More Memories -- Which I'd like to Just Forget

Don't exactly know why it is that I get to add spice to everything I do -- or maybe it's just the fates deciding that I've not had enough excitement for a summer.

Last Sunday, August 20th, I left Cheboygan right before 7 a.m. -- motoring into flat seas and winds predicted from the south west less than ten knots.  That is easily doable ... waves predicted to be less than two feet.  And, NOAA was right about that at least until I was a few miles west of the Mackinaw bridge -- then the waves began to build, the winds to increase, and I knew that someone out there was making my life more interesting than it needs to be.

At the abandoned light house, where Lake Michigan opens to the south all the way to Chicago, the waves were not only more than 2 feet but also coming from every direction except the sky.  After the turn south, the waves settled into three feet plus on the bow -- once again, not the best but doable.

Ah, but they weren't done with me!  A short time later, I glanced back to check on my dinghy.  AND, the dinghy had decided to try to abandon ship.  I normally carry the dinghy on the swim platform, on its side, standing upright.  The waves had obviously filled it with water, and pulled it sort of off the swim platform so that it was acting like a sea anchor.  I was able to get it almost back on the platform, but not in the appropriate place so it was still collecting water.  I called the Coast Guard to let them know that one of the oars had broken loose -- didn't want someone to find it an wonder if there was an accident to report.  Not twenty minutes later, my progress was getting increasingly difficult and I was worried that it would break loose.  So another call to the Coast Guard -- these were not SOS, just VHF conversations -- we talked through options including whether I thought I could cut the dinghy loose (no way, no how in these seas.) 

I pressed on for another twenty five nautical miles into building winds and seas, and at a much slower speed than I normally travel.  Made the 3 p.m. bridge into Charlevoix harbor -- preceded by a call to the Coast Guard to thank them and report my successful arrival -- and tied up at the City Marina.

Sophie deserves big kudos -- that was eight plus hours of not fun, and only twice did she come up to sit between my legs and seek comfort.  The other parts of the trip were spent buried in my bed linens, wondering what the blazes Mom was thinking.  (Mom was having similar thoughts to be honest)

I have to give AVON dinghies praise for taking the punishment of five hours or more of pounding water straining at the places I tie the dinghy to the boat -- they weren't designed to take that type of punishment but did.

So the dinghy is here safely, I'm down one oar, and it took a few hours to get my heart rate back to normal -- but life is good now.

My friend Susan came over on Monday, and we've been touring the area by car and have no fixed plans for more boating as the weather is really up and down -- today is the first sunny, and not blustery day since last Sunday -- and you see how that turned out.