Sailing Ritual

Along the Sunrise Side

We Left Rogers City for Alpena at 7 am (I know!). This coastline is so different from our western MI side – no towering dunes and not that many ports or harbors to pull into. We did pass several lighthouses standing as testimony to shallow and rocky shores. We had a nice SW wind and sailed all the way around to Thunder Bay Island. This is part of the Thunder Bay Underwater Preserve, and we noticed several markers indicating shipwreck sites. Once we turned west we motored into the wind to the harbor, a long way in at 8 nautical miles – over an hour for us at 6 kts/hr. We tied into a slip at 3:30 pm, on the mostly empty transient dock.

Alpena has a protected marina right inside the river mouth. The facilities are old but adequate enough, although some might object to the sewage treatment plant and working industrial site on its shore. The town is soliciting ideas about an upgrade planned for next year, but they are stuck with the location. The downtown area is close with several restaurants and shops, and also many older, empty buildings. We biked across the river to visit the Thunder Bay Maritime Museum and were disappointed to find them closed, so we headed for Rite Aid to pick up a couple prescriptions (they are great about transferring things to wherever we are) and biked the 2 miles back to downtown for lunch at Mangoes Tequila Bar – delicious and enough food for 4! Fred has finally admitted that the bikes make it much easier to get around and we see/do more than if we were walking.

When we returned to the marina we talked to a sailboat we had heard earlier on the radio. They had come from Annapolis and had to divert from the Erie Canal because of lock issues on the west side. They exited through the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario, and due to the border closure, had to pay a Canadian pilot to bring the boat through the Welland Canal – for $2000! Needless to say, we are a bit worried and are hoping the issue (only 5’ depth at one lock) will be repaired within a couple weeks.

Our next stop was Harrisville – only a 25 mile run, so we slept in a bit. We were happy to be able to anchor inside the marina harbor. At anchor Ritual points into the wind, so the motion of the boat is (usually) gentle and natural, and the cattains can run the deck. When tied in a slip, the rocking from crosswinds, rubbing of dock lines and fenders, and weather sometimes blowing INTO the cockpit can be noisy and uncomfortable. And the cats are very tempted to get on the dock, and even other boats!

Harrisville is the only place along this coast where we had stopped 5 years ago when we bought Ritual in St. Clair Shores and sailed to Blind River, Ontario. The marina is very nice, with new docks since we were here last. There was live music in the park overlooking the harbor, and the musician, Josh Rose, is a teacher at Lowell HS. Yes, he knew our friend’s grandsons, and we had a nice chat. He is a good lyricist and we really enjoyed his songs. Aside from that and a walk to the ice cream shoppe, there is not much here in the way of services and therefore, no need to hang around. And our next 2 legs would be long ones at about 60 miles each. Count ’em – we average 6 knots/hour…

We continued south to Harbor Beach, where we were able to again anchor inside the breakwall. It was nice to get out of the confused seas, have some dinner and enjoy the sunset. The seagulls on the breakwall were not as thrilled, and kept up a cacophony well into the night. We were up early and on to Port Huron.

Entering the narrows under the Blue Water Bridge is not for the faint-hearted! Huge freighters coming and going, plus what seemed like every boat in Pt. Huron and Sarnia, Ontario out enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon, made for very choppy and crowded waters! Combined with the eddies and current under the bridge, Lisa was a bit anxious as she clung to the wheel, hanging on as much as steering. We made for the Port Huron Yacht Club just inside the Black River, and were happy to tie to the marina wall.

PHYC was welcoming and provided the perfect spot to rest a bit, along with access to their clubhouse, bar and bathrooms. It was fun to watch the “parade” that evening as boats returned to their various marinas upriver. We also visited with a few PHYC sailboats that were prepping for the upcoming Bayview to Mackinac race.

We took our time getting started the next morning since the run down the St. Clair River would be with the current. It is interesting that the American side of the river is mostly lined with nice homes, vs. the very industrial Canadian side, until one is well down river. We passed more freighters, including the Paul R. Tregurtha – “Queen of the Lakes” at 1,013 ft. long. Talk about feeling small! We crossed Lake St. Clair and took a slip at Jefferson Beach Marina, along the “Nautical Mile” in St. Clair Shores. In a way it was homecoming for Ritual, since we had purchased her here 5 years ago.

This was a planned stop for a few days, since we would have access to many boat supplies. But, like all planned things, priorities changed when the water pump on our refrigeration quit. Our fridge and freezer are water-cooled, and we were grateful that the Jeff Beach service department was able to find a new pump that same day and Fred got it installed. The bikes came in very handy, since the marina is huge, and it’s a long walk to the boat stores and restaurants.

The couple on the trawler next to us had just completed their Loop, so we celebrated with them at dinner. They also had to divert out of the Erie Canal and paid $1600 to a Canadian pilot to bring their boat through the Welland Canal in Ontario. We are hopeful that either the one closed lock on the Erie will open by August, or we can wait for Canada to open the border on Aug. 9 and pass through the Welland Canal on our own at a cost of $300.

We were happy to have lunch with friends from the area, use up some boat points with purchases at West Marine, and do more laundry. The Jeff Beach manager even gave us a ride to Nino’s, a nice grocery/produce store we had discovered the last time we were here. Now, to figure out our next stop.

Fair winds, Fred and Lisa

So far, marina wifi sucks!

Apologies for the delay in postings. We have been traveling the east coast of Michigan and the Lake Erie Islands, and the wifi connection has been pretty bad. We also suspect that our T-Mobile “deal” wasn’t one! So we will post a couple updates, and hope that as we travel the Ohio coast, the connection will improve. We are currently in Sandusky, OH and finally have a good signal.

In case you don’t know us, or have not been aboard Ritual, here is a quick introduction:

Ritual is a 1987 Slocum 43, cutter rigged sailboat. We chose her for her hardiness and safety at sea, as well as the roomy interior and storage space below decks. We have been updating systems and equipment over the past few years, and this work continues as we travel east.

Fred and Lisa are both retired, and have been planning to make an extended trip for several years. The crew consists of two cats – Jette and Mel. Yes – there are many boat kitties out sailing!

Hello Lake Huron

Good thing we like St. Ignace – we ended up staying a little longer than planned! This is a lovely marina, close to restaurants, hardware stores and other amenities. We wanted to celebrate our (probably last) crossing under the Mackinaw bridge with a nice dinner, but the spot we chose was closing at 5:00 (?!). We tried another place, only to walk out after first having quite the discussion with the hostess about where we could sit, then waiting 10-15 minutes without being acknowledged. Place #3 seated us right away, but then added a party of 12 next to us. Service was okay, but the food was mediocre. So goes the struggle for businesses to find good (and enough) help! All 3 of these are places we have enjoyed in the past.

The next day was cold and rainy, so we cleaned inside and did laundry at the marina. This is a real marina perk, since schlepping dirty clothes and bedding to a laundromat is NOT fun, or easy, nor is washing by hand in our little tub. Later that afternoon Fred became quite sick, with chills and a fever. We thought it might be food poisoning, but by morning it was apparent that he probably had a UTI. This is a possible side effect of one of his meds. One thing that has come out of the Covid mess is that doctors are now more accustomed to talking via phone and video-chat, and that is what we did. A prescription was called in to the pharmacy across the street and by afternoon he was on a course of antibiotics, with the promise that we would go to a clinic or ER if he didn’t show quick improvement.

Another added benefit of being at a marina for a few days is the ability to have things sent to us. Our propane sensors had failed, and we were able to have new ones Fed Ex’ed to us in St. Ignace. We stayed one more day just to be sure Fred was on the mend, topped off the diesel tank and had the head pumped, then happily headed out for the Les Cheneaux Islands.

A four-hour run east, across the north side of Mackinac Island and along the Upper Peninsula shore, put us in the middle of a series of narrow islands – Les Cheneaux’s, or as the locals call them, the Snows. We dropped the hook in Government Bay, near the little beach on Gov’t Island. Our friends were camping at a spot just north of us, and it was fun to have them motor out (in a REAL motor boat, not a dinghy!). Barb gave Lisa a ride to the grocery store, saving her a long dinghy ride and several block walk.

The next day Steve and Barb, along with daughter Christina, picked us up for a boat ride through the islands. We loved seeing the old cottages (and the crazy huge new ones), wooden boats and boat houses, while sipping on bloody marys that Barb made. We had a nice lunch and enjoyed the live music at The Distillery in Cedarville. By 3 pm we were all ready for a nap, so we said our goodbyes and returned to Ritual.

We were up early the next morning to cross the eastern Straits of Mackinaw to Rogers City. Knowing how rough the straits can be, it always amazes us when it is calm. After 40 miles of glassy water, swatting at those nasty little biting flies (which our friend Kelly has turned into a sport with the little electrified tennis racket bug zapper), and passed by only two freighters, we arrived at the Rogers City Marina.

This is another nice marina, with newer docks and bathrooms/laundry. While we prefer to anchor out, there are few places protected enough along this coast. We were worried about entering the harbor with our 6 ft. draft, but there was 12’ in the marked channel. Within walking distance we found a grocery, liquor store, and several shops along the main street. We had a good pizza at the Lighthouse Restaurant. Once again the labor shortage showed, as the place was packed, and there appeared to be one cook, one bartender and maybe 2 wait staff, and many patrons waiting for food and or drinks. We are finding that if we go out to eat, patience is required!

Another rainy cold day greeted us in the morning. We walked to the hardware store to find fittings for the propane tank that would allow Fred to remove the sensor solenoid, which still is not working. Turns out we need an entirely new system controller, and the sensors we ordered will not work! By removing the solenoid we won’t have to listen to the loud beeping of the alarm every time we turn on a stove burner. Of course, there will also be no warning if the propane leaks and we are about to blow up! We saw this happen once in Seattle – that boat fried to the waterline in minutes – made quite the impression. We are resolved to get a new system installed along our way. Fred also tore one of the secondary winches down for a good cleaning/greasing. The saying goes “cruising is fixing your boat in exotic places”. And we are nowhere near exotic yet!

Fair winds, Fred and Lisa

On Our Way … Again!

Wow! Here we are again on our way to our 3rd act. After spending a year in Muskegon helping take care of Lisa’s mother and a year back in our Traverse City house waiting out Covid, we’re packed and ready. We’ve sold the house, stored too many “treasured” possessions, and moved aboard Ritual.

We spent about a month “living” aboard while the boat was still on the hard at Irish Boat Yard in Charlevoix, and “living”- 17 feet in the air with everything coming and going up or down a ladder- only minimally qualifies! We had some major projects to complete including work on the hull and bottom, installing new windows in the salon, wrapping up some engine work, and rebuilding the mast head with new gear. And, as ever, Ritual never fails to disappoint with new surprises like a locked up main furling shackle (which one discovers only after the mainsail is hoisted but won’t roll up), more fuel leaks (very stinky bilge!), a burst water pipe (why do I hear water running? and where??), and the odd occasion to lay in the bilge for a variety of reasons.

We are still sorting out storage for the too many tools, clothes, books, and galley ware. But things are coming together pretty well and life aboard is succumbing to the inevitable routine. It has it’s moments of panic insulated with a great deal of relaxing and the excitement of looking forward to many new experiences – both good and bad. At our age (or mine (Fred), at least) it’s what keeps us alive and healthy.

We have officially been “live-aboards” since June 7th. The last month has been mostly pleasant – getting to say good-bye to good friends, making new friends in the boatyard as we prepped Ritual, sailing down to GT Bay and around Lk. Charlevoix, wrapping up various affairs like mail, banking and cars, and completing the numerous things that really do change when your home is constantly moving.

On Tuesday, July 6th, we crossed under the Mackinaw Bridge for the (hopefully) final time, leaving Lake Michigan and entering Lake Huron. We are currently in the marina at St. Ignace, MI catching up on laundry, taking on the inevitable things we forgot, and waiting out some rain and nasty easterlies. Our plan is to post our experiences and trip choices about once a week. We’ll try to post our itinerary in case some of you would like to join us for a leg or two. And for those following us, we’ll try to recount our travels in a way that gives an honest portrayal of our encounters; warts and all.

Fair winds – Fred and Lisa

South along Lake Michigan’s shore

Trying to take advantage of the beautiful weather, and feeling like we just couldn’t go through another round of send-offs for a trip that had pretty much escaped our grasp, we headed out of the bay on Saturday, Sept. 8th. The wind was predicted to be north (of course!) so we were prepared to motor into it to get to Northport. We were exclaiming how nice it had actually been when, as we passed the end of Old Mission Peninsula, the NE wind built and the waves grew to 3-4 footers. We finally tucked into the bay west of Northport Point and had a peaceful evening, even though the residents motored around us a couple times to check us out. I wondered if we would have been better off in the marina, but we later heard folks complain about the “rock and roll” in there that evening!

The winds went east on Sunday, so we left early while they were still light, and motored until we turned toward the south at Gr. Traverse light. With an ENE wind now on our quarter we were actually able to sail along the Leelanau coast toward Leland. It had been a few years since we were on this side of the peninsula by water, and it was beautiful with the sun shining on the dunes and bluffs, the blue water sparkling, and the islands so clearly visible. We would have preferred to head for South Manitou Island, but that anchorage is open to the easterly winds, so we decided that Leland Harbor would be best. I was worried about the channel depth (we now draw 6 feet, instead of the shallow 4.5 on the old boat), but it had been dredged, and we never saw less than 15 feet of water. And the greatest part of this plan was that our friends Carol and Mike were able to join us for the evening!

Leland is a fun little town, and much less busy in Sept. The harbor is very nice and you can walk to everything. I had a great beach walk, we picked up some smoked fish at Carlson’s Fisheries, met a couple boats/crew who were completing the Loop, and even ran into some GTYC friends who were leading a group over to Green Bay. (photo below: Ritual’s mast is behind the big cabin cruiser)

Monday we headed for Frankfort. At approx. 35 nautical miles, this was the longest leg of our trip. Running along the entire coast of Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat’l Lakeshore, the scenery was gorgeous, but the coast offers no marina or protected harbor for dropping the anchor overnight. Given the light east winds, we probably could have found a spot, but there is just no where to go if conditions change. So we took a slip at the Frankfort Municipal Marina. Frankfort is another cool small town, with an added bonus – our friends Jim and Gerri live fairly close by and were able to join us for sunset!

Frankfort sunset

Sleeping Bear Dunes

Early the next morning, with evening winds predicted to move south (of course!) and build, we opted to head for Manistee. Following in the wake of our new Looper friends, we motored along the coast, trying to identify the little harbors along the way – Lower Herring Lake and Arcadia Lake, both of which we feared could not be entered due to shallow channels, and Portage Lake, which is still “iffy” for us with a 6′ draft. We had radioed ahead to the Municipal Marina in Manistee for a slip, so that we would not have to deal with the drawbridge blocking the marina farther up the river. We were placed on “the wall” because most of the slips had been damaged in the spring seiche, and were not yet repaired. (The water had been pushed up the river and rose to the top of the dock posts!) The wall was great with lots of folks passing by on the riverwalk, chatting and asking questions about the boat. Plus, it is right downtown, so walkable to everything. We ambled the riverwalk all the way to the pier and back, reading the historical posters and photos of 1800’s Manistee along the way. As we enjoyed a glass of wine in the cockpit that evening, leaning against the stern rail nestled in our soft folding chairs, a guy walking by says “jeez – you guys need to learn to relax.” Ha ha, if he only knew!

On the Manistee river wall

Manistee Pier and channel

Damage to Marina docks

We spent 2 days in Manistee, as the winds built and clocked west. The waves settled down on Thursday, and we resumed our trek south to Pentwater. We had intended to anchor out, but most of the areas that looked good already had several mooring balls in place, so we ended up at the Municipal dock. We tended toward the muni’s because their rates are somewhat controlled by the State, and it was “late season”. At Clinch in TC, the rate for our slip was half the summer rate – $36. Not so in Leland, where the fee was 70 something – guess they need to pay for that dredger! The rest charged less than summer rates, but more than half. Facilities also varied. TC, Leland and Manistee had really nice, new lounges with big showers and bathrooms. Pentwater’s bathrooms are ancient, dark and small. I didn’t use the ones in Frankfort but they looked older.

Pentwater from the channel, Ritual is far right.

Fred thought Pentwater was like Mackinaw Island on prozac. Lots of cutesy shops, no grocery store, old marina facilities. We did enjoy a meal at the Antler Bar, and the yacht club looked nice – if you have reciprical membership (oops – nope!). It is a short walk around the channel to Mears State Park, which has a gorgeous sandy beach.

We left Pentwater for White Lake, motorsailing past Silver Lake Sand Dunes along the way. It is one of the last places where you can drive on the dunes, and the numerous dune buggies looked like ants crawling all over a giant sand pile! I was reminded of what an incredible job Michigan did in setting aside so much land in state parks all along this coast. Almost every channel and/or major lake has a large state park and campground with acres of beautiful beach, dunes and forest. Since we were just stopping in White Lake for the night, we dropped the hook in front of the White Lake Yacht Club just inside the channel. The marinas are 5 miles east in Whitehall, and you really have to watch the channel markers for shallows on both sides of the lake.

We had one more short leg to Muskegon, and a beautiful day of motorsailing. But what a shock as we pulled into the breakwalls on a busy weekend afternoon! We were greeted by a 2 foot chop in the channel, with what looked like every boat in Muskegon out enjoying the day. My mom and brother were on the seawall to welcome us, but we were really focused on holding the boat away from the wall and watching out for the pontoon boat 2 feet off our starboard, ski boat 2 feet off port, giant cruisers in front, and all the other boats coming at us as they headed out the channel. “No wake zone” my ass! Whew – we are not used to that kind of traffic! We found our assigned mooring ball at Torreson’s marina, where we spent a couple weeks. We are now hauled out there for winter, and living in Muskegon. Still trying to get the TC house sold. We will try to post a few updates as we complete some projects in the boatyard, and prepare to really leave next spring!

Off Track – big time!

Soooo – here we are in October, on the hard in Muskegon MI. NOT part of the original plan. Whaaaat? A brief recap….

In prepping to leave the end of July (plan A), we made a round of goodbyes and completed checkups with our family doc, dentist, and optometrist, where – surprise! – Fred was notified that he needed cataract surgery. Since we both needed to have confidence in his eyesight during the trip, we looked for doctors in Annapolis (which is where we were slated to be in October), but just happened across a new guy in TC, who turned out to be connected to some friends. If you are looking for a new eye surgeon, please check out Pothoff Surgery and Eye Care on Garfield Rd. Dr. Pothoff was awesome and was able to complete both of Fred’s eyes by the end of August! Our departure date had now slipped to Labor Day weekend (plan B), but we felt we still had time to make the Annapolis boat show by Oct. 1. No house sale yet, but lots of showings, so we kept moving forward.

After (another) round of goodbye dinners and get-togethers, we hurriedly held an estate sale in mid-August so we would be ready to go as soon as Fred’s eyes were healed and the house sold. We had already packed the “keepers” away, but it was crazy how much stuff still remained. OMG – I have no idea how we would have managed the sale without the help of many good friends. With Barb’s input, Kelly’s management (literally, for days) and assistance from Gerri, Jim, Carol, Jan, Sara and Doug, we managed to clean out most of the house and garage over the weekend. Many, many thanks to you all! We also got Ritual loaded up, and finally launched in Charlevoix the end of August, after much work on the hard over the summer. Things were really falling into place and we were excited!! We sailed Ritual to Traverse City and spent the first week of September at Clinch Marina, in anticipation of final provisioning and (more) goodbyes.

Up to this point, we had been optimistically moving forward, but reality began to sink in as we watched the September weather begin to deteriorate, and (to our disbelief) the house was still not sold. We reluctantly began considering plan C, since we were now feeling really pressed to make our boat show timeline. Besides, with the house not sold, we would not be able to complete the boat show purchases necessary for the offshore trip south in November. We decided to head for Lake St. Clair, and if things did not “line up” by then, we could leave the boat there for the winter, and spend some time with my mom in Muskegon until Spring.

After we mulled that plan over for a few days, plan D was hatched. If we moved the boat to Torreson’s in Muskegon, it would be 10 minutes away, whereas St. Clair Shores would entail a 5 hour drive. Lake Michigan had a great weather window forecast, so we headed out of Gr. Traverse Bay on Sept. 8th, feeling a bit defeated, but at least moving.

The Journey Begins

Beginning – the word carries many emotions! First, it implies that something else is ending. We have a little plaque that says “when God closes a door, he always opens a window” …but that suggests that something has happened TO us. This journey “beginning” has been discussed and planned for 20+ years as we sailed/cruised when we could, between raising a family, changing jobs, relocations, and life in general. The time is finally here, and while we are anxious to get started, it is also with mixed emotions – selling a home we have reshaped over the past 14 years, parting with dear friends, and living with the uncertainty of what really lies ahead.

We envisioned things happening according to “our plan”, but like all plans, life intervenes and things are not going exactly as we thought! The boat projects took longer than anticipated, but we see a launch coming very soon. The house is still not sold, which is a huge impediment. And getting rid of all the stuff – my god, the stuff!

So we find ourselves a bit in limbo, and hoping that proverbial window opens soon! We’ll keep you posted.

Lisa and Fred

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

Ritual in the North Channel Islands, Ontario, CA