Sailing Adventure 2009

We have been doing an annual Sailing Adventure on our '77 Ericson 27. What we lack in boat, we make up in fun. ;-)

This year we polled the kids whether we should go north (Manistee) or south (South Haven). Molly and Melissa said "north." Jeremy said "west" (i.e. cross the lake). Sorry, Jeremy, Manistee wins this year. :-D

2009-06-20 | Mileage: 19.0nm

• Rain cleared, sunny by 10:00
  
• On the water 12:40
  
• Motorsailed W ~5nm, then headed for White Lake
  
• Wind died ~ half way there, motoring the rest of the way
  
• White Lake Municipal slip 32p
  

2009-06-21

• Layover in White Lake: sunny, high haze & warm
  
• Paddled, rowed around end of the lake, up White River (under bridges)
  
• Melissa and Jeremy rowing up dock waterway and got caught by fisherman (they floated over his line, he must have pulled it in as they went over it and snagged the dinghy)
  
• Lots of turtles, several very large
  

2009-06-22 | Mileage: 41.8nm

• Sailing for Ludington
  
• Knotmeter broken, always 11.2kts. Dream on!
  
• On the water 9:00
  
• Sunny, light wind from SE (offshore breeze), motorsailing
  
• 11:00 wind shifted S, no apparent wind
  
• It is stupid fly season. :-( There are two fly seasons: June/July is stupid fly season. They are trivial to kill because they are so stupid, but there are hundreds more for every one you kill. They don't bite, but they crawl all over, making your skin crawl. August is biting fly season. They use their serrated proboscis to painfully saw a hole in your skin and are very hard to kill because they are very jumpy.
  
• 11:10 wind from W, cool and refreshing
  
• 12:40 coming up on Little Sable Point, wind from behind us, funky again
  
• 13:25 took down main, S wind behind us
  
• 14:50 passing Pentwater, wind backed NNW
  
• 14:45 gave up on wind, motoring last 6nm
  
• Ludington Municipal, slip b22p
  
• Went to the House of Flavors for ice cream cones :-)
  

2009-06-23 | Mileage: 23.2

• Depart 9:15, light W wind, motoring w/ sail up 0.1kt boost
  
• 11:00 rounded Big Sable Point, better wind angle, 5.9 kts
  
• 11:30 Wind clocked around behind us, jibed the jenny
  
• 12:50 wind died, motoring last 3nm
  
• Manistee Municipal, slip 11s (fishing boat ahead of us jumped our original slip assignment)
  
• The White Rose (Frankfort, Il) is in the next slip - 60 ft? yacht
  
• Some changes in town: new condos by Maple St bridge, Green Apple shop gone (bummer).
  
• Molly flipped the kayak getting in off the rocks (jumped in, instantly rolled). Once we got her on the water right side up, Dad, Melissa, and Jeremy rowed the dinghy and Molly paddled the kayak up river to the lake.
  

2009-06-24

• Layover in Manistee, sunny, blue sky. Gorgeous beach day.
  

2009-06-25 | Mileage: 33.1nm

• 9:00 heading back to Ludington
  
• Patch of blue overhead, clouds all around, hazy, temp cooler, pleasant. No wind.
  
• 9:50 som wind from W, main up, little boost
  
• 10:05 Weather holding, changed destination to Pentwater
  
• 10:20 Got the jenny out, the wind died :-( see what happens around Big Sable Point 7.8nm
  
• 10:50 Picked up some wind, set jenny
  
• 11:10 Lost the wind, jenny down
  
• 11:25 Found wind, set jenny
  
• 12:00 Rounded Big Sable Point, jenny down again
  
• 12:20 Set the jenny, broad reach, maybe the breeze will hold this time
  
• 13:00 Passing Ludington, breeze nice
  
• 13:50 Lost our bet that we could beat the rain to Pentwater. Just sprinkles, no big deal.
  
• Pentwater Municipal 36p (they have 7 transient slips - this is the first time we got in the municipal)
  
• Rowed to Little Bayou with Molly & Jeremy, Melissa kayaked
  
• Supper at the Brown Bear - excellent burgers
  
• Band concert on the green at 8:00PM
  

2009-06-26 | Mileage: 39.7nm

• Pentwater municipal: just the basics - no coffee, no microwave - but clean, nice view over the channel and anchorage
  
• Breakfast at Gull Landing, on Island time: good food, but over a hour wait :-/
  
• 11:30 left
  
• Sailing W wind
  
• 12:30 wind dropped some, used motor to kick us through a dead spot
  
• 13:25 Passing Little Sable Point, motor kicker again, wind aft and following seas
  
• 13:50 Main down, jenny not doing much :-(
  
• 14:10 Wind picked up, jenny working :-)
  
• Waves building ~3ft until passed White Lake, then diminishing as we approached Muskegon
  
• Supper at Bear Lake Tavern - new owners, same excellent food
  

2009-06-27

• Slept on the boat in our slip.
  
• Queen's Cup (interesting history) Milwalkee-Muskegon, saw the boats finishing in the morning
  
• Breakfast at Mike's Landing - yum!
  

Cruising - worked:

• Dinghy and kayak - fun!
  
• Thermos e5 mugs - awesome insulation!
  

Cruising - didn't work:

• DTV was a total bust
  
• Laptop screen unreadable topside (no surprise)
  
• Towing dinghy more drag than I expected - over 5kt, it had a bigger wake than our sailboat!