2002 - Northern Lake Michigan
Ocean Explorer News - Saturday, August 11, 2002 - At anchor, Sutton's Bay, Michigan
Since writing you from Frankfort, we have had some very good sailing. We had a good, downwind sail from Frankfort to Leland, where we spent the night in the marina. We had another good, downwind sail to the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula and then a beat back up the east side of it to Northport, MI, a place where we had never stopped before. We stayed in a marina there, as well. It was a nice little town that is very much geared to the tourist industry. In fact, the Leelanau is very much like Wisconsin's Door County - almost identical, in fact.
Today we had an absolutely magnificent sail in heavy winds of about 25 to 30 knots. We were either close hauled or beating the entire way. We had the perfect sail combination for this boat and the boat behaved very well. We continue to learn how best to sail Ocean Explorer and that is one of the enjoyable features of having her - i.e., we never stop learning new things about her.
We are currently anchored off the town of Sutton's Bay in Sutton's Bay, a branch on the west side of the West Arm of Traverse Bay (man, I'll bet you are glad that I can be so precise in description). It too is a nice little town. Note we are anchored. I love to anchor, as it gives us independence, solitude, and all those things. Donna does not love to anchor. She is OK with it, but she clearly prefers to be tied up in a marina where she can have contact with other people, and have endless numbers of warm showers and walks on the shore without having to go in by dinghy. We compromise by doing a little of both.
We arrived here a bit late today, having taken our time to leave Northport. We will probably spend a second night here as well, in order to have more time to see the town. Then, weather permitting, we will move on to Traverse City, at the southern tip of the West Arm of Traverse Bay. We are supposed to get some unsettled weather moving through, so we will have to keep one eye on that.
Rich and Donna
Ocean Explorer News - Tuesday, August 14, 2002 - Traverse City, Michigan
Today we weighed anchor and moved down the West Arm of Grand Traverse Bay and sailed to Traverse City. Incidentally, we have been able to sail this entire trip so far.
We enjoyed Sutton's Bay, where we anchored for three nights. On the second night we had a young single-hander join us for supper. He had worked as a professional captain in the Pacific Northwest for a number of years. He recently returned to his home state of Michigan, bringing his 38-foot classic wooden sailboat with him. In the middle of supper we had one whale of a storm hit us. Fortunately we were anchored in sand and neither ours nor his, nor anyone else's boat dragged. Sand really holds anchors well. We were heeled 10-15 degrees by the wind, at times, and there was a ton of rain that fell.
Traverse City looks like an interesting town. We've never been here before. It appears to be quite prosperous with a large downtown area that has not a single empty store, and no tattoo parlors, T-shirt shops or any of the like. It has to be a major commercial center for this region of Michigan. There are a lot of local sailboats and, with this being Wednesday, it was race night, so they were all out dueling in the setting sun - a beautiful site even for those of us who look at sails all day long.
The marina here is undergoing a major enlargement. They are constructing a breakwater out of rock that is being transported from the rock supplier in our homeport of Manitowoc.
We have a General Delivery mail drop here, which we will pick up tomorrow. We also have laundry to do, so between that and seeing the sights, we will be here for a couple of days.
Rich and Donna