Jammin Jane Travels: July 2015

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Grand Banks Rendezvous-Sturgeon Bay, WI

The official burgee for GLGBA
(image taken from www.glgba.org)

The Great Lakes Grand Banks Association (GLGBA) (check them out here)

This marks our fourth year as members of the GLGBA. This club (I'm not sure if this is the right word to describe it) allows anyone to join for a nominal annual fee, and it doesn't matter what type of boat you have (or don't have for that matter). You receive a very informative newsletter a few times a year about all things boating and updates of cruising members. Each year different ports of call through-out the Great Lakes are selected (by elected board members) for the annual rendezvous (usually a 3-4 day event) held over the summer. The rendezvous' are a long weekend with expert led sessions on a number of boating topics (this year was about anchoring), meals are all part of the package with some entertainment and a nice final dinner.

There is also a winter rendezvous which we have never been able to attend because of the holidays.

This was not the type of organized group I would have thought to join, this was all Ben's doing. I agreed since I figured I would learn lots, meet some fun cruising friends, and get to see inside each of those Grand Banks (I'm not a peeping tom, but I LOVE seeing what others have done inside for storage and maybe just a tad bit nosey!) It has been interesting to say the least, we ~~may be~~ are the youngest couple in the group but have met some wonderful people over the years and have learned a thing or two as well. What I enjoy about attending the rendezvous' is seeing all the gorgeous Grand Banks (GB) lined up in their slips. We usually end up traveling some of the way with someone in the club and watching these beautiful boats underway is truly magical to me. We all understand the joy of owning these boats and getting together with all these people who share the same love of the GB is pretty cool! So I have to say all-in-all I am pretty glad Ben talked me into joining the GLGBA. After all, I got to hop on a few boats, met some new friends who have completed The Great Loop (lots to learn from them), got some tips about types of printers to have on board, and we were both asked to help out this year...I see more involvement in our future!

This year has by far been my favorite rendezvous. One of my insecurities is anchoring, so having a dedicated two hours on the subject was great!! I loved learning what other members have for anchors and why they chose their specific type. The event was held at Center Point Marina in Sturgeon Bay, which is about a 3-hour run for us. The marina is gorgeous with a large offering of amenities from laundry, pool, fire place and coffee delivery to the boat (maybe that was because we know the dock master). They really know how to make you feel welcome and kinda special too!

We have a great friend who calls Center Point his home port, so not only were we there to learn somethings, we got to hang out with our friends and go for a luxurious & FAST ride on their Tiara 42 open, "Lady Sam". We are spoiled!

Check out Center Point Marina here. If you ever find yourselves here, tell Joe and Jane we say hi and thanks for a great time!

Don't ever underestimate joining a group like the GLGBA, (heck, join them here and tell them we sent you)if Ben would have listened to me we would not have met all the great people we have and having a set destination each year to cruise is a great excuse to take a vacation!

Cruising with a GB 36 "Room With A View"

Check out this cool pusher tug we saw on our way to Sturgeon Bay...

Trying my polka!

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Lake Superior, NOT gonna happen...But that's OK

The plan was to head up to Lake Superior mid June. The plan didn't go as planned! First we waited a bit too long to order our new life jackets, so by the time they arrived we were already one week behind schedule. Then wouldn't you know it, I ended up getting the flu. Not the way I wanted to spend the week we were supposed to be cruising north. This cut 2 weeks from our 5-week trip, quite a big deal for us since we travel at 10 knots (slow and steady wins the race!) and we need those two weeks just to get there and back. So...what do we do? We listen to the forces that seem to be holding us here, we decide with this... "Lake Superior will be there when we return, so we will keep this on our 'must complete trips' list." After all, we ARE leaving in August to begin the adventure (The Great Loop) of a lifetime. Besides, this will give us something to look forward to when we return.
(Bonus: Planning and research are already complete) By then, maybe it won't be as scary to me to cruise the largest AND deepest of the great lakes.

Instead of sitting around in the harbor we took a week to visit some of our favorite spots and one we have never been to previously. We started our week with a two hour run to Cedar River, MI (we have never been here) with our friends Charlie, Jan, and Charlie Jr. Ben, Crocket and I enjoyed a dinghy ride up the river then grilled out that evening. This was all there was to do in Cedar River, while the marina is very clean, well maintained and provides gorgeous sunset views, if you arrive without food you better hope your fellow boaters have extra. We split from our friends the next morning, they went back to our harbor while we headed to Escanaba, MI (3-hour run) for a couple of days. This happens to be one of my most favorite spots. They have bikes for use, the best pasties around, wonderful history landmarks along the shore, and great people. This particular day I was feeling overly excited to arrive in Escanaba, and maybe a tad bit anxious for a pastie, that while handing Ben our power cord, I dropped our shore power splitter into the drink. NOT GOOD! This happens to be an expensive item that also happens to be brand new. Let us not forget Ben just reminded me not to do this very thing not two weeks ago! You know what it is like, it happens in slow motion and all you keep thinking is how you wish you could rewind and do over. Nope, not today! Great! Now we are both bummed (and maybe some other emotions I will not mention here) about the darn splitter. After numerous tries with a hook (a fellow boater helped me for a good hour) to drag the very muddy and weedy bottom still no splitter, it is gone we conclude. Not going to let it ruin the rest of our day, we take Crocket for a walk, enjoy a fabulous dinner at the Stone House and snuggle in for the night. Our second day brings us better luck! There happened to be a diver about 8 boats down from us that was planning a dive for the marina...how lucky can we be? No sooner was he under water did he reappear with our lost splitter! Thank You!!! The very gentleman that helped me drag for the splitter happened to supply Ben with his new toy, a concertina...oh boy, I hope he learns how to play that thing quickly!

Next stop Fayette, MI...another amazing spot. Once one of the Upper Peninsula's most productive iron smelting operations producing charcoal pig iron (from 1867-1891), now the town is a historical state park. No shore power here and no generator after 11pm. This is what we love about it. There are numerous historic buildings and homes to walk through, all reconstructed to show you what life was like back then. Lots of hiking trails and a large campground are located on Fayette. A MUST stop for everyone! We love to come here every year to relax, walk around and enjoy peace and quiet. Ben was the fishing pro (yet again, but only because I did not fish...hehehe!)catching us a yummy perch lunch. In my opinion, there is NOTHING better than eating fish within hours of catching it. Even better... Ben cooked! There is a cute gift shop a short walk from the dock that happens to carry ice cream, I couldn't resist even though the temperature dropped and rain was imminent. Always worth the calories in my book! After two days we headed back to our harbor (storms and high winds predicted for the next couple of days) under a gorgeous morning sun, minimal to no wind and the bay to ourselves. The 4-hour run flew by as we pulled up to our slip with smiles on our faces and new memories to share.
There is not a day that goes by that I don't feel blessed. I've learned that things don't always go as planned, but they go the way they are supposed to. While we were not able to make it to Lake Superior and I almost lost our splitter, we still have smiles on our faces...and now with the extra time we will be getting more tasks complete on the boat!