Picture This: The Life Aquatic
The Life Aquatic
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Door County Cruisin'
There are several Great Lakes cruising destinations that are truly world class. Lake Huron's North Channel, Lake Superior's Apostle Islands, and Lake Michigan's Door County Peninsula are three of the most well known, both in the region and in the larger cruising community as a whole. This summer my family and I had the good fortune of taking an 11 day cruise to Door County from our home port in Muskegon, Michigan. While the weather didn't allow us to circumnavigate the entire peninsula during our short cruise window, we did enjoy a couple of excellent Lake Michigan crossings and a bit of time exploring a few Door County ports. If you plan to take a similar cruise, you'll have to make a few logisitcal decisions. First, you'll need to decide which port to depart from in Michigan and where to arrive in Wisconsin when you cross Lake Michigan. You'll also need to decide which ports to visit in Door County. What follows is a summary of our experience and a few...
A Whale of a Tale to Tell
Got a whale of a tale to tell ya, lads A whale of a tale or two 'Bout the flappin' fish and the girls I've loved On nights like this with the moon above A whale of a tale and it's all true I swear by my tattoo -Lyrics from the Disney movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Have you ever wondered what it's really like being 'out there'? What it's like to cruise long distances to far away places? Can it really be that different than the daysailing and local cruising we do near our home ports? You need only ask for a few salty stories from veteran bluewater cruisers to get the answers. The following story is one I recently first read on one of my favorite blogs, Sailing Wondertime . The crew of s/v Wondertime (Michael, Sara and their two young daughters) started their adventure across the Pacific in Seattle and are currently enroute from the tiny island nation of Niue to Tonga and eventually New Zealand. I've greatly enjoyed following their journey and b...
Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On
I bought a cheap watch from a crazy man, floating down canal It doesn't use numbers of moving hands, it always just says "now" Now you may be thinking that I was had but this watch is never wrong And if I have trouble the warranty said, "Beathe in, breathe out, move on" If a hurricane doesn't leave you dead, it will make you stronger Don't try to explain it, just nod your head and Breathe in, breathe out, move on - Lyrics from Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move on by Jimmy Buffett This past weekend was a milestone in my journey to become the best cruiser I can be. No, I didn't sail or even leave the dock. But I did gain imeasureable confidence in my engine repair skills by replacing the distributor contacts and capacitor on our little Volvo (MB10A) inboard. The engine gave us a few problems on our trip back south from Door County and resulted in eventually using our BoatU.S. towing insurance . I was able to keep the engine running for short periods o...
You Know You're a Cruiser When...
"In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not." - Kenneth Grahame from The Wind in the Willows I like lists. They help me plan, they help me move forward, and they help me reflect. The list below is a reflection on the cruise we just completed to Wisconsin's Door County, and really a much broader reflection on what's it's like to be a cruising sailor. If you cruise under sail yourself, take a moment to consider just how unique the lifestyle is. Consider the tradeoffs, ponder the quirks, and cherish the opportunity to live a part of life that's lar...
Pooped? Get AquaCharged!
pooped 1. (nautical verb) To take a wave over the stern 2. (adjective) To quit because of exhaustion If you've got water to bail because your boat was pooped, or if you're pooped from bailing water, this review is for you. This summer has been exceptionally dry, which means I've spent relatively little time pumping out rainwater that accumulates in the dinghy. Normally I'll arrive at the boat for a week or weekend of sailing and find several inches of water in the dinghy. All is dry after about 10 minutes with a handpump, coffee can and sponge. That is, until this summer and the arrival of AquaCharge rechargeable and portable water pump . Now pumping the dinghy is as simple as setting the AquaCharge in the dinghy and flipping a switch. It's fully submersible, so you can just plunge it down into the water, even if you've got several inches to pump out. The only drawback I've found so far is that you'll still need a sponge to completely finish the j...
Boat U.S. Towing Insurance...Get it now!
Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element. - William Bradford from Of Pilgrims Plantation (1650) describing the arrival of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts in 1620. We just got back from our 310 nautical mile cruise to Wisconsin's Door County peninsula. I've got plenty of new material to post from the trip (coming soon!), but for now, I just wanted to give a quick plug for Boat U.S. Towing Insurance . I've had the insurance for 3 years and have had the "opportunity" to use the service twice when we've had engine failures. Needless to say, the towing insurance has paid for itself many times over. Today we we're towed back to Muskegon when we had ignition issues with our little Volvo motor. T...