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.
I have developed an effective strategy for dealing with Anchor Anxiety. Don't look down into the water! Problem solved. The last two nights we anchored out in Lake Charlevoix. The first night in East Jordan, close to the RV park off the beach, next to the road - but free WiFi. Then we sailed up the arm to Oyster Bay where we spent a lovely afternoon and evening in a quiet bay with a few other sailboats. It was peaceful, calm, and delightful, until the thunder started around 4:30 and wok me out of a deep sleep and an interesting dream. It was the day before I start my around the world solo sailing adventure. Clearly, I had reservations. I had deep reservations, but everyone assume I knew what I was was doing. I was woefully unprepared to sail solo around the world.…
Northport Apparently, I have anchor anxiety! I'm not used to being able to see the bottom where we put down the anchor. I am really afraid of hitting bottom. When I'm standing on the bow ready to lower the anchor and can see the bottom - it looks like its about 4 feet deep. We draw 4'6". Harold is calm at the wheel monitoring the depth and easing us into shore, I'm ready to hit the button and put the anchor down. I wait, and wait, I look back we are still motoring ahead, I wait some more and more. Now I'm looking back urgently, I think we should drop anchor. But I wait for the signal. When it finally comes I am so relieved. Down goes the anchor, I can see it land, I let out some chain, hook on the preventer,…
On a morning such as this, before the world begins anew, the water like a mirror, mist gently floating across the bay, life is overwhelmingly wonderful. Soon the parade of cormorants start dotting the horizon and flying north over the bay. Single lines of birds stretch 40-50 bird lengths in each congregation. We soon see that the point turned from a pale sand color to black with a cormorant convention. The crows start squawking, seagulls move in searching for breakfast. The gulls have a loud disagreement over who gets first dibs on the catch of the day. We are anchored off South Manitou Island the furthest north we've ever sailed. Yesterday we motor sailed from Frankfort in light winds, bright sun, and sky blue waters. We dropped anchor near the beach between two other sail boats, turned the engine off and enjoyed the…
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…
We’ve made a transition this week from sailors to cruisers. Something happens to you when the motion of the boat is barely noticed, but standing on land seems that you are moving. We met a couple at the dinghy dock, invited them over at cocktail time (anytime after 4:30pm), and you spend a bit of time talking about ground tackle (anchors, and such). Roger and Michelle are on the Great Loop. That’s a loop that goes down the Mississippi River, around Florida, north along the ICW (Inter-Coastal Waterway), west along the canals to Lake Ontario or Lake Erie, more canals if you are going through Canada, or through Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, through the Straits, and into Lake Michigan to Chicago and then down the river again. Start anywhere, end anywhere, but if you cross your wake and complete the 6000 mile…
"You deserve it" the words are meant to encourage, affirm and congratulate rang hollow in my ears. In 2023, "out of the blue" we purchased the sailboat of our dreams a Catalina 350. The boat that will serve us well and safely for our "senior years" afloat. The truth is we've gotten older and we realize that Arcturus a 1976 Cal 2-27 no longer is a vessel we can take on our next sailing adventures. Arcturus has given us so many great sails and good times. She is sturdy, reliable and seaworthy. We are the ones who have changed. We recognize we will soon need good modern systems and modern comforts to do the type of sailing we want to do in the future. I do not believe "we deserve this". So many good kind hearted people live lives of desperation and they…
Sailing This morning we lifted anchor and followed the Badger out of Ludington. We unfurled the foresail and set a course around Big Sable Point - just north of Ludington State Park. The forecast predicted a zesty wind and building waves all in a favorable direction for todays destination of Onekema. We had a lovely comfortable quick sail - reaching 7.2 knots for a good portion of our day. Instead of increasing wind and waves both actually decreased. We sailed into Portage Lake and are currently anchored near the marina on the south shore. We plan to wait out the rain and weather for the next couple of days before heading to Frankfort. We were expecting rain out on the lake today so we put up the full enclosure. It sheltered us from the wind and made the ride quite comfortable. Rain is…
At dawn, I boiled water to make coffee. After that first cup, the frypan went on the stove with a bit of Irish butter. The Cinnamon Raisin bread from the Farmer’s Market warmed in the melted butter, not toasted, just hot enough to absorb the dairy loveliness. The rest of the french press coffee was filtered and split between our cups. A quarter of a green pepper chopped, two green onions chopped, and a couple of ounces of sharp cheddar grated. The vegetables were sautéed in a little more of the butter, then four eggs added. Freshly ground salt and pepper, and finally the cheese. It doesn’t get better than this. Marcia did the dishes. I downloaded another book from the library, and reflected on the start of the day. Later, we’ll raise anchor and stop at the nearby fuel dock to pump…
There is a lot of water in Lake Michigan. You can't always get the wind you need when cruising. We called upon Mr. Westerbeke (our Diesel Engine) to take us up the coast, past Stony Lake, Little Sable Point Lighthouse, Silver Lake Sand Dunes to our lovely anchorage across from Snug Harbor Marina in Pentwater. The wind was 1-3 mph the whole way and the waves were 1 foot or less. The oily heavy looking surface was gentle and showed no signs of wind. It was a pleasant motor - as motoring goes. We are staying here again tonight and rowing into town. Our view at anchor.