Dinners, Boat Visits, and Provisioning
For the last couple of weeks Dorothy and I have been getting SEASONS ready to take off on our next traveling adventures. Moving clothes, staples, and other supplies we will need as we travel. We have also been taking things off the boat that we never used in our previous 2 years of cruising. This is the problem with a boat like a trawler. There is plenty of space to carry extra stuff and I must admit, I am the guilty of bringing to much stuff.
One of activities before departing is getting together with family and friends. Dorothy and I will be gone for quite awhile. So its great to catch up and share our travel plans going forward. Breakfast, lunch, and dinners with friends and family gatherings with birthday celebrations. We even had breakfast with our Pastor.
This time period always seem to go to fast, but if you don’t set a date for departure you would never leave. So on June 15, 2021 we dropped our lines in Port Washington, WI and set sail. We headed north on Lake Michigan to Sheboygan, WI. Its a short distance, 28 miles, but necessary to shake the cobwebs off us and the boat. SEASONS ran great and Dorothy and I slowly got our sea legs back.
So it seems fitting that we were stopped by the US Coast Guard half way to Sheboygan. They will stop boats and perform a vessel inspection for safety equipment and proper registration. The US Coast Guard is the only enforcement agency that can stop and board without cause. By law you cannot refuse them. We welcomed the inspection conducted by 2 very nice young members. They look for lifejackets, flares, fire extinguishers, boat registration and other safety items. 1 item I am glad they check for is overboard discharge of black water (toilet water). This helps to insure boaters are not polluting our fresh water resources.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. All systems on SEASONS worked great. It sure feels good to be traveling again. Now we just need the weather to cooperate.
SEASONS underway 