Barry Schechter

The Saugatuck channel was full of sandbars - we got stuck twice - the waves were pretty rough, but we escaped. Winds 17 - 23 knots from the SW, waves 4' - 6' with a chop, to start. We beat most of the rain, & both wind & wave eased after we crossed into IL.

Winds started out around 17 - 20 knots with gusts up to 25, but grew to 29 - 35 knots with gusts up to 45. Our furler jammed with the genoa out, full, & with no way to reef it, or strike it, we had to let the wind destroy it. The wind pushed us north, & we could not get south, to South Haven. We ended up in the Singapore Yacht Club, in Saugatuck, MI.

Winds were light, but variable, so keeping the spinnaker filled was a continuous exertion. At one point, the spinnaker got wrapped around the furler and tugging to release it ripped a hole, where it was also caught around a piece of hardware. One of the clearest days we've had this summer - Chicago was easily visible.

The waves were low, the wind was 10 - 15 knots, with gusts up to 30.

Winds moderate - around 21 knots, with gusts up to 24. Waves 2' - 4', with a chop. The day started out humid & overcast, the overcast cleared for a few hours & the the temperature started dropping. We started out with genoa & main, quickly reefing & then striking the genoa. When the small craft advisory went from 'securite' to 'ponpon' we headed back.

Winds were light, ranging from 7 - 12 knots. When they dropped to 0, we motored back to the marina.

Winds from the south, between 8 & 11 knots, so we sailed up to Wind Point, WI on just the spinnaker. After we started south, it got dark enough to see the fireworks, which had been going on pretty much all day. You could tell the municipalities, because their fireworks shot up higher & expanded into larger spheres, but the entire shoreline was alight until 3 AM. The wind picked up to 13 - 15 knots, so we tacked home at 3 MPH, arriving around 6:30 AM.