20 Jun 17

We were up early for our long, foul-current slog up the Detroit River. We got going about 08:00. About a mile out of the YC, while we were still motoring over to the shipping lane and the Detroit River, I noticed that the helm was reacting strangely, like there was a lot of weather helm, even though it was just fine as we were leaving the marina. I eventually went into neutral, then backed down in reverse to see if we could shake something (weeds?) off the rudder. Nothing was observed to come free, but the helm freed up and there seemed to be no further problems for the rest of the trip. We had 1.5 - 2.0 knots of foul current all the way from south Grosse Ile to Bayview YC at the north end of Belle Isle, on the north side of Detroit.  As we pulled into the yacht club and backed to a stop at the dock, a huge wad of weeds came out from under the boat; coincidence? We were tied up at the club by 13:30. This is a beautiful club with a very active racing fleet. Then, it was off to pick up the rental car, do the laundry and get in some groceries. We ended up in the yacht club for cocktails and dinner. The Admiral found a new best friend, Denise, and I got invited out by her husband Art to the Wednesday night race tomorrow night on a J120. Should be fun.

42-21.343’N, 082-57.121’W; Log 34.4 (the distance over the ground was 25.0 N-m), Sum (2017) = 793.2 N-m

21 Jun 17

After a very restful night, we were up about 08:00 and soon went off for groceries at the Kroger in Grosse Point, an affluent suburb on the north side of Detroit. After lunch, we visited the Petawba Pottery manufactory; lots of beautiful stuff. Then, we took a driving tour of downtown Detroit, but had to be back at the boat in time for the Wednesday evening race. I joined the crew of “Sleeping Tiger”, a J-120 for an exciting race in Lake St. Claire; we did not win, but we did not lose and no injuries and nothing broken, so a pretty good day, under challenging conditions. Back to the club house for cocktails and dinner, then early to bed.

22 Jun 17

We were up before 06:00 so the Admiral could make her early morning flight to DFW; she is heading south to attend the wedding of her younger sister’s son. I am staying with the boat to take care of a few maintenance items. I spent the rest of the day cleaning the deck, sanding the toe rail and applying a much-needed coat of varnish. Then, I hoisted the bikes out onto the dock to see if they are still operable; lots of rust, but I got one going and the other one may revive. I was worn out by 17:00, but managed to revive for Captain’s hour and also watched the Astros finish off a 4-game sweep of the Oakland A’s. They are now 50-24 for the season. The club had races again tonight (this is a serious racing club). A couple of the big boys - “Equation” and “Courtesan” - ventured out tonight as well. I went to the clubhouse about 19:00 for dinner and to watch the races finish, which were all right by the clubhouse.  Just about finish time, at 19:45 or so, a serious thunderstorm blew through and created havoc with the racing fleets: 35 kn gusts, white caps, knock-downs, downpours, etc. I was sitting there with the rest of the observers in the clubhouse watching the chaos and congratulating myself on not racing tonight, when I suddenly remembered that all the hatches were open on the boat, so I had to leave my sliders and drink on the the bar and sprint out to the boat in a torrential downpour to close up the boat. The salon was soaked, but fortunately, the forepeak hatch was not open so wide, so the bed was not wet - much. Of course, I got soaked running to the boat.

23 Jun 17

I slept in a bit this morning, then drove over to Best Buy to buy another external hard drive - the old one is completely full of photos, GoPro videos and music - then over to the bike shop to get some new brake and gear-shift cables to replace the rusted out ones on the bikes. I also spent about two hours at Starbucks taking advantage of their WiFi to settle up on bills and catch-up on e-mails; I’m still having trouble updating our blog - the website simply will not let me post a new entry. One of my club acquaintances invited me out for the “Jobby-nooner” planned at the north end of Lake St. Clair in the afternoon; this is a local tradition which occurs on the first Friday after the summer solstice when anyone with access to a boat either calls in sick or takes vacation and heads out for a massive raft-up (rumors of 40,000 people attending), which is a bit like Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street on the water. The weather was looking a bit dodgy at the time, so I passed. Instead, I spent the afternoon working on the two bikes; they are about 75% operational now and should be good for one more season. Dinner at the BYC again tonight; apparently, I missed a hell of a party at the Jobby-nooner.

24 Jun 17

Boat call was at 09:00 on “Fast Tango”, an NA 40 with a very experienced captain and crew, for another race on Lake St. Clair; I helped out at the mast and grinding for headsail trim. This time, we were 2nd across the line, but pretty sure we won on corrected time, as the boat ahead at the finish is giving us several seconds a mile and we were only about 1 minute behind them. I did not get back to the boat until 15:00, so I just lazed around until it was time for dinner - the club had their summer party, so I went up and participated for a while, but by 21:00, I was worn out and went back to the boat to go to bed to be ready for tomorrow’s race.

25 Jun 17

I met Art and Harold in Grosse Point at 08:45 and we then drove up to Port Huron for a race on Lake Huron on “Bushwacker”, a Beneteau Oceanis 40.7. Another great race and this time we won outright, with line honors and best corrected time; brilliant. But now I’m paying the price: shoulders and neck are sore and stiff after hours of grinding and trimming the jib sheet and I have multiple bruises on my legs and buttocks from collisions with stanchions, winches, coamings and toe-rails. I did not get back to the boat until 17:30, minutes before the Admiral returned from Oklahoma; Denise, Art’s wife, was kind enough to collect her from Detroit Int’l and bring her home. We had a celebratory dinner at the BYC, during which Art and Jerry (owner of “Bushwacker”) have just about convinced me to join the club on a non-resident status; BYC is recognized all around the country (and Canada) and this should allow us to get into any yacht club with reciprocal privileges; tempting.

26 Jun 17

We slept like logs and did not straggle out of bed until 09:00. Then, it was back to the laundry and grocery store, after which I turned in the rental car and tidied up the boat. Last dinner at the BYC and we watched a major-league fireworks display put on by the city of Detroit; never could get anyone to explain exactly why they do this more than a week before the 4th of July, but who cares. We had an excellent evening with our new BYC friends and enjoyed the traditional Sunday night barbecue before the fireworks began. We also submitted our application for a “non-resident” membership of the BYC. If accepted, we will now be able to gain access to the New York YC.