When you wake up early in your somewhat comfortable V-berth to the feel of your well-tied-up boat swaying back and forth and shaking beneath you, and you hear the sound of a strong wind whistling around the masts of other sailboats here in the Winthrop Harbor marina, and you check your windy.com weather app that shows the wind blowing in double-digits with gusts over 30 knots from exactly the way you want to go (south) . . . well, you just try to go back to sleep and accept that this is NOT the day to sail back to Chicago.
Or you get up and write a blog post. 😊
Yet what a great little sailing vacation we’ve had this week so far! The day after Todd installed our brand new Quantum mainsail, we experienced a glorious sail from Burnham Harbor in Chicago all the way up to Kenosha, Wisconsin. We enjoyed walking around the harbor area, visiting the Great Lakes Beer Fest (of course! it's Wisconsin!), and hanging out with Bryan & Angie who keep their boat there. And the next day, with their experienced help, we learned to fly our gennaker - yes, it's magenta and magnificent! And now we have a new strategy for our low-wind days. We love it!
On another day we walked a narrow sandy path lined with sea oats & tall grasses towards the shore of Lake Michigan where waves smashed up against the sandy beach, flocks of seagulls squawked, sweet little sandpipers chased waves, and one surfer guy enjoyed the weather conditions.
Last night we used our Magma boat grill for the first time. We happily created some delicious veggie kebabs - that paired perfectly with a Carmel Cabernet.
And now it looks like we're socked in here for another day and night.
Not such a bad forecast.
Cheers! 🍻 🍷🍷
