Bayfield: Paradise and Paradox

WE MADE IT TO THE APOSTLE ISLANDS!!!!!!!!!

Okay, but seriously, we did.  After a failed attempt due to bad June weather aboard Zephyrus in 2011 on the maiden voyage.  After another failed attempt due to bad July weather attempt to come in kayaks in 2012.  We-so far have-fought the bad weather of July/August 2013 and are here! It was a glorious morning waking up in the Big Bay of Madeline Island. 

As we usually "fly by the hull of our boat" (aka, the seat of our pants), we had no plans nor do we intend to make them.  A delightfully long lingering boardwalk included two dynamic whooping cranes with a tremendous backdrop of: glowing sandy beach, glittering water and Zephyrus happily floating.  (One of those moments a camera isn't appropriate, as the moment is short and meant to be enjoyed through the eyes.)

Soon we were zipping around the bay with perfect North winds, happy to have no destination or place we had to arrive at punctually.  Meanwhile, we found out that Carl and Joyce were planning to arrive in Bayfield that afternoon.  The thing about Carol and Joyce, is that our only prior meeting was in 1998, when my "against the grain" parents homeschooled my sister (8th grade) and I (3rd grade) for 9 months and traveled from Lake Huron to the Bahamas on our family sailboat.  During this journey, as often happens in the cruising world, the friendships you make happen quickly, and last forever.  Common and shared experiences are the substance of deep friendships.  

I was delighted to meet them as an adult this time.  An odd sense of comfort filled me being around them, not merely because they are beautiful people and seasoned sailors (which is always creates ease in finding and building friendships), but a likeness that I now find myself attracted to in people, I see now, is much like that of my parents.  I can see why my parents continue to stay in contact and updated with their world travels aboard.  Check out their blog, it dates back to the '98 trip to the Bahamas! http://www.runningfree.us/

As Zephyrus is/was/will be anchored in the midst of the harbor in Bayfield, Carl and Joyce showed up on shore waving their arms at us.  We rowed in and said our hellos and introductions, and they proceeded to treat us like a king and queen.

They invited us to wine and chatting at their friend Terry's place. There is nothing like stepping into the first home you've seen in weeks, and being greeted by it's zealous keeper like a bow and kiss on the hand.  Stepping into an industrial kitchen with the BB King station filling the air with a New Orleans sort of feel while dinner cooked on the stove, immediately threw me into sur-reality. 

For the next two days, many sizzling delightful smells were enjoyed out of that kitchen and we partook in the listening to many nostalgic memories shared between these friends.  All of them seasoned as sailors beyond our ability to grasp, we fully and attentively listened with open ears to their own share of troughs and crests upon many seas.  Realizing that our stories are commonplace and fitting in the realm of sailors, didn't leave us feeling unaccomplished, but left us with a satisfactory sense of belonging.

We were treated with the sorts of commodities one doesn't find on the water, like laundry, showers, a vehicle for groceries and "complicated" meals that require space to prepare. A delightful breakfast the Berdies treated us to at the "Egg Toss" and the forms of reviving that come from long conversations that lead into the late hours of the night, until eyelids are dropping with sleep.

From these conversations, I felt that, without being spoken, Corey and I shared a deeper sense of fondness for our little boating "family" of Zephyrus, Nerve Cap (the dinghy) and us two.

Taking off in the morning, we felt full in more ways than one.  Ready for adventures in the great Apostle Islands!

A delightful sail through the islands in the North Channel.  This sailing capital of Superior is a place we feel we are not out of place.  All kinds and forms of little white triangles dot the horizon and landscapes in this place as common part of the scenery.  You could have told our minds we were in the Virgin Islands or the Mediterranean, and our minds would have been fooled.

As the winds subsided some, we glided up and dropped our trusty Danforth into the clear waters.  Jumping into the refreshing waters, with a spectacular backdrop.  Hermit Island, a place most pass for it is as common a view as the islands have, to our inexperienced eyes became a treasure and delight.

Miniature explorations and soaking the sun ensued, and the winds came back.  One of the most spectacular sails of our lives.  Corey was practically giggling at the helm, I doubt I've ever seen him more ecstatic.  Flying through islands with the sails in their ideal positions with ideal wind flowing...couldn't have been better.  

We zipped into Presque Isle Bay of Stockton Island.  Full of campsites and boaters, yet bringing another sense of belonging to us, from the prior weeks of lone sailing around the Keewenaw.  We found ourselves following a trail, as usual, around the point towards Julian Bay.  Winds were getting strong and the sky threatened us with its grey meanness.

Naturally, we made it back to the boat in time to get all of our cushions inside and such other things that soak up water, just before the rains came.  We tucked in, singing and memorizing the Psalms brought me out of the grey mist.

There was hope as the sun set and dinner sizzled on the stove.  But the forecast loomed over us.

So briefly, I will say, that our journey has temporally turned from the ideal paradise:

To the confusing paradox:

This greyness has now hung about our heads for two and a half days.  After the following morning at Stockton, we decided to pull up our sails and GET GOING SOMEWHERE, only to make it to Quarry Bay of the same island, for another storm was pulling in.  There can only be done so much "being cozy" and "relaxing with a book" in 27 feet of space, including a 5 foot something other human being.  Soon our nerves found variety of ways to get edgy to entertain itself perhaps.

All the details around the boat remind me of a summer that promised paradise, and paradoxically, that never quite was.  The point and reason for this long awaited and anticipated trip is hanging, somewhere left useless and forgotten. 

All of the containers litter the boat, catching drips, while the mildew around our bed increases.  Wet sandy shoes, dripping rain jackets, dripping boat, soaking towels that never dry.  The cold dampness only increased by the fact of being upon the water, sleeping in our warmest clothes for we only brought with us a light summer blanket.  I will resist from going on.  I only wish to paint a part of our picture, as is the purpose of this blog.  

As if defeated, we sailed through a very very very cold wind back to Bayfield harbor.  At least we were flying with just the jib up.  The sails dripping with mist.  Our hands naked to the cold and some shivering set on as we approached the harbor entryway sometime after.  Something about talking with my parents on the phone boosted my moral, some genuine empathy in a time like that does a lot of good.

Regardless of this misty junk, Bayfield remains a romantic sailing haven.  As if for repayment of our prior downslide of a 24 hours since departure, some secret blessings followed our arrival.  Before the blessings however, was a picture of two wet, beat up sailors seeking refuge.  As if Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem looking for a place with vacancy...we trudged through the streets, seeking greasy junk food for the soul.

Finding a little crowded and cozy place we took a corner and sunk into our seats.  Thus beginning a spectacular variety of ways to lengthily loiter.  Out of nowhere, there was a misorder of hot tea with honey and lemon...that appeared before us with a flustered waitress saying "want some tea?."  Sipping away, our toes and fingers finally warming...then a long time later...french fries and chicken strips.  Oh did we feel naughty and great.  After some long loitering there, we happened upon a delightfully hot fire (restaurant uses for fish boil) and stood amazed and melting in the luxury regardless of the constant misting.  Then an out of the way couch in back of a bar (most places were closed at this point) that left us with a pre-paid/half-done game of pool for us to entertain ourselves with.  The floor-placed-beer (purchased for rights of loitering of course) was knocked over by the waitress's foot...and soon we had another full one coming our way.

Oh yea, and I also found a free book on the Kindle that I was actually interested in buying.

So blessings came in little ways, that reminded us, that things are okay.  That maybe the weather will clear.  And luckily, the libraries, book-stores, restaurants and cafes in this area are not all too opposed to a young couple hanging out for multiple hours in their place.  In fact, they so far seem quite supportive of our quiet corner seating arangements.

Hopefully the weather clears and we can be on the Islands for my birthday, before we run out of places and over-stay our welcome.

Until then, sail on, because you never know what the next tack might bring.
M