8/15 Port Sheldon to Montrose Harbor, Chicago

My secret hope was to make it to Chicago in one long trip. Going to Racine or Kenosha would have been maybe 3 hours shorter, but would mean a full extra day. So I headed out of Port Sheldon early and found that both seas and wind had calmed down considerably. (Note - Getting up early was really never a problem for me as I usually was in bed by 10PM). I hadn't gotten any new diesel since Leland, and had to be economical, so I motorsailed leisurely towards the SW. The wind picked up a little as I got further offshore, but never enough to sail without the engine.

Later in the day the wind got weaker and weaker and the waves subsided to almost nothing. I did pour the last of my diesel into the tank while on my way and continued on my most relaxing crossing, reading, cooking and dozing.

I first spotted the top of the Sears tower when still 40NM (80km!) distant from Chicago. Visibility was amazing, I think I would have seen it even further if there hadn't been the Earth's curvature. A bit humbling though to think that at my speed of 5kn  it would be another 8 hours before I'd be home...

Three large lakers passed way ahead of me, and then I was through the shipping lanes.

Rolling Home - actually, Chicago is still 25 miles away...

The sun set beautifully today and a dark red moon was rising in the east while I grilled some hot dogs and made mashed potatoes.

I relaxed a little after dinner and then cleaned the dishes, and started cleaning up inside, peeking out every 5-10 minutes. 5 Miles offshore at Wilmette in the early evening I had the lake to myself, I thought, and was shocked to see a large shadow suddenly in front of me. It looked like a large sailboat bearing right down on me and I quickly changed course. 

I then realized that the other boat wasn't nearly as close as I had first thought - it was still a few hundred yards off and as I drew closer I recognized it as the tall ship 'Niagara' that was in town for the 'Taste of tall Ships' exhibition. It was ghosting slowly North in the minimal breeze. A very impressive sight...

After that I reached Montrose Harbor at 10PM, happy to be home at last, after a 17 hour crossing. 

8/14 Pentwater to Port Sheldon

The predicted strong northern breeze indeed materialized, I was immediately able to run using the spinnaker. Initially I tried to bring the jib into play as well, but it proved hard to balance and I eventually pulled most of it in, it made little difference as I was already running at top speed. Things were going really well.

After a few hours I passed White Lake, where several other sailboats where crossing my path sailing on beam reaches, they were having a hard time as by now waves had grown pretty high and caused them more rolling than could have been comfortable. The wave size was indeed starting to be a bit of a concern, as the dinghy started to occasionally hit me when racing down the crests. Some waves were starting to break, and I was wondering what would happen if one broke over the dinghy.

However, while approaching Muskegon my luck was over - the spinnaker pendant suddenly parted. That was wholly unexpected as it's a pretty hefty wire construction. The spinnaker itself was fine, so maybe it was better this way, the pendant is easy to replace with rope.

I hauled in the spinnaker and switched to the jib, but found that running straight before the wind with it was very rolly, so I switched to a zig-zag course to maintain some semblance of stability. The wind and waves kept increasing to a size I had never seen before, and I had to partially furl the jib, feeling I was in danger of rounding up otherwise. It seemed safer to steer by hand, too.

My plan to make it all the way to Holland was becoming unrealistic with the speed loss from zig-zagging and I was getting rather tired from steering anyways, so I again ended up at Port Sheldon.

8/13 Frankfort to Pentwater

Even though the weather forecast wasn't so good I decided to leave early and head south, if necessary by engine. Fortunately, the weather was better than expected (mostly sunny) and an increasing wind allowed me to motorsail and by lunchtime, switch the engine off entirely. The wind now came straight from astern, which meant - gennaker time! This is, when the waves are not too large and cause rolling, the most comfortable direction of sail and I got the pleasure of running like this for the next 7 hours! I let a small section of the jib stand in parallel to the 'kite' which gave it the look of a cutter (double headsail), and which I imagined stabilized and improved the gennaker performance.
As I approached Pentwater one other boat peeked out of the harbor and did a few spins, but then decided to head back in just ahead of me. As I entered the harbor I heard shouts of 'Arrrr' and found Kyle Buckland and his girlfriend Kelly waving to me from a pier. They had seen me entering the harbor and came to invite me to watch the annual Pentwater fireworks. First I had to anchor, but the boat I had previously met came close and shouted that I was free to use a mooring that was currently unused by its owner. Great - that saved me the usual anchoring troubles!
After having a light dinner I headed to shore and met Kelly's parents and watched an impressive fireworks display from their summer home. I slept well that night.

8/12 Great Traverse Bay to Frankfort

8/12 Great Traverse Bay to Frankfort
The wind was, of course, right against me. And the waves were big. No need to explain this again. I put into Leland as I needed fuel and some fresh food, but left quickly and continued though the Manitou passage south. Slow going again, with large steep waves and the wind right against me. I reached Frankfort fairly exhausted and had some quick dinner, but just before bedtime I got an email from Dean and Charlotte of Carrie Rose, telling me they were just 500 feet away from me in the harbor. So I rowed over and spend an hour in their beautiful tug. It's 32 feet - shorter than Caprice - and has about 5 times more space inside. Ahh, the tugging world. It also needs 5-10 times more fuel than Caprice, but it can work its way through waves much better.

8/11 St Ignace to Great Traverse Bay

8/11 St Ignace to Great Traverse Bay

Today I got up even earlier and motored into the Straits for my third attempt. I only now noticed that I had lost my flagpole and the flag in the violence the day before. Today the winds were much more moderate and other boats showed up in the straits. And indeed, after motoring into the breeze, after 4 hours, I turned the corner south-west at the abandoned lighthouse. Unfortunately the wind decided to turn south-west too, and I ended up motoring a good deal more. Finally I started sailing and tacking to SW. I really wanted to reach Leland, but that proved impossible before evening. I sought shelter at the tip of Great Traverse Bay instead, where the anchor dug in right away. Unfortunately the spot I picked was only good for protection from SW winds, and as the wind of course shifted to S during the night, I had a rocky sleep.

My Nemesis

Apparently, not everybody thinks you need a big boat to get through here - notice the Kayak.

Plenty Traffic

8/10 St Ignace to St Ignace

8/10 St. Ignace to St. Ignace

OK, next attempt to make the straits. The wind was stronger than yesterday, and the waves bigger, and no other boats in sight anywhere. This should have been a hint for me, but I was blind to such omens. I cranked the engine to full power and headed under the bridge I by now knew so well. It was tough going, even with full power the boat was going very slowly and would occasionally even stop completely when it crashed into a wave. The waves were not just high (8 feet), but very steep and fast. I started taking water in through the companionway hatch and decided to call it quits after 4 hours in which I barely covered 10 miles. The return to St Ignace took just 1.5 hours! I anchored where I came from and had some lunch and was ready to take a little siesta when I noticed the landscape had changed. Incredulous, as I had set the anchor alarm which didn’t alert me, I checked the GPS and found that I was dragging anchor. It was blowing intensely, and after raising the anchor I found it fouled with seaweed. I decided to head for a different anchoring spot as my Danforth anchors don’t work well with weed. The new place inside the ferry harbor basin looked promising, but I failed again and again to make the anchor stick. Weed everywhere! Frustrated I gave up after an hour of failures and headed further north to a bay that seemed shallow and protected from the winds. Upon arrival I found that winds were still very strong and the seabed full of weed. Again, I tried anchoring multiple times, and eventually even used the stern anchor to stop Caprice from swinging. Maybe that did it, maybe the fact that the wind finally abated...

8/9 Harbor Island to De Tour Village and on to St. Ignace

8/9 Harbor Island to De Tour Village and on to St. Ignace

Harbor Island is just 90 minutes from De Tour, and on that hop we had to fight some big swells coming through the Detour Channel. I was a bit apprehensive about the conditions on Lake Huron and after Dana got into her Matrix to drive back home (which would take her just 8 hours, not 8 days), I set out south. It actually turned out to be very good sailing conditions, and I was able to sail towards Mackinac Island beautifully, just a few times interrupted by violent rains. By the time I reached the bridge though the wind started to really increase and veer to the west. I tacked a few times and then decided to head straight into the blow with the engine. The wind kept increasing, the waves growing, and the autopilot started acting up again. Eventually I had to give up because it was clear that under the conditions I would not find a protected anchorage before midnight. I returned to St Ignace and anchored right south of the marina, off a beach.