Arctic Solo Sail

The plan was to sail away today. The plan has changed. Plan the day but accept the outcome.

The bay is still frozen though there are patches of open water where the ice breaker has churned it into slush. So I have to do what I’ve learned to to so well. Wait.

Yesterday brought snow and wind from the northeast and with it all the ice the lake still held. It jammed it hard against the harbor channel. So we wait. Time breaks ice and spring will come just not on my schedule.

But what a great opportunity to practice the patience I’ll need later on and farther north. I can not do what the ice will not allow me to do. I’m always a guest on this watery world, never its master. So I’ll wait and care for my little craft, study my charts and plan the next mile.

Having slept in to a very late 6:30 I got up to a beautifuly clear sunrise over the ice packed shoreline. It’s still there!

Coffee and paperwork in the quiet of the morning. Yes, more paperwork.

After all this is a business. The Good Book said it this way: “They that go down to the sea in ships do business in great water”.

With the morning a came an old familier sound. The Coast Guard Cutter Alder got underway from just across the pier to break up the ice for the ships needing to come in for their loads.

We watched as they did high speed donut turns in the bay to crunch up the ice. Some ensign at watch is thinking “Now THIS is what I spent four years at the Academy to do!”. They were having fun, I know, I’ve been there.

The Capt’n Lem is now 100% green. No more shore power needed. The Aero4gen is installed and making power. It’s been a powerful day.

Power from the wind generator to the batteries, power from the batteries to the power panel, well you get the picture.

The afternoon saw the arrival of another winter storm. We’re holding up between rows of sailboats on the hard (dry storage that is). The wind is howling through their rigging and the halyards are slapping the mast reminding us winter still has its hold on this end of the lake.

Tonight we’ll pass the time eating hot from the oven cherry pie cooled with french vanilla ice cream. Waiting is so hard!

CGC Alder

Spent the morning filing receipts and fussing with a WiFi connection.

Ah, the glamorous life of a sailor.

Decided to take advantage of the beautiful sunny weather and run errands and prep the boat for the unseasonably cold weather.

Following Dougs excellent advice, and after only a few wrong turns one which took me on a short trip to Wisconsin, filled up with propane and emptied the methane. Returned and with some minor electrical work fired up the glorious boat heater. Huddled around the flame.

The Duluth harbor is almost open in spots, but a hundred yards of pack ice still block the end of the shipping channel and more snow and cold is on the way. When it became apparent the it may be July before we can sail out of here, again followed Dougs advice and scouted out more “Safe Harbor” spots, a series of boat launches along the Minneasota shore. Found less and less ice filling the harbor the farther north I went but more and more snow filling the launch ramps. Depending on the weather over the next few days, there should be a number of alternate locations to launch from.

Met up with Captain Bruce for breakfast out in Mound Minnesota. Looks like Captain Bruce is giving up the sea for the life of a gentleman farmer, for now. The sea’l call him back before too long, once it’s in your blood it never leaves. Dropped off a picture for Janis and watched the kids chase the Pygmy goats around the yard. Never seen an artistic goat pen before but boy have I now.

Made our way up to Duluth by late afternoon only to find the water a little harder than hoped for. It was clear last week, but unseasonably cold weather brought pack ice blocking the boat ramps. A couple of days of above freezing and it should be all gone, but the weather channel is predicting 4 days of snow, so might head up the coast and look for open water middle of next week.

Hunkered down at Harbor Cove marina for some last minute preparations.

The water looks a little hard