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.
No comments:
Post a Comment