– by Jerry Besanceney
“The white foam flew, the wild wind blew…”
– S. T. Coleridge
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The BLYC Ancient Mariners weathered the storm!
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John Vangilder, Don Harris, Tom Shain, Ross Long (Hoover SC) and yours truly, Jerry Besanceney, “titular skipper”- hereinafter referred to as the “Ancient Mariners” – five septuagenarians to be more specific, completed a Lake Erie Bareboat charter last week.
Here’s our story!…
We sailed from Harbor North at Huron, Ohio aboard the beautiful White Pine, a 41′ Hunter sloop, last Monday the 23rd and encountered strong direct opposing seas, sailing seas part of theway then making the Kelley’s Island Harbor . We tied up at the Casino bar restaurant docks and were treated so well by friendly locals. The next day brought beautiful, mild sunny weather all the way to Leamington, Ontario.
Day three, the tempest hit big time – we stayed in harbor. The people were terrific, dollar strong, food great… life is good.
Day Four, heading home, we misread the waves – 3 feet… they were really 3 meters or 9 feet – as rough as I have ever experienced, violent! Use your imagination.
We finally made it back to Huron being at it all day long.
Takeaways…
- Chartering is a fun, challenging adventure (eather is your call) There’s nothing like it.
- Chartering is economic – split 5 ways, less than $100/day per person. We stayed all nights on board and ate some meals there too. It’s housing, kitchen, entertainment and transportation.
- Meet new people, discover interesting places, see our jewel wonder of a planet and build memories for a lifetime.
– Jerry Besanceney
Skipper (Titular)
