Midwest Rendevous

[mgoller]

Hi,
Look in the Sailor's Lounge, there is a invite for anyone wanting to participate in a sail together this summer or fall.  No time or place picked as yet, so get your two cents in.  This could be a real memorable experience for all of us.  
Bye

[Craig Weis]

This is something I'd love to do.
Lets figure this thing out before the season is over. skip

[TroyVB]

Hey Skip,

We are planning to sail Grand Traverse Bay June 16th-18th you can see the thread of discussion in the Sailor's Lounge.  The conversation has been quiet lately but I know that Marcus, Doug and myself are planning to go.  We would love to have more.  Should be a great time.

Marcus had talked about a couple of different itineraries.  Both looked good to me.  He was planning to check on some other information and I have been hoping to make a scouting trip soon, it's only a couple of hours away.  Stay in touch.

[Craig Weis]

Well we lived in Jackson, Michigan for a bit.
Anyway...
I just lost my job so I'm free maybe in the 'time zone'.
How about Comfort and Joy, and Wind Rover
coming over for a few days. Just sail across the pond. :lol:
I'll run it by Captain Rank, as he is a school
teacher and has the summer off.
But he rents out part of his house [Gull Haven in SB]
as a summer get-a-way for city slickers. He may have
to be there.
Sounds like fun. I'll buy the first round of sailor's grog. But
only after a day's sailing. Not during.
skip

[TroyVB]

Sounds great.  Have you crossed in the CP19 before?  I would love to hear about the experiences you have had in a big body of water.  I would like to try a crossing in my CP16 just to be able to say I did it.  I think it would take the right weather window however.

Hope you can make it to the weekend in June.  Should be fun.

[Craig Weis]

Troy, have not crossed Lake Michigan in my C-P 19 yet.

But once went from Chicago to Benton Harbor, Michigan in Star boat. Dad and I left at the crack of dawn and arrived about 10:00pm. Found something to eat and slept under the boom tent on the floor boards. Got up next am had breakfast at some greasy spoon and sailed back.
About the same amount of time, even though we had planned for a weather day, we did not need it.

Bare in mind that the Star is an open cockpit boat and we were 'rail down' during most of both ways. It was a blast.
Length:    6.91 m
Beam:     1.73 m
Draft:      1.01 m
Displ:      663 kg
Ballist:    409 kg
Sail ar:    26.5 sq m
This was without compass, GPS, or cell phones so if we laid her over we would die. No big deal.  :roll:

So I figure the CP-19 would be just fine. I don't have to sail aggressive nor as fast as possible. Any heavy weather just teather up, hang on and buttom up the boat so a wave could flush out the cockpit scuppers and still keep the boat dry. I might consider locking down my lazerette cockpit hatches in the seats. I already have closed foam gaskets installed. Wouldn't that be way cool. 'Sail On'. I almost named 'Comfort & Joy' that! skip

[mgoller]

Hi Guys,
I'm still counting on the trip and I really look forward to the experience.  I can get waypoints, map quest directions and harbor phone numbers and such.  I think the key thing is finding a place that can accomodate our trailers and vehicles for several days.  I will work on that.
I wish we had a couple of more sailors to make it more fun, so start pressuring your friends.
Thanks,

[mgoller]

Hi Again,
Ok, the Elk Rapids Harbor can accomodate us.  If you pay for a slip, parking your trailer and vehicle is free, slips are $10 a night.  Otherwise there is a charge for parking in their offsite lot.  They provide a courtesy Van to get you back to the dock.  Sounds easy.  
It is a well stocked harbor with all the necessary conveniences.  Phone number for the Harbor master is 231 264 9274 ask for Sheryl.  She said she would like us to call and confirm when we know how many boats to expect and when we would arrive.  I asked if she would run out of space possibly and she said no, not a worry, she just wants to know when to expect us.  She said Elk rapids is a great little town with lots to do and great restaraunts.  water temps are warm enough to take a dip about 72 in mid June.  Can we say that this will be the departure point?  It will be easier to plan the rest.
Thaniks,

[TroyVB]

Elk Rapids sounds good to me.  Thanks for doing the phone work Marcus.  Are you planning to rent a slip there or do the off site parking?  $10.00 per nite sounds inexpensive.

Looking forward to it.

[mgoller]

Just to clarify.  Lets say you arrived Thursday the 15th in the evening and launched at the ramp, the slip fee would be $20, and parking for the 15-18 of June would be free.  If you arrived friday June 16th in the morning and launched the parking for your vehicle and trailer would be $10 day.

I thought there was a campground around Old Mission on M-31 but I'm not finding it, I know there are campgrounds in and around Northport, Omena and Sutton's Bay and Marion island.  Old Mission has a nice beach but it looks more like a daytime park, the light house is a visitor center.  There are a lot of good sites about the Traverse City area, go to the convention and vissitors bureau, lots of pictures and lists for the area.

[mgoller]

Hi Gang,
Here is a proposed itinerary for the "Midwest Roundup"

June 15 Thurs eve or June 16th Fri morning  - Arrive Elk Rapids MI, M-31  
Launch and take a slip for the night, motel or boat camp
Launch in the morning / park and provision the boats,
June 16th - go over passage check weather, sail at 10 am - 23 miles to Northport, stop for lunch along Old Mission penninsula, short hike to the old Mission light House.  
This is a broad reach all the way to Northport with the typical south - west winds.  Should manage 4 knots maybe better.  Arrival at Northport @7pm, sundown at 10pm.   Alternate harbors - Old Mission Harbor, or Omena Bay.

June 17th - breakfast, optional excursion to Dunes, North point lighthouse or wineries by bus or cab. Set sail at 2pm, for the 17 miles south to Sutton's Bay.  Sail past Gull island. We may need to swing out farther from shore to stay away from ground shadowing of south westerly winds.  Arrive at port around 7 pm, might take longer if winds are from the south so we'll check and ajust the day before fooling around.

June 18th - breakfast, fool around, check weather, 23 miles to Elk rapids with a swing around Old Mission shoals.  This is a broad run (bring your wisker pole or your spinnaker), and then a turn to starboard which will be a broad reach to Elk Rapids.  We should make 4 knots all the way at least.  So there could be a stop along the way for lunch and fishing, or if people are anxious to make port and get home we could just get there mid-day.  

There are many other places to see, to ditch in bad weather and if any one wants to extend the trip we can.  The above itinerary doesn't really offer the easy camping opportunities of a visit to Marion (Power) island which is farther south on the west arm.  This itinerary does provide for comfortable sailing avoiding lots of tacking and close reaches.  If weather gets bad a safe harbor is usually just 5 miles away.

Bay Breeze rents boats in Traverse city and the Traverse City airport is a nice regional hub.  So if anyone wants to join but doesn't want to bring their boat this is an option.