The Plan
The plan was to arrive 45 minutes before sunrise. We boarded the boat an hour before sunrise. The boat ride to this sea cave on Grand Island near Munising, Michigan takes 10 minutes. After anchoring, it’s another 5 minutes in a small Zodiac to reach the cave.
On this morning, it took a lot longer. The Zodiac, towed behind the boat, tried to capsize whenever the boat accelerated. Slowed to a crawl, the boat ride to the cave took 45 minutes.
Expectations
The sky conditions were promising. According to my favorite weather app Windy, the high clouds overhead had a good chance of creating a brilliant magenta sunrise. This was because of a break in the clouds to the east.
Halfway to the island on our slow journey, the sky did explode in beautiful pinks and magentas. By the time we stepped into the sea cave, all the color had drained from the sky. It looked downright dreary just before dawn.
It would have been all too easy to return to shore for coffee and breakfast. We were hungry, cold, and wet. But it was time to let go of expectations and embrace whatever the rest of the sunrise had to offer.
In the words of photographer Don Smith, “…those who rely on perseverance will more often than not come away with awesome images.”
Sunrise
To our astonishment, the distant clouds and lake turned a brilliant yellow. The cave started to fill with warm light. When the sun peaked above the distant ridge, warm reds flooded the cave with color. And that tiny bit of sun above the horizon created a sun star that added a nice touch to the photo.
I’ll take this moment over coffee any day.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus