Sailing with Duncan 2022, another beginning

Thanks to all for asking when we were starting to post stories on the sailingwithduncan.com blog this summer. We had intended to get started a month ago but weather and delayed repairs to the boat kept us in port until the last week.

We have several new partners on the site who have helped to make the blog possible. Bluffton Bay Sails has kept our sails in great shape and provided new one as needed,

Above -Cindy and Duncan staying out of the cold while we sail.

Crosswinds Marina in White Lake, has made large and small repairs to our boat over the last few years and given us the confidence do what when do in the remote areas in which we travel Henny & Company have provided us with our Sailing With Duncan merch as well as providing technical support for the website.

Duncan likes to bout the places we visit, the people we meet as well as sailing, the anchorages and harbor we travel to.

For those just joining us, we are Cindy and Jeff Cunningham along with our now 11-year-old Carian Terrier Duncan. We spend each summer living aboard our 1996 Catalina 34 MKII sailboat aptly named “Respite” and exploring the ports on the Great Lakes.

This summer we are heading to the North Channel, located on the north side of Lake Huron in Canada from our home port of Muskegon, MI., located on the western shore of the state of Michigan. The North Channel is beautiful, still sparsely populated and wildly fun to explore. This is our fourth trip to The North Channel.

May 15- June 7

Left - Crosswinds Marina at night. Thanks Randy Knauf for the edits. Rt. Phil Jordan of Crosswinds Marina installing engine mounts.

The boat was as at Crosswinds Marina in Whitehall, MI getting several pre-cruising mechanical issues fixed. When we schedule the repairs, we were told they should take 1-3 days. Parts delays and the unavailability of parts pushed that timeline out to three weeks. As the weather was cold and dreary, we didn’t mind the delay.

June 8-12

Repairs completed (we thought) and let the trip begin. We headed out of White Lake only to find an hour later that our engine was overheating. Limped into Ludington where we made what we thought were the needed repairs. Left on June 9 headed to Frankfort to find after a few hours that the overheating issues returned. Fortunately, Respite is a sailboat and we were able to sail into Frankfort and spent the next two days searching for the issue and finally finding a faulty coolant hose that seemed to be the culprit.

The time in Frankfort was well spent as we got to catch up with old friends, go to a movie at the newly renovated Garden Theater as well as take the time to talk to many local and other summer residents.

People

Clockwise above - The leader of a Harley -Davison gang. Four sisters from Rochester NY trying to decide which Frankfort beer to take home, This woman followed her boyfriend to Frankfort from Cincinnati not understanding that it can be cold in Frankfort in the summer. A grandfather and grandson playing while waiting for the rest of their group. An ice cream salute.

Lighthouses

Above - Big Sable lighthouse. The Frankfort Light being renovated. Point Betsey. North Manitou Passage Light.

Photos

Clockwise above - A free little art gallery, the perfect place to showcase small art. Duncan seems to be interested in Dead People's Stuff. The tugboat Gretchen permanently on the hard in Frankfort, The schooner Perception at anchor in Northport.