Besides enjoying one last summer weekend on the water, we also used this time to pull the sails down, remove the dodger and bimini, and otherwise decommission the boat.
Captain Mike at the helm for the last time in 2010. A warm fall weekend gave us the opportunity that we were looking for... a chance to get out on the lake before putting Therapy away for the winter. Since the temperature was above 80 degrees, Connie and I headed out toward Kelley's Island for the weekend. As we usually do, we anchored on the north side of the island, a place normally crowded with boats. This weekend however, gave us the lake to ourselves. The quiet stillness of the north bay of Kelley's Island at dawn is special. Nothing moves except the occasional gull flying overhead or an island dog roaming the shoreline. The summer inhabitants of the island have packed their things and moved back to the mainland.
Besides enjoying one last summer weekend on the water, we also used this time to pull the sails down, remove the dodger and bimini, and otherwise decommission the boat.
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The Admiral at the helm. The Admiral made his annual pilgrimage up from the warmer climate to set sail on a four day tour. Saturday's originally planned departure was delayed by a day due to rain. Our luck was only slightly better the rest of the week. With 15 to 20 knot winds, we shoved off on Sunday and set sail for PIB. Making way with only the jib, we easily plowed through the 3 foot waves and gradually deployed the main. The wind was forecasted to pick up overnight so we decided to take up a mooring at PIB and ride out the cold front. The next morning, however, began with low dark clouds and a small craft advisory with waves on the open lake forecasted to be 4 to 6 feet. With choppy seas in mind, we set sail back to Herl's Harbor by first rounding Rattlesnake Island. Back in port, we spent the afternoon sanding and varnishing the cockpit seats... one the Admiral's favorite things to do. Tuesday morning brought a lull in the wind and a chance to head out on the lake once again. This lull didn't last long as the wind was once again back up to 15 knots (perfect fast sailing weather). Our plan was to sail up to and around North Bass Island and set our hook on the western side of Middle Bass. The further north we sailed, however, the worst the weather looked. Dark black clouds hung over the Islands like a bad fitting, size 18 dress on a runway model. Dark clouds over the Islands. With sunshine to the south, we made the easy decision to change course and head for Sandusky Bay. It was also a new port to explore as Therapy had yet to venture into that part of Lake Erie. With charts in hand, we navigated the shallow bay by following the well marked Lower Straight Channel which led directly to downtown Sandusky and the Dock of the Bay Yacht Club. With a couple of transient slips available, we motored around the breakwall and took up residence for the evening. The facilities are very nice and the Sandusky waterfront is easily accessible. The Admiral and I give the Water Street Bar and Grill our five anchor rating for their very good meatloaf and lumpy mash potato dinner. Wednesday morning greeted us with... you guessed it.... dark clouds and the threat of rain. With a change in the wind direction, we tacked a dozen times as we sailed back to Herl's Harbor with decent wind of 10 to 15 knots out of the northwest. Another successful sailing trip was in the book with plenty of wind to keep us busy. Brad in all his glory. We had the best weather of the summer. Sunny with highs near 80 and lows in the upper sixties. We left Catawba late Friday afternoon with the idea of mooring at PIB for the evening. The forecast called for 5 to 15 knot winds, strengthening during the evening. Once on the lake, we discovered the wind to be 15 to 20 knots out of the west with higher gusts. Using South Bass Island as a shield, we flew up the eastern side making great time. Unfortunately, the Inter-Lake Yacht Association races were this weekend and not a mooring could be found. (Where's Michelle when you need her!) Fighting the four foot waves between South and Middle Bass, we made our way to the Middle Bass Island State Park Marina. Just a year old, this marina was almost full also... we were lucky to get a slip. With a high pressure area firmly in place Saturday morning, we motored over to the north side of Kelley's Island for some suds, sun, and swimming. After seeing Brad floating in the intertube, a collection of nearby boaters, mostly those with young children, asked us to move to the other side of the Island. Noting a fresh breeze in the air, we went for a quick sail around Kelley's Island with Brad at the helm for the entire trip. The evening was spent having a great meal of Connie's barbequed chicken and pasta salad while the wine flowed until nearly midnight. Sunday brought a return of the wind with 5 to 10 knots forecasted. We raised the anchor and sailed from the Bay with a nice breeze that quickly increased from 7 knots to 12 knots around the north side of Kelley's. Once out into the open water, the wind picked up to 15 knots and the whitecaps on the water indicated the chop that would throw a spray of water into the air each time we plowed into them. We tacked back and forth across the southwest wind making our way back to Catawba. Nice weather and great friends make for an enjoyable weekend. I think we have a couple of more sailing devotees. Joe pondering a settlement against our liability insurance carrier. Joe Waizmann made his inaugural visit to Therapy this weekend. With the better halves otherwise occupied, Joe and I decided to go sailing and take in a Mad Dog Mike Adams show at PIB. As bad as the algae bloom was three weeks ago, the water was very clear this weekend. Light winds forced Joe and I to motor most of the time on our way to PIB on Saturday and then again home on Sunday. Our insurance policy requires me to state that I informed Joe of the slipperyness of the teak on the swim platform, however Joe hit the platform with his posterior in an unusually hard way. The afternoon's swim was a refreshing break. After a few brews on board, Joe then slid down the gangway to the gallery on his backside. Legal counsel recommended that I mention Joe had the full use of his extremities after the encounter with the stairs. All in all, we had a great time, a lot of laughs, and some new memories on the boat. Joe has the bruises to prove it. Cyanobacteria Pea Soup Pea soup? Nope, just the recent look of the water in Lake Erie off the Kelley's Island. In recent years, the annual algae bloom normally started in late August but this year portions of the entire western basin has huge green oil slicks. The algae bloom is not really algae but is really cyanobacteria, which is commonly referred to as "blue-green algae, although it is not true algae. The increase in the cyanobacteria blooms are caused by excess nutrients (phorphorus or nitrogen), sunlight, low-water or low flow conditions, warmer temperatures, and low salinity. Over fertilizing farm fields in northwest Ohio and global warming is combining to make the annual problem much worse. On a lighter note, Connie finds time to relax while we're anchored off the north side of Kelley's Island. Earlier in the day, Connie, Ally and I sailed/motored to Middle Bass Island. The wind was light and variable most of the day, thus requiring the use of Therapy's Yanmar diesel engine... much to my regret. After spending the afternoon swimming off the stern, we motored over to Kelley's to spend the night. The following morning, the wind picked up again to about 10 knots, allowing for a good sail albeit a short sail. Soon the wind petered out and we were back on the diesel. Dave in his element. The Fourth of July weekend brought great weather to the North Coast of Ohio and the Homan's back to Therapy. Always with a joke and a story, Dave and Michelle agreed to spend the long holiday weekend sailing, sunning and swimming. Saturday brought Therapy and crew to the northside of Kelley's Island, along with two dozen other sailboats and too-many-to-count stinkpotters. Dave took to the water with beer in hand while I attempted to perfect my acrobatic diving skills from the bowsprit. Unfortunately, my triple-gainer with a twist turned out to be a three-quarter back-smacker. Never trust Dave when he says... "I think you can do it!" Fireworks over the Bay After spending the night at Kelley's Island, we left our anchorage without ever starting the engine and simply sailed out of port towards South Bass Island. As expected, Put-In-Bay was filled to capacity and beyond with boats of all kinds. We wanted to be close to the fireworks show that was scheduled to take place in the Bay, but I knew our chances of finding a suitable mooring was slim. Michelle however reminded us to be optimistic. "If you don't believe you'll find one, then you won't." With those encouraging words, we headed into the mooring field.... which was filled! Just then, the crew of Kiwi (a Herl's Harbor neighbor) asked us if we wanted their mooring as we floated by. You bet! This placed us with a couple of hundred yards from the fireworks barge. PIB knows how to put on a fireworks show as sparks and embers showered into the water. What a great show. I think the booms are still echoing around the Bay. Storm clouds gather over the fleet at PIB. Mayflies actually come in June... go figure...and this weekend was the peak of the mayfly season. Connie and I decided to sail to Put-In-Bay Friday evening since the weather forecast called for thunderstorms on Saturday morning. Upon arriving around 8pm we picked up the last mooring, learning that it was Freeman-Eckley's Beneteau Rendevous. Nearly 60 boats were in attendance. Connie and I grabbed the water taxi to get a bite to eat. At dusk we noted that there must have been a fire somewhere on the island since a large black cloud of smoke was hovering over the tree tops. We checked the radar on the cell phone and saw a large line of thunderstorms approaching so we quickly finished eating, hailed the taxi, and made our way back to the boat. From the water taxi, we could see that the black smoke, almost as thick as fog, was now covering the entire island as well as nearby islands. It was only now that we figured out that this wasn't smoke... it was a swarm of mayflies....millions of mayflies. Back on the boat, we nervously watched the radar and waited for the approaching storm. Just after dark, the wind arrived without the rain. Sudden gusts that must have been 40 to 50 mph blew into the harbor had each boat bouncing wildly about straining against their mooring restraint. Just then, the sloop two balls in front us lost its jib to the wind. The flapping sail could have filled with the full effect of the gale which would have given the small boat the effect of a wrecking ball in a china shop. Thankfully the owner finally realized the best solution was to release the jib halyard, thus dropping the sail. Surrounding boats tried to lend a hand by shining spot lights on the offending sail but could do little else. I was very glad that Connie suggested putting a second line on the ball before the storm hit. The rest of the weekend was great for sailing. Wind from 10 to 15 knots gave us and the fleet a great ride home. Can we do it again? USS Niagara The weather couldn't be better. Quite different than your typically Memorial Day weekend on Lake Erie. Connie and I arrived early on Friday to spend the day getting the boat ready for the holiday weekend voyage. We left Herl's Harbor in route to Middle Bass Island when we came across this....the USS Niagara. This is an incredible replica of the flagship of the US fleet captained by Commodore Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. We managed to catch up and sail around this page out of history before it sailed off toward Toledo. We, instead, continued on to Middle Bass Island where we dropped anchor for the first time this year. With temperatures in the mid-80's and not much wind, the new dodger and bimini helped to keep the relentless sun off of us. This wasn't enough however as the sunset, so Connie improvised by clothes pinning beach towels to the bimini. It worked great! New cockpit table. It was during this week that I installed the new cockpit table. What a convenience this is and what an idiot the prior owner was for removing the original table. We spent an enjoyable afternoon with Greg and Sandy Millat at their home on Middle Bass before sailing over to the north side of Kelley's Island Sunday evening. The wind freshened out of the east to about 8 knots which made for a nice sail to the south-east as we rounded East Point. The boat handled great as we made 5.5 to 6.0 knots all the way to Kelley's. At Kelley's, about 25 other sailboats had the same idea and the twinkling anchor lights on the surrounding boats were like stars in the night time sky... only closer. That's the question that's on everyone's mind here in Ohio. When is Spring going to arrive? We've had enough of this snow! The winter home of Captain Mike. The snowiest February on record occurred within just 10 days. On Friday, February 5th, the first major winter storm dumped 8" of snow on the Dayton area. Could have been more if the daytime drizzle had been snow. Greenville had nearly 14". The second winter storm warning was issued just four days later on Tuesday, February 9th. This gave us another 8" of snow. The snow blower is getting a real workout. Lastly, the third winter storm blew in on my birthday, February 15th. Another 8" of snow fell, giving us nearly 24" of snow in 10 days. It's hard to imagine being on the sailboat. It's hard to imagine being outside! |
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