[Rhodes22-list] Crossing lake Michigan

[Ronald Lipton]

Roger,

   Thanks for the note - sounds like an exciting and memorable trip.  I am
sure
now that your kids are older having a written record of the trip is
especially
valuable.

We will try to avoid scheduling the trip in challenging weather, but will
plan for surprises.  I am reading "White Hurricane" about the the 1913
November Great Lakes storm where 19 ships and 238 sailors were lost.
We expect a calmer passage.

regards,

Ron
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Roger Pihlaja" <cen09402 at centurytel.net>
To: <rafe00 at ameritech.net>; "The Rhodes 22 mail list"
<rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 6:04 AM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Crossing lake Michigan


> Ron,
>
> The enclosed link is a story about an offshore voyage on Lake Michigan in
a
> Rhodes 22.  In the summer of 1998, we sailed our Rhodes 22 from
Charlevoix,
> MI to Beaver Island, MI & then on to Garden Island, MI.  Both islands are
> about 30 nm offshore out in the middle of northern Lake Michigan.
>
> http://www.geocities.com/blew_skies/gardeni.html
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Rafe" <rafe00 at ameritech.net>
> To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Monday, May 03, 2004 3:17 PM
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Crossing lake Michigan (was Rhodes22 spotting)
>
>
> > Ron,
> >
> > If possible, let me know what day you are sailing in,
> > and I will see if we can sail out to meet you.  I have
> > never been able to find another boat via radio yet,
> > but maybe with the radio and GPS we could keep an eye
> > out for you on this side.  We could agree on an open
> > channel ahead of time.  It would depend on our
> > schedules here.  After 10 hours of sailing I bet you
> > start to look like a sailor - that is a lot of wind
> > and sun!
> >
> > I hope to find a lot of time for the boating this
> > summer - so we should be able to meet up at least some
> > time.  We sailed down to the Indian dunes one day -
> > that was a long day of sailing, but a lot of fun.
> > This summer I want to see how far north we can sail
> > and still get back the same day.  We sail up by Monroe
> > all the time.  Great views of the city up there.  Down
> > South we have an ancient industrial park in the back
> > ground.  So we often go North for short trips.
> >
> > Sounds like you hit a lot of wind the last time you
> > sailed in.  Sometimes the weather for the shore line
> > and 5 miles out is completely different.  So I am sure
> > the weather from one side of the lake to the other is
> > often quite different.
> >
> > The second time we were out in strong winds things got
> > a little out of control.  At first it was a lot of
> > fun, but then these nasty gusts starting hitting us
> > every few minutes.  I am not certain for sure what the
> > conditions were, but it felt like a steady low 20s
> > with gusts over 35 - probably just me.  When the gusts
> > hit at first the boat would start to go over and then
> > whip up hard into the wind.  We ended up with hardly
> > any sail out just riding the gusts in.  I've since
> > learned that it is better to keep the boat flat anyway
> > - so maybe we did the right thing that day.  We had a
> > lot of sail in - both main and Genoa.  We also headed
> > in after a couple of those hard round ups.  The
> > weather felt like it was only getting worse.
> >
> > A couple times we started motoring out of the harbor
> > only to turn right around and go back in - not so much
> > from wind but from waves.  When the waves are bad
> > things get real scary.  One time I got thrown hard
> > under the seat - for a second there I didn't know what
> > happened.  The wind was not that bad that day and it
> > did not feel like a knock down I think a wave just
> > spun us around into another wave and we got tossed
> > back and forth a bit rough.  Amy got slammed against
> > the seat hard, but managed to stay off the floor.
> > Anyway when looking for you a nice weather day for
> > your crossing, try to pick a day with small waves
> > predicted for that day and the day after.  Maybe you
> > should buy a couple harnesses just in case.  If it
> > picks up, you could be stuck in it for hours.
> >
> > Hopefully your trip will be windy and flat - 6.5 knots
> > the whole way in.  Just tied the tiller off and enjoy
> > the view.
> >
> > Rafe
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> >
> >
>
>
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