Sail Far Live Free

Our long list of pre-season tasks is nearly complete and s/v Island Bound  is back in the water where she belongs.  This spring, we completed the following: - Added stainless steel anchor locker pipe to bow - Added anchor locker latch in v-berth - Replaced spinnaker pole topping lift - Added a turning block to the bow for the pole downhaul - Re-stitched the bimini top - Sanded, cleaned and applied Cetol to exterior teak - Cleaned and oiled interior teak - Refinished the tiller with Cetol - Added a primary automatic bilge pump - Replaced cockpit scupper drain hoses - Installed new Uniden depth sounder/transducer - Refastened the shroud caps - Acid washed, polished and waxed the hull - Repainted the yellow cove stripe - Add new license numbers - Applied new VC-17 bottom paint - Replumbed the holding tank - Added sternrail outboard motor storage bracket - Added hailing port to the transom - Added a radar reflector - Added a second flagline to the p...

Spring has been busy thus far.  Among a growing list of among about 45 tasks to be completed prior to launch, refinishing the bottom of s/v Island Bound was the first to be completed.  She has been historically bottom-painted with VC17m from Interlux, so I decided to keep things consistant and used the same paint.  VC is a bit unique among bottom paints in that it's not ablative, like so many are.  VC comes in quart sized cans with a bag of copper powder (copporous oxide) in the cap that needs to be mixed with the liquid contents of the can before application.  VC is a very thin, smooth paint and therefore does not need to be sanded down and removed before applying a new coat.  You only need to spot-sand patches that are peeling or showing through.  VC also dries extemely quickly, so you don't want the can sitting open very long and you don't want to leave paint in the roller tray.  As an alternative to a...

Sailing is addictive.  There's something about riding the wind and the waves that makes the destination matter very little, but the journey matter a whole lot.  Maybe it has something to do with the way sailing makes you slow down and breath in the world around you.  Out there on the blue there's no internet, no cell phones, no bad reality television, no dramatic news headlines, no hands racing around the numbers on some clock on the wall.  There's only the wind, waves and your dreams. Two of my favorite songs lament history's progression from wind driven vessels to steamships...and now more exotic power like gasoline, diesel and nuclear energy.  Jimmy Buffett sings "Watched the men who rode you switch from sails to steam..." in A Pirate Looks at Forty. Michael Snell echoes Jimmy with his lyric "the steamers have whistled her days to an end..." in The Last of the Leelanau Schooners. The answer is obvious to the question of why p...

I went over to check on our boat yesterday, making sure the cover was still secure and that all was well with the cradle. After my quick inspection, I took a walk to the Lake Michigan shoreline and out the north pier at Grand Haven.  As much as I despise the snow and cold, there are times when I find myself in awe of the Earth's beauty during the long Great Lakes' winters.  Walking down the pier had me feeling like I was in Neil Armstrong's shoes as I stepped and tripped over strange shaped ice boulders while wearing the spacesuit most of us in Michigan call winter attire.  Even with water temperatures barely above freezing and icebergs bobbing about, Lake Michigan still beckons my adventurous spirit.  My mind drifted as I imagined 19th century wooden schooners making lumber runs up and down the lake in weather just like this. I thought I should post a few photos just so all of you sailors living in smaller latitudes than I don't take it for gra...

The North Channel is a sailor's paradise on Lake Huron in the Canadian province of Ontario.  The channel is overflowing with picturesque islands, crystal clear blue waters and superb wilderness.  This cruising area should be on every Great Lakes sailor's short list of top destination.  We originally considered the North Channel as a destination when we hatched our plan for a 3 month summer cruise in 2010, but ruled it out because of the distance and isolation.  Distance and isolation in and of themselves make the North Channel appealing in many ways.  However, for us, having a 28 foot boat and two young daughters (ages 4 & 7) made the distance and isolation serious considerations.  After doing some research and speaking/emailing with several fellow cruisers and a few staunch North Channel advocates (thanks Rolland !), we've decided to again consider the North Channel for our 2010 itinerary. In addition to the previously mentioned research and conve...

We currently carry a 13lbs fluke (Danforth/Fortress style) as our primary anchor and an 8lbs fluke as our backup anchor. Here in Lake Michigan, we typically anchor in sand, mud, and weedy bottoms (in that order). We have 20' of chain (not sure the size) attached to our 100' rope rode. We also carry an 8lbs mushroom to send down the rode as a messenger for extra weight if needed. We've always done just fine with the 13lbs fluke anchoring for a couple hours or the occasional overnighter in good weather. However, during our 3 month cruise this coming summer we hope to anchor out at least half the time. I expect many of the bottom types to be as above (sand/mud/weeds) but know of a few anchorages where rocks/boulders will be prominent, particularly around Garden Island. I'm considering picking up either a 22lbs or 33lbs claw/Bruce-type (Lewmar Horizon) anchor to act as our primary anchor. Will this be adequate for a good night's rest and peace of ...

As I sit down and gaze at the nautical charts, GPS maps, and guide books for various ports I am warmed by thoughts of exploration for the summer of 2010.  Even though my body is in our home office on this cold January day, my spirit is sailing throughout the blue waters of northern Lake Michigan.  Who says you've got to head south to get to the islands?  We've got North and South Manitou, North and South Fox, Beaver, Garden, Hog, High, Gull, Washington, St. Martin, Horseshoe, Poverty, Summer, St. Helena and Mackinac Islands all plugged into the waypoint list on our GPS.  It's a special feeling for an islomaniac (one who has an irresistible attraction to islands) to know that s/ v Island Bound will be living up to her name in the near future. We've found a couple of websites that have been very useful in the charting/planning stages of our Lake Michigan cruise.  1) OpenCPN  - Awesome fre...

Having grown up boating and enjoying the waters of Lake Michigan, I can truly say that the great lake has played a major role in shaping who I am. I thought it would be appropriate to give the lake some press here in my blog and introduce her to those who aren't familiar.  What follows is my brief background of Lake Michigan. Around 18,000 years ago, the Laurentide glacier dominated the lanscape of northern North America, covering most of Canada and a good portion of the United States.  The glacier was 2.5 miles thick at some points.  As the Earth's atmosphere began to warm, the Laurentide glacier started to melt and retreat northward.  The Earth's surface was scraped and scarred from the glacial movements, carving out the Great Lakes basin.  The meltwater from the retreating glacier slowly filled in the lakes.  Perhaps the first people to enjoy the intrinsic values of Lake Michigan were the Hopwell Indians....

Winter in the Great Lakes always brings plenty of time for self-reflection and deep thought.  I've been spending a lot of time contemplating our probable sailing voyage through upper Lake Michigan that is planned for the summer of 2010.  Of course, thinking of spending so much time on the boat cruising and all of the prep and planning that goes into such a cruise makes me also think about longer future voyages. A lot of my winter thoughts are inspired by the many photos, paintings and quotes that adorn my home office in the basement.  I'd like to share a somewhat lengthy quote I have hanging above my desk.  The words go right to the heart of any wannabe cruiser (or should I say voyager? - read on).  The quote is from Sterling Hayden's autobiography titled " Wanderer ". Here's the quote: "To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest.  Otherwise, you are doomed ...

I just realized that we never formally introduced our dinghy.  We actually purchased her in 2008 back when we had our first sailboat, s/v Hannabel.  She's a Sandpiper 8 rowing dinghy made of a plastic polymer.  The girls quickly christened her "Lil' Coconut", for what reason we do not know.  However, now that she serves as the tender for s/v Island Bound, the name somehow seems appropriate. Lil' Coconut is small and tippy.  She barely has room for two adults, though we've rowed her with two adults and both kids aboard.  She looks a lot like a bathtub and quickly fills with rainwater.  However, she makes up for her faults with her snooty sheerline and shippy looks.  And she does row pretty well. We haven't decided if Lil' Coconut will come with us on the summer cruise for 2010.  As mentioned above, she's a little too small for the four of us, particularly when we plan to be anchoring out the majority of the time and will likely need the...