We bought our first ‘big’ sailboat (27 feet) in 2000. It was named Arcturus when we bought it, and we kept the name. The year 2000 was a bit of a blur. We would drive about a hundred miles to the boat on Friday after an early dinner, get to the boat, go out and sail until about 10pm. Racing to get back before Demond’s grocery closed, in order to get 3 pints of ice cream. Most of the time we needed to get back to Lansing for Sunday morning church.
On the center dock, there were four or five really active sailing couples. Bill and his wife were right next to us on Airwaves, Brian and Lynn on Re-Run, Al and Nancy on Desire, and Rose and Dave on Windswept.
At the marina, Tower Harbor in Douglas, Michigan, was the Tower Harbour Yacht Club. We joined (very inexpensive and very casual) and started socializing with the other sailors.
Over time, our friendship with Rose and Dave grew. They had experience cruising, and they had good advice about sailing. In the fall of 2012, Rose mentioned that they were looking for someone to stay in their house and care for their cat, T-Mater, while she and Dave sailed their new boat, Cloud Nine, to the Bahamas. I was probably looking for a reason to retire from my job, and there was this opportunity to stay in a house much closer to the marina.
So, on the last day of winter, I gave notice, and on the last day of spring, I left work for the last time. We moved in to the ‘Kinderswept Manor’ two weeks later.
The inspiration that Rose and Dave gave us was to take your boat places, anchor out somewhere, go to the North Channel – daysailing is fine, but being away from a slip for days or weeks is better.
I sent them a text message from South Manitou Island thanking them for their example, experience, and encouragement. I had such a sense of awe looking back at mainland Michigan, knowing that we had achieved a major goal, and truly knowing that we did not do it alone.