Since we are realizing that Take Five may be in our lives a little longer than we expected and are actually embracing the idea, we decided to take advantage of this opportunity by spending our weekend on the boat with the kids. We switched out the aft deck furniture with some furniture I had stored at Steinthal and wasn’t using. It really has improved the aft deck comfort factor, although it’s a lot of furniture in a small space and we’re still working on trying to make it a little more usable.
It was a perfect weekend for us with the weather being calm and very conducive to anchoring out in Lake Michigan just south of the canal inlet and Coast Guard Station. The location was ideal given the westerly winds and essentially no waves. We got up fairly early on Saturday morning and decided to head out of Sturgeon Bay and into Lake Michigan. This was honestly the first time I had anchored here and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but in the end, it was well worth the effort as we spent several hours just enjoying the solitude and the amazing view.
The ride out to the the lake is beautiful in my opinion with a lot to look at along the way. There were dozens upon dozens of other boaters out enjoying the peaceful day as well.
One of the things that always seems to happen is kids and adults alike aren’t satisfied with the jump off the main level of the boat and they always end up on the upper deck for some fun jumps dives and flips. It’s about a 23 foot jump from the top and honestly scares me a little even though I’ve done it many times over the years.
We also were able to enjoy the dinghy and its little 25 HP engine was able to pull a knee boarder in the bay of Sturgeon Bay. The kids struggled a little, not really understanding how to get started, but they had great practice and plan to go out again in the near future to hone their skills. Natalie was a pro and impressed everyone around her with her nimble moves, flips, and somersaults.
