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From Sail to Power - A Need for Speed

We traveled for thirteen seasons in Europe on sailboats. When it came time to come home to the US, we decided that it was time to move a little faster.

It was a mental more than a physical transition to go from sail to power, some of which was documented in our 2014 Letters to Home. In the end, adventure and newness was replaced to a large degree by comfort. It's less of an exploration and more of a vacay.

Here's what we covered in our first three powerboating seasons.

The boat was stored in Holland, Michigan for the winter at the time we bought it. We spent the first season exploring Lake Michigan, ending at our Great Lakes home base in Charlevoix.

The second season, we went to Ontario, Canada first, and then traveled down Green Bay in Wisconsin before returning to Charlevoix for the winter.

The third season, we crossed the Lakes and traveled along the Erie Canal, ending up in our familiar Rhode Island cruising grounds.


Northern Exposure 2014, 2015, and 2016 itineraries

Grand Banks 47 Heritage Classic

Actually, this photo of a vessel just like ours came from the Grand Banks web site (thanks, Grand Banks!).

Latest News:

Most recent update: August 2, 2015

Here's our weather:

And here are our weekly letters to home. For those of you who want to see what we're eating, check out our blog about food and travel. Our most recent post....

We send letters back to family every Sunday, just like we're at camp. The letters cover our life aboard and span more than just our sightseeing.

We stopped writing Letters to Home after we arrived in Rhode Island in 2016. At that point, we realized that our life aboard (equipped with a car in the marina parking lot) wasn't all that different from anyone's life in an apartment. So we decided to spare you the details of our trips to the gym and the Panera.

Here are the Letters to Home we posted for 2015:

May 31, 2015 (in Charlevoix, Michigan)
June 7, 2015 (in Little Current, Ontario, Canada)
June 14, 2015 (in Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, Canada)
June 28, 2015 (in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin)
July 5, 2015 (still in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin)
July 14, 2015 (in Sister Bay, Wisconsin)
July 26, 2015 (in Manistee, Michigan)
August 2, 2015 (still in Manistee, Michigan)

Haven't seen enough? You can read the archives from 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007.