Day 55 - Happy Captain
When my alarm went off at 6am this morning I had a text from Jodi who is about a hop ahead of us at St. Ignace. All boat traffic under the Mackinac Bridge was going to be closed from 7:30-12:00 for a charity swim that was going to be swimming the entire 4.3 miles of the straights and under the bridge. They were already underway to beat that time but after I did boat math, I found our 7am departure would have to wait so we easily re-set our alarm and went back to bed for an hour.
Kona had a nice walk before we left. I took a picture of her way out in the water just standing there as it was so shallow so far out. The kids got up and helped get underway. Cory made more breakfast burritos and I just took my portion of bacon for my virgin bloody. Dang those are good, and full of vitamin SEA!
We had a very uneventful sail. Thankfully Lake Huron was calm today. I had expected to see a cue of boats backed up from the race as we approached the bridge but apparently the word got out enough that traffic was light. The straights are often a bit choppy as it is two large bodies of water meeting but the ferries to and from Mackinac Island always throw massive wake and we get tossed around like three men in a tub.
We had the sails up all day with very light wind so the motor kept humming with us as we needed to make time and keep at least 5-6 knots pace. I sat up with Captain most of the day reading, petting Kona, managing water and snacks and trying to stay cool. Captain’s mood I had noticed was pretty sour. It happens to us all, for our own reasons. He was frustrated with his cell phone as his coverage has been non-existent even inside the United States but what was really bugging him was we really haven’t had many real sails all summer. A few little ones here and there and that one really big day which was awesome, but not a relaxing fun sail! “If I wanted a motor boat, I would have gotten a motor boat” was said which is an old joke, but was ringing true at the moment. Legendary Bob on Tango had even said that, sadly, “most of the time in the Great Lakes you really aren’t sailing unless you are in a race which forbids you turning on your engine.” I sat watching him and wondering what I could do to cheer him up when we got to Beaver Island. We spent the afternoon pulling out the jib and then pulling it back in. Pulling out the jib, and puling it back in. Either we couldn’t sail in the right direction or the wind would die.
Poor Captain. But I think the gods of the winds were listening to his plea. About an hour away from Beaver Island the winds came and exactly where we needed them! We pulled out the jib and Ciara heeled over and we turned off the engine! We had a perfect, calm sea, 6+ knot sail. Everyone came up on deck to enjoy the quietness and the coolness the shade from the main was creating in the cockpit. It was really nice to all hang out and enjoy Ciara at her finest. Captain was so happy! He got all excited and proclaimed “We are going to sail this all the way into Beaver Island, all the way until we drop anchor and give everyone a show!!” And so we did. The winds calmed as we got closer to St. James Harbor and we gently glided by the lighthouse as Kona stuck her nose out for the smell of land. We sailed through the channel and as we passed another sailboat at anchor the captain of that boat came out and starting clapping. As a crew we lowered the sails and dropped anchor. It was 7pm. The ice cream shop closed at 8pm so everyone got to work getting the boat ready to leave. It was quite the sight to see. There aren’t too many crews like ours for sure and we offer good entertainment to other boaters who know what they are looking at. I beamed with pride as I just managed the show.
We got to our ice cream in time and it tasted delicious. Kona got really good freebee time and we made friends at the marina. It was after 9 before we got back to Ciara and dinner of Ramen (not soup as I’m now told by the teenagers) was on the stove while I played Last Post/Taps.
All of us were in dire need of showers so after dinner we headed back to shore to indulge in such ritual. It felt amazing and clean clothes felt even better. When we returned to Ciara after midnight Captain went to empty his shower bag and gagged at the smell of this clothes. I had to admit, my clothes could have stood and walked out on their own as well. We all had really good laughs.
So happy to be back at Beaver Island. The kids want to do a lot so we will be here at least two nights. Weather is looking to be hot, but sailing forecast looks good to getting us back home as the week progresses (even if not good sailing weather much to Captain’s disappointment).
