10/9/06 - In 50 degree temperatures we slipped away from the dock in pre-dawn dark, headed for the Shipping Canal and Lake Michigan... the journey began. By 6am we were on the lake. The winds were 15-20 knots out of the north, dictating that we had to head for Frankfort MI. We made the 49 mile passage in 6.5 hours arriving to find the marinas all empty and apparently closed. Chuck called the phone number on the harbor house and was told 2 slips still had power for "people like us" and that the showers were available and heated.

10/10/06 - At 7:30 we left Frankfort. The winds had died down and the seas were flat. We powered up the Michigan coast, anxious to get off the lake as quickly as we could as a major winter storm was forecast to start the next day. We arrived in Mackinaw City at 10:30pm CDT; 106 nautical miles behind us. A long day, but worth it as we were now on Lake Huron.

10/11/06 - We woke to rain and haze with light winds. The storm has slowed and was now forecast to arrive that night. We wanted to get south as soon as possible so we departed Mac City at 8am EDT. We motor sailed with the genoa fully deployed in 1-2' seas. By 3pm we were in Rogers City to find the channel markers pulled. We grazed bottom on our first approach and had turned to run several hours to our next haven when the radio hailed the sailboat approaching Rogers City. We responded and they gave us coordinates for the channel. When we checked in, they noted the 13th was the last day they would be open. We took the opportunity to fuel, taking on 43.055 gallons. (Miles - we figure with the diesel heater running non-stop for 55 hours the engine consumed about 1-1.1 gallons per hour at 3200 rpm.)

10/12/06 - It's Ruth's birthday... first time I haven't been with her to celebrate it! Happy Birthday Hon! Daybreak revealed a half inch of snow on the boat and docks - brrrr! We left at 9:30am (hummm - later every day) as the weather map showed the storm still stalled west of us though gale warnings were in effect for Lake Huron. The map lied... the winds started building as we motor sailed east under partial genoa at 8-10 knots. 7 1/2 hours later we were in Harrisville, MI - 63 nm at an average 8.3 knots. The seas were running 5-7' with and occasional 8' series. We did an informal watch with two persons on deck and one in the heated cabin to ensure that no-one got overly cold - the temperature was in the low 40's with snow showers. Enroute we saw about 4 bulk carriers, a couple passed within a couple hundred yards of us. At Alpena a USCG Cutter eased past with the spray breaking over their bridge 3 stories above the water!

10/13/06 - It's Friday the 13th! We are sitting in Harrisville harbor. Not because we are superstitious, because the winds in the harbor are gusting to 25 knots with 40 knots reported on the lake. Our next leg is across Saginaw Bay and the winds are coming right out of the bay. With the wind and mid-30's temperatures it would be unbearable out there today. Good news, no new snow last night, the ground is bare, and its a toasty 67 degrees in the cabin.

10/14/06 - Ecky stepped on the dock in predawn light to find that it was covered with black ice - a genuine skating rink. When we departed at 7:30 we had to push off with boat-hooks as we couldn't stand on the dock and push. As we left the harbor mouth a high pitched squeal from the engine caused us to shut it down. A quick survey led to a drip-less cutlass that had lost its prime in the heavy seas the day before. We ran in west winds of 25-30 knots across the mouth of Saginaw Bay in 8-10' confused seas. What an exhilarating ride! Once we crossed the bay the seas smoothed out to 1-2' waves and we trucked south at 7-8 knots. The longest day of pure sailing yet... 106nm. We arrived at the Port Huron Yacht Club about 10:30 - in time for a beer before we returned to the boat. Pat Hoy was our host (he just doesn't know it yet).

10/15/06 - Sunday was a down day in the shelter of the Port Huron Yacht Club. We needed to repair several seams on the sun cover on the genoa and a place on the bimini to dodger panel where the boom end wore through. By 4pm we had finished our projects, taken on fuel and water, and pumped out. The boat is ready to take on Lake Erie.

Chuck Morrell and a snow covered AA

AA with Port Huron Yacht Club in background

Crew down-time, Chuck checks e-mail, Buddy watches

While Ecky naps

10/16/06 - One week ago today we left Sturgeon Bay. This was our warmest morning yet as we motored down the St Clair River enroute to Lake St Clair where we stopped off at Jefferson Marine Center to visit Bob Reed (St. Clair Sailboat Center), look for c-map charts, nav. light bulbs and lifeline ends -- didn't find any of them. Bob was a great host, lending us his SUV for errands. Thank you Bob! Talked to Ruth and learned she had a good open house Sunday (actually the realtor did, but Ruth set the house up for her: fall decor, hot apple pie in the oven and a fire in the fireplace... its show biz.) Hope it sells soon and my first mate can rejoin us... I feel incomplete without her alongside me. Buddy keeps looking for her too.

The weather radio is forecasting a Gale for Lake Erie tomorrow. Boy do I hate that word! Gale means winds over 30 knots - not nice!

10/17/06 - Ecky and I were waken at 4am by loud squeaks - the boat was riding hard against the pilings. We quickly crawled into our foul weather gear and went topsides to deploy more fenders and lines. You've guessed it - our friend Gale had hit early in the morning. Now its 8am, the wind is blowing 15-20 knots, pinning us against our pier. We won't be able to leave until it lets up.

11:00am we were able to push off the pilings and leave the slip. 10 miles later we were in the Detroit River, passing along the US/Canadian border through Detroit and Windsor in a heavy haze. We passed the GM building with its upper half obscured by a cloud and wondered aloud if that was a comment on corporate leadership in general. We motored about 45 miles encountering only a couple of ships though we saw a half dozen loading and unloading along the Canadian shore. We entered Lake Erie in a near-gale with 5-6' waves and 20-25 knots of wind. AA sailed along at over 8 knots, sometimes surfing to 10 as we headed for Put-In-Bay, arriving at about 9pm. After a couple attempts to pick up a mooring we tied to a pier. We had another 91.3nm under our belt.

10/18/06 - The harbormaster caught up with us at dawn to collect his $42.00 before we headed out at 8am. A warm gray day greeted us and visibility was about 5 miles as a 10 knot SW breeze helped us motor-sail along at 8+ knots. By 5pm we had arrived at Fairport, OH, having put another 72nm behind us. If the weather holds we will be off the Great Lakes and in Buffalo in 2 days.

We closed the day by cooking the marinated pork tenderloin we'd tried the have the last two nights but were in a slip (no grill permitted). If we keep eating like this I'll be a couple of sizes bigger by the time we get to the Hudson.

10/19/06 - Another windy, misty, grey day. We hoisted anchor at 7:30am and pushed toward Erie, PA, a distance of 63nm. We saw a couple of ships in the mist and a dozen sport fishermen. It was handy having radar as visibility was under a mile at times. Enroute we offered to respond to a disabled vessel, however the Coast Guard elected to take it - saving us a 3 hour side trip. By 4 pm we were at the fuel dock, taking on 43 gallons of diesel. We elected to take a slip for the night to save fuel - the diesel heater won't be on. Our next step is Buffalo... tomorrow if the weather permits.

10/20/06 - Daylight reveals heavy rain, fog and 40's, what an unusual combination (he says, tongue in cheek). We've elected to stay in Erie today as our arrival in Buffalo tonight would merely mean we had to wait until Monday to drop the mast. Tomorrow is suppose to bring better weather. Today looks like a good day to plan the wiring for the solar and wind generators. We made four calls before we found a yard that could drop our mast - the 2' of snow last week has everyone way behind on hauling out customer boats. We already have an appointment on the Hudson for re-stepping the mast.

We spent the afternoon touring the Maritime Museum and the S/V Niagara, a replica of Commodore Perry's vessel.

10/21/06 - With a forecast in the 40's, cloudy and winds to 24 knots we headed for Buffalo at 7:30am. We motor sailed along at 8.2 knots with just a genoa out. By 4pm we were in Buffalo trying to get in touch with the Black Rock Lock - say that 3 times on the radio. Not getting any answer we stopped at the Buffalo Yacht Club and played our NNYC/ILYA reciprocity card. They graciously permitted mooring with club privileges... hot showers, bar, etc. A big thank you to BYC. We found Buffalo to be a disaster area. The two feet of wet snow 10 days earlier still had schools shut down. The snow was gone but piles of tree limbs made it unsafe for kids to walk to school. Many homes didn't have power restored yet! The running list of cancellations on the TV were staggering.

10/22/06 - Cold, gale and rain like Noah had missed the boat. We motored to Wardell's Marina where we had an appointment to drop the mast on Monday. Then on to West Marine by cab to pick up electronic charts of the east coast and some wiring items for the solar and wind systems. Then we returned to remove the sails, boom and lines in preparation for un-stepping the mast. I made a big pot of chili for supper - boy did that go down nice.

We toured the town, bought some paperbacks and returned to the boat to stat installing the controllers for the wind generator and solar panels. We got all the holes cuts and panels mounted... next step, wiring.

Return to Bahamas Bound.

Traffic on the Detroit River

GM's head in the clouds

Dinner in Fairport, OH at "Le Adventure"

Chuck (yellow) and Ecky on watch as we travel across the Erie Canal

We approach flood gates that allow the canal to be segregated into sections in the event of flooding or maintenance. Yes, we go under the gates which is one of the reasons our mast is down and lashed above the deck horizontally.