Moving on at summer's end

Sorry it's been so long since I've written anything.  It is more an indication that there is a lot going on in my life, not that there's nothing to report.   After my week of solid sailing, I had an off week where I did almost no sailing at all.  I need to keep in mind that this blog is about more than just sailing.  So I guess we will find out together that there is more to life.  One Monday I was sitting at work and I realized that I only had three or four weeks before my boat had to be out of the water.  The temperature here has already started to drop at the rate of about 10 degrees per month.  It may not seem like much, but the first few mornings when I awoke to 50 degrees on the thermometer were not fun.  Anyway, as I was sitting contemplating what to do with my remaining time I couldn't help thinking of how much I still wanted to sail to another city, at least once this summer.  After a quick scan of the weather report I called two of my brothers and set up a voyage for that night.  It was to be the last full moon of the sailing season, and the wind looked to be pretty strong.  There are two cities equidistant from Sheboygan, one North and one South.  I intended to go to Port Washington which lies to the south about 25 miles away.
We met up at my Mom's house and made a last minute run to the store to pick up beef jerky and granola bars.  Down at the marina the 20+ MPH winds were making it very difficult to raise the sails.  I made the call to reef the main and not put up the jib just yet.  We shoved off of the dock easily enough, but since the wind was blowing strong directly out of the south I had to tack to get out of the harbor.  Reefing in the main had changed the shape of the sail a bit and made it impossible to point as high into the wind as I needed to to get out.  Spencer had the brilliant idea to drop anchor while we sorted it out.  Yes we did get blown up against the rocks again, and we did in the end have to fend off the massive racing yacht moored innocently to her T-dock, but shhh! don't tell anyone.  There was no damage done to either vessel, unless you count leaving a small footprint sized smudge in the wax coat as damage. 
A nice guy in his tiny aluminum fishing boat came up and offered to help tow.  We had to drop sail while he revved the little engine to its limits.  Spencer hurt his hand trying to hold the rope instead of tying it off.  I was glad that he actually helped us out of the harbor, and not just back to the dock, and I was amazed that his little outboard could pull my 6,000 pound boat against such a fierce wind.
Eventually we were let loose out in the harbor back lit by a brilliant full moon.  We sped past the lighthouse and were half a mile out in the lake before we got the main lashed back onto the boom.  It was far too windy out there to use both sails.  I tried heading up into the wind, but it was impossible using just the jib. We called mom and let her know that we would be heading North to Manitowoc instead of Port Washington, that way at least if we were lost at sea someone would know where to look for us.
The GPS showed us making awesome progress, and it wasn't until 4 in the morning that the wind actually began to shift and die a bit.  I had to wake my crew up to help raise the main, and then they went back to sleep.  I think Spencer slept most of the trip.  The rollers would chase us down and pass under the stern while the dinghy kept trying to surf and slam into the boat.  I let both of my brothers take turns at the helm.  It was much nicer having a crew that was more confident at steering so I could get a better quality catnap.  The wind had blown us pretty far offshore; we had about 7 miles to make up getting back in to Manitowoc.  We were all exhausted and at about 7 in the morning we decided to just drop anchor off of a beach and sleep there rather than trying to make it into the harbor.  I didn't want to have to radio anyone or pay any fees.  We threw out both anchors in about 7 feet of water.  The waves slammed us about a bit, and the wind kept howling through the bare rigging as I tried to rest.  In the end I had to go up on deck, stow the sails better, and bring in the main anchor because the chain was just too loud for me in the foreword cabin.  I slept till around 10:30, bailed out the dinghy, and gave my brothers a rude awakening when I had the jib set and called for them to come bring in the anchor.  It was the first and only time we ever had to use the windlass.  I had let out about 60 feet of line, and the 20 pound anchor had dug itself well into the sand.  Finally we cranked it in and swung around back for home.  We never stepped foot in Manitowoc that day, but we were only a couple hundred yards away from their lighthouse, so it still counts.
As we cruised past a the inlets for a power plant several cormorants took flights and began their daily dive for meals.  The scenery was gorgeous.  We stayed close to the shore so we could see better details of the houses and golf courses that we sailed past.  There were no other boats in sight, and there seemed to be a profound silence on land for the first few hours.  We dispelled this by blasting whatever was loaded onto the iPod on board.  I must say that it was a rather eclectic collection of tunes, but luckily the tiny speakers couldn't reach far enough to bother anyone not on my boat...  Perhaps out off-key singing of Styx: Come Sail Away would have though.
We got home at about 5 in the evening to find my younger brother, Liam, waiting at the dock with his surfboard.  Spencer left after helping to stow the sails; Max and I went to watch Liam surf for a bit.  He did quite well for a rookie on tiny waves.  I was unsteady on my feet for a few hours as I got used to dry land again.  I can't remember much more, other than that I was really hungry when we got home.  It was a great cruise, I learned more.  It was a bit more enjoyable, but sailing is not the quickest way to get anywhere.  I am becoming more and more aware that the boat I have may not be the best one for what I need in my life right now.
I have finally decided to stop putting it off and head to college.  Maybe I needed this summer to see what type of sailing I really do like; what type of boat will I really use, or if I am really up to the lofty goals I have set.  I do fully believe that a Bristol 24 could carry someone across the Atlantic comfortably, I just don't think I have the time or resources right now to pursue that goal, and rather than sink any more money into Aequitas I think I will travel by plane and by foot, by train and by car for a while.  I have put my boat up for sale on the Internet and will hope to recoup some of the costs so that I may fund my education, and perhaps some of my travels.  It is a bittersweet feeling.  They say that the two happiest days in a sailor's life are the day he buys his boat, and the day he finally sells it.  Maybe I just need to get a little trailer-sailor so I can haul it with me wherever I may go and take advantage of both coasts and inland lakes without needing professional transport or a huge truck.
It is sad though knowing that the trip to Manitowoc was my last time sailing her.  I have been sleeping on the couch at my mom's house for a couple weeks now because it's gotten too cold in the marina.  I'll miss her when she's gone, and if she doesn't sell, I won't mind if she sticks around for a few years so at some later date I may revisit my dreams of cruising. 
I will still endeavor to maintain this blog of any other travels I do.  Thanks for reading!

A solid week

This week started out with the fiasco of Sunday sailing, followed by the trepidation of Tuesday which ended up being a perfect day, then on Wednesday I wanted to go sailing with Dani in the morning, but we never got together in time and I had to head off to work.  I text messaged her a few times throughout the day, and was delighted when she called me close to quitting time and informed me that she was in my neighborhood.  At first she said that she was in my Cul-de-sac which I thought was a bit odd.  Then it clicked that she was in the marina.  She had been visiting on the Sea Scout’s Merit 25 and had me come down to say hi.  I couldn’t very well ignore her since I live down there.  As I was nearing the harbor she also invited me to join them on a night sail that they had been “roped in to”.  I’m not so sure it would have taken too much convincing to get her to go sailing.  We turned on the running lights, I fired up the motor, and we had a lovely evening sailing under just jib. The wind was quite fresh and we were heeled nicely.  It was awesome to be able to look up and see the Milky Way over the pitch black waters.

The next day I didn’t sail at all, but Friday I went with my brother, Max, and his girlfriend.  She got sea sick with the 3-4 foot waves.  I felt bad, but we had a great time sailing from 6:30 till sunset.  On Friday I spend $70.00 on an antique outboard motor for the dinghy.  It started right up when I bought it, then I slapped it on the dinghy and didn’t bother with it because I had more guests joining me for the evening.  My brother, sister, and a few friends came along for another breezy sail.  The waves were about the biggest I’ve sailed in, and Aequitas handled it all with ease.

On Sunday after church I went down to try and start the motor.  It was a bit disconcerting when it began to spray gasoline everywhere.  It took a couple tries, but I got her cranked up and was able to motor about 3 meters away from my dock before the engine died.  I had forgotten to bring the oars with me and so I was reduced to hand paddling it back to the dock.  Luckily the wind was in my favor.  My siblings and mom came down for a Sunday afternoon sail.  It was glorious.  The wind was fresh, the seas were exciting.  My mom got a bit seasick, as did my brother, Liam, but after an hour or so all the kids just went below and took turns taking naps.  It was peaceful.  We sailed easily on a broad reach out east and down south, but were hard pressed pinching up into the wind to make it home in a timely manner. 

Tomorrow I should be picking up an old Jeep Cherokee so I can finally have my own car, I can tow my grandma’s little dinghy boat, and I can go off-roading.  Wish me luck.