{"id":453,"date":"2021-03-25T14:57:16","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T18:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davidwkurtz.com\/wordpress\/?p=453"},"modified":"2021-03-25T21:04:19","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T01:04:19","slug":"on-board-celtic-cross-in-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidwkurtz.com\/wordpress\/2021\/03\/25\/on-board-celtic-cross-in-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"On Board Celtic Cross in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
April used to be the month when I pulled my wetsuit out and headed for an open water swim in Trout Lake to prep for the American Triple T triathlon. I still remember standing on the shores of Turkey Creek Lake with another 250 shivering triathletes convincing ourselves that the sprinkling of snow on the ground was just temporary and the water will be warmer. Sure it will… Now April is the month when Celtic Cross is once again dropped in the water for another season. MUCH easier to look forward to that! Several projects underway and more coming. For those of you that have sailed with me there are some cosmetic upgrades completed and others underway. The axiom about standing in a cold shower tearing up $100 bills remains true today. Except they are now $1,000 bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Where I thought I could work on the electronics this past winter while the boat was shrink-wrapped that thought perished because it was far too cold in January\/February to do anything in the cabin even with a portable heater. It is only now getting tolerable to work inside the boat. And while talking about work projects, I do have two immediate one-day projects where I need one other person if anyone is willing to lend a hand. I need help launching the inflatable dinghy and then running the 15hp outboard pretty hard for an hour or so. A warm day and a trip down to Sinbad’s for lunch ought to do it. I also have two 53 ft. rubrail inserts that need to be replaced after I beat the heck out of my rubrails while transiting the Erie Canal last year. Another one-day two-man project on a warm day.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Now for the good stuff! Where are we going to sail this summer? I need to attract a group of people that want to join me for both shorter and longer cruises as I develop a crew to ultimately sail Celtic Cross across the Atlantic to Europe. My first rule of cruising is to have fun! Well, actually my first rule is don’t sink the boat. But my second rule is to have fun! Following is a tentative schedule for the summer. Nothing cast in stone with the idea that as people express interest in a particular passage we will flex the exact dates to accommodate participant plans. Right now the plan is to spend roughly 2-1\/2 months cruising in the northern Great Lakes. Divide that up into weekend trips where Celtic Cross will end up in different marinas every couple of weeks. Drive up using rental vehicles as needed and then drive home at the end of each leg. If this proves popular I can certainly add more trips and perhaps even get up into Lake Superior. And if Canada ever opens up, cruising over in the North Channel area and Georgian Bay is almost a must.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Now, from the above schedule we will also have a lot of time for sailing out of Jefferson Beach Marina where Celtic Cross is berthed. Daysailing is fun and almost nothing beats a day out on the water, but sailing big loops on Lake St. Clair can get old after a while. Particularly while Canada still keeps more than half of the lake shut down to access. I will definitely be taking Celtic Cross out just for fun with about anyone interested in going, but the plan is to spend many of these short daysails on skills development for myself and everyone else who joins me. Plan on participating! Plus, it gives us a purpose to being out on the water and provides newbies a chance to learn what is involved with sailing a large boat. To that end, following is a short description of what some of those daysails may involve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Celtic Cross being lifted up onto dry land for the winter. The twin masts means she just barely fits into Jefferson Beach’s largest travel lift. She will likely spend one more winter up on dry land before heading back out to the Atlantic Ocean sometime in 2022. There are a couple of weeks of work remaining before she can be dropped back into Lake St. Clair.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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