Mike Davenport and Kristin Forster both spent their youth developing an affinity for Lake Huron’s enticing waters.
Davenport lived his formative years in Ruby, a mid-Thumb community, but his family docked their boat at Port Huron’s River Street Marina, near where the Black River empties into the St. Clair River. By the time he entered middle school, he was frequently staying overnight on the vessel and was becoming even more intrigued by maritime life.
Forster’s family settled in Huron County following her father’s retirement from the United States Army. The family began spending summers at their cottage on Lake Huron, where the young Forster immersed herself in water-related recreation.
Fittingly, Davenport and Forster are now Michigan Department of Natural Resources harbormasters, bringing their affection for the Great Lakes to a role they were seemingly born to play.
Davenport oversees Port Huron Harbor and the same marina where he spent so much of his childhood. After watching River Street Marina dock workers perform their duties, and sometimes offering to lend a hand, Davenport became one of them in 2002, at age 16, through a job with the Desmond Marine Co. Six years later, he was named Port Huron’s harbormaster.
“When the job became available, I was asked if I had any interest and if I was up for the challenge of running the harbor daily,” recalls Davenport, who still works for Desmond Marine during his offseason. “What a great feeling to be offered what’s a dream job for me. I’ve never looked back.”
Forster is stationed at Port Austin Harbor, not far from the cottage that helped shape who she is today. She began her DNR career in 2015 as a summer employee at Sleeper State Park in Caseville before becoming Port Austin harbormaster in 2020. When the 74-boat-slip harbor closes in the fall, Forster performs ranger duties at nearby Port Crescent State Park. A Great Lakes Network.
Forster and Davenport are two of the 82 harbormasters running the Michigan DNR’s harbors serving Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior.
Each harbor presents unique challenges, but all harbormasters are responsible for ensuring their facilities are clean and in sound working order, controlling boating traffic around marinas via radio communication, providing boaters with weather and other critical information, and enforcing rules and regulations. A staff of dock workers assists them.
“From the first of May to the end of September, we’re really humming,” Davenport says. “We have about seven dock workers to keep our busy (136-boat-slip) marina running smoothly. It’s crucial to maintain a clean, top-notch facility for our guests, whether they’re spending the weekend or they keep a boat here all season.”
There are plenty of facilities and services to maintain. The Port Huron and Port Austin marinas both offer water, electrical hookups, restrooms, showers, fuel, ice, laundry and pump-out services, marine supplies, grills, and even dog runs, among other amenities. Port Huron even offers bike and car rental programs, and has two gas fire pits. Port Austin has a visitor center.
“My days during our May-September season are pretty busy, so I begin each day by making sure the docks are in good shape, the facilities are clean, and my team is ready to greet and assist boaters,” Forster says. “In fact, one of my biggest roles is making contact with boaters — so I can usually be found on the docks, catching lines, or answering questions about where they can find what they need in Port Austin.”
Davenport and Forster also are constantly monitoring weather conditions. “Lake Huron is so unpredictable, and making sure everyone is aware of current and upcoming conditions is quite a task to stay on top of,” Forster shares. “The lake can change by the minute. Some of the boaters we see are first-timers who might not understand the severity of what can happen out on the lake.”
Davenport has the added task of monitoring international traffic. “We get plenty of boats coming into our facility from the Canadian side, sometimes simply to fill their boats with less expensive fuel. But we need to be sure they’re still following rules for traveling between the two countries,” he explains.
Davenport’s greatest logistical challenge comes each July, when the city serves as the starting line for the Port Huron to Mackinac Race following a week of festivities. Last year’s 100th edition of the event featured a record 328 boats.
“The race requires so much advance planning. We have to carefully plan where they’re going to go between when they arrive and race day,” says Davenport, who has served on the Bayview Yacht Club’s race committee the past 15 years.
As soon as the boats are off, he heads north in order to arrive at the Mackinac Island finish line well before the first sailboats do. There, Davenport helps facilitate an orderly finish with the island’s harbormaster, Derrick Horn.
Davenport was recognized last year for his role in ensuring smooth sailing for one of the nation’s largest boating events when he was named the Port Huron to Mackinac Race Person of the Year.
