It's amazing how regenerative a couple of days on the boat at the dock can be. Even Vixen has been resting as she checks out the dock activity from her new perch. God forbid someone should walk by and not pay attention to her.
The trip up was really tough on the body - none of us slept much that second night. So catch-up rest and sleep are the order of the day(s) while we await our friends who are now in Harrisville - just south of us.
I think (fingers crossed) that I've got the wet locker leak fixed. Tim, the fast cure 5200 was a great idea - it set in about 4 hours. The fuel cap that went in the water, on the other hand is that sacrificial boat part that we all must offer up to the gods from time to time. I was able to borrow a net to dredge the bottom - and spent about a day going back and forth stirring up all kinds of stuff in this muddy bottom - but no luck. Fortunately it is a direct swap with the stern water tank filler cap. Since we only use the stern tank to balance the boat, that gets a rag as the filler cap and the fuel cap is 'fixed'.
We spent the rest of the first day walking to both the old lighthouse (1830) and the new one that was established in 1870. The walk ended up being longer than intended but nice to see both Lighthouses. Kat made a wonderful chicken and rice dinner with freshly baked bread. The second day we took Vixen to the beach and sand dunes - she loves to run after the waves - thanks to Alex and Stephanie who regularly take her to the beach. Last night's dinner was breaded pork. The only thing that would have made this meal better would have been a nice young Pinot Noir, but I'm not going into the wine cellar until we're finally in Canada as our on board supply is limited and the selection in the Ontario stores is restricted to the equivalent of Catawba Reds (our CIC friends will understand). It's amazing how much we use the galley compared to our previous boat, I don't think we ever turned on the stove/oven on the 38.
The weather is challenging in many respects, a thunderstorm blew through 2 nights ago with strong winds and a downpour, Yesterday the wind in the harbor blew a steady 15 with gusts to 20. It's interesting that except for the 4th weekend with little to no wind, we have had very windy conditions (and cold) for the past month. The heat is on in the boat - and we're dressed in fall clothes. We're ready for some warm and becalmed days.
July 12th
This morning we heard our friends talking on the VHF so we know they are on the way - we're very excited to meet up with them.
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Another full moon to help with the navigation, although there wasn't much to see. We are west of the primary shipping channels and only spot a freighter after the AIS alarm goes off. Most of the freighters were 8-10 miles from us so no need to worry about collisions. At one point we had as many as 6 targets on AIS/Radar - not sure how the 'old timers' avoided this kind of traffic. One of the targets was interesting as it was a derelict ship, abandoned and stationary but still floating and transmitting AIS information. The information broadcast said it's been abandoned for a year - very interesting since it was in about 250 feet of water. Hopefully one our crew remembers the name of the ship so that we can find out more info. NOAA promished higher winds and waves and we certainly got them tonight. Fortunately the dodger glass was in so we didn't have to worry about getting wet and everyone was comfortable in the cockpit. It is colder than the previous night and someone got the great idea of using the sleeping bags as covers to keep comfortable. A great idea!
As daylight broke we had rounded Thunder Bay and were on the last leg of our journey, this part of the waterscape is littered with fishing nets and the plan was to sail several miles off shore to avoid any entanglements. We were able to spot most of them inshore, eagle eye Ken did spot a couple that stretched across our course and we were able to avoid them in time. We pulled into Presque Isle tired and cold but with the satisfaction of having transited a tough course. Hot showers, warm meals and quick naps later, we are ready to go separate ways. Kat has arrived by car (fully loaded of course - where are we going to put this stuff??) with Vixen our 10 month old Cairn Terrier (on her first sail). Now it's time to regroup, do any maintenance and await the two other boats meeting us.
Oh did I mention maintenance? The cork worked too well. One of the reasons for the drain is to evacuate any water that trickles in from the cockpit or backwashes from the stern. When Mark opened up the wet locker it was full of water not to mention the water that had seeped into the engine compartment. More bailing and drying before I can fix with the 5200. Since I was working in the cockpit, I also decided to empty the 2 extra jerry cans of diesel into the fuel tank. As they say 'things happen' - so they did this time as well. The fuel filler cap which is attached to the filler tube by chain got somehow relieved and into the water it goes. As the guys will testify, the water here is crystal clear, the bottom is about 20 feet deep and as clear as a bathtub but the cap is nowhere to be seen. So off I go to acquire a net on a long handle to dredge the bottom.......
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Officially day 2, we're on our way to Harbor Beach Mi. to fuel. Conditions are not conducive to sailing with moderate headwinds. We're all glad we brought foulweather gear to break the wind and the cold temps. Can't believe this is July 7th - we were expecting hot and muggy temps. The boat is performing well and the guys off watch can go below and catch some sleep. Ever since our incident with the oil filler tube breaking and spilling oil into the engine pan 2 years ago on the way to Harbor Beach, I check the engine every 10 hours. When I did tonight I found about 2 gals of water - quick investigation revealed that there was a break in the drain tube of the stern wet locker. Other than the inconvenience of having to bail it out there are no structural or safety issues.
When I called the Harbormaster a few days ago he promised me we could get in with our 5'6" draft. Mark who was at the helm upon arrival brought the boat in flawlessly, even though the depth sounder was reading 0 depth under the keel for the last 50 feet to the fuel dock. Harbor Beach lived up to its reputation of a shallow harbor. A hot breakfast and a couple hours nap revitalized everyone. I though a great temporary solution for the drain tube issue was to put some form of a stopper into the tube since the break was outside the tube - after breakfast I found a wine store in town that had corks - that looked like the ideal solution - so in goes the cork and hopefully that temporarily solves the problem until Kat comes up on Wednesday with a tube of 5200.
At 1:45 we were off to Presque Isle, we picked the time so that we would arrive in Presque Isle in daylight. Nothing is worse than coming into a harbor in the dark - especially in Presque Isle where the last four buoys are a sharp right turn and unlit.
The forecast continued to be less than ideal sailing weather with NOAA promising headwinds and waves all the way to our destination - more of the same stuff that we started with in Lake Erie. Saginaw bay were it meets Lake Huron (also known as the Michigan thumb) has a reputation for sloppy weather including confused waves. We ended up having sunny weather, moderate winds, and 2-3 waves, all very manageable in French Connection. We took advantage of the weather to have a nice sit down dinner in the cockpit prepared by the captain. For our spouses who thought that we'd subsist on only candy bars, please note the tablecloth, and candle (in the foreground), but forget about the wine - very civilized as any French boat should be - the only thing we were missing were the brie and baguettes. Stay tuned for part 2.
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We had a great sail across Lake St Clair, the conditions were almost Caribbean-like; clear skies, blue water and plenty of wind. We got to see a barge setting buoys - so for those that want to know how, ask Ken. We began more serious navigation as we entered the St Clair River cut-off channel at 4:05. The river has a reputation for very shallow areas adjacent to the deep water channel. Combine that with the reputation for strong currents and commercial ship traffic it becomes even more challenging. Fortunately the combination worked in our favor; very little commercial traffic and except for the Blue Water bridge we only experienced an average current of about 2 kts.
We were motor sailing up the river, and for the most part the main was helping us, however about 2/3's of the way up we experienced high winds in the wrong direction. Up to this point Roger was using the width of the channel to keep the main full but we got slammed with 21kts right on the nose. With Roger at the wheel, I dropped the main and with Mark's help we were able to get it folded and sail bag zipped. For our spouses: yes we were tethered in, the rule on the boat was when in the cockpit everyone must wear life preservers, outside of the cockpit or at night in the cockpit everyone must have life preservers and be tethered to the jack lines.
The watch schedule continues to work well, as Roger and Mark are able to grab some sleep as Ken navigates us under the Blue Water Bridge at 11:00. As mentioned previously this area is notorious for strong currents but we only experienced 3-4 kts directly under the bridge. Since it was dark, it was nice not having any commercial traffic to deal with during this passage, however the small fishing boats were something else as there were quite a few anchored or drifting in the middle of the channel. Most of these boats are poorly illuminated and probably have no clue as to the potential hazards they represent. We're finally in Lake Huron, the engine is running well.
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0400, Mark, Ken, Roger and I were ready to cast off except for a minor glitch; a burned out navigation light bulb. Fortunately I had a spare - but even better Tim our dockmate and local West Marine rep was there and will be passing along a couple of additional spares to Kat who is leaving to meet us on Wednesday. Tim said he woke up at 3:30 to come down and see us off - or was he partying and never went to bed?
We had the usual formula for any sailor leaving for as specific destination: head winds and enough wave height to slow the boat down. On the first leg to the Detroit River, we saw a pretty cool thing, a 'Moon Set'. All of us have seen Moons rise but this was quite extraordinary. We had a full moon that was almost a bright orange set into the horizon, unfortunately with the boat rocking from the waves we were unable to take a picture of it.
We arrived at the Detroit river at 9:10 and with the wind now abeam we raised the main. This enabled us to motorsail all the way up the river. The normal current is 1 kt, but we encountered some areas with up to 2 knots. This current was offset by winds that peaked at 26. The AIS system performed well giving us plenty of notice on freighters transiting the river - although both pleasure boat and commercial ship traffic was down considerably from previous trips. Mark showed off his culinary skills with Ramen noodles along with peanut butter sandwiches, everyone is in good spirits and secretly hoping that the wind doesn't quit and flies that love sailboats can't locate us.
Lake St Clair at 1:50 and it's time to do some sailing - with a nice westerly breeze we were able to sail all the way to the St Clair river. Everyone quickly picked up the nuances of the boat's systems including Radar, AIS and Chartplotter. The watch schedule with alternating four hour watches is working well also. More to come on this extended first day.
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Well final preparations have been completed for our trip to the North Channel. The boat is loaded to the water line with provisions, water, fuel, and a good portion of Kat's wardrobe. Our mechanic was out on Thursday and pronounced the mechanical and electrical systems good to go and also made sure that we had plenty of spare parts - since getting access to parts or even a FedEx drop off are rare. This year's journey will take a different format, with a planned 'guys' trip to Presque Isle where Kat will meet us, the guys will then return back to CIC by car. That will be our launching point to Meldrum Bay in the North Channel. The plan is to then meet up with our friends on Adagio (another 423) and potentially two other boats.
Stay tuned as the guys try to make the trip in about 50 hours - going round the clock.
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Here it is - another season of sailing, however the house is getting in the way again. Last year we were fortunate to have sold our Beachwood home in ten days and we ended up moving during prime sailing season. This summer we're wrapping up a major renovation on our home in Catawba. Almost done - and it needs to be since we'll be off to the North Channel shortly.
Even thought we only have sailed three times this year - two were exciting races. Alex and Stephanie were on board for the first one and really helped us out. Winds were perfect for French Connection, 14+kts, the waves minimal and a decent start. Most of the fleet chose an inshore heading, a few brave souls, ourselves included, took the contrarian route hoping for better winds and lifts. Turns out that was the favored course and we ended up with a first place in the division and third overall. The photo is of Alex and Stephanie, the soon to be newlyweds accepting the first place burgee.
The second race was equally as perfect with wind and no waves, although this time the opinion on the docks was to shorten sail. This made sense especially since Kat, Cheryl our race partner from last year and myself were the only ones on the boat. We put one reef in the main and had wonderful control (no weather helm) unfortunately we didn't have great boat speed, so we took out the reef halfway down to the windward mark, but by then we had lost precious speed and position on the rest of the fleet. This race, was a 2X windward - leeward. Long story short we came in third place in our division and just ten seconds behind Tiki Hut a Beneteau 473.
Apart from these exciting races the story on board French Connection this year has been maintenance. A complete set of batteries went in after our first shakedown sail - when we found out we couldn't run any electronics or basic necessities like Kat's electric head (toilet) or the fridge. A $ grand later FC was a happy camper with more than enough power to run everything on board. With that high level of confidence we motored back to the dock after the second race only to have the bow thruster fail just before the critical turn into our dock. Of course there was a steady crosswind which was blowing us into everything but our dock. Three tries later and with help from our dockmates we landed safely with no damage. Isn't docking the best spectator sport out there!
The news on the bow thruster is that it was the shear pin between the motor and the drive shaft. Another megabuck later - they had to haul out the boat to check the thruster for damage and we're good to go. Next week is boat prep week with lots of activity getting French Connection ready for the 1000 mile journey.
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July 31st
Most everyone knows that we're back home. We had an uneventful trip down the St Clair river, moving along with an average 2 kt. downstream current - warm temps, blue skies and little traffic. Once we hit Lake St Clair, the wind picked up a little (not enough to sail) but the lake remained relatively smooth. We were staying at Lakeview Marina and because they have a small fuel dock, we ended up circling outside by Peche Island for about 20 min. waiting for a spot to open up. Once docked on the short wall directly across from the fuel dock, I was amused by a couple of boaters on a Go Fast boat with a long improvised fishing net - apparently looking for a fuel cap in the 'drink'. Hmmm does this happen often? ;-).
Time to split up: next morning Adagio and Resolution left at six and headed to Put-In-Bay. Since we wanted to be home in time for Kat to attend a shower, we decided to head for home at CIC. So we slept in until 6:30 - but by 6:50 lines were cast off and we picked up the Detroit River current - about 1 - 1.5kt avg. Conditions were the same as the day before, blue skies, calm water and mild temps. We did see a bit more traffic, but most, not all, of the AIS alerts were from ships that were stationary. The one that wasn't is a 1000' ft. ore carrier called the John Barker. For a while it looked like she was going to pass us by Fighting Island, no such luck. Just as we entered the Livingston Channel, we look back and saw it turning by the mid channel mark. Kat was elated because her shift at the helm was ending and she wouldn't have to deal with it. As it entered this part of the downstream channel it literally looked like there was minimal room on either side (AIS data showed her to be 113 ft wide). So as I took over the helm, I was looking for potential 'escape routes' and the one to Belle Isle made the most sense. Luckily for us, the Barker's speed closely matched ours - she was doing 10.9 kt's compared to our 10.5. We were out of the channel and into the lake by #34 red can before she passed us.
Lake Erie, was relatively calm as well, with a northwest wind, we tried sailing, but the waves and minimal wind created an effective way to flog the main - so down it went. One benefit of the wind was that it did create some wave action that helped us along by about .5 kt. As we entered CIC we were greeted at the fuel dock by our friends the McLaughlins.
Great to be home!
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