Summer Family Trip - 2007

Hey, look where you're going!

Ashore at Outer Island.

Michael checking out the marsh on Outer Island.

The sand spit on outer Island.

The windy side... no flies.

8/4/07 Saturday
Stockton to Outer Island to Stockton

Morning came around 8:00 for us on the boat.  I read in bed for a while but the call of the wild beckoned me to shore.  The day was overcast but warm.  I climbed into the kayak and made my way to shore were I could use the park service toilet facilities.  A week on the water with a family makes it important to take advantage of any on shore facilities.  No one wants a full head tank!  Back at he boat the girls had woken up and a breakfast of oatmeal, granola bars, juice, and milk was taking place.  Our breakfasts are not fancy but they are predictable.

Once the boat was stowed and all our gear put away we listened to the weather channel and planned our days sail.  The east wind was going to hold until late in the evening when it was predicted to switch to the south.  We decided to head to Outer Island and spend the day on the sand spit. 

We raised anchor and tacked to Michigan Island before coming about and laying for Outer Island.  The wind was blowing 7 to 9 knots and we sailed with a full main and genoa.  We had a great sail up the shore of Michigan Island .  I had never sailed close to the island before and was impressed with its steep and rugged shoreline.  Looking through the binoculars I even saw signs of the “little people”.  But no actual "live" sighting.  Along the inside passage to Alaska kayakers are often referred to as the “little people”.  Boaters find signs of their camps, fire rings, or glimpses of their kayaks but they never see the people.  Hence the name, “little people."

As we neared Outer Island the clouds began to burn off.  We anchored on the west side of the spit in 14 feet of water and ate lunch on the boat.  We then loaded our assault crafts with our beach supplies and headed ashore.  Outer Island is a fun place to spend the day.  Very few people tend to sail out here.  This was the busiest charter weekend of the summer and we were the only boat on the island.  We left the kayak and dinghy pulled up on shore and headed to the end of the long sand spit.  We spent a long time sitting in the sand on the windward side of the island.  The kids explored, played in the sand, etc… Jennifer and I just enjoyed a biting fly free beach.

Later we hiked back to the dinghy and then decided to hike further down the beach in search of the marsh/pond just off the beach.  It is located about ¾ of a mile down the shore.  Michael was the first to scamper up the dune and lay eyes upon the marsh.  While not exactly an amazing vista it was fun to see a new place.

Back at the dinghy we all swam and relaxed until it was time to return to the sailboat.  Back on board we prepared for departure.  The wind had picked up since we had arrived so we made sure all hatches were closed, etc… and raised the anchor.  This was to be our evening sail of the trip.  We left Outer Island around 7:00 p.m. headed back to Stockton .  We had a beautiful broad reach through some fun lake swell.  We passed another boat heading out to Outer Island .  As we neared Julian Bay the wind died.  The waves continued to roll and this created an uncomfortable motion.

We started the diesel and checked out Julian Bay for the night.  A Beneteau 39 was in the process of anchoring in the bay but the lake swell was too much for us so we returned to Presque Isle Bay .  We arrived at sunset to a very full bay.  There were over twenty-five boats at anchor.  We found a spot to drop anchor and went to work on dinner.  We grilled a pork loin and it was excellent.  We ate "to our fill" and moved to the bow for an evening of great star gazing.  The Milky Way was very bright and their was a great display of shooting stars.  This was probably our best night of star gazing.

The weather radio was predicting a wind shift to the south around midnight to 5-10 knots.   Before bed I made the boat ready in the event we would have to move in the night.  Actually, I always make the boat ready to move in the night.  The wind did shift at midnight to the south and we had a bit of a bouncy night of sleep.  The wind settled down around sunrise.  All in all, another really fun day.

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