We love sailing the protected waters of Grand Traverse Bay!

Since my last entry we have had two fabulous afternoons of sailing, interspersed with visits with old friends in Suttons Bay, Michigan. We lost our internet access in Suttons Bay, so I am writing this in Northport, where we arrived about 3:00 p.m. following a rollicking sail up the bay.

We left Traverse City heading north toward Suttons Bay on Monday with a southwest wind averaging 20 knots. It was nice to try out our new sail with a double reef. Even under such short canvas, on a broad reach we averaged a boat speed of 7 knots, once topping out at 8! The wind gusted to 30 at times, so we were glad of the second reef. After we rounded Stony Point at the northeast end of Suttons Bay and began our trek southwest into the bay toward the harbor, we realized that tacking into such a strong wind, even double-reefed, would be more excitement than we could handle. Plus it would take twice as long to get there, zig-zagging back and forth, than it would under engine making a straight line. So we took in sail and motored the rest of the way into winds around 25 knots. We were glad to arrive and get safely tied up in a slip. We spent a couple of hot, muggy days there, visiting with friends and relaxing with our books. Suttons Bay is the homeport of the Inland Seas Schoolship, captained by our friend Tom Kelly. He and his wife Anne keep their own boat, a 35-foot ketch named "Cygnet," there as well. We caught a glimpse of them out sailing on Wednesday evening.

Today we left about 12:15 p.m. and headed northeast up Suttons Bay. Winds were strong and gusty from the west, but tomorrow's forecast was for wind from the northwest, which would have been on our nose, so we chose today to make the run. The first leg to Omena Point we were on a broad reach, making 6.3 to 7 knots with one reef in the sail. It was not unlike our trip up from Traverse City, except the winds weren't quite as strong (yet). The new sail set nicely with just a single reef. I steered the first half, but when we cleared Omena Point and turned more into the wind to make the northwest run up to Northport, Roger took over. The wind was getting stronger, so we took in a second reef and, even so, we made 5.8 knots to windward. Not bad for a boat that's not known for pointing well (that is, sailing very close-hauled into the wind). By 2:00 p.m., the gusts were piping up to 30 at times, causing us to heel at a 20 degree angle. The wind was fairly steady at 20. We considered taking in sail and motoring, but held off, at least until we saw 40 on our wind speed gauge. That seemed a bit too much, so we took in sail and motored for the last fifteen minutes. We are very happy to be here. Tomorrow evening one of our favorite singers, Claudia Schmidt, will be performing in the park adjacent to the marina. Life is good.
I steered on the first leg on a broad reach up Suttons Bay (notice how little we're heeling, despite the wind blowing our ensign).

Roger steered the second leg upwind (notice how much more we're heeling -- and how much he's enjoying the ride!).