Post by epaul on Aug 20, 2014 11:47:24 GMT -5
Seven days at sea. (plus a couple more in Duluth and the North Shore).
Seven days sailing the Apostle Islands. This was the longest stretch I have ever been on a boat. Thank Neptune the seas were calm and the sky clear (except for one brief adrenaline event). I like just enough wind to move the boat, and no more. And that’s what we got (except for that one brief adrenaline event). Five to ten knots is what I like. When it climbs above that, it’s hard to keep the cards and drinks on the table.
The Apostles are a group of 21 islands clustered in a southern bay/curved shoreline of Lake Superior. The islands create a nice sailing spot that is pretty, protected, and has an abundance of lovely coves for anchoring. Once we left the marina at Bayfield, we were at sea. We would sail around islands until we felt like putting in at one of them for some swimming, kayaking, and beach exploring.
Come evening, we would choose our wind-friendliest cove and put in for the night and start grilling brats, or making marinated tomato pasta, or grilling the six-pound lake trout Gus caught, or the nearly two-pound brownie I caught. Come morning, we would have breakfast, and then swim/kayak a little more, and then weigh anchor and head off for more exploring. Not a bad life.
And, we were able to met up with Dave Radke on Madeline Island, where he was camping with Melva and her brother and wife. We had a very nice lunch and visit. It was great seeing Dave again, and fun. He is quite a guy! He was wearing an especially cute, and slightly daring, little sun dress, accented perfectly with a darling pink hat and matching pumps. I did find myself wishing his cute, not-so-little little, pumps were a tad less reflective... make that quite a bit less reflective, but Madeline Island is Madeline Island.*
(for those unfamiliar with WI, Madeline Island is their version of Key West. What happens on Madeline, as they say, stays on Madeline…until it gets posted by someone on the World Wide Web).
We were to meet up with Dave again that evening, but while we were sailing around to the other side of the island to put in at a cove near his campsite, we got caught up in a quick developing squall, with wind gusts out of the east (the direction we wanted to go) that hit pretty close to 30 (ok, 25, but, they were coming out of an open shot of sea).
Waves were breaking and rolling and tossing and there was a whole lot of sailing going on that I didn't especially enjoy. But, everyone else did. Uncle Brett loves to sail and he had Gus and Anna pulling on ropes and winding pulleys and the sails were flapping and the boat was racing and leaning and splashing, and they had huge grins on their faces. Charlene had a big smile on her face, too. It was exciting. Unfortunately, I had started thinking of “The Perfect Storm” and was just hoping that the passing squall didn’t turn into a real barnburner.
Anyway, we had to give up tacking against that wind as its direction wiped out any chance of putting to and anchoring on Dave’s side of the island. So, we set off to a protected spot at another island. Opportunity lost. I was looking forward to an evening campfire with Dave and crew.
Oh, and I nearly forgot…, when I found out Dave’s inlaws were from Indiana, I immediately said, “Oh, you must know Millring, then.” And it turned out they did! Not by his proper name, but they did know him by a name he uses for business and other sundry purposes, J. Bauman and associates, Inc. (good catch, Dave). Small world. Especially the Indiana portion of it (according to L.J., as they are all related, in one fashion or another, it’s no surprise that they all know each other).
Anyhoo, it was a nice trip. And now I'm back safe on the prairie and my sea is a rolling wheat field sailed by combines. Home is the farmer, home from the sea.
/
*Dave wasn't really wearing a sundress, but he was neatly trimmed and quite natty.
Seven days sailing the Apostle Islands. This was the longest stretch I have ever been on a boat. Thank Neptune the seas were calm and the sky clear (except for one brief adrenaline event). I like just enough wind to move the boat, and no more. And that’s what we got (except for that one brief adrenaline event). Five to ten knots is what I like. When it climbs above that, it’s hard to keep the cards and drinks on the table.
The Apostles are a group of 21 islands clustered in a southern bay/curved shoreline of Lake Superior. The islands create a nice sailing spot that is pretty, protected, and has an abundance of lovely coves for anchoring. Once we left the marina at Bayfield, we were at sea. We would sail around islands until we felt like putting in at one of them for some swimming, kayaking, and beach exploring.
Come evening, we would choose our wind-friendliest cove and put in for the night and start grilling brats, or making marinated tomato pasta, or grilling the six-pound lake trout Gus caught, or the nearly two-pound brownie I caught. Come morning, we would have breakfast, and then swim/kayak a little more, and then weigh anchor and head off for more exploring. Not a bad life.
And, we were able to met up with Dave Radke on Madeline Island, where he was camping with Melva and her brother and wife. We had a very nice lunch and visit. It was great seeing Dave again, and fun. He is quite a guy! He was wearing an especially cute, and slightly daring, little sun dress, accented perfectly with a darling pink hat and matching pumps. I did find myself wishing his cute, not-so-little little, pumps were a tad less reflective... make that quite a bit less reflective, but Madeline Island is Madeline Island.*
(for those unfamiliar with WI, Madeline Island is their version of Key West. What happens on Madeline, as they say, stays on Madeline…until it gets posted by someone on the World Wide Web).
We were to meet up with Dave again that evening, but while we were sailing around to the other side of the island to put in at a cove near his campsite, we got caught up in a quick developing squall, with wind gusts out of the east (the direction we wanted to go) that hit pretty close to 30 (ok, 25, but, they were coming out of an open shot of sea).
Waves were breaking and rolling and tossing and there was a whole lot of sailing going on that I didn't especially enjoy. But, everyone else did. Uncle Brett loves to sail and he had Gus and Anna pulling on ropes and winding pulleys and the sails were flapping and the boat was racing and leaning and splashing, and they had huge grins on their faces. Charlene had a big smile on her face, too. It was exciting. Unfortunately, I had started thinking of “The Perfect Storm” and was just hoping that the passing squall didn’t turn into a real barnburner.
Anyway, we had to give up tacking against that wind as its direction wiped out any chance of putting to and anchoring on Dave’s side of the island. So, we set off to a protected spot at another island. Opportunity lost. I was looking forward to an evening campfire with Dave and crew.
Oh, and I nearly forgot…, when I found out Dave’s inlaws were from Indiana, I immediately said, “Oh, you must know Millring, then.” And it turned out they did! Not by his proper name, but they did know him by a name he uses for business and other sundry purposes, J. Bauman and associates, Inc. (good catch, Dave). Small world. Especially the Indiana portion of it (according to L.J., as they are all related, in one fashion or another, it’s no surprise that they all know each other).
Anyhoo, it was a nice trip. And now I'm back safe on the prairie and my sea is a rolling wheat field sailed by combines. Home is the farmer, home from the sea.
/
*Dave wasn't really wearing a sundress, but he was neatly trimmed and quite natty.
