Crossing Back Home, day 10 & 11

The near shore forecast for the day was wave 2-3 feet and winds at times 20kts. Susan got up early and went for a walk down to the beach to look at the lake. When she returned she said it is time to go. She said the waves were not as bad as the day before, so I agreed lets go for it. After getting out on the lake I asked her if she really thought this was better.  In my estimation the wave heights were more like 3-5 feet. She then told me that the open water forecast was for 3-5 footers with occasional 6 to 8 foot waves. Yup it was all of that. Again these waves were coming at us so again it was a long ride. There were larger swells that were fairly steep that were quartering our bow and causing me to drive the boat more north then I would have liked. We ended up going off course by 5-6 miles to accommodate the wave and swell action. Luckily, this time we thought ahead and before we left the boys both took motion sickness pills so they did not get sea sick as yesterday they both were vomiting when we arrived in Frankfort. The crossing took us over 3 hrs due to having to go slow and steady due to the seas.

When we where about 20 miles out it began to settle down. By 5 miles out we were able to run the boat at our normal cruising speed. We were so glad to see the big red buoy at the entrance to Sturgeon Bay and were greeted by a large rain cloud when we finally tied up at Centerpointe Marina. The intention was to get the boat on the trailer and go home, but the rain stopped us from doing that. It was actually a good thing as we were all just exhausted from the ride and needed some time to relax. The plan was now to relax and pull the boat in the morning and go home.  It was a good feeling once we got home to unpack get everything put away and take the boat down to the launch to put it back in it home port slip in Neenah. When I came under the bridge and saw our little city and the docks it was almost a sigh of relief to be done with this vacation.

Susan and I both discussed if this was going to be our last trip across the lake for awhile. Although the adventure is fun and exhilarating we just were unable to enjoy it. There was only one day that we "enjoyed" ourselves. It was the day in Suttons Bay when we road from Frankfort to Suttons bay. We did not get a good week of weather and when we can not get the boys off the boat for that long of a period it is just not that enjoyable.

Next years plan is to just put the boat in Door County for a month and take some long weekends rather than push for a big trip.