We Made It!

Despite a forecast which included two- to three-foot waves on our nose, we decided to leave Ludington after just one night and set out on the final leg of our journey. The weather was predicted to get much worse (three- to five-foot waves) over the next several days, and I needed to get back to gear up for the start of the semester on August 30. So under gray skies we headed out, just after 8:00 a.m., leaving the Badger car ferry, which runs between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, behind, belching smoke from its coal-fired engines.Once out on the lake we found that the waves were indeed as predicted, making for a lumpy ride. There was enough wind to sail, but it would have meant tacking (zig-zagging back and forth), turning our already forty-eight nautical mile journey into a 72-mile one, more or less. Because we travel at an average speed of 6.5 nautical miles per hour, this would have added some three to four hours to our travel time. We were already counting on a good eight hour day, so we opted to motor instead. Cattitude handled the waves surprisingly well, although we were bouncing around enough to keep me from trying to do much more than relax and nap occasionally in the cockpit while Roger kept watch from the helm.

The sky remained gray throughout most of the day as we passed by various landmarks, including the lighthouse at Little Sable Point. We watched enviously as a sailboat made its way northward, going with the wind and waves, as we had done a few days earlier when the wind and waves were from the north as we were headed south.
Finally, after rounding Little Sable Point and nearing Muskegon, the seas flattened out and the sun came out. Just north of Muskegon there's a State Park which boasts beautiful dunes. The gorgeous weather provided a nice welcome as we arrived at our final destination for the summer. A further welcome was provided by Roger's brother Don and his wife Carole who rode out in their speedboat and met us just inside the breakwall.

We spent Tuesday night on board, since we still were waiting to hear from the insurance company of the woman who hit us to find out whether they would pay for a rental car for us. During the early hours of Wednesday the wind shifted, causing one of our fenders to rub against the dock, waking me up around 6:15. I got up and went on deck to adjust a dock line and in doing so, caught a glimpse of the nearly-full moon setting off our stern. We are in a slip that backs up to a sort of lagoon area which is quieter than being docked in the middle of the harbor. Now we are looking forward to weekend sails well into the fall.

Even the Calm Days are Interesting

While it's always more fun to sail, it can also be nice to have a calm day where our Autohelm can do all the work and we can relax a bit. Today was one of those days. The lake was calm and the sun was shining as we left Frankfort. I took advantage of the calm to write the previous two blog entries on the laptop while sitting at the helm. When the autopilot is steering, you only need to look around occasionally to make sure there are no other boats crossing your path. Sometimes you see interesting things, such as bright yellow NOAA buoys which don't appear on the chart. Given how inaccurate the NOAA marine weather forecasts are, it's hard to imagine the buoy can be giving them much data.
Another interesting thing you notice is the mirage effect. We saw Big Sable Point as a mirage long before it appeared over the horizon as a continuous piece of land. The sailboat in the distance has not yet gone over the horizon, so it appears normal. It was another hour or so after this photo was taken that we finally reached Big Sable Point and passed close enough to photograph its lighthouse.

We arrived in Ludington, just south of Big Sable Point, early enough to meet Roger's brother Don and his wife Carole, who drove up from their campsite in Muskegon, to have dinner with us at the local brew pub. If all goes well we will make the final leg of our journey to Muskegon tomorrow.

The Prettiest Part of Lake Michigan

Expecting to stay in Leland, we checked the forecast anyway. A peek over the breakwall to the north of the harbor also gave us a feel for the size of the waves, and we found that conditions wouldn’t be as bad as we thought so, just after noon we cast off our lines, hoisted sail and headed south. There wasn’t a lot of wind, but enough to fill the sail as we motored, which kept us from rolling too much in the 2-3-foot waves. As we progressed the wind decreased even more, but so did the waves. With the combination of engine and sail to propel us, we moved along at over 7 knots most of the afternoon.

This leg of our trip through the Manitou Passage offers the most spectacular scenery. The high bluffs of Pyramid Point, Sleeping Bear Dune and the Empire Bluffs on the mainland to the east are balanced by the almost-as-high bluffs on North and South Manitou Islands just offshore. And near the end of the trip, approaching Frankfort, we pass what has to be Lake Michigan’s prettiest lighthouse, on Point Betsie, between Lake Michigan and Crystal Lake. Our arrival in Frankfort was uneventful. This time we showered, made dinner and saved time for a walk into town for ice cream. Frankfort was our first port of call in Michigan when we moved here from Illinois in 1996, so we feel a special fondness for the place. As we crossed Lake Michigan the beautiful bluffs surrounding the harbor entrance were a welcome sight, visible from almost mid-lake on a calm day.

On the Road Again

Having listened to the forecast before turning in Friday night, we slept in on Saturday thinking we'd be spending the day in Elk Rapids, now car-less. Roger checked the forecast around 10:00 a.m. and we found that it sounded promising after all. So we got ready and pulled out of our slip shortly after noon, "driving north". (We brought our car gps to the boat when we left the car at the body shop in Traverse City, and turned it on in the middle of Grand Traverse Bay out of curiosity).

There wasn't much wind, so we motored on the first leg north up to the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula. Once we rounded the point and started heading more to the south, we put up sail and turned off the engine. Out of the protected waters of Grand Traverse Bay we encountered waves, but fortunately, we were going with them. We saw another boat not far behind us who seemed to be sailing from somewhere further east, perhaps Charlevoix. They followed us all the way to Leland without overtaking us, which we found very satisfying, especially when they arrived after us and we learned they were a larger boat. Nonsuches are known for their speed downwind, and we proved that they deserve their reputation!

The marina at Leland has undergone a major facelift over the last two years. They’ve put in floating docks and a beautiful new air-conditioned bathhouse/ lounge/ laundry area. The outside is styled to match the fishing shanties that Leland is famous for and which make it a perennial tourist destination. We arrived under gray skies but watched the clouds blow south in the late afternoon, ushering in sunshine but also warmer, more humid air. We arrived late enough in the day that, between arrival chores (sail covering, etc.), showering and dinner, there was no time left to explore town. That would have to wait until Sunday, when 3-5-foot waves were predicted -- perfect for spending a quiet day in harbor.

Can Summer Be Over Already?

We spent a little over a week at home enjoying our air conditioning and cats (and taking care of a few important matters, as well), returning to Elk Rapids on Wednesday, August 18 in hopes of starting our trip south toward Muskegon. Originally we planned to come back north on Tuesday, but the forecast for Wednesday didn't sound promising, so we stayed home an extra day.

Our first night back we were welcomed by high wind and rain, making the next day no good for travel, as the storms had churned up large waves on the bay. The winds calmed down overnight, so we thought about leaving at 2:00 a.m. today, in order to arrive in Leland when we thought the marina would open, around 8:00. Neither of us wanted to try to arrive in the dark. Anyway, when we turned in yesterday evening the forecast sounded promising: light winds and small (less than 2 foot) waves. But by 2:00 a.m. the forecast had changed and our wind gauge was reading over 10 knots steadily, gusting to 18. The overnight reports from the mid-lake buoy showed a disturbing trend of increasing wind and waves, so we decided to go back to bed. When we got up again around 8:00 and saw that the conditions weren't too bad, we thought about leaving, but weren't sure we had a big enough window to reach Leland before the next batch of storms arrived. So we decided instead to stay here and stock up at the grocery store and our favorite fruit/vegetable stand in order to be ready to leave tomorrow.

The afternoon took a turn for the worse when, while waiting for a parking spot at the fruit stand, our car was backed into by an elderly woman who was leaving. Fortunately Roger, who was standing outside the car, moved out of her path in time, but our back door got quite a dent. It's a good thing we had given up on any possibility of leaving today. After talking to the local police and our insurance agent, we arranged to have the car worked on by the body shop at the Traverse City Honda dealer next week, while we are sailing south. Friends of ours who live in Traverse City met us at the body shop and drove us back to the marina in Elk Rapids some 15 miles north (we bribed them with dinner at the nice restaurant where I celebrated my birthday a few weeks ago). So now we are ready to leave tomorrow, but they've changed the forecast (again!) to include thunderstorms and 3- to 5-foot waves. As we were eating dinner a line of severe thunderstorms moved in, so we got pretty wet on our way back to the boat. But now we are safely snug below, wondering if we'll ever get away from Elk Rapids.

A Beautiful Day in Northport

Life on a boat isn't all just having fun (although it mostly is). Sometimes you need to do maintenance chores. When it's close to 90 degrees and humid, they fall by the wayside. Today's high was only in the 70s and the humidity was low, so I decided it was time. The teak needs a touch-up coat once a year (or so the coating company claims). Some five years ago ours got a thorough redo that involved sanding down to bare wood and applying three coats. I think I managed to "paint" it once in the intervening years, but it's been a while. The first step after cleaning is to mask off the teak with blue painter's tape. This takes a while, because the "eyebrow" goes all the way around.Next comes the Sikkens Cetol finish. I applied one coat this afternoon; another will go on tomorrow for good measure before I remove the tape. It's a lot of work, but it makes the boat look nice.While I was working, Roger was watching the sailing class going on just off the beach to our south. Some of the kids seem to have the hang of it; others not quite yet. It was a gorgeous day to be out on the water, and all of them seemed to be having loads of fun.
We ended the day in the park, listening to Claudia Schmidt and her Funtet. Her energy and enthusiasm are infectious. You can't listen to her sing, play her dulcimer or tell a story without smiling.

A Perfect End to a Perfect Day