Crew Wanted: Tartan 31 delivery from Lake Erie to Lake Michigan

[Michigan_Eric]

I just bought a 1991 Tartan 31 and need to take her from Vermilion OH on Lake Erie "around the mitten" to Holland MI on Lake Michigan. The boat passed survey and has new sails, will have new running rigging and other items for a minor refit done by late June 2023.

Route: leave Vermilion OH, sail across Lake Erie, up Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, St. Clair River, Lake Huron, through the Straits of Mackinac, then down Lake Michigan to Holland, a total distance of approximately 700 nm. Depending on conditions, could take a side trip up the west side of Georgian Bay and then west through the North Channel, as well as other destinations.

This is not a timed event, nor an endurance test. I plan to put in at a marina or anchorage each night, unless conditions are good for a night sail and we are sufficiently rested. Allow at least two weeks, weather allowing, but this trip could take as long as three weeks or even an entire month. If bad weather or no wind will stay in port, would like to sail in fair winds as much as possible.

I am an experienced sailor and coastal navigator, having grown up sailing on the Great Lakes, and have sailed on all of the waterways mentioned, but this is the first boat I have owned. Because I need help sailing this boat, you must also be an experienced sailor with your own foul weather gear, PFD, and other personal equipment. This is not a paid crew position, this is an opportunity to enjoy sailing if you have the time but don't have a boat. I will also expect you to share expenses, or we could have an arrangement where, for example, I pay marina fees and you provide food and do the cooking, or pay for dinner out. I am open to any creative and equitable solutions that you have to offer.

You must also provide your own transportation to the departing port (Vermilion, OH) and from wherever you decide to disembark. If you can only do part of this voyage, that would also help. I'll be happy as long as I can get her to Holland by the end of the season.

A few other things about me you might want to know: I am socially and politically liberal, but in the classic sense, not too far on the left, but sympathetic to many such causes. If they happen to be in broadcast range, I may listen to NPR or Democracy Now on the radio. I value education and have three master's degrees. I am distressed about the current state of world events but all I can really do at this point is to go sailing, because I really don't know how much time I have left, nor how much time the world has for that matter, but I believe that humanity can overcome its history if we all just try hard enough. All the same, I wish us all the best of luck with that.

This is a comfortable, capable boat but she is not especially large and privacy will be limited. Boat specs are here:
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/tartan-31/
Boat review here:
https://www.spinsheet.com/boat-revie...ed-boat-review

Please contact me by private message on this site if you are interested. I will require a video interview (Skype, Zoom, etc) before making a decision. I plan to travel to Michigan, arriving around June 9, so if you happen to be in that area we can meet in person. I will proceed on to Vermilion OH for the refit the following week, so if you're a Buckeye we can meet there.