posted September 13, 2005 04:29 PM               

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Mullett Lake 05

The annual trip to Mullett Lake for KatieAnn began on Saturday Sept. 03, 2005. The weekend beginning of Labor Day. Friday evening we were notified that the cottage would not be available until after 4:00 PM. We previously had access to the cottage in the morning. We arrived about 3:30 and began to unpack the truck. By the time all was settled in the cottage it was too late to launch the KatieAnn. I also take along my homemade plywood D4 dinghy which we all enjoy rowing. This annual migration to the Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan by four couples and the CL16 sailboat is in its 5th year. We have a large 5 bedroom, 2 full baths and 2 kitchen cottage (old lodge and pub).
I am usually able to get a short sail in on Sat afternoons but not this year.
To make Sunday a complete day we went to church Sat evening. And out to dinner as a group. Back to the cottage for the nightly bonfire and story telling.
Sunday AM a lot of fog and cloudy skies. The D4 dinghy has been launched and tied up at the dock. That was my first attempt at building a boat. For several years it has been a lot of fun to row and sail around in. Launch for KatieAnn was a noon. Very little wind so I had to motor her to the cottage dock, nearly 2 miles. The breeze started to pick up between 1:30 and 2:00 so out we went. Newfy and I usually are the only ones that sail.
No bad feelings about Newf but that is where he comes from. The wind started to pick up
a little and the sailing was starting to become exciting. We had the GPS (Garmin ETREX C) that I bought earlier in the year. With a big lake like Mullett there is a lot of space to sail on a single tack. We were between a close & broad reach for ½ hour. The best GPS speed was 7.4 MPH. We consistently ran over 7 MPH. This was one of my best days sailing in a long time. At one point we were sailing with a Precision 18 and smoked them. Another big hit for the ego and the CL16. There were no whitecaps so the wind was not that hard. We sailed about 3 hours and headed back for chow time. Late as usual. We were both so excited about the sailing that no one had time to complain about our being late. Campfire at night we to tell the others dull tales of a great day of sailing. Monday was Kathy (spouse) and my day to prepare both breakfast and the main late meal. This includes cleanup etc. Not much wind and it started to late for a sail. We instead as a group go to town and rent a pontoon boat. We usually have one or two days that the group does things together. This week it was Tuesday so we spent most of the day on the pontoon. It was 28 Feet long with a 115 Merc. We were able to tube behind it. Being that we are all above 60 in years speed was not important. But it was a
pleasant day. Tubing and swimming from a pontoon is a great way to have fun with a
group. We spent several hours anchored out.
Wednesday’s weather was questionable so no sailing was planned. A road trip was
the plan of the day. One of our group had not been across The Mackinaw Bridge since his
teens. This would be our trip. The cottage is only 20 miles from the bridge so the drive
was not very long. After crossing the bridge we missed the first turnoff and the next was closed. We had to travel up I75 several miles before another exit to return.
Another fine meal and off to the fire pit for the required nightly get together and tales of yore. Thursday started as a no wind day. As noon approached the light breeze with a fetch of nearly 3 ½ miles we had ripples almost 2 inches high. Shortly after 1:00 the wind increases slightly. We set sail and took Newfy’s wife Jan along. Last year she was a bad omen. We took her for a short sail around the little bay and returned her to the dock. As we headed out the wind decreased made it across to the Staate Park but lost the wind and motored the 4 miles back (Jan is our bad OMEN). We knew the sailing was not to be good sail so we took her anyway. We watched a big keel boat try to move across the lake but it had to run its engine. We began to believe in the bad omen had struck us again. We struggled to get well offshore to try for some wind. The wind started to pick up a bit and we were actually sailing. Jan’s short trip in the little bay became our afternoon sail. We began tacking into the wind to get to the south end of the lake with intentions of flying the spinnaker back for several miles. Now we were sailing and the GPS came out. We consistently we attaining a speed of over 6 with spurts of 6.5 MPH. Wow when we reach the end of the lake what a run we would have with the spinnaker flying. The wind was beginning to get a little gusty and sporadic with moments of very light and variable puffs. Time to turn back before it dies completly.
We headed back toward the cottage and set the spinnaker. The wind was noticably
essening. With the spinnaker, main and genoa we were running with a constant 5.5 on
the GPS. Not great but what an easy sail. We made Jan take the tiller while Newf and I
sat back and enjoyed the ride. The wind was really slacking off now as we were
approaching the cottage. About a half mile from the dock the wind DIED. We drifted in
a slightly forward motion for a while. We dropped the chute because it would not stay up with the light breeze. Jan gave up being captain and returned to being a passenger. With some slight paddling and a little breeze we finally made it to shore. The crowd was watching and laughing because the great sailors had to paddle home. The stories around the fire that night were not about great sailing but paddling a 16 sailboat again. This year was better than some others because we never needed the motor to return home.
Friday was pack up day so with no wind I had to motor KatieAnn to the ramp and trailer
her back to the cottage. This may be my last sail of the year.
I enjoy sailing but I have a difficult time finding crew. Weekends on our local lakes which are small and have a lot of PWCs are extremely busy and ramp access is poor.
Hope you all enjoyed my ramblings but I enjoy sailing KatieAnn so much I just have to
share my experiences.
Thank you all for your patience with an old sailor and his stories.
Tomm D. CL16 # 348

IP: 205.188.117.73

posted September 14, 2005 05:44 PM               

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Nice Tom, thanks.

Love the smokin' the 18 footer part.

I too use a GPS(Garmin etrex Legend), sometimes I can see an immediate improvement in speed that is related to some sort of trimming I've done...

Steve
CL16 #1474

IP: 216.198.140.100

posted September 15, 2005 04:31 AM            

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Steve:

You should be a little more sensitive about discussions around smokin' the Precision 18. They are a Sandpiper from the waterline up.

In light conditions, or if your 16 was loaded with a beer cooler, camping gear and 2 extra crew, you would watch my trasom sail over the horizon.

Come on 'Pipers. Let's get ready to rumble.

IP: 69.156.1.68

posted September 15, 2005 09:36 AM               

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Could never happen...

...no horizon on Sparrow lake.

Sorry if I hit a nerve there. In addition to the CL16, I have a 12'(2.4m)keelboat. Since hull speed is a product of waterline, I get waterline envy. There are also a lot of hobies around here. So, I have a great time getting the best of bigger boats whenever possible.

IP: 216.198.140.78

posted September 15, 2005 10:59 AM               

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A lot of it is time in the boat guys. On our lake we have passed Lasers, Hobie Cats, Bluenoses, Edels, and Magregor 25s (except when they have their 50hp motors on).

Maybe I'll retire and teach sailing on the lake. I'm sure with a little instruction those Cat sailors could be going 50% faster.

D'Arcy

IP: 65.92.113.82

posted September 19, 2005 08:25 AM            

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Great story! I sail on Black Lake, just a few miles east of Mullet. A slightly smaller lake (I think 10,000 vs 13,000 acres). I have not tried sailing Mullet yet, but may next year. Black lake rarely has many power boats zooming across, just an occasional fishing boat (oh yeah, a few PWC's too but there is room for everybody). I confess to sailing a H170 up there, but I do sail CL 16's at a club I belong to in the Dexter, MI area (unfortunately just a tiny lake swarming with power boats). The CL is a very pleasant boat to sail.
In the future, if you have not done so already, I would encourage going a bit further north on your day trip, to include Whitefish Point which has a great shipwreak museum.

IP: 204.39.95.9