Nearing the end, and it's been quiet

[Tetepare]

Wow, almost no activity "all summer" long from the GL crew.

I did not swim once in the Lake, first time since I was a small kid.

[Lake-Effect]

There were buckets of people swimming around the beaches of Toronto Islands yesterday. Water temp was reported at 24 degrees celcius. Only reason I didn't swim yesterday is that we took too long sailing there. But I know more than a few from our yacht club who simply dropped anchor and dove off the boat.

The last few weeks around Toronto have been more summer-like than any similar period in July/August of this year.

You have two more warm days before fall jacket-weather finally shows up. Go swimming today!

[PFiji]

We sailed and played in the Straits of Mackinac all summer long. Never really ventured far from there though. Mainly runs from the marina to the Island, or day sailing trips adventuring. Next year: Longer runs, some gunkholing in the Cheneaux Islands, maybe run to Drummond and back.

It was a wonderful first summer of #Sail

[Jim Krause]

We spent about 2 months sailing in the Georgian Bay and North Channel- and swam about every other day. When we're out, we're immersed in cruising/adventuring without much Internet connectivity. The few times we were on-line, the news and social media cacophony just made us want to turn it off.

Originally Posted by Tetepare

Wow, almost no activity "all summer" long from the GL crew.

I did not swim once in the Lake, first time since I was a small kid.

[Tetepare]

I'm out.

Winterizing done. "Spring" prep done (I do everything in Fall.)

A bit of glass work, reconnect the batteries, and I can launch...in six months.

The beauty of the Great Lakes in summer is matched only by the agony of the long winters.

[BlueChicago]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

I'm out.

Winterizing done. "Spring" prep done (I do everything in Fall.)

A bit of glass work, reconnect the batteries, and I can launch...in six months.

The beauty of the Great Lakes in summer is matched only by the agony of the long winters.

This is my first winter with my new-to-me boat. Got her at the end of September. Nobody warned me.

[Durangutan]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

I'm out.

Winterizing done. "Spring" prep done (I do everything in Fall.)

A bit of glass work, reconnect the batteries, and I can launch...in six months.

The beauty of the Great Lakes in summer is matched only by the agony of the long winters.

It's tough. We chose the Great Lakes somewhat arbitrarily but freshwater and no named storms figured prominently; winter was the tradeoff.

Originally Posted by BlueChicago

This is my first winter with my new-to-me boat. Got her at the end of September. Nobody warned me.

I empathize. Our new-to-us boat got two weeks of use in September and is tucked into warm storage until we return around Memorial Day. It's going to be a long winter!

[Lake-Effect]

We hauled out end of Oct.

- sigh -

5 months and 24 days days to launch...

[Strypes]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

5 months and 24 days days to launch...

20 weeks & 2 days for us! But who's counting? Lol!

[Alberg30Shill]

If you winterize, how do you sail in the winter? :-) I'm a liveaboard so keep everything above freezing is easier for me. I hate all the heat and sunscreen of summer. Spring and fall seasons are great but I've had lovely winter sails including Christmas day a couple of years ago.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Alberg30Shill

If you winterize, how do you sail in the winter? :-) .

They're called Iceboats.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Durangutan

It's tough. We chose the Great Lakes somewhat arbitrarily but freshwater and no named storms figured prominently; winter was the tradeoff.

This is my first year out of the Great Lakes, and I’m still hauled for winter .

I took a week-long course out of Vancouver with a few PNW sailors a number of years ago. We got to chatting and I started talking about how I had to haul, winterize, and then de-winterize and launch every six months. It sounded absolutely bonkers to my shipmates.

“You haul out every year?!? That’s nuts!!”

… it kinda is.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

This is my first year out of the Great Lakes, and I’m still hauled for winter .

I took a week-long course out of Vancouver with a few PNW sailors a number of years ago. We got to chatting and I started talking about how I had to haul, winterize, and then de-winterize and launch every six months. It sounded absolutely bonkers to my shipmates.

“You haul out every year?!? That’s nuts!!”

… it kinda is.

Original standing rigging.

No barnacles.

Sunny summers.

You can drink the water if you have to.

Heat exchanger, manifold, etc. don't rot out.

Nothing in the sea wants to eat you.

Original keel bolts.

No red drips of rust all over the vessel.

Outboards last nearly forever.

You can afford to own both a house and a boat.

Beer stays cold w/o refrigeration 10 months out of the year.

[Strypes]

Lol!

[CalmSeasQuest]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

... The beauty of the Great Lakes in summer is matched only by the agony of the long winters.

Love it and agree! After a lifetime of boating (and Loving) the Great Lakes, we're finally making a latitude adjustment and moving to the big salty ponds.

Zincs, everything corrodes, 50Hz PITA, cleaning hulls and all the other assorted saltwater challenges...at least I won't have to deal with that sad November day when she's lifted onto the hard and shrink-wrapped for 5 months of dormancy.