B-Team Becomes A-Team

Ellie has not been on a sailboat before sailing on Donnybrook. She'll be sailing from San Juan to Massachusetts when she becomes a junior at University of Maine. Her uncle and close friend of mine, Bob, asked her sail with us to give her a feel for life on the water.

Damn! Does this girl get sailing! With 5 minutes of instruction she's keeping Donnybrook on her way to Grand Haven in challenging conditions. She's getting a great upper body workout. For those not familiar with sailing big boats in these conditions (20 knot winds, 4-6' waves), it looks easy with a good helms person (as Ellie is) but can get messy pretty quick with a few mistakes.

Thank you, Ellie, for making my trip back to Chicago a little easier!

Working on Donnybrook

Here Dan is keeping the boat moving. Donnybrook sails herself for the most part, but requires constant monitoring. Dan and I see each other only once or twice a year so we spend this time catching up.

A significant aspect of sailing is you spend so much time together with your crew. I strive to pick crew I want to be with and, I think, form a stronger friendship with the people I sail with.

You form a bond with the people you sail with. The bond is something that is hard to replicate off the water.

Second Watch on Donnybrook

The off-watch crew of Ellie and Bob are relaxing belowdecks on Donnybrook. Today is the first day since the race we've been able to make any significant headway under sail only. We've been riding northwest winds toward Grand Haven and making good time.

Last night was fair sleeping. Thunderstorms are neat on the boat while at dock, unfortunately it gets stuffy with the hatches closed. Bob and Ellie are catching up on their sleep.

One of the best things about sailing is you can function on the boat under way just as if you're at dock. We can cook, shower, and do anything else while sailing. It's like sleeping in a giant baby cradle.

We're doing 7 knots, which is fast on a cruising sailboat. The waves are 3-5 feet. The experience is a little piece of heaven! We can do this for as long as we have wind and water. This is the type of sailing that takes people across oceans!

In our case our next port of call is Grand Haven and the promise of fun and excitement on the Coast Guard Days midway.

Badger Leaving Ludington

Here, the Badger car ferry is sailing into the sunset for Manitowoc. We had a nice dinner at Jamestown Brewery then found ice cream before walking to the beach for the sunset. The incoming storms blocked the actual sunset, but it was still a nice night.

Foggy Sunrise and Hike on South Manitou Island

It was fantastic sleeping last night. I needed a blanket for the first time on the trip. The air got cool and the fog rolled in. This is what I saw while making sure the anchor didn't drag this morning. The anchor was fine.

My inflatable dingy, Samman, was left behind in Bob's garage so shore excursions from anchor require flagging down a ride or swimming. Yesterday we put our shoes, snacks, and other stuff in plastic dry bags, unfortunately one leaked so we returned to Donnybrook to re pack. Dan was spooked because his smokes got wet and decided to stay on Donnybrook rather than risk losing another pack to Lake Michigan.

Bob, Ellie, and I tried again and made it to shore with dry supplies, but only Bob's shoes were re packed. Rather than return to Donnybrook, we decided to hike barefoot.

Our feet were fine. The trails are mostly grass or sand. South Manitou Island is a time capsule of what rural Michigan life was like in the 1940s before it became part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. We saw old farmhouses, one built in 1860, barns containing a mix of horse and tractor driven farm implements, orchards, and a one room school house.

The wildlife we saw consisted of birds, a gardner snake, and large toad.

The most amazing thing about this uninhabited island is how quiet it is on the island. You stop walking and it is perfectly quiet. I've never experienced quiet like on South Manitou Island.

Thus remains one of my favorite places on Lake Michigan, if not the world.

Beaver Island Sunset

We're at anchor in St. James Harbor on Beaver Island, Michigan. Garlic bread is baking in the oven, water is boiling for pasta, and home made pasta sauce is warming. Good tunes are playing.

The picture is our view as we wait for the stars to take over the night sky. I have to remind myself that this is work, returning the boat to Chicago after the race.

Moment of Finish and 2012 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Results

This is my view of finishing. Donnybrook set a boat record of 69 hours, 51 minutes, 46 seconds which corrected to 54:33:46. Overall we finished 28 of 43 boats in the cruising division. We were 18 of 20 in the competitive Cruising 2 section.

Official Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac results are at http://competitor.cycracetomackinac.com/results.cfm.

In the picture Todd and Roxray are holding the sail number board. Mike is standing by in case anything is needed. I'm sitting next to Mary as she steers us to finish.

It's a tradition on Donnybrook that the new crew steers at the finish. In fact, I don't think I've ever been at the helm while finishing a Mac race.

More thoughts on the race to come.