Solo Sailing (Ludington to Frankfort)

Dad left Island Bound on Wednesday in Ludington, so now it was my turn to try some solo cruising for a couple of days to see how far north I could get the boat before my wife and kids joined me for the rest of the journey. I woke up around 5:30am on Thursday morning and left the dock at about 6am. Winds were 10-12 knots from the northwest, so I was forced to motor around Big Point Sable. As I rounded the point, I put the sails up since my course would now be more northerly and I should be able to sail close hauled. I put a single reef in the main because the NOAA forecast called for some wind gusts to 20 knots and I wanted to be prepared for the conditions before they arrived. Island Bound didn’t seem to mind the reef because she made between 5 and 6 knots, even while sailing so close to the wind.

Even though I’m single-handing this portion of the cruise, I’m not the only crew member. “Otto” our autopilot (Autohelm ST1000) does his job very well. He never complains, he never gets tired, he never eats. He just steers the course that I tell him to steer. Tending the sails, fixing meals and navigating would be very difficult by myself if it were not for Otto.

I covered 44 nautical miles on Thursday and made port in Frankfort. Another storm system is moving through the area Thursday night until Sunday. I’ll stay in port on Friday and catch up on work, blogging and bill paying until Erin and the girls arrive on Friday evening. Then the plan is to spend a couple of nights at my in-laws' cottage on Lake Charlevoix until Sunday evening when the weather starts to clear. Hopefully we’ll be able to head out Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. The options are fairly open and include Leland, South Manitou Island (anchoring), Charlevoix, Harbor springs and Beaver Island. From there we’ll move north into the Straits and inch closer to the Lake Huron’s North Channel.
 
Below are a couple of video logs from day 4 (Ludington to Frankfort):
 

 

Comments

  1. Ethan Roessler14 June

    Great video and looks like a lot of fun.


    Ethan R.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top 10 Favorite Affordable Bluewater Sailboats

Image
I've always said that my favorite boat is whichever one I currently own. Being able to call it "mine" makes it my favorite by default. My first boat was a $400 derelict that I loved (still love) deeply. And she loved me back. However, that doesn't mean there aren't other boats I love that I'd like to call "mine" someday. The following is my personal ranking of my favorite affordable (available for ~$50k) sailboats. I've rather arbitrarily set the price limit around $50k and called it "affordable" in hopes that one day one of these boats might fit my budget and help my family and I to sail far and live free. Also note that other than the top 3, these rankings change in my head almost daily and I really struggled to narrow the list down to just 10.   As you peruse my list, you'll notice that they're all bluewater cruisers . You won't find any modern designs, fin keels, spade rudders, sugar scoop transoms, carbo...
Read more

Go Small and Go Now! 5 Pocket Cruisers to Take you Anywhere

Image
"Go small, go simple, go now!" -Lin & Larry Pardey Iconic cruisers Lin and Larry Pardey are well-known among cruising enthusiasts for the above statement. Can it really be that easy? Grab yourself a small boat, outfit it properly but simply for offshore work, and get going while your dream and your body is still alive! Lin and Larry not only made the statement, they lived it. If you're looking to do the same, maybe some of the micro- or pocket-cruisers I've listed below can serve as your "go small" portion of the equation. Going small and choosing one of these or several other pocket cruisers will lead to trade-offs. Of course first and foremost you'll be giving up length, both on deck and at the waterline. This often leads to less storage space, less weight capacity, and slower sailing. But the upside is presumably less maintenance (less paint, less wood, fewer systems) and more affordable expenses. For example, replacing the s...
Read more

Escape to the Sea: How to get from the Great Lakes to the Caribbean

Image
Let's say winter's chill was something you could no longer take as a Great Lakes sailor. Or perhaps you just want to extend your sailing season beyond the boundaries of summer. What options do you have?  You could just opt for a bareboat charter somewhere in the Caribbean and consider the itch scratched. But then you'd miss out on all the adventure of moving a boat between the Great Lakes and the Caribbean. And you wouldn't be sailing  your  boat. I'm here to convince you that the best option is to sail your own boat south. What follows is an overview of the route you could take to get you and your boat to warmer water and weather from the Great Lakes. Route 1: St. Lawrence Seaway (including Lake Champlain shortcut) You're adventurous if you choose this route. From most starting locations in the Great Lakes, you'll also be seeing the most scenery and passing the ...
Read more