay the waves must have built quickly and most of the radio traffic was from boats taking on water. It sounded like everyone made it safely to port but one boat with five people on board was disabled and took some time for the Coast Guard to locate.
Nicolet Bay is a well protected anchorage, except from the north. There is a little island, called Horseshoe Island, that is close by, and offers protection from a north wind, if the wind should shift from the north. I hope to get a good nights sleep.
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