Summer Trips

A few of the possible trips that we're thinking about for the summer - some obviously more realistic than others. The light-blue line plots a trip from St. Joseph, MI, to Sturgeon Bay, WI, with stops in Door County, then a two-day sail back to St. Joseph. We're thinking we'd like to extend that trip over to Mackinac and the North Channel (the orange line) if we can find enough time. Pulling off that much cruising in a summer will be a record for us; two years ago we managed to get as far north as Ludington, MI, which was nice but not nearly enough sailing.

Emerson's Terminus

I came across this poem a couple of years ago. We had recently purchased Ariel and I was growing increasingly enamored with sailing and the sea. The poem's imagery grabbed me and hasn't let go. I'll excerpt the last stanza, my favorite:

As the bird trims her to the gale,
I trim myself to the storm of time,
I man the rudder, reef the sail,
obey the voice at eve obeyed at prime:
'Lowly faithful banish fear,
Right onward drive unharmed;
The port, well worth the cruise, is near,
And every wave is charmed.'

Thoughts on sailing and life

Richard Bode, author of First You Have to Row a Little Boat, uses some great language in his reflections on life and living. One of my favorite quotes reads:
"As humans we live with the constant presumption of dominion. We believe that we own the world, that it belongs to us, that we have it under our firm control. But the sailor knows all too well the fallacy of this view. The sailor sits by his tiller, waiting and watching. He knows he isn't sovereign of earth and sky, any more than the fish in the sea or the birds in the air. He responds to the subtle shiftings of the wind, the imperceptible ebbings of the tide. He changes course. He trims his sheets. He sails."

My suggestion for summer cruising

I suggest we leave St. Jo and sail straight to the Sturgeon Bay Canal, thence into Green Bay and up the east side (Door County), taking our time to visit every port. We go out the top, then straight to Mackinac Straits and on to the North Channel.

Family members can join us for whatever parts of the trip they want to. There's a car ferry from Ludington, Michigan over to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, so they could easily catch up with us in Door County if they want. And they can drive to Mackinac and we can meet them there, or in the North Channel, Canada.

Ariel's new blog

Thanks to a cold winter and too many hours spent on the computer (and in books) poring over sailing travelogues, I'm already looking toward spring and Ariel's launch, when we'll finally be back on the water cruising. This blog is a sad attempt to hasten that day! Here we'll begin planning our summer travels aboard Ariel, our Cape Dory 36.
-Davie