Photos from Michigan

Lighthouse at Point Betsie
Lighthouse at Point Betsie
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Relaxing at our friends’ cottage

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Hiking around Sleeping Bear Dunes

Sleeping Bear
Sleeping Bear
Entrance to Manistee. One of their channel marker is under construction; from the lake, we thought it was a grain silo and a tractor. Agriculture on the pier!
Entrance to Manistee. One of their channel markers is under construction; from the lake, we thought it was a grain silo and a tractor. Agriculture on the pier!

 

Report Card: Two weeks out

It’a been a mixed bag over here at s/v Milou–some things have gone very well; some things, not so much.

Occasionally...exhaustion.
Occasionally…exhaustion.

In the “Awesomeness” column:

  • Anchoring. We’re getting better, and our anchoring setup is pretty solid.
  • Refrigeration. SOOOOO happy not to be buying ice at every stop, having it take up all the room in the icebox and get all the food wet. Michu’s new fridge works like a dream–quiet, low-energy, and the freezer actually works.

    Big Sable Point lighthouse. Only took about 30 photos of this.
    Big Sable Point Light. Only took about 30 photos of this.
  • Sailing. We’ve had great wind, and we love how our boat sails. Still not quite set up for the code zero, but the sailing we’ve done has been phenomenal.
  • Entering new harbors. It’s a skill, coming into a new place and not being lost. We’re getting better at reading the charts, understanding what we’re seeing, and making a good plan on where to go. We’ve also started adding an hour and a half to our ETA, realizing that the distance between the harbor entrance and anchor down should be measured in a quantity of hours and not the vague, “really soon.”
  • Energy use/battery systems. We have an excess of power, even with all of our devices. We just hooked up the solar on Thursday, and it keeps the batteries topped up even with clouds in the sky. So far, loving the battery system.

In the category of “Meh”:

  • Organization. I mean, Oh My Lord. At least 75% of the challenges we’re having stem from trying to find a home for all the gear. No one even knows where to put anything away, which leads to an even bigger mess. I’m sure we’ll figure it out, but it’s been a long two weeks. And why did I buy so much castille soap?
  • Projects. Slowly but surly is the theme, but I know Michu would like to be moving along faster in this category. Our priorities keep shifting; we realized in Pentwater that getting the inflatable dinghy operational needed to be higher on the priority list than the solar, or hanging curtains. So the sun is still getting in our eyes, and maybe the loud hailer can wait…

    Michu, engine troll.
    Michu, engine troll.
  • Engines. The bane of every sailor, I think. The outboard on the dinghy is not running particularly well; we have a few theories, but little resource to address them. The cooling system on the Perkins took a dramatic turn to overheating on Monday–we actually reached a smoking point, as a solder joint on a coolant pipe failed. Michu managed to get it fixed in a lightning-fast four hours, but that day was shot. Oh, engines. So necessary, and so much do we want to sink you to the bottom of the lake.

    Also annoying: the covers on our buttons for the settee cushions keep popping off.
    Also annoying: the covers on our buttons for the settee cushions keep popping off.
  • WiFi. We’ve been wildly disappointed with our Wave WiFi extender. My phone is easily able to pick up more WiFi hotspots than the fancy-looking Wave antenna. We’re not finding a lot of unlocked wireless in our chosen anchorages; blog posts and online transactions are happening in a flurry at coffee shops and libraries.
  • Our general mental health. It’s been a tough couple of weeks–some great things, some real struggles, and we’re all a bit worn down. To boost the kids’ mental health, they took a day in town with their mom–beach, smoothies, library, and–I think–pizza for dinner. The parents hope to regain some equilibrium in Frankfort, hanging out with friends, along with the usual showers, laundry and uninterrupted WiFi.

    Mental health day. Check out the height on those slides!
    Mental health day. Check out the height on those slides!

We’ve been traveling through very touristed towns; it can be frustrating not to always be the family strolling down the street with ice cream cones. As a relaxing family vacation, I think we’d be pulling an “F”; as newbie cruisers, though, I’d give us about a C+.

Looking forward to improving.

Heading north along the Michigan shore

One of the lovelier features of the Michigan shoreline is the abundance of inland lakes. A whole bunch of these lakes are linked to the Big Lake via canals, dug a century ago but now maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers. These lakes allow boats a safe place to pull in and spend the night.

Always fun when a bridge opens for us!
Always fun when a bridge opens for us!

We loved Pentwater Lake; our anchorage was beautiful, and the water great for swimming. We are a little less enamored of Manistee Lake–there’s a bunch of heavy industry and a train that runs close to shore–but we’ve still had restful nights with great protection. There are a few additional lakes we might pull into between here and Frankfort.

Measuring our anchor chain, Manistee
Measuring our anchor chain, Manistee

The thing that we’re finding a bit strange about these protected bodies of water: no one else seems to be anchoring out. Since we left Milwaukee, we’ve seen hundreds of boats; the total number with a hook out: three, including us. Now, maybe we’re early in the season, or maybe it’s just unusual timing, but marina culture seems to dominate the entire lake so far. We’re sure this will change as we head farther north, but for the moment, it’s strange!

When we pulled in to the town of Pentwater for a couple of hours of grocery shopping and ice cream, our dock mate couldn’t even believe anchoring was A Thing. “You mean, you just put down an anchor? Just, all night? Really?” Really.

Sand dunes, Michigan shore
Sand dunes, Michigan shore

Here in Manistee, there is no dinghy dock for cruisers. The folks at the Municipal Marina are happy to let us tie up for a few hours, but it’s clearly not a request they get often. Our budget doesn’t allow for a whole lot of marina time, so we’ve learned not to worry too much about the lack of other boats in the anchorages. Fewer bugs, less noise and free–we’ll take it.

The SS City of Milwaukee and the USCGC Acacia, off our stern on Lake Manistee
The SS City of Milwaukee and the USCGC Acacia, off our stern on Lake Manistee

How to have an excellent first overnight passage

At least, here’s how it went for us:

  • Wait for a weather window. Wait and wait and wait. When people start to make fun of you a little for not going anywhere, wait some more.

    It's not nice to mention the wrinkles in a person's sail, people.
    It’s not nice to mention the wrinkles in a person’s sail, people.
  • Head out in drifter conditions while you finish stowing things around your boat, rigging up safety equipment and prepping some food.
  • Make some sort of deal with the wind gods that keeps the wind right on the beam, between 8-12 knots, but keep the water nice and flat. Best to have the breeze from the south, so it’s not too chilly.
  • Feed everyone well.

    Kids learn about the pleasures of passage ramen.
    Kids learn about the pleasures of passage ramen.
  • Plan for the moon to be full. Being able to see the horizon will make you less nervous about heading out into the dark.
  • Don’t be fooled by the line of lights blinking in unison right in front of you. That’s a wind farm way on shore, not some kind of new oil platform or a bunch of tankers rafted up together. You won’t hit it.
  • Furl up the genoa as you approach–you’ve crossed too fast, and need to wait for the sun to come up. As the wind dies, actually, you should probably just bob around outside the harbor entrance while your family sleeps. You’re not in any hurry to fire up the engine

    Pentwater entrance
    Pentwater entrance

That’s how we did it, anyway. It was such a lovely crossing, and the boat sailed so well–not a single person had the slightest twinge of seasickness. We motored in to Pentwater and dropped the hook in a very protected anchorage, and spend the day recovering, swimming, fishing and cleaning up.

Lest you think it's all fun and games, we've been driving through some big alewife die-offs; the lake Michigan flies have been big fans of our boat, as well.
Lest you think it’s all fun and games, we’ve been driving through some big alewife die-offs; the Lake Michigan flies have been big fans of our boat, as well.

The wind today is keeping us in Pentwater–big breakers from the west make the canal out a bit too shallow for our deep draft, but tomorrow we plan to head up to Manistee. We wouldn’t mind too much spending more time here in Pentwater, but we’ve got friends to meet farther north, and tomorrow should be another nice reach up the lake.

Father's Day water battle royale
Father’s Day water battle royale

 

Escape from Milwaukee

Early yesterday morning over coffee, Michu and I realized that we were done being in Milwaukee. Pridefest was being succeeded by Polishfest, with an art fair on the other side of the harbor, and we just couldn’t take the late-night polka scene. We briefly considered heading right across the lake–we’re right under a big invisible “H” in the sky, and no adverse weather was headed our way any time soon–but we felt like those 15 or so hours would be better spent sailing rather than running the smelly, loud engine; so we decided to head north to Port Washington instead.

Adios, Milwaukee!
Adios, Milwaukee!
Caribbean blue? Nah--Lake Michigan...
Caribbean blue? Nah–Lake Michigan…

We spent a night in Port Washington last summer, and remembered it as being a really sweet town with a lovely marina. Still true! We motored up and treated ourselves to a slip, with laundry and showers–the full luxury treatment.

F. behind the wheel, off Whitefish Bay
F. behind the wheel, off Whitefish Bay
Breakfast in the cockpit.
Breakfast in the cockpit.

We’ll continue stashing and stowing today, and Michu will continue with the projects, but tonight we plan to sail across Lake Michigan, probably to Pentwater. The weather looks perfect for crossing, and the kids have been promised ice cream on the Michigan side. Meanwhile, the kids and I are enjoying the children’s section of the Port Washington library–another thing we remembered from last summer. Nerding it up over here, folks!

Farmer's market, Port Washington. Picking up some strawberries on the way back to the boat.
Farmer’s market, Port Washington. Picking up some strawberries on the way back to the boat.