Got to Ride in Cool Coast Guard Boat!

 "Steve, is this water supposed to be in the cabin?"  Thus began a several hour side-trip.  Two things, it turned out, combined building up water in the bilge and starting to flood the cabin.  Four miles from land and no suitable safe harbor nearby, in 4-6' waves with heavy spray covering the deck...these are not happy words!

We think that heavy spray on the deck (which is not that well sealed in a 50 year old boat) let water in places it hadn't been coming in.  This flushed beaucoup de hair and junk into the bilge, clogging the intake of the new bilge pump.  By the time we'd called for help and the Coast Guard Aux. arrived, I finished taking it apart and finding the cause.

Meanwhile, we continued steaming into the waves, using a hand pump to stay ahead of the bilge water (we could, thank goodness!).  Keeps one focused on the task at-hand when it's the only alternative!  About an hour ahead was Middle Island, by Rockport, which had decent anchorage water in the lee.  We made that, anchored successfully, and--lo and behold--the water stopped rising.  Coastie out of Alplena said that wasn't that uncommon to get water in the boat from deck wash.

Meanwhile, again, the winds are still increasing and, WTF?, a sqaull line is moving in across Lake Huron.

Got to ride in one of those cool Coast Guard boats today, in 4-8 gt. waves!  Always wanted to do that.  Didn't like leaving the boat at anchor during tonight's storms, though.  But expect tomorrow to be a good one, with problems fixed (bilge is sorted out and the source of water intake seems to be a deck not sealed well enough) and weather cooperating.