Leaving Arcadia Tomorrow

As promised I will introduce you to "Cormy" the KING of the dinghy. He defies my protests with complacency and continues to be on Connie's good side! She takes sides with him until I mention cleaning out the dinghy.


Another unexpected adventure with our friends Sig and LuAnn from Arcadia.



We explored another set of vineyards and sampled the grapes from the LeeLanau Peninsula of Michigan. For what I know and observed from Connie's expressions the grapes and cherry wines are great... how they compare to others of left coast we are not expert. On this subject just satisfied customers. We now have ballast!




We will be leaving from Arcadia in the AM saying good by to our friends with a promise to return soon. The point on the photo is being dredged and we hope to have fair passage beyond the dredge in the early hours. Another much larger vessel ran aground in the piping while entering the harbor during a storm. The dredge boom or some portion of it was partially submerged and fowled props, bent shafts and still has the vessel in slings.



"Red sky at night is a sailor's delight" let's hope it is true. Only 10 miles up the shoreline to Frankfort, MI tomorrow.

Thanks for traveling with us,

Tom & Connie (Cormy too)
All this fun on a MotorCat30 MC 30 friends http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MC30/
Cat's Away/Arcadia, MI

Lake Michigan IS Windy

I will try to pick up where we left off the other day but a lot of new things have come our way despite not traveling much. I was under the weather for 3 days with an ear infection and it really puts me down. I said to Connie one night while at anchor"you are in charge" and she was but a little nervous... anyway I am back in the game and feeling fit.





The Sleeping Bear Dunes are about 450 feet above the lake at a point where we noticed many people climbing the dunes. We anchored in the lee of the dune and took the dinghy to shore for a closer look and an attempt for the summit. Well I've had a cardiac stress and it was no way as difficult as climbing only a few hundred yards. The dunes are very steep and the easiest is towards the bottom (where I started) as the incline in not quite as steep from the accumulation of sluffing sand. Needless to say I decided the view was OK from about 1/3 the distance.







BTW, We saw several kids that were up AND down in the time it took us to visit!

We arrived in Arcadia, MI secure at Veterans Marina and glad we have friends to share some time with. Some years ago a close friend , with leukemia, became terminal and our mutual friend from Arcadia provided us with some time together at his beautiful lake shore home. We enjoyed the late summer with Lyle and I have great memories of his friendship from this location.

Well wouldn't you know it! As we walked into the only resturant in town there was my long lost friend from Flint... I thought he had moved as I had transpoed the last two digits of his phone number. Well we had the pizza and a few with plans to spend more time together during our weather lay-up in Arcadia.

Jerry (Sig) brought a car for out use during the lay-up, toured a winery outlet, visited local artist and had a great meal with them in their beautiful home... it is great to have friends in unexpected places! They cooked a salmon fillet we brought along (thanks Andy & Erich) acquired while on their trip to Alaska last month rafting on the Tetashini River.




We spent a quiet and restful evening with our friends ashore . Sig had his secret fish chowder recipe prepared for us from Lake Michigan stock and it was great! Boy, salmon from the West and East in one eve.


Sorry for the long post, we are trying to keep oru family and friends along with us so to say.

As for the small things (bugs)... we bombed yesterday and have not noticed a large body count. As they say "what dosen't kill you makes you stroger" we will see what today brings. Our local friends say it is from the fruit trees and plentiful harvest. The orchards left a large portion of the harvest to rot as the market could not absorb the excess fruit. What a shame we have to destroy or abandon mother's nature's bounty to preserve the prices that support the farmers... or is it the resellers we are protecting? Enough of my rantings for today.

To add to the bugs we now have the friendliest Comoran I have ever seen. I can't bet him to vacate the dinghy for more than a few hours. He scared the C... out of me last night in the dark as we returned to the boat with all his flapping.

Photo missing of this menace to come.

Thanks for coming along with us,

Tom & Connie
Cat's Away/Arcadia, MI
Very windy and cool but sunny today

Small things matter a LOT on a small boat

We don't know where the small bugs are from but the locals in Traverse City and Northport say they are Fruit Flies. They are everywhere and Connie is about beside herself driving me a little buggy. They seem to have hatches and blossom every few hours, it is more of an aesthetic problem... they don't bite or sting so what's the big deal Connie?





Well we departed Traverse City, what a great town, then traveled to North Manitou Island where we were greeted by the National Park Service members that were interested in our trip and boat. There was a very fowl odor from the harbor and I mentioned that it was not our holding tank... it was rotting matted vegetative matter.

Both invasive mussels are prodigious algae feeders, which produce clearer lake water and spur the growth of Cladophora, a lake plant that grows quickly, dies, washes to shore and rots on the shoreline.

Anchored in the harbor of South Manitou Island for the nigh. It was our first "on the hook" night of the trip. We had East winds of 5 MPH and quite calm conditions but it was a little difficult sleeping soundly... it is not like tied to a dock with resources available.

There is a lot to write about living as a0 couple on a small boat but you can imagine the adjustments for folks living separate lives with work, kids and our usual circle of friends. Is is going quite well and we both look forward to the next week aboard Cat's Away

Thanks for coming along.

Tom & Connie
Cat's Away/ Arcadia. MI

Weather has improved...but

We have been waiting for the weather window to allow us to proceed to Leland and the Manitou Islands off the west shore of Lake Michigan as promised by the weatherman it was today.

Well, we departed Northport, MI this AM early and headed into a head sea for the Grand Traverse Bay outlet into Lake Michigan.We were again greeted by BIG WAVES! I had the window open just enjoying the fresh breeze and the ability to see over the spray on the windshield... I for some unknown reason closed it just before taking a large wave over the bow and into the windshield. Boy, I would have been looking for a snorkel had it been open. Enough said so we turned tail and ran with the following 3-5 seas to Traverse City. It took about 2 hours to retreat and a comfortable ride as agreed by Connie. Our choices were to return to Northport, Sutton's Bay or the new port of Traverse City.

Lot to do here and the temptations abound for our stomachs and wallets. Traverse city has transformed itself since we were here 15 years ago and is very tourist friendly community with shops and eateries on Front Street extending to the South Mall area. It reminds us of our home stomping grounds, on Lake Huron, the Tawases but on a much larger scale on a larger scale.

We had a lack of good information and picked up a copy of the 2009 Waterway Guide that the local West Marine store had overnight-ed from another store for us. It was 3 miles on bike to the store and Connie was once again convinced that I did not know where I was going... I showed her my sense of direction was about usual. A little "recalculating" as the missing GPS does when we are off course got us there. We even stopped at the Great Wolf Lodge for a brew on the way back, we have been to the Wisconsin Lodge with family a few years ago... ditto!

We are at the South end of the Grand Traverse Bay in the Duncan Clinch Marina which was remade per the harbor master just a few years ago for 10 million dollars and it is 1st class all the way! You want it it has it, laundry, grills, access to the city and of course fuel and ice at a fair price.

We are on floating docks tonight with a little motion and as you can tell the dock and boat are not moving in sync despite the camera being placed on a piling to steady it.


Thanks for traveling with us,

Tom & Connie
Cat's Away/ in Traverse City, MI as of 8/26/09

All is well with the crew of Cat's Away.

Sorry for not getting to posting for a couple of days but this is a vacation. Photos will not upload with our current connection... more to follow when a better speed is available.

Tom & Connie

Cat's Away/ now in Northport, MI

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0XnknSyJz8QGm2DJuFkhncrUl9ndT3q85

Sometimes "same" is OK

Well the weather has been the same for 3 days, strong gusty winds, rain and little sunshine however today the forecast will change and it may be good for travel tomorrow. All new arrivals (by boat) were very glad to be in a protected bay for the night.

We rented an auto and traveled the length of the Beaver Island taking in the sights... the largest birch tree in Michigan and "big rock".





The mosquitoes are very glad to see us despite the rain as we walked along a trail . I think they live under the ferns and like Connie's red jacket... she believes this.



There is a well preserved light house on the south end of the island open to the top.




At the very southern point where the water was clam, in the lee of a small bay, we saw 11 white swans feeding in the shallows... these guys are big but far from the camera lens.




Thanks for coming along,

Tom & Connie

Cat's Away/Beaver Island, MI
Phone still works 810 287 8397

Rain and wind... plenty of both.

Yesterday we departed Sutton's Bay with following seas in the 1-3 range and they were very comfortable as a following sea. Well when we exited Grand Traverse bay the winds were form the South West the first 3 miles to Beaver Island trip were in an angry mess, the waves were trying to cancel each other! Finally it settled down to a beam (on the side) sea on our port and seas were 2-4 with the occasional surprise 5 footer.

We arrived at James Bay which is on the North East end of the island and have been at Beaver Island Marina and will stay at leas another 2 days as the winds are predicted to be 20-30mph from the SW.



Well Frank, the guy we purchased Cat's Away from, had been to the Abacos and Staniel Cay where they have pigs that swim out to the boat for food...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TCe6pH2bX4 well in Sutton's Bay they wouldn't think of swimming as I think they would sink to the bottom.




We were at the Beachcomber last night and learned a new way of drinking with your friends... I wonder if they all had the same beverages? The music was outstanding and a lively crowd begged them on and on. Connie and I don't often get out much and it was a nice change to be together and not have a schedule to meet the next day. No PD outside the tavern to greet us and we walked to the boat a little tipsy.


We will see what tomorrow brings and likely rent an auto to see the island as we will be here for another day op perhaps two.

Thanks for coming along with us,

Tom & Connie
Cat's Away/Beaver Island, MI
http://www.beaverisland.net/

We Played it safe today... the plan was for Beaver Island
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_Island_%28Lake_Michigan%29
but 20 MPH S winds stirred up some weather and 4-6 foot waves
http://www.weather.gov/forecasts/wfo/sectors/apxMarineWeek.php?expandweek=ON#tabs
. Why bother when there is so much great exploring in Traverse Bay. We had a short 12 mile run to Sutton's Bay


http://www.suttonsbayarea.com/

and arrived about noon and we were on he lee side of the shore. It is good to have a day to slow down. Planning the trip and working up to the day of departure left us drained after the haul and launch. Although boating has some moments of pure relaxation it is work of another nature. You have to become familiar with each other in ways that are not the norm during our day-to-day routine at home. BTW we are still talking to each other after 2 days and it looks like we will make our 30th anniversary on this trip.

Give me a little time to improve on the linking formats.

Looking forward to another great day on the Great Lakes.

Tom & Connie Jo

Lake Michigan Loop 2009

Although we have been planning, preparing and provisioning the boat for the trip we still feel somewhat unprepared for he adventure... I guess that is to be given as we do not know the conditions we will be exposed to in the next few weeks... it is natural.
The boat is ready and mechanical systems have been checked. The charting software and backup systems have been tested but I still feel there is more to do. Connie has provisioned the galley and of course we will be testing any local greasy spoons along the way.



We departed 1200 today and had some land waves and took a little water over the hood of the truck.

Stopped along the way and bought some veggies but the Sweet Cherries were all gone! Michigan is a beautiful state and the roads we traveled were busy with RV's despite the current enconmy. This area is so different from our home town suffering from the auto downturn. We have unloaded Cat's Away into a boat yard in Northport without problems and they have a great ramp for our rig.




I look forward to having you travel along with us as access to the internet, time and weather allow.




Tom & Connie
Cat's Away