2 - Baie Fine - 226

I can still hardly believe that I can sail into this beauty.



This is the end of Baie Fine. It is called "The Pool"
Blueberry pancakes for breakfast on deck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Baie Fine - 227

This is the entrance to Baie Fine. We knew something was up already. The rock was white instead of red, and it was higher. The water was bluer. The air fresher. Cue the angel chorus in the background.

Little Current - 228

Calvin and Hobbes in the cockpit, snuggled under a blanket, in the middle of nowhere. They have absolutely no idea what blessings they have. Jannelle was bummed when her teacher told her that Calvin and Hobbes doesn't count as reading time. Hello? In my book it does.

After the Benjamin Islands we were getting low on time because Deb had to be back to teach summer school. I was not sure that I wanted to go any further. Really, could anything be better than what we had just seen? Still, I met a boat builder that told me that I couldn't miss Baie Fine. Besides, what fun is sailing unless you are killing yourself trying to keep a schedule?
I am an expert and arriving at bridges 30 seconds after they close. We had to wait an hour for this to open. I also pick the slowest checkout lane at the grocery store, and the slowest vehicle at the gas pump, and the slowest lane at the toll booth, and never be the person in front of me at customs - they usually get a thorough trunk check - and never be behind me at the airport: I never just walk through. It is all just preparation for sailing. This is the bridge at little current. If you want to go from east side of North Channel to the west side of the North Channel you are funneled through here. Depending on which way the wind blows there may be up to 4 kts. of current. Hence the original name.
This bridge does not wait for you either. Once the line of boats goes through, it closes back up.

The Gift of Time - 229

At this point in the trip, I had completely relaxed and forgotten deadlines and work schedules. Life had settled into a "Grapes of Wrath" travel routine. Everybody had their jobs and specialties and did them without being asked for the most part.
Ask yourself - when was the last time you had 3 hours of uninterrupted time to spend with your children. (or to do anything) This was the BEST part - the gift of time with my family.

4 - The Benjamins - 230

On the south half of South Benjamin Island is an area of lower level rolling rock, the plains if you will. Some of these rocks would have indentations that collect water. We found several with an entire ecosystem built right in. This one had tadpoles in different stages of development with plants and bugs. God's koi pond?



I half expected to find one of these little ponds with minnows.

The rock surface was just beautiful. If you look closely at this picture you can see the scrape marks on this rock going from left to right where the weight of a mile of ice on top of this area would grind away at the bare rock. I was told by a local that the islands had built up much more soil than we see here until the entire area was deforested in the late 1800's causing what little soil there was to wash away. On the Benjamins we saw no dirt, just trees growing in moss.

Our dinghy on it's last days. One person to point to where we are going, one person to row, and one person to bail. Minimum crew: 3, we actually would regularly fit 5 in this 8 foot vessel. Not bad for a boat built out of the best 1/4 inch plywood you can buy at Home Depot.

At first the girls were a little afraid of the cracks in the rock that would go down 20 feet, but they soon got over it and would disappear exploring.

I am not quite sure what this face means, but I am sure that it is something I am doing wrong.

This picture just begins to capture what it feels like. Feel in your mind a slight breeze with no hint of pollution, cool air with just the right amount of humidity, and no sounds other than nature. The air even tastes clean. I had no idea that beauty such as this was so close to home.

The rock here is unique to the area. I could have spent two more weeks here just climbing around this island. Water always nearby, blueberries everywhere - a perfectly engineered relaxation spot.

As far as school, this is the best place for children to learn. The whole life cycle in 4 square feet.

3 - The Benjamins - 231

Jannelle and Bianca hiding in a hole left by a fallen tree.
Precipice anchored between the Benjamins

Nice to be away from it all.
Yea! We are 1000 miles away from school!

2 - The Benjamins - 232

The only drawback to having a whole island made of rock is that you can get rock slivers. Both Jannelle and I got pieces of rock jammed in our feet when we got out of the dinghy and slipped on the rock. Ouch. Nothing like digging a piece of rock out of your foot.

The Benjamin Islands - 233

Our next destination was the Benjamin Islands. Up to this point in the trip we were impressed by the beauty of what we had seen and were very grateful that we could take such a trip - but we were unprepared for the beauty of these islands. They took John island and made it seem drab. The blueberries were bigger and more numerous, the rock was stunning and the water was even clearer. We were warned that the harbor between the Benjamins would be busy - we even had people warn us not to go to the islands because they would be so crowded. It wasn't that bad, although once again the stinkpots were there. A disturbing habit they have is to start their generator and then dingy away from their boat and set up a chair someplace else so they themselves wouldn't have to listen to their generator. We on the other hand would get to listen to their generator drone on for hours. I really think the whole generator thing has gotten out of hand. A good compromise would be to limit generator run time to the hours of 10 -2. I would like to eat my dinner without listening to some stinkpot drone away.

The rock was what was stunning. You could climb up 200 feet of solid smooth rock that would glitter in the sun. Some spots you could actually see the direction the glaciers were grinding at the rock some 10,000 years ago. We went for several walks around the Island, picking blueberries and stopping to swim when we were hot.
The trees would grow in two inches of moss and peat. They could only grow so big until the wind would push them over. Then the tree would rot, and a new tree would take root and try again.

Whalesback Channel - 234

For about three days we told our children that we were going to see a whale. Here it is. They never once fell for the whole we are going to see a whale - they know whales are not freshwater (although this website would beg to differ : http://www.classroomhelp.com/lessons/web/WHALES/whale_in_MI.pdf) This is whalesback rock, in whalesback channel.

John Island - 235

Our first night in the North Channel was spend in a small harbor next to John Island. It was a very well protected anchorage with good holding only marred by a stinkboat that was there before us. He, like most stinkboaters, had to run his generator every morning and evening for an hour. Plus, they had the obligatory dog (welcome to our country, it is so nice to have your dog poop in our pristine wilderness). We loved the blueberries!
Precipice anchored next to John Island.

Jannelle at the top of the island.

School Boat - 236

This summer we spent six weeks living on the boat. One of the things that we worried about is whether the girls would be able to focus on homework in the middle of the daily sailing activities. It turns out that at least for our children, the sailboat has just the right mix of quiet/energy for doing studies. We are going to home school (of course) when we go on our trip next June, starting out with our own texts and lesson plans, and probably migrating to a system like Calvert. Deb has 12 years of teaching experience and this should help. We are well aware of the challenges of teaching your own children, but it is my belief that school on the boat will be a better learning style for them, especially my oldest Jannelle who has always struggled with a traditional learning system. We will be moving to a system like Calvert because it has standardized testing built in so that we don't fall in the trap that every parent falls into - thinking that their child is "above average". We hope to meet other parents cruising who are doing the same thing and gang together. We are excited to tackle this part of the adventure as a family.

North Channel - 238

This rock is 2 miles from the nearest land. I am about 50 yards from it, and I am in 98 feet of water. It is marked very clearly on a chart, but it sticks out of the water no more than 3 feet. There are many of them like this that are 3 feet under the water, we draw 6. Sailing in the North Channel (Upper Lake Huron) requires just a little bit more vigilance than sailing in Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan is more like a giant bathtub, it is almost featureless compared to the North Channel. Don't get me wrong, lake Michigan is an awesome place to sail. If you would like to see where the North Channel is, click on my right sidebar "North Channel Pics", wait for it to load and push the map tab. Each picture will be on a place on the map.

GET OUT THERE AND SAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 239

Somewhere in the middle of Lake Michigan
Rachael at the helm by sleeping bear dunes. Bianca the ever vigilant watch girl giving me a dirty look.
Happy wife - happy life.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

South Manitou Island - 239

The Francisco Morazan left Chicago bound for Rotterdam on November 27, 1960 . On board were the Captain, his wife and unborn child and crew. They were late in the season and visibility was limited by snow driven by strong winds. Some pretty bad dead reckoning skills put them 70 miles off course from were they thought they were. This wasn't navigation errors caused by lack of equipment - this was errors by failure to use something as simple as a taffrail log to verify their speed. The captain assumed a speed of 8 kts, when they actually were going 6. The made the turn east way early because of this and nailed South Manitou Island dead center. Luckily conditions the next day allowed their rescue.

We swam out to this wreck and I swam into the engine room underwater. The superstructure has been taken over by loons. Loons stink worse than pigs or cows, I couldn't believe the amount of loon poop all over everything.

The water was cold, but the 3 mile walk and swim out to this wreck in about 15 feet of water was worth it.

Mighty Mac - Day 241

It has been a goal of mine since I was a child to be one of the boats crossing under the Mackinaw bridge rather than in a car going over it. Goal Fulfilled - and yes it was as good as I thought it was.
Our daughter Bianca was very sure that we were going to hit the bridge even though it is over 1oo feet above the water. From this picture you can see why.
Just after we got under - the promise comes out.

The North Channel - 244

It is true. 500 miles from my home port somebody sunk the rocky mountains so I could just sail right in. For me this would be akin to telling a 14 year old boy that a nudist colony beach was just over the fence of his back yard. I vaguely remember somebody telling me about the North Channel and how fabulous it was, but I didn't bite. Every sailor thinks the place they have been is fabulous, I have had people tell me that South Haven, MI is a great place. The North Channel should be on the front cover of every sailing magazine in the world, just like the Caribbean is. Think crystal clear water, wildlife, and very little traffic. I would like to have the view above in my dodger more often.

V2 - Day 389

About the time my stomach had found an unnatural affinity for my spleen the whole thing reversed and my stomach was looking for my left big toe. The g forces I was experiencing were not related to the sea state. My Catalina 27 was nicely nestled in a safe harbor. What I was experiencing is called Vertical Velocity , or V2. V2 is one of the most punishing roller coasters that I have ever been on. V2 was the reason we had set sail the day before.
Sailing is often a destination in and of itself. My family is the happiest when we are more than 30 miles from shore. It is here that the noise of civilization ceases, the shoreline is gone and we can all relax. V2 is the polar opposite of that feeling. V2 is a roller coaster that has more in common with a Fermi Lab's particle accelerator than a roller coaster. It uses a magnetic drive powerful enough to move a Japanese super train a half mile long. You go from 0-70 in four seconds – backwards. Twisting.
Every year we make at least one trek from our home berth in Port Sheldon, Michigan to Port Washington, WI. The Westward jump across the pond of lake Michigan is usually against the prevailing wind, a 90 mile slog lasting 12 hours with 12-15 knots of wind and 2-4 foot waves on the nose. This is just preparation. Tying up to the beautiful Marina we take a half mile walk to the bus station and motor to the teeming masses of Six Flags Great America. If you can't take a 12 hour slog to windward to get here, than believe me you will never survive the day.
First, it is always fifteen degrees warmer in the park than by the lake. Second, every person in Chicago visits the park on the day you arrive. Third, you are constantly assaulted by every known sensory input you knew possible, and some you didn't. I am deliberately seeking out the crowds and the noise, and plunge ourselves into what is by comparison to relaxing at sea, mass hysteria.
The roller coasters allow you to climb to the sky real slow – clinka, clink, clinka, clink. Soon I can see Lake Michigan from my perch of death. The lake looks so calm, so cool, so relaxing. As the coaster crests it's steel wave and plunges, I ask myself what possessed me to allow someone to drag me up there. Screaming for the longest 30 seconds of my life, I escape by running with my kids to the next ride. The logic of doing this is that there is no logic of doing this. The best part of the morning running around trying to catch all the max coasters is that you have all the water slides to tackle yet. A water slide is much like sailing, except you forgot the boat. Remember the logic.
Ten hours later you have a bus to catch. You are sunburned, dizzy, sore, and your wallet is empty. Just like a good sail on the boat. The journey home is a downwind run with the sun sinking behind you. Thirty miles out you are at peace with the world. The kids (who should be too exhausted to talk) cry out, “Can we do it again tomorrow?”

The Weather Buoy - 471

The NOAA has a network of weather buoys that are maintained by the Coast Guard. There are two of them in Lake Michigan. The one in southern Lake Michigan is 45007. Its location is listed right on the map and the NOAA gives the lat and long of the buoy on the NDBC website. For some reason if something is out there, I have to go find it. I deliberately would plot my courses across the lake to rendezvous with the supposed location. The Coast Guard doesn't follow the location markings, or I don't know how to put them in my GPS so for five years after finding out about said buoy I had no luck. Last summer without looking for it, on a crossing back from Port Washington to visit Six Flags Great America the buoy found us. Great day for me. Better than finding the base for the Cuba watching radar blimp in the Florida Keys. (Don't go past the warning buoys surrounding the blimp base, trust me.)

This looks like it would be easy to find, but it isn't marked on any maps and it is located on an island surrounded by other islands. The path to it is surrounded by reefs. It was fun to find. I am sure my every move was watched.

Oh, by the way. Touching these things is a Federal felony, not my interest whatsoever.

The Sailboat is Moved 6 - 485

The final step is unloading the sailboat from the truck and placing it at its new home. Now I have to redo all I undid. The mast has to go back up and everything has to be put together. Now that I have done it, I would rather have taken a couple more weeks off of work and motored up the Erie canal than taken everything apart. Live and learn. My boat looks completely out of place next to all the fiberglass bathtub toys. The third one over is my 27 Catalina. Two boats - yes I am insane. We are not sure we want to sell the old vessel yet. Rachael may want to use it with her new man. Details to follow.

Moving a Sail Boat - 5 486

This is the scary part. I really can't describe the feelings I was having watching my boat go down the highway. I followed for about 100 miles, and then took a different route. The trip home took me 12 hours. The trip for my boat took three days. Oversize loads can't take the shortcut through Canada, or go through most toll booths. Three days. The hauler was good though, he called me twice a day with updates.