Ports of Call

Our time was up at Tower Marine, and we had to move on. Yesterday was the Pride Parade in Douglas, and a six hour celebration in Beery Field. Everything was done up in rainbow colors and more. Having lived in Holland for about a year after I retired from MSU, we know how the towns of Saugatuck and Douglas change when the tourists go home. But in high season, it is a wonder-filled accepting community of delightful people. (Let’s just say that the blue wave when the tourists are here fades to a reddish hue in the fall) Saturday was so much fun, we watched the parade at the very end of the route, snatching a bit of shade that we shared with a woman and her little white and grey Havanese. The celebration had about 70 vendors marketing their products and services,…

Haulout for winter storage at Safe Harbor Great Lakes, Muskegon. Our first leg on our journey home was from Northport to Frankfort on September 9. That leg was over sixty nautical miles and took up all of the daytime hours. The second leg was from Frankfort to Ludington, also more than sixty NM. After two long days of sailing, we elected to stay put in Ludington for two nights. Finally, on Thursday, we set out for our home port of Muskegon and tied up in our slip at 6:30pm. That’s a pretty grueling end to an excellent cruise. Then came the haul-out on the 25th of September, ending the water part of sailing season. It was a beautifully warm day to take the boat out, and it certainly was nicer than waiting until the bitter end in October. It might seem a little…

Scenic lookout looking east across Grand Traverse Bay We’ve been patiently waiting for the weather to change. Waiting since last Wednesday. At one point, the open waters forecast (beyond five nautical miles for shore) for the part of northern Lake Michigan that we would travel had waves to 13 feet. We don’t mind being offshore a ways - there’s much less traffic. We’ve been watching the reports from the buoys and they have been reporting over six foot waves. That’s a hard no from this crew.We have enjoyed our walks in Northport, and the good wifi in the marina, and an easy walk to the grocery. But I’m looking at my meds, and the extras that I brought along just in case, and we’re cutting it tight. Tomorrow, Monday September 9 we go - in the predawn gloaming, we set out on a…

Marcia woke up to check on our anchor - we dragged anchor yesterday morning. Beaver Island is quite dark. She called out, "Stars, northern lights!" And so I went out dressed in a hoodie. Then went below to get the camera - the boat swings at anchor, but the northern lights were awesome.

After I finished the dishes last night, following a dinner of fresh green beans, steak and fingerling potatoes, I started to feel a bit unwell. We were confined to the boat most of the afternoon after a lovely walk to the beach. We had hoped to tie up at the Frankfort Municipal Marina, but it was full. A fishing tournament - a big one- is scheduled for this week, So we were left "blowin' in the wind". It was pretty blustery mostly 18 with some 25's and perhaps more thrown in for excitement. Our boat was swinging faster that a carnival carousel first one way and then the other. The shoreline behind us swept across our stern - not in the gentle slightly revolving restaurant but like speeding along in semi circles on a motorcycle (without the engine noise!) I had to lie…