Launch day only requires two outcomes in order to be an unqualified success; (1) the boat floats and (2) the engine starts. Everything else is details. By those measures we had a good day on Friday, April 30. I wanted to be in the water in April and we made it with a few hours to spare. It was so windy that when we left the hoist, the wind blew us down the fairway, through a right turn to the fuel dock, another left turn before Brownie’s and then would have blown us out into Lake St. Clair if I had not stuck it in reverse to stop.
Having your boat stored right in the middle of the marine yard operations does tend to encourage getting her launched and out of the way. However, there were several other boats packed around Celtic Cross that were in no rush to get in the water before Memorial Day. To those of you who put your boats in before the 4th of July and pull it out after the Labor Day barbecue, God bless you! Not sure why you do it, but God bless you anyway!
Now, I can use some crew for a few weekend passages up north. It becomes a very inexpensive weekend on the water for those that may have an interest. Typically I rent an SUV so we all drive up to where Celtic Cross is berthed at the time. We sail for 2-3 days to another destination, close up the boat, I rent another SUV and we all drive home. Nights, with a couple of exceptions, are spent in port. My proposed schedule is shown below.
The ideal size crew is five people on board, although Celtic Cross can be sailed with as few as two people. Quite a few have expressed interest, but it is time to begin putting names with dates. All of these passages remain flexible to a certain extent by shifting a day or two in one direction or another. Give me a call if you have interest.
May I assume that some experience is needed to be a crew member? Vicki 248-921-6214