Summer in Michigan 2014

Author: Pete

Location: Charlevoix, MI

 

A guy can become pretty darn antsy waiting to get a significant sailing trip under way. Hurricane season in the Caribbean has been mild tempered this year, apparently. However, we’re still sticking to our plan and waiting to go down to Florida to start up the boat search until mid-September just to be safe. Until then we’ve been entertaining ourselves in the Midwest seeing family and friends.

P1120425

 

Eventually had some time at home with family and friends. Met up with our friends Gordie and Em, and their two ridiculously adorable munchkins. Made a bonfire in the back yard and enjoyed the summer night just like when we were that age.

DSC_0189

Then I was another year older, if none the wiser. Charlevoix holds a weeklong celebration of my birthday each year, regardless of if I’m actually home or not, called the Venetian Festival. I don’t know why it isn’t called the Pete Festival… it’s always my birthday week. We celebrated by having a barbecue with friends, going downtown to see some music, and having birthday celebrations.

P1120451

DSC_0378

DSC_0369

summer2014vert

DSC_0394

petedenny

P1120431

DSC_0411

 

Unbeknownst to me, it was decided that for surviving three decades I should be thrown out of a perfectly good airplane. What a birthday present! I couldn’t decide if I was flattered or freaked out. An old friend from high school, Ryan, was my tandem instructor. We strapped in and took off facing backwards in the tiny Cessna.

DSC_0435

DSC_0444

P1120447

Skydive 1

Skydive 5

Skydive 8

DSC_0464

 

Prompted, I think, by the possibility of the jump not going well, Miranda decided that we should make our marriage legal. Since a marriage license cost $20 in Michigan and $100 in Wisconsin, we went by our checkbooks.

DSC_0498

 

Our American Sailing Association certifications came in from our course in June! We’re documented sailors!

IMG_1737

 

Kept our sea legs up to snuff with some windsurfing, waterskiing, and kayaking.   I have a million wetsuits, but I’m gravitating to the 1980’s vintage shortie with ridiculous colors and almost no stretch.  Life on the water in the summer is one of Charlevoix’s many beauties.

 

P1120783

P1120168

P1120400

P1120142

P1120193

 

Spent some time with Hal and Taylor, who were up scoping wedding venues. Went out a few times to the Tap Room for beers and over to Hal’s for some killer salmon.

IMG_1686

 

The summer flew by with assorted fun bits that deserve a good review.  Here’s a few more…DSC_1291

DSC_1183

juleps

DSC_1320

 

Finally, the day before Miranda and I were to head to Wisconsin our shipment came in from Chile. It should’ve arrived much sooner, but there was a dockworker strike in Chile. When longshoremen finally went back to work they picked pretty much the last day possible for us. Worked out great. It was sort of like Christmas opening the nineteen bags and boxes that filled the crate. All of the superfluous crap that we accumulated over four years in Chile had been sold or given away and all that was left was the good stuff. Favorite gear, artwork, clothes, that we had forgotten about in the exciting rush of summer.

IMG_1741

 

And then we were off! Loaded up the 1994 Plymouth Voyager and headed north around the lake. Seemed like an odd direction when our destination was Florida!

IMG_1679

ASA Sailing Course 104

Author:  Pete

Location:  Bower’s Harbor, Michigan

 

Day 5:

Woke aboard the Osprey, a 39’ O’Day.  She’s the creakiest boat we’ve ever slept on.  Okay, we’ve only slept on one other boat before this.  But Osp is pretty loud.  She lightly thunked, sputtered, groaned, grated, and chuttered all night.  Didn’t bother Pash and I too much though.

P1120323

In the morning we met Dirk our new instructor, a tall southern man with a charming, smoky drawl.  Also got to know our classmates, Bob and Lynn from St. Louis, MO, just up for a week or so to do the course.  They’re about our parents’ age, but seem so much younger with their witty sense of humor and Midwestern charm.  Miranda was especially excited to hear that they are also alums of Ripon College, a tiny private college where she did her undergrad that no one else seems to have heard of, much less have attended.

P1120379-Edit

We tore the O’Day apart from stem to stern looking at different systems.  We spent a great deal of time discussing the workings of the marine engine.  Cooling, fuel, and transmission systems were all covered in detail.  We talked about troubleshooting problems and finding solutions.  Dirk was knowledgeable and direct with his instruction.  We find that, as teachers, it’s difficult to be taught anything without analyzing the teaching style of our instructor.  Dirk certainly knows his stuff.  It comes off with all of that ‘good ol’ boy’ charm too, which is all the more fun.  Bob and Lynn had more sailing experience than us, but perhaps not as much technical reading about the components, so we had similar questions and levels of understanding, which made the discussion enriching for all.

DSC_0284

P1120325

After walking through the boat we went to Tom’s food market (the Northern Michigan version of Whole Foods, without the snobbery), and provisioned the boat.  We bought chow to feed five for three days.  In total three lunches, two breakfasts, and a dinner, snacks, copious wine and beer for about $260.  At about  $50 per person, not too bad for five people eating well for a long weekend.

Loaded the boat and made ready to sail.  Dogged hatches, closed forward seacocks, cast off lines, and motored out of the slip.   I took her out into the bay where we raised main and head sails and headed north.  Along the way, Cap’n Dirk taught us how to make a towing bridal and practiced on the dinghy we’d been dragging on the port cleat.

DSC_0288

DSC_0290

The fickle wind swung on us during our sail north, sometimes coming from the west, providing a gorgeous beam reach, other times turning to north, forcing us to tack.  The Osprey didn’t like to point too far upwind, making for a slow and inconsistent approach to Bower’s Harbor.  Along the way we worked on knots and sail theory and got to know our new friends aboard.

DSC_0294

Turned west into the marked channel between Marion Island and the mainland and anchored in the sheltered north harbor a few hundred meters off a wooded area.

Practiced anchoring with a stern anchor to keep the boat from swinging.  Miranda and I rowed a Danforth anchor out in the little dinghy that Osprey had been towing.  Didn’t have too much faith in the little anchor when we sent her down, but it held us through the evening as the wind swung.

P1120329

P1120330

 

And then it was cocktail hour.  We had drinks and snacks and began to prepare our dinner.  I took a quick swim.  The water was still pretty darn cold despite being the middle of July, but the deep blues and aquamarine tones of clear Lake Michigan make up for it.  Grilled shish-kabobs, potato salad, and a green salad all went down pretty darn well.

DSC_0297

P1120335

P1120339

Then before we blinked it was another day in paradise filled up.  The stars came out.  Bob, our St. Louis contingent, bemoaned the lack of stars in the city.  We pointed out Cassiopeia, the dippers, and Polaris.  Nice to be in the northern hemisphere and see them again.  Then it was off to bed at our calm, little anchorage.  I’m sure they won’t all be this peaceful.

P1120342

 

DAY 6:

Woke leisurely to a glassy bay.  Some light clunking and wafts of coffee lured us out of our cozy stern berth.  Stood on deck and looked out over the bay before we breakfasted on yogurt, granola, bagels, and coffee.

Spent the morning at anchor going over classroom stuff.   We learned about chart plotting and calculations.  Not a problem for two math teachers.  Significant applications for algebra, stoichiometry, vectors, and trigonometry.  And they said that the Law of Cosines wasn’t useful…

DSC_0321

We ran a few man overboard drills in bay.  There was no wind to speak of, so we focused on those most useful to being under power.  The big Osprey really took longer to stop than anything I’ve piloted.

P1120350

P1120356

Motored north towards Suttons Bay.  Worked on triangulation location and plotting routes.  Smooth seas made for easy work below deck.

Put up full 160% genoa and got headway even with really light air.  Turned south-west into S.B.  Got close to running aground on sandy point.  Should’ve been marked with buoy.

Pulled into S.B marina and lightly ‘kissed’ dock.  I wasn’t at the helm, so it was okay.  Tied up, had more drinkies, and went in to town for dinner.  Came back and sat in the cockpit for a while watching the stars come out before going to bed.

P1120364

P1120366

P1120372

 

DAY 7:

Night at the dock is significantly louder than at anchor.  Squeaking dock lines, waves slapping the hull broadside, people talking on shore, and the like.  I’m sure my preference to be ‘on the hook’ will only extend to calm seas and low wind.

P1120374

The day brought almost no wind.  We did some classwork aboard Osprey for an hour or so, discussed routing strategies and methods, then shoved off.  Motored through the negligible wind out of Sutton’s Bay and headed south down Grand Traverse Bay.

DSC_0350
The flat seas made for good navigation practice.  We navigated by dead reckoning, and triangulation from sightings, and used GPS to check our verify our position.  We discussed sources of error in navigation and calculated leeway and current.

P1120351

P1120358

Smooth motoring all the way back to Traverse.  Not as great as being able to sail back to port, but the hum of the engines and the easy glide of the boat made for a nice afternoon.

P1120376

 

And just like that, we finished our week-long set of courses from the American Sailing Association.  We took and aced our last of the three tests, and then headed back to Charlevoix to reconnect with my folks.  All done, for now.  But, what a blast to spend seven days sailing, sleeping on a boat, and sharing stories with experienced sailors.  We’d love to take a catamaran class while we’re down in Florida, but having our own boat should give us plenty of practice, and any money we spend on more lessons is less money for the trip.  So, we’ll see.  We feel like we’ve learned great deal, and really honed our skills.  I know Miranda was struck my how much we had already learned from Mario during our lessons in Chile… maybe our Spanish is better than we give it credit for.

I know one thing for sure- how will we ever wait it out until September to get back to Florida to start up this adventure?  These past week really solidified how excited we are to start sailing on our own, and reinforce that, hopefully, this isn’t such a crazy idea.  Right, Mom?

 

ASA Sailing Course 103

Author:  Pete

Location:  Traverse City, MI
[44° 46′ N85° 37′ W]

 

DAY 3:

After a little breakfast on deck in the morning sun we started class by tearing through the boat in the morning opening all panels and looked at systems.  From stem to stern we opened panels, traced wires, discussed potential problems and fixes.  Never jammed so many people in such a small space.  I think I hear the clown-car music…

P1120256

Had lunch in the cockpit in the sun at dock.  Spent the afternoon working on navigation in the salon.  We covered the basics of reading charts, what symbols meant.  Practiced plotting courses and the like.

P1120266

Took the boat out for a sail and polished our navigation.  Discussed and demonstrated rules of the road, and honed our crew overboard technique.  I thought about suggesting a good pirate mooning pass on the tourist tall ship Manitou, but I decided against it.  This isn’t Cartagena after all.

P1120279

Back in the marina Captain Dan took us aboard several different monos-hulls (regular type sailboats, as opposed to ‘cat’ catamarans) to get the feel for various layouts.  Some were geared more towards living comfort, others for better sailing performance.  In some I couldn’t tell what the main focus was.  I think some boat designers drink too much.  It’s been said before, every boat is a compromise.

P1120260

Cleaned ourselves up in the nice marina showers.  My parents came down from Charlevoix, an easy hour drive, and took us out to dinner at the North Peak Brewery.  Less sea legs today as the water had been pretty flat.  I preventatively had a couple pints to ward off any nausea just to be safe.  We all had a good deal of beer, ribs, fish, and fun.  Tried to walk off some of dinner on a stroll through busy downtown Traverse.  Back on board we had the best sleep yet.

P1120283

 

 

 

DAY 4:

Started off the day with our ASA 103 test.  Gathered in the marina lounge and took it early to get it out of the way.  Pulled a 95%, despite our groggy state.  I missed the following question:

7)  If your boat is taking on water through gaping hole in the hull should you:

a)  Issue a Pon-Pon to the coast guard, put crew in lifejackets, turn on bilge pumps, and plug the hole.
b)  Keep on sailing.  Sinking is for sissies.
c)  Run around the deck flailing hands above head as international sign for ‘No Idea What I’m Doing’.
d)  Get off the boat immediately.  Better to be swimming in the drink than on a boat with some water inside.

P1120285

Blue skies gradually gave way to gray ceiling. Took the boat out for one last go around to cement our skills.  A touch wavy and blustery, and none too warm.  But we donned rain jackets for the light spits of rain and we were fine.

P1120262

P1120288

P1120309

P1120296

On our return we stopped to pump out the holding tanks and refuel.  Ah, a glamorous life for sailors.

P1120310

Said goodbye to the Clara Mae, our trusty 31′ Hunter.  Passed it off to Steve and Matt, our sailing compadres, who took it out for charter in the following days.

P1120281

Played tourist walking around downtown Traverse with my parents for an hour or so and had a celebratory dinner out at a great smokehouse to wrap up our second set of sailing courses. Headed back to crash out aboard our new boat for the 104 course.

P1120316