If Only I Had a Camera

It had to happen sooner or later -- this morning ms Sophie decided to go ashore on her own -- she discovered that the water is cold and it's a bit frightening to be caught between the boat and the dock! After a couple of minutes I was able to get her to the swim platform on the stern and she scrambled aboard.
Sure got my heart going! And, don't know if dogs learn from experiences such as this, but I do hope so -- we were just lucky that I still had hold of the leash, that it was calm so there was no tossing about of the boat, and that all turned out well.
So much for taking a short boat ride today -- I figure one scare a day is enuff.

Oh, it is a bright blue day -- and expected to stay that way.

Sunshine and beautiful waters

Tucked into my corner of the Irish Boat Shop marina in Charlevoix, here is our home away from home.

After two days of dreary cold, it has turned into a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon. Had breakfast with BD and Rick in Topinabee and then drove back here -- trooped the mile and a half into town to see the end of the Trout Tournament and then after Sophie had her fill of crowds and scary things we trooped back.

Now relaxing on the boat -- no chores today, it is afterall a day of rest! (except combatting the FLIES which still plague the area)

Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, so I may do another explore in the dinghy and at least introduce ms scaredy cat to the concept of stepping off the big boat into a smaller and less stable craft -- we will both wear life jackets, never fear.

Weather in this part of Michigan is

Well, at best unpredictable. Yesterday, after the rain and hail, the lightning and thunder, and warm air (probably mid 80) -- it turned cold and dank. Today the high was mid 50 -- and TONIGHT it is suppose to go down into the upper 30s.

Did I mention how much fun it is to be on a boat??

And, the FLIES haven't left yet.

Actually, having a good time -- Sophie and I are becoming an "event" around town -- people comment on how they notice us strolling along every morning and how purposeful we seem (she's the purposeful one, I just go along for the ride)

Tomorrow is supposed to be rain -- that's alright since I have plenty of chores to do on board -- and then for the Trout Tournament this weekend it's supposed to be cool but clear. Planning on meeting friends for b'fast on Sunday but that's the only big social event (except of course that all the other boaters will come up on Friday and boaters are NOT shy about parties)

Pictures -- I promise -- of the Trout Tournament and environs as the weekend moves on.

The Joys of Early Spring Boating Up North

No, this is not a mistake -- well, maybe it is -- but I did mean to publish this very poor picture! That is a close up of my aft door -- and those are FLIES, not just your ordinary house fly, oh no -- those are flies that are supposed to be feeding the fish, but they decided instead to hang out on my back door!

YETCH!!

Yesterday was hot (mid-90's) and muggy with bright sunshine -- today it's thunder, lightning, a little hail thrown in just to make life more interesting (and noisy) and FLIES!!

There was a Bass Federation tournament on the lake last weekend, and this coming weekend is the big Trout tournament (featuring hot dogs, hamburgers, and entertainment for those of us on land) and hopefully very fat trout who will eat all the FLIES.

You might say I am fixated on the darn things, but they make for a most unpleasant walk to the shore -- almost need a surgical mask to breathe. And the slight buzzing sound around your head is enough to make most of us look like windmills as we walk the docks -- it would be quite comical if it weren't so irritating.

Tomorrow promises to be a better weather day, so I'll get out there and fight the critters off the boat with the hose -- and declare a temporary victory.

Still thinking I'll stay here until the end of the month -- when I hope to find a weather window and a fellow boater or two to transit around the tip of Lake Michigan and into Lake Huron. Then, trips to the North Channel punctuated with returns to Cheboygan, MI (near Mackinac City if you are trying to follow along) for crew changes and replenishment of stores.

Reading -- finished "The Tender Bar," "The Moor," "The Art of Racing in the Rain," and am now engrossed in "The Help" -- I highly recommend them all.

Life is good -- except for the pesky FLIES!!!

Late Spring In Charlevoix

When you don't visit your boat very often -- and it's spring -- and the birds are looking for great sheltered places to bring up their families. Well, you can see the situation on one of my neighbors boats!

I can't get a decent picture of Sonador, since we are surrounded by flies -- of all shapes and sizes, from little annoying nats to the larger fish flies -- and an occasional mosquito just to torment me. I hope to get the dinghy fully inflated later today, and at least get out on the water with the outboard. But, just being lazy isn't all that bad.

There is a great waterfront park next to the marina (in the background), and Sophie and I go for walks every morning and afternoon -- dogs aren't allowed on the sandy beach (children will be playing in the brisk waters later today), but she sure loves exploring all the surrounding area.

A Week and A Lifetime Away

Sometimes, life is just better if you bring all your worldly belongings with you. So Sophie has ensconced herself on her bed from Alexandria at the foot of the forward cabin -- peering out into the boat and asking so why are we here?

My response is that we can go for long walks each morning, mid-day, and evening -- I can read books anytime I want -- take naps whenever -- and visit with good friends who are either sailors I've met on these wonderful waters or people I've known for longer.

After arriving last weekend, it has taken me almost all week to unpack the car and assemble things on the boat in such a way as to make sense. Now, it's a matter of cleaning up, getting the outboard on the dinghy to see that it's running correctly, and eventually actually starting the motors on Sonador (I'll have someone here with me when I do that since ms Sophie is startled by the slightest new sound, let alone the rumble of twin 240 horse diesels.)

My plans are still pretty much in flux, but I think beginning to come together. I'll spend all of June here in Charlevoix -- maybe venture onto the big lake, but really would be content with day sails on this smaller body of water. Then, with the weather and the boating gods in my favor, I'll take the boat around under the Mackinaw Bridge and over to Cheboygan on Lake Huron. Friends BD and Rick will venture with me across Lake Huron to Harbor Island and then into the North Channel for a week -- we will come back to Cheboygan. Probably repeat that with another set of friends, before I have to catch a plane to Sarasota to do the electrical walk thru with the new home at the end of July. Back here and then spend all of August in the North Channel before returning to Charlevoix where I will dock the boat and live aboard until it's either too cold or I'm just plain bored. Then down to Sarasota, rent a small furnished place until the new house is finished -- predicted for the end of November.

That's the plan. Now, those of you who boating know that plans are just that -- weather, mechanical issues, and other acts of the water gods can make the biggest mess of any plans.

But, I'm loving it -- into a pattern that is satisfying and rewarding and a lifetime away from the hustle and bustle of work.

More after the upcoming weekend -- it is supposed to rain and storm most of the time, so solitaire and another book!!!

Summer is HERE

I'm up North after a whirlwind spring - selling the home of my heart in Alexandria, buying a piece of land in Sarasota which will become my next home -- driving up and down the eastern part of the US -- once to Sarasota, and later from D.C. to Charlevoix MI.





It's chilly -- not quite cold -- but not yet warm enough to run around for long without a light fleece on. Tonight, a typical thunder and lightening storm, with a little rain and promises of sun tomorrow.





Sophie will get used to the life on Sonador, but right now she spends a lot of time curled up in her bed -- looking soulfully at me -- I really haven't taken to beating her, but you'd never guess. She has yet to discover the fresh waters of Lake Charlevoix -- it's warm next to the shore but the basic temperature is around 45. Brrrrr.





Haven't formulated plans for the summer yet. Need to be touch with all sorts of people -- what their sailing plans are, when we can meet up, when the weather will cooperate, and when the demands of a new home require that I show up in Sarasota for a personal visual inspection. There is NO WAY to get from most of the North Channel to an airport -- so challenges!





I'm LOVING life right now -- not missing the life that I have left behind, but I've been on such a roller-coaster ride this spring that I'm not certain all of my emotions have caught up with me. This is an ADVENTURE that needs to be taken one step at a time.





Look forward to posting pictures after Memorial Day picnic with Ric and BD on Lake Huron!