On Wednesday, July 16, 2008, we embarked on our first overnight cruise from our homeport.� We had originally planned to sail from Grand Haven to Saugatuck (~24 nautical miles) to meet up with some friends who have a boat there.� The voyage from Grand Haven to Saugatuck affords a couple of ports in between for weathering a storm, provisioning, etc.� The ports are evenly spaced with Port Sheldon/Pigeon Lake being a short hop at 9.5nm and Holland being an additional 8nm.�

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The forecast for Wednesday, our departure day, called for winds out of the south from 5-15 knots.� This meant a tough, slow beat upwind.� Luckily the seas were only 1-2 foot and the sky was clear.� We stayed on Hannabel the night prior to the trip and both Erin and I woke early Wednesday morning (6:00am) with excitement, ready to begin our journey.� We rounded the Grand Haven pier and headed south at about 9:00am.� The girls both played for the first few hours.� Our dog, a golden retriever named Shasta, slept.� Then after a few snacks and a light lunch, both girls took a nice nap while Erin and I kept Hannabel on tight SE/SW tacks as we made our way south.� At about 2:00pm somewhere just south of Port Sheldon we decided that we would call it a day and make port at Holland.� We ended up pulling in to Holland and Lake Macatawa at about 4:00pm.� The 17nm trip from Grand Haven had taken us 8 hours and plenty of tacks.� We set two bow anchors and then took the dinghy to shore to cook dinner.

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We were grilling our dinner on a beach about � mile from our anchorage when a Coast Guard RIB pulled up and announced on their loud speaker that we should "wrap up the barbeque...there's a storm headed our way with wind gusts to 50 knots and possible hail."� Needless to say, we hastily broke camp and hurried back to Hannabel to prepare for the blow.�

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The sky darkened and a very ominous roll cloud appeared just as we approached Hannabel from the dinghy.� Erin, the girls and the dog all prepared to hunker down in the cabin as I scurried about on deck in gusty winds and a light drizzle tying down the sails and worrying about the anchors holding.� As several strong wind gusts blew across our bow, I quickly decided that I'd feel safer picking up one of the many vacant nearby mooring balls rather than trusting our undersized anchors.� All ended up well as Erin masterfully maneuvered Hannabel under power while I secured a bowline to a mooring ball just as the storm hit with full force.� We hustled down into the cabin and finished our dinner with all hatches and hatch boards secured for a damp, rolly start to our evening.� The storm moved on after about an hour and we enjoyed a pleasant evening on the mooring.�

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The next morning, decided to abandon our plans for Saugatuck and grab a slip at Eldean Shipyard to enjoy the pool, hot tubs, restaurant and many other beautiful cruising sailboats at the marina.� Hannah and Izzy were thankful for a warm pool while Erin and I truly savored walking the docks and looking at all of the sticks in the harbor.

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After two nights in Holland, we decided to head back to Grand Haven because of many severe thunderstorms in the forecast for the next several days.� We left Holland at about 8:00am on Friday morning with strong winds (20 knots) out of the south and 4-6 foot seas.� As we motored out of the breakwater we all felt a little nervous and uneasy with the motion of the boat under power.� Truly one of the greatest attributes of sailing vessels is their balance and relative comfort (compared to powerboats) while under sail.� We raised the main with a single reef and shut of the engine.� Hannabel quickly settled in to a nice comfortable rhythm and we gradually gained our confidence.� With the seas and wind at our stern, we were able to let the main out and enjoy a nice surf to the north.� After about 30 minutes, we decided to raise the 100% jib.� After the jib was up, we sailed wing-and-wing northward at about 5 to 6 knots.� Another hour passed and we felt like the wind had decreased a bit (perhaps 15-20 knots true?).� At that point I went forward on the deck and took down the jib and hanked on the 120% genoa.� With a decrease in wind speed and a slight direction change we were able to cruise at an average of 6.5 knots on a broad reach all the way to Grand Haven.� The steel drum music and sing/dancing of Isabel and Hannah made for a very enjoyable cruise home.� The return trip took us about 4 hours, half the time of our initial trip.����

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