Great Loop Day 023 Sept 20, 2016, Charlevoix Michigan Layover Day 2
Charlevoix Michigan 2nd day layover.
“Oh Sailor
pick up all your defeats
like pebbles beneath your feet
and fling them all into the sea!
Sniff the air
look how the birds fly
Adjust your ship's mast
and sail away
in search of newer victories!”
― Avijeet Das
<Day 22 Previous Post | First Post | Next Post Day 24 >
Day 23 Tuesday. Sept 20, 2016, Another layover day. Small Craft Advisory on Lake Michigan today 20+ mph winds from West to Southwest. Tomorrow should be a bit calmer but threatened to have rain in the morning and late afternoon. About 35 miles to the town of Leland. I should have her done in 5- 6 hours. Weather today has been very mild with temps in the low to mid-70s. But that is going to all change by the weekend. Colder temps are on the way. Totally embracing this mild weather. This morning had sunshine and blue skies as I took frequent naps soaking in the sun. Got my shower and did a load of laundry at the marina. I was doing alright till I noticed one sock missing. It's onboard this boat somewhere.
Met and chatted with Dan. He has a Compact 20 sailboat with cat rigging. There's no jib sail on his boat just a large mainsail. He's been out all day on Lake Charlevoix. Beautiful boat but what caught my attention was he installed an hour meter on his 8 hp 4 stroke outboard. Now I got to get one. I need to change the oil on the outboard engine every 100 hours. Dan is an engineer for General Motors and we had an interesting conversation about the quality of synthetic oil versus the older standard regular oil we have used since time immemorial. I'll now be switching to synthetic oil.
The Sea Scouts were out today on their 30ft Santana they had donated to them 7 years ago. Sailed it up from Chicago which took 5 days last October. Now a 30-footer can handle much rougher seas than the Sea Marie can. Still, that's encouraging to know Chi-Town may only be a week away.
Pine River leading in and out of Charlevoix to Lake Michigan.
One of the favorite pastimes for the locals is fishing off the breakwater.
People come down to see the fountains next to the Marina Office. Although nice during the day…
…at night they really stand out and put on a real show. All timed to the music coming out on the loudspeakers hidden about.
The evening continued with a spectacular sunset on the horizon.
Then the moon showed up not to be overlooked.
The weather looks much better for tomorrow's sail to Leland, Michigan. Squared up my dock fees with Hal and he was kind enough to give me a discount taking off a 1-night stay. My expenses have been on target or a little under budget. Not too shabby not having to spend the night at any anchorage. I had thought about staying on the hook here in a cove called Oyster Bay. But it was getting late in the sailing season and anything can happen on Lake Michigan. Best to get my way as soon as I can into the river systems past Chicago where I wouldn’t have to worry about small craft advisories.
Mickey has been keeping himself busy on board sleeping and enjoying sitting up on the solar panel shelf I made for him. He has been behaving himself and not getting into any mischief. Little does he know we still have another 10 - 11 months of travel. And like me little does he care. We both are taking life one day at a time.
So till next time, Fair winds and gentle seas...
Comments from 2016:
Sandy Courey Good night...Sweet Dreams...
Camille Sandrock Very impressive voyage so far; how big is your boat Henry?
Henry Krzemien RN All of 22 feet. Spacious cabin for one. Took out the v-berth cushions for more room.