PENTWATER, MI USA
Well the peace and quiet came to a screeching halt on Monday morning. It all started with the sound of the jets wheels hitting the runway. The owners daughter, her husband, and their four young kids sprung out of the airplane like there was a fire on board. They enjoyed the afternoon on the boat with the owner before the owner and his wife took off out of harbor springs to head back to Chicago. We stayed in Harbor Springs for another day and I had the opportunity to finally get away for a few hours and play a round of golf. One of the guests and I played at True North, which was a nice course. We took the two younger boys along as our "caddies". Their interest came and left as they learned a bit here and there about golf etiquette. I didn't play very well but I didn't care, I was away from the boat and golfing at this beautiful course. After golf I had to find a way to get the rental car back to Petoskey because we were leaving early in the morning for the next port. Good friend Mark Palma was in town delivering a far 40 sailboat called Heart Breaker. I called him and he had access to a car and could come pick me up at the rental company. He also needed a ride in to shore as his boat was on a mooring ball so we ended up helping each other out. That is the great thing about this family of yacht crew around the world. I moved the boat for him earlier in the week when he wasn't here, he picked me up at the rental car place 20 minutes away, and neither of us thought twice about helping each other out. It's amazing at how often we run into fellow crew in different ports and its great to have someone there that will pitch in and help if you need it.
We ended up waiting for the fuel dock to open on Wednesday so that we could get a pump out before leaving for Frankfort. It was around 0930 by the time we got away from the dock. It was a bit of a gloomy day but the seas were flat. I knew this would probably be changing throughout the day though as we went further south. Just after Charlevoix we passed Mark on Heart Breaker (now called Heritage). He was turned to weather and working on putting up a headsail in an attempt to squeeze out an extra knot or two. The closer we got to Frankfort the bigger the waves got and by the time we were on our final approach the waves were 1-3 on the nose. I figured there was a good chance that we would be seeing Mark in Frankfort later in the day considering making way in a sailboat would get harder and harder with the waves on the bow. Sure enough he showed up around 2030. I laid low in Frankfort and tried to relax a little bit, but sure enough I was brought out of my nap being poked by a plastic sword....it was going to be a long week.
We left for Pentwater on Thursday around noon and even though it was a gloomy foggy ride the seas were flat. Mark left in front of us again, but with the fog we never saw him. I somehow found myself on the Lake Michigan highway as I was changing course every two miles to avoid a collision. The log book was full of "1144 Confirm Collision course via radar at 354R unknown vessel. 1146 sound one whistle, assume no answer, turn 020R to avoid collision. 1147 Clear s/v to port steer 340R b.o.c C204M" This happened about 8 times. It looks as if we have some bad fuel in the port side tank. I have spent time in the engine room twice now, draining the racors of sledge. The filters look fine, but there is definitely bad fuel being sent through. I assumed this may happen as we just transferred old fuel from the aft tanks. We should be able to get by without polishing the tanks but I will certainly be keeping a close eye on the situation.
Now as I sit here in Pentwater we are on the verge of absolute chaos on board. Two of the boys are yelling back and forth about how easy it is to cut a waffle as the younger one yells continuously for his mom. Mom yells down the stairs trying to rally the girls and they yell back that they don't want to go on a dune buggy ride. It's more fun to sit in their room all day and play games on the iPad. The logistics are an absolute nightmare and I simply stay out of everything. I could tell you how far it is to every port south of here as I constantly get asked as they try and decide how long they actually want to be on the water today. 36 nm to Muskegon, 47 nm to Grand Haven, another 17 nm to Holland from there or 22 nm to Saugatuck from Grand Haven.....all from memory by now. Where do we go today? Who knows, hopefully Grand Haven but the longer we wait the more and more the wall will fill up on a Friday night, and with no room at the municipal marina its all a big gamble... giddy up.
Peace and quiet again as they all leave to go for a dune buggy ride at Silver Lake. The washing machine churns away and banana nut bread coffee fills the air. I hear the leaves from the trees outside in the wind as the boat rocks back in forth gently tucked up against a wall. This feeling will come to an end all too soon, replaced by kids fighting over who gets to play with a rubber band, crying by the one who looses the fight, and an argument over who played with it last time. Let me enjoy the first part of this paragraph as long as I can!
Bonita Out
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