Stats:
St. Joseph to Chicago!!
7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. 63.3 nautical miles
Statue sporting a new pair of jocky underwear. |
Heading out to cross Lake Michigan. |
Three of us were crossing today: Perfect Balance, Andiamo and ourselves. Perfect Balance was going in a different direction, Andiamo runs faster than we do, so it didn’t take long for the three boats to spread out on their own routes. Once we got out on the Lake and away from shore the wind picked up and it wasn’t as smooth as we had hoped. We pressed on. It got worse. All three of us commiserated over the VHF that the witch of Lake Bichigan decided to throw one more nasty curve ball. We bounced around with the waves coming a little more on the beam than we liked but Gran Vida handled it without a hiccup. We've gotten good at riding those waves and preparing the cabin, protecting anything that might take a tumble.
At one point, Jeff was downstairs and I was at the
helm. I was concentrating on the heading
we were taking and the waves, working to take them as smoothly as possible and still keep
the boat on course. I looked up at the horizon. I looked side to side. I looked behind. NO LAND. Anywhere. Pretty cool! That's another check off my bucket list.
Out of sight of land! A first on this trip. |
Eventually it calmed right down and the last two thirds of the crossing was magnificent. We saw a small shape in the distance. Jeff, who has better eyesight than me, thought it might be a skyscraper. We watched for several hours as the skyline of Chicago started to take shape.
We easily found our way into the marina and our slip. We’re right in the thick of
things, right downtown, beside the walkway providing a steady stream of
walkers, cyclists etc. for our people-watching pleasure. We spent the afternoon
walking around the waterfront and Navy Pier, trying to get our bearings. We connected with Rachel and Barty (my niece
and her husband – she was here setting up her display for the International
Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art at Navy Pier) and had a nice visit.
Later, we struck up a conversation with fellow loopers, Danny and Susan from Potest Fieri and spent the evening with them on their lovely Nordic Tug.
Later, we struck up a conversation with fellow loopers, Danny and Susan from Potest Fieri and spent the evening with them on their lovely Nordic Tug.
Guts bubbling with excitement as Chicago loomed ever larger during our approach. |
2 comments:
Hello folks. We where wondering your location. Glade to see all is well We are having a party wed oct 8th. In Jeff's honor. First game of another similar season. Lol
Take care. Signed. habbies dad !
Hey Habbie's Dad. Go Leafs! This is the year. I'm feeling it.
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