We're (almost) Home!

There are two ways to access marine weather forecasts: online from NOAA, or on a marine radio from the National Weather Service. Their forecasts don't always agree. This morning, for example, one said we would have moderate winds and small waves for a run from Beaver Island to Charlevoix. The other, however, sounded like a broken record, predicting 2-4 foot waves until Thursday, at least. So we dithered over whether to leave today or not. When another sailboat headed out, we asked them to radio and let us know what they found outside the protected harbor. At 10:30 we got their report and decided to make a run for it.

Run is what we did. The wind was almost directly astern of us. We tried tacking downwind to avoid gybing, which can be very dangerous. While we were in the lee of Beaver Island, conditions were quite nice, with gentle rolling waves on our quarter. But when we left the protected waters about halfway into our journey, we met leftover waves that had been building over the last several days. So we coasted down the fronts of four-footers and at times found ourselves in confused seas, with some waves coming up behind us from the north while others rolled in on our starboard beam. The confusion continued as we approached the pierhead light at Charlevoix and discovered that it's no longer white but has been painted red! Needless to say, we were glad to see the bridge go up allowing us to enter Round Lake and back into familiar territory.

After exactly a month away, it's good to be "home". We plan to drive to our "other" home tomorrow.

Beaver Island Birthday

We've enjoyed a pleasant weekend here on Beaver Island. For my birthday Roger bought me roses, took me to dinner at "The Lodge" on the north side of the island, then to a concert of beautiful classical music. An ideal way to celebrate!

Now we are waiting for a decent day to make the final leg of our journey back to Charlevoix. Meanwhile, Beaver Island has become a meeting place where we seem to run into friends old and new each time we visit, making the time we spend here very enjoyable. And watching the boat traffic, especially the ferry, come and go provides endless hours of amusement.

We Made It to Beaver Island!

With a heavy morning dew still dripping from our stern rail, we left St Ignace yesterday as the sun was rising over Mackinac Island. The morning's gray skies gave way to sun for most of the trip, although clouds moved back in before we reached our destination. We motored into one- to two-foot high waves that calmed down as we went along. Not enough wind to sail by, but at least we had a comfortable ride. According to friends of ours who made the trip the day before, we made the right choice. They encountered high adverse winds and had a lumpy ride. Today would have been next to impossible, as waves are 4-6 feet, building to 5-8, according to the National Weather Service. Needless to say, we are happy to be here.

Last evening we enjoyed a wonderful concert of music by Bach, Mozart and Mendelssohn as part of the Baroque on Beaver festival. There will be another concert this evening, with still more music on Sunday afternoon. It's a great weekend to be on the island.