The Ice Is Coming . . .

[irwinsailor]

I went to the boat today to get something out of it and could not unlock it with out going home and getting my blow torch. Ice is forming around the hull and pilings. It will not be long before the lake freezes over and my baby will will be kept safe by a few bubblers. The only thing going through my mind is...... WHY AM I HERE???!!! I hate winter. I must be crazy.

[sv_makai]

We found the ultimate cure for the winter ice problems. We moved us and our boat Makai to the Caribbean.

It fixed a couple of problems actually. Got ride of WORK, we no longer have to decomission or recomission the boat for winter(winter in venezuela is in the 90's), and the pool no longer freezes over!

Happy Holidays

[Greg B]

As I recall Gunner, we had a conversation about you guys coming south with Jane and I. Tell me agian why you're still there? Maybe next fall.

Greg

[irwinsailor]

We are still here for several reasons, 1. our daughter is still in school. 2. I need to sell a lot of stuff. 3. I can not sell our house untill Feb 2006 without paying much to much tax. Greg how much trouble would I have with my 8' draft if I were to take the same trip that you did this fall?

[Wahoo Sails]

Born & raised in Flint, MI ... no fool am I, left there 30 years ago, and have only been back for 3 days in all that time. Predicted to be 38 degrees here in SW Florida tonight ... guess I'm not far enough south ... headed to South America next year!

L S/V Eva Luna

Bob

[Skylark]

Getting the boat is the easy part. Cutting the ties that bind is the real job!

[irwinsailor]

True. But it will happen.

[Greg B]

Ha! I was born in Flint too.

Gunner, I'll have to check my charts but as best I can recall, there was only one marina that we pulled into that was less than 8' although in the quimby's there are quite a few in the under 8' range. As for anchorages, nearly every one we found was deep enough for you to get into. It just depends how far back you wanted to go. We usually liked to go as far as we could. If you checked our web site you'll see one place were we even beached the boat and tie to a tree. We had the bow on the bank and 12' at the stern. There are plenty of places with a little planning where you can get off channel and out of the current. Plan on grounding somewhere though. It'll happen. Just stow all the beer on the centerline. That way when you ground, you can move it all to port or stbd and your keel will come up another foot

Greg

[irwinsailor]

That is good to know Greg. I will tell you what makes me loose sleep, that is that 74 feet of mast that would be on the deck. Everyone that has taken our boat out or back into the Great lakes has gone through the St. Laurance.

[ssullivan]

sv_makai once whispered in the wind:
We found the ultimate cure for the winter ice problems. We moved us and our boat Makai to the Caribbean.

It fixed a couple of problems actually. Got ride of WORK, we no longer have to decomission or recomission the boat for winter(winter in venezuela is in the 90's), and the pool no longer freezes over!

Happy Holidays

Bon Dia!

Bill, were you in Bonaire early this summer? I think I saw your boat several times while down there, but am not 100% sure. I saw a boat (I think is yours) that was normally down toward the center of down, but sometimes came into the Harborside Village to pick up and drop off people. I had assumed you were a charter cat for some reason when I saw that.

I was aboard a pig of a stinkpot in that harbor during that time. I am also wondering if you met any of the other people I knew at the Harborside Village Marina.

Maybe we could have a chat or two privately. I didn't immediately see the private message feature on here, so I posted this public.

Sean

[delmarrey]

To send a private message just goto the Main page or the MEMBERS page and click on the individual name. That will bring up some options that you can choose.
To check your messages there will be a note at the bottom of the Main page letting you know their status. To get them, click on the PROFILE page at the top of the main page. There are more options at the top of that page......_/)

[irwinsailor]

The ice is here. I went to the boat this weekend and the lake is covered with ice.

[Alan Wheeler]

You people that live in those temperatures must be just plain NUTS
Although, I really would like to experianc some place real cold just once. A dream, and I think it will always remain a dream, is to visit Antartica. But I have a feeling the Deep southern Ocean would be too much of a test for my nerves.

But back to the topic. Did I say, you guy's are NUTS

[GordMay]

Current Temperature in Thunder Bay is -25 Deg.F.
Wind Chill is -50 Deg. F.
Life sucks - and blows !!!

3 out 4 of my car doors are frozen “closed” - the power windows won’t close (but the batsrads* will open.

[Greg B]

NUTS is right, but I'm working to get out of here. Had a foot of snow last night. Gonna be a white christmas and supposed to be -6 degress farenhiet too. Guess I'd better work harder. HOHOHO Merry Christmas to all.

Greg and Jane