As I mentioned last fall, I'm the proud owner of a Pearson 303 - Wind Dreamer II (my avatar is a picture of her at dock.) We launched her (finally!) this past Friday, spent the day getting ready, and then spent Saturday and Sunday sailing her home. It was about a 45 nm trip - certainly doable in a day, but as the boat was new to me, and I've always been 'just' a day sailor, I didn't want to push it. I had my father in law and brother in law as my crew - both very seasoned sailors who have made this trip many times. Our trip started at Harbor West Marina in Traverse City, MI (West Grand Traverse Bay) and took us to Northport for the night, then from Northport to our mooring near Horton Bay, MI (SE part of Lake Charlevoix.) The first leg was a great way to learn a new boat - we had south winds directly on our stern. We set the sails wing-on-wing and flew up Grand Traverse Bay, making Northport in a little under 5 hours. Being a day sailor, I'd never used my radio before, but I think I did fine hailing the marina and what-not. (Okay, you old salts will either grin or groan, but this was ALL new to me! 
) The second leg was a bit more of a challenge. The wind had backed overnight and was coming out of the north/north east (which just so happened to be where we were going!) It was blowing about 15 knots, with some gusts hitting 20-22. We motored out of Northport and passing the last buoy, put up sail - too much as it turned out. While we'd only put about 90% of the jib up, we had the full main. Just as we got the sails up and fell off, we were hit with a 30 knot gust - it was a test - of the boat, and more so, of me. We dunked the rail (although I must admit, the starboard windows were quite clean later on! ) I called for a reef in the main and my brother in law went forward and did a great job getting it set. We pulled a bit more of the jib in and she settled right down. The waves were a good 3-4 feet, wtih swells up to 6 or so. Keep in mind that Northern Lake Michigan waves with a north wind have a very small frequency, so six feet waves aren't gentle rollers - they can be foaming breakers. The boat handled like a dream though - I was surprised at how well she pointed and she handled the waves like a bathtub toy. After an hour or so I was finally comfortable and we had a good sail (albeit a long seven hours) to the entrance to Lake Charlevoix. The connection between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix is through a draw bridge that opens on the half hour - another learning experience, although I was very familiar with the bridge itself. To push my learning just a bit, the Beaver Island Ferry was leaving as I was entering (attached picture.) While the picture shows a lot of room, and I'm sure there was, it sure felt like we were squeaking by! All in all and incredible experience for a guy who is used to bopping about a lake for a couple of hours on a Saturday. It certainly gave me the initial knowledge and experience I was hoping for. I hope to make it back to Northport with my wife and daughter this summer, so this was the best 'training' I could get. Dave Crowley Wind Dreamer II
) The second leg was a bit more of a challenge. The wind had backed overnight and was coming out of the north/north east (which just so happened to be where we were going!) It was blowing about 15 knots, with some gusts hitting 20-22. We motored out of Northport and passing the last buoy, put up sail - too much as it turned out. While we'd only put about 90% of the jib up, we had the full main. Just as we got the sails up and fell off, we were hit with a 30 knot gust - it was a test - of the boat, and more so, of me. We dunked the rail (although I must admit, the starboard windows were quite clean later on! ) I called for a reef in the main and my brother in law went forward and did a great job getting it set. We pulled a bit more of the jib in and she settled right down. The waves were a good 3-4 feet, wtih swells up to 6 or so. Keep in mind that Northern Lake Michigan waves with a north wind have a very small frequency, so six feet waves aren't gentle rollers - they can be foaming breakers. The boat handled like a dream though - I was surprised at how well she pointed and she handled the waves like a bathtub toy. After an hour or so I was finally comfortable and we had a good sail (albeit a long seven hours) to the entrance to Lake Charlevoix. The connection between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix is through a draw bridge that opens on the half hour - another learning experience, although I was very familiar with the bridge itself. To push my learning just a bit, the Beaver Island Ferry was leaving as I was entering (attached picture.) While the picture shows a lot of room, and I'm sure there was, it sure felt like we were squeaking by! All in all and incredible experience for a guy who is used to bopping about a lake for a couple of hours on a Saturday. It certainly gave me the initial knowledge and experience I was hoping for. I hope to make it back to Northport with my wife and daughter this summer, so this was the best 'training' I could get. Dave Crowley Wind Dreamer II
