8.17.19 – Suttons Bay, Elk Rapids, Petoskey

Suttons Bay to Elk Rapids (7.27.19 – 7.29.19) Gosh – we are already so far behind on our blog! Sorry about that! We are going back to July 27^th when we were anchored at Suttons Bay, a great little town with good food and cute stores. Bob realized he had not registered our dinghy so we were able to get that done at the Secretary of State in Suttons Bay. Then Linda made a really bad make-shift sign with our registration number on it. The thought was that if the Coast Guard stopped us we would get credit for effort – doubtful. Luckily we did not have to see if she was right. Our friends since college, Ken and Amber Bostock and Jamie and Amy Melvin, met us in Suttons Bay and climbed aboard Tiger Lily. We had a fabulous sail over to Elk Rapids (Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor.) We had a slip there for two weeks because it is close to our cottage on Elk Lake. Bob has all of his tools at the cottage so the plan was to do lots of boat projects – and he did, but we also had some fun. Went to Mission Point for a great dinner (Boathouse) and wine tasting (Chateau Chantal Winery), shopping in Elk Rapids (reversible dresses at Haystacks?? Perfect for a sailboat wardrobe!) We gorged on cherries and cherry pie from Altonen’s and had whiskey flights at the Traverse City Whiskey Co.

Ken and Jamie are our first guest via dinghy – notice the makeshift registration

Happy Hour after a great sail to Elk Rapids

Thing One and Thing Two shopping at
Haystacks in Elk Rapids

Time at the cottage (7.30.19 – 8.7.19) After our college buddies left we spent time with Bob’s family, Linda’s parents and long-time friends Jim & Amy Keane. Dinner with the Keanes at their place on Clam River was very relaxing and helped prep us for our week of cottage organizing. Everyone was so helpful in getting our cottage and boat chores done. We also had some great trips out into Grand Traverse Bay on the boat and revisited Chateau Chantal Winery – just for the view 😉 In the midst of this Linda drove to pick up Mark in Ann Arbor and helped him drive to Brooklyn, NYC, his new home.

Sailing with Sally and Sandy Thomson, Mom and Dad

Harbor Days fireworks
A few embers were too close for comfort

Elk Rapids to Petoskey (8.8.19) Bob and his sister, Nancy, sailed the boat from Elk Rapids to Petoskey on probably the best sail this summer. Petoskey is where Tiger Lily rested while we drove back to Austin & Elizabeth Bostock’s wedding in Chicago. We have know Austin since the time he was born so it was great to be a part of the joyous celebration. The logistics of “Where is the boat?”, “Where do we need a car?” etc. are challenging. Often as we tell people our plan, they say “Wait, how are you going to….?” Then we say “Oh, shoot, you’re right!” and we have to rethink our plan. You would think we would be better at this as Supply Chain professionals! Linda stayed back from the trip to Petoskey to keep cleaning and unfortunately ended up in Urgent Care for stitches in her hand. Why do grills need to be so sharp? Bob’s brother, Ron, went to pick Nancy and Bob up in Petoskey which had originally been Linda’s job. Thanks to our neighbor, Kay Kirchner, for helping Linda get bandaged up and to Urgent Care! Linda took this as a reminder that on the boat she needs to be more mindful and slow down. Needing stitches in the middle of an 8 hour voyage would not be good. Bob took the stitches out a week later masterfully.

A great sail with my sister Nancy from Elk Rapids to Petoskey

Boat Maintenance (8.12.19 -n 8.15.19) Boarded Tiger Lily in Petoskey and headed for the Irish Boat Shop in Charlevoix to get a list of things fixed (refrigerator, oil pressure sender, starter battery, exhaust hose leak.) Bob had always wanted to be on the boaters’ side of the bridge opening in Charlevoix. Since we were dutifully monitoring Channel 16 on the VHF we were able to hear the Bridge Tender say “Hey sailboat in Lake Michigan, if you want to make this bridge opening you better hurry up.” We did!

As seems to be common among boaters, we were there longer than planned. Irish Boat Shop was very accommodating and helped us get the parts we needed. Cory from West Climate Control fixed our refrigerator – yay! We can also recommend the burritos at Lynda’s Tacos in the parking lot of the Family Fare Supermarket on M-66. Thankfully our longtime friends, the Pulicks, came to pick us up one of the nights and took us to their beautiful home on Walloon Lake and treated to us to a wonderful pontoon boat ride and a fun dinner at the Barrel Back. It was great to reconnect and relax!