After enjoy Ludington at anchor we left for a 30 Mile sail to Manistee
to wait for our weather window for crossing the lake to Sturgeon Bay.
Manistee was pretty, small and still waiting for the season to unfold.
We stayed at Sengs Marina at a bargain price and got a FREE burgee
(small flag to say we've been there) to boot!
The weather forecast for the next week was rather bleak with strong
north and north easterly winds with cold temperatures and
rain/thundershowers predicted. Given our choices Tuesday looked like a
safe although cold and maybe wet day to make the 60 mile trip to the
other side. Since neither the Captain or the First Mate had ever
experienced a sail of this length outside of the sight of land, there
was a fair amount of nervous energy put into the planning function.
We weren't able to leave as early as we would have liked since the two
draw bridges between us and the lake weren't manned until 7AM. So...
at 7:02, dressed in our long underwear and full foul weather gear, we
approached the bridges, which opened on demand, and off we went
setting the main and self tacking jib right outside the Manistee
breakwater. Winds were 10-12Kts NNE and one to two
foot seas....PERFECT!
The first mate fixed the crew steel cut oatmeal with an assortment of
accompaniments and we sailed at 6kts. The thunderstorms fortunately
all went below us and we dealt with increasing northerly winds and
seas that eventually became 6 foot and breaking off the starboard
quarter. We reefed the main then took a second reef as the winds
increased and eventually reefed the jib as well... all from the safety
of the cockpit. We were doing hull speed of 8 1/2 Kts most of the way.
HD held her head up well and never made even a slight groan under the
conditions she was built to handle. This gives the crew a lot of
comfort going forward. The crew, however, during the last two hours
were taxed as the helm required full time steerage due to the breaking
seas. There was NO auto-pilot going on HD today! Good news- it was a
fast trip going door to door in a short 9 hours. Sails were up at the
breakwater in Manistee and down inside the breakwater at the entrance
to the SB ship's canal.
While motoring to the Centerpoint Marina, Susie spotted us from her
Mom's house on the lake. She called us on her cell, flailed her arms
feverishly until we finally saw her, then met us at the marina to help
with docking. Pem joined us from work in his suit for refreshments on
HD and later treated the crew to a steak dinner in the comfort of
their waterfront home. Susie fixed us up with a chiropractor to adjust
our weary backs and loaned us her new Cadillac to use. Seems like a
nice port of call, so  since you are  retiring, would you
mind going on ahead of us to set up similar arrangements at our future
stops... they have taken this under advisement.
After dining on HD the next night with Pem and Susie, we were visited
on Saturday by Bill & Nancy Austen and Chris & Jane Martin of Bemis to
check on how the retirement was going. Bemis is a very thorough and
thoughtful Company... a great place to have spent my career, with
people like these guys!
We sailed Sturgeon Bay (Pem joined us) in 20kts of wind at hull speed
and all took a turn at the helm. Sunny, calm in the bay, good winds,
food and company; an enjoyable afternoon on many fronts. Thanks for
coming up.
We were really glad we made this visit and had a great time with Pem &
Susie, plus Cin got to meet Susie's family at their climactic Memorial
Day Picnic Saturday afternoon.
After church with P&S, we were off to Fish Creek and then Egg Harbor
before returning to SB on Tuesday to have the alternator replaced.
This should stop the much maligned and mysterious alarm from going off
at the most inopportune times; docking/undocking. This is one of the last
major punch list issues on HD other than the main sheet which doesn't feed out without some encouragement from a forearm.
Seems we lost our flag and pole on our crossing. We will secure the
new one when acquired with a safety strap. Lesson learned.

Goodbye Holland and hello Ludington

Finally on our way!
Before leaving our adopted home port in Holland Michigan, Paul and Lisa with childrens and brother Rich boarded HD for a day sail which turned into a day motor due to lack of wind and 80 degree temperatures. After dinner aboard HD we bid our farewells and headed to Norfolk for the semi annual Loopers rondevous. We picked up some great tips from real live aboard boaters (mostly motor boaters) met a swedish couple who sailed in from the Med and are to do the loop before returning home. Cin volunteered for the life raft demonstration and we retruned to HD ready to begin our journey.
Left Holland in heavy although patchy fog after a short wait to see if it would clear. Being "patchy" we left for Muskegon, a sail of 28 miles, with the aid of radar, GPS and our bell. After sailing and then motoring towards the harbor the fog closed in. Although clearly seen on GPS and radar, we could not eyeball the 33 feet high breakwater beacon  until we were within 5 or 6 boat lengths; the nav instruments guided us to safety!
Spent two nights at Torrensons Marina dock while they added an expansion tank to our cooling system. The captain crawled into the bowls of HD to investigate our underway leak which was letting more H2O into our bilge than is comfortable. Seems the gaiter connecting the rudder post to the hull had worked itself free, so after repositioning the three clamps and re fitting the gaiter into place, we only have a drip vs a river entering the bilge.
While in Muskegon we used our new bikes and went 16+ miles to provision and visit West Marine. The only sore point is the seats (the bike's and ours) which need to be upgraded for comfort.(the bike's seats that is)
At 9:45 Saturday May 21, 2011 we left for a 47 mile sail to revisit our place of engagement last August, Pentwater.
Southerly winds with the reacher had us sailing between 4 and 5.5 Kt. We arrived at 6PM, the estimated ETA, only to run hard aground in mid channel right between the breakwater beacons. We were able to rock HD off the sand and decided to go another 10 mi to Ludington arriving at dusk with 27 ft under us.
We called the USCG to report the obstruction for the benefit of other mariners. They called us back on our cell phone and later broadcast the shoaling on VHF radio.  Our good deed for the day!
We dingy'd ashore and had a fine rib dinner at a place we knew from last year which luckily was open to serve us at 9:45PM. Back aboard fired up the generator for the first time since winter lay up and it provided the power to run our heat pump to both warm us up and dry us out from the mostly rainy day.
This morning, Sunday, dingy'd to town for church, dined on multi grain pancakes at Brenda's Restaurant and now at our favorite coffee house with Internet, in store roasted beans, comfy couches and coffee served in your own french press.We will spend the day here and depart tomorrow morning for Manistee and the first of many new geographies to be explored.
We plan to cross the pond either from Manistee or Frankfort between Wednesday and Friday to visit Pem and Susie and show Cin the harbors of Door County.

So far in retirement we are not having any difficulty filling up the day. A lot still to learn about all the toys and tools aboard HD and talking to the sailors and would be sailors in port is fun.

The First Two Weeks...

In the two weeks since our successful launch on April 28, we've been busy getting our "stuff" sorted out on HD and are finding we have more room than anticipated. Cin is remorseful now that the captain wouldn't allow the motorized elliptical exercise machine on board.
I am happy to report that the "punch list" of outstanding assembly/manufacture defects has been widdled down to only a few none essential cleanup items that will not stop our planned departure in 9 days.
We had our first sail of 2011 and all systems were checked out with a little trepidation as we rigged the sails ourselves. After righting the reacher sheets all was set.
Pete celebrated his 62cd birthday and official retirement date on board with a dinner at his favorite Italian restaurant in Holland and a candle atop a cameo for dessert. New slippers for lounging with his PJ's.
We also were blessed with our first family visitor to see, sail and sleep aboard. Cin's mom, Mary, made the trip up from St. Pete to be with her on Mother's day. Mary was tested as crew and approved by the first mate as we sailed yesterday at hull speed with only the working jib up. Docking, stern in, in 20+ Knts of wind also proved nonevent full with her on board. After the captain and first mate feeling that "we've got that part down now" Mary informed us it was her prayers that was the real reason we didn't hit anything which has been our experience so far when docking HD. We agreed and are reminded of Who is in control. (Again)
This weekend we are off to Norfolk to attend the Loopers convention to get some tips from real boat people.

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