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Island

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…

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Carousel Ride

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…

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Cruisers

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…

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Upon Reflection

"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…

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Sailing

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…

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In the Stillness

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…

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Water- Pentwater

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.

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Wind

"wind will change when you ask it, if you ask for long enough" - Slocum Ashore A gentle summer breeze soft as a whisper stirs the air and cools those who sit in the shade A light wind entices leaves to flutter and flowers dance in the meadows. Shadows waltz lightly upon the grass. Good for sitting in the hammock. Stronger winds wrestle with trees and twist limbs to and fro smaller twigs tumble to the ground. Usually accompanied by storms - time to read a book. Very strong winds bring down even the sturdiest trees and branches, blow nests and debris across parking lots and fields. Hunker down inside. Watch Youtube videos on sailing oceans. Sailing A slight breeze won't fill the sails and they hang limp and gently flap back and forth. The water looks thick and heavy. Also, perfect weather…

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We got our ship together!

I finished my work week, tied up some loose ends, and sit on the eve of our month long sailing adventure on Lake Michigan. We've only anchored out one night on Reflection so far. We are looking forward to trying on the cruising lifestyle aboard our comfortable sailing vessel Reflection, a 2007 Catalina 350. This summer we got our ship together. Harold added davits for the dinghy and solar on the bimini to run the refrigerator/freezer, as well as recharge the batteries when we are anchoring out. We've tuned the rig, added a snubber, dieseled up, checked all the systems and engine fluids and completed our to do list. Our son, Tim will drive us to Muskegon tomorrow and catch up to us in a couple of weeks - hopefully, somewhere around Frankfort. We won't need the car for a whole month. There…

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Harold and Marcia

February 2023 - Bayport, MN - 0º FahrenheitWe drove 600 miles to have our first look at the 2007 Catalina 350 that we would name Reflection We're Harold and Marcia. Harold had his first brush with sailing on Barton Pond, near Ann Arbor, MI. He and two other mates would put in their one-person rubber rafts upstream on the Huron River. Floating down the river, they would come to wider part of the river (Barton Pond) and have to paddle the length of the pond without a current. Innovation struck with the adoption of the plastic dropcloth as spinnaker. Towards the end of high school, Harold would canoe on the Huron, most often at night. In college, Harold needed a P.E. credit and chose a sailing class. He was hooked. Marcia came along in 1981, and joined Harold on the late-night canoe trips.…

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