Donna and I arrived in Manitowoc on the afternoon of Monday, July 31, 2006, having driven from La Crosse.  This was to be a new experience for us as we were accompanied by our oldest grandchild, Tristan.  All of our grandchildren have been aboard Ocean Explorer in one fashion or another, with three of the four doing sleepovers, and Tristan, now age eight, having traveled with us for a brief trip across the lake two years ago.  But this was to be a voyage of longer duration and more extent, and we were in new territory, so to speak, for all three of us.

   As we drove over, we were aware that there was a strong, but stalled, cold front lying across Wisconsin from northeast to southwest and that it was just a matter of time before it would continue its journey south and east to cross Lake Michigan, bringing thunderstorms with it.  We were actually hoping to get everything aboard and the boat stocked in time to leave that night and do an overnight trip to Frankfort, Michigan.  However, that was a lot to accomplish and by 9 PM, while ready to go, we were all pretty tired and a decision was made to wait until morning.

   Upon arising early we obtained a weather forecast that indicated that winds were favorable and that there was a reasonable chance that we could be in Frankfort before the front hit us.  We left the dock, stowed our fendering gear and lines, raised sail in the harbor, and were able to clear the Manitowoc entry by 0755.  For the first several hours we had very good sailing and were consistently proceeding at four to six knots.  We could see the clouds along the front lying to the northwest of us, and we watched as they very slowly progressed to the southeast.  At about 1530 two things happened.  Our wind died and we were besieged by hoards of the most aggressively biting flies that we have ever encountered on the lakes.  We started the engine to assist our sails in moving us along at a faster speed.  We made good progress, but the cold front did a bit better and the clouds gradually caught up with us.  With Frankfort in sight, we saw two cells approaching us from aft and then tracked their progress on the radar screen.  Tristan became quite proficient at keeping track of their march toward us.  We dropped our sails not knowing how much wind was in the storms.  At the same time we were listening to a series of marine warnings for Green Bay and Door County describing high winds, heavy downpours, and potential for tornadoes and waterspouts.

   The first cell hit us, but it only had rain and not a lot of wind.  The second cell missed us, but by then the 24 mile RADAR screen showed lots of rain coming.  We proceeded into the Frankfort entry and on into Lake Betsie and anchored with more chain out than usual in order to assure our anchor holding.  We barely had the anchor down when we were hit by a vicious squall with very heavy wind and rain.  Our anchor held us nicely and we felt very good about being secure in sheltered water.

   The night continued to be stormy, and after going to bed I was up two or three times to make sure our anchor was holding.  Heavy rains and high winds pummeled our anchorage, but we held fast and, just as important, so did the boats that were anchored nearby.  Two things can happen in such situations.  Your anchor can drag, allowing your boat to go into shallow water or into another boat, or another boat can drag and threaten to collide with your boat.

   The next day we moved into a dock at the Frankfort Marina.  We often take a day of rest after we make the long crossing from Manitowoc to Frankfort.  This gives us an opportunity to pillage the gift shops and plunder the restaurants.  Ice cream is always good, too.

   On Thursday, July 3 we had a great sail in excellent weather all the way to Leland, Michigan.  We passed through the Manitou Passage where Tristan had an opportunity to see a couple of Great Lakes freighters.  He particularly enjoyed it when we talked to the Algo Marine on the radio to discuss how we could best stay out of her way as she came up behind us.  While sailboats technically have the right of way over freighters, sailboats are more maneuverable and it seems like the courteous thing to do to try to facilitate a safe passage in such encounters.

   Leland is an old fishing town that now has a small boat harbor.  The word small applies in more way than one.  It is for small boats, but it is also a small harbor.  Nonetheless, the Leland harbormaster has a policy of turning no one down.  All slips were filled and boats were being tied up across the ends of the finger piers and then more boats were being tied up to those boats.  We were directed to a raft of three boats, making us the fourth.  The advantage in being the second or third boat in a raft is that you only pay half price.  The advantage in being fourth is that you stay for free.  Free is good and helps to overcome the disadvantage of having to crawl over three other boats to get to the finger piers so that one can pillage and plunder more gift shops and restaurants.  The boat next to us had another eight-year-old and a twelve-year-old, and Tristan rapidly made friends and gave them a complete tour of our boat.  They did the same for him.

   The main potential disadvantage of being on the outside in a raft is that the guy on the inside might want to get an 0-dark-thirty start.  That was the case for us in Leland.  The inside guy wanted to be going by 0530.  As the outside boat we had to be up at 0500 so that we could be off the raft by 0515.  Michigan is on Eastern Time, so it truly is dark at that hour.  It actually worked out fine for us as it was a beautiful morning with good wind and nice temperatures, so off we set for Northport, Michigan on the north end of the Lelanau Peninsula.  We again had a good day for sailing and managed to make the whole trip under sail alone.

   The big event in Northport on Friday night was a country band that was playing at the pavilion in the park adjacent to the marina.  They were good, and we thoroughly enjoyed them.  A lot of people brought picnic dinners and ate as the group played.

   Yesterday, we leisurely sailed from Northport to Charlevoix, Michigan.  It was mostly downwind in light air.  I told the crew that I was making it up to them after the Leland to Northport passage, as some of that passage was in heavy air under two reefs with four foot seas.  The latter passage had resulted in a couple of upset tummies.

   We are currently anchored in Oyster Bay on Lake Charlevoix, having passed through the Charlevoix entry, under the bridge – a new experience for Tristan – through Round Lake, and then into Lake Charlevoix.  We are having some rather high winds this morning, so we will sit tight for a bit until the weather settles.

Departing Manitowoc

Sunrise on Lake Betsie, Frankfort, Michigan

Early Morning Departure from Frankfort

Sailing Past the Michigan Dunes Approaching Manitou Passage

Picturesque Leland - Old Commercial Fishing Area

Northport's Beautiful Flowers

Approaching the Charlevoix Bridge

Swimming in Oyster Bay, Lake Charlevoix