Did our first long distance sail this weekend. Waukegan to Chicago and back.
My son-law's brother, Andy, and I Left Waukegan at 11:20 in
the morning on Friday and arrived at Belmont
Harbor in Chicago at 7:45pm. The wind was coming directly from the
direction in which we wanted to sail, so we had to do a lot of tacking. The trip was taking a bit longer than I
wanted, due to the tacking, so I ended up using the engine for a few hours to
speed things up a bit. We were able to
sail again the last few hours.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZN4Hgiyumk5rNXOR6wLHmxLKIHob3Ll9HUdgEv4dh_JUwtDT048yAV8NgizhkxK3MaVmoQW9CRB5wu7UorMBMhCu0DAtJXlf_o7CNdFjxp-3T50yMaCQkYQqJ0GWRWx3zj6ZGGI3HwvY/s320/IMG_2877.JPG) |
Andy at the helm approaching Chicago |
Belmont
harbor’s docks are nice, the scenery was great, but the public toilet
facilities are disgusting and parking
is an issue. Sure glad we choose Waukegan
Harbor as our home.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcqQsP78LZ2xR_16FdCX2uVkVxZQkW4Ka2tdgSqbm54oTBGH9GZP3O16teS42Ur-bvcI7v7Wi5xFfzWqG-jMLFP8TqX37z7Y2cey5WVITur6nPR8MfzQhaxHxoNwgd1P-jVrVmTi35WX0/s320/IMG_2880.JPG) |
Belmont Harbor |
On Saturday, my wife, 2 daughters, a niece and my niece’s boyfriend
and I sailed down the Chicago
lake front enjoying the beautiful skyline.
We had a crew change in the evening when everyone, but one of my
daughters left for home and my brother came onboard. The three of us had a very pleasant evening
sail and got to see a pretty sunset and a rainbow over Navy Pier.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM8uFgOi0XCnUivLghcwA4ju05eW6QZFCEWq-feNMkA2TcmCPPCvHh86pwjgReQ9ugiZ62FDoNCUobOspHP2A_QC6_qmNnPy20X61k4cyWCa_goqgcr1E4GR_9vbyJ94QCvRHrbNYP2j4/s320/IMG_2888.JPG) |
Chicago Lighthouse |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHt3ohyphenhyphensEdfPXzHF5LR2fa84-76Fg0TRTpqw4LwZ2uXfeR_3qirgPrrSD14iYmMmP-FR_OZWr1BFQxlowI0AyE3V2Q4hCZ12qmxCmDqCry2BTkeIBebjIbFspyPbt9gv8ZUrY-XdCWDQU/s320/IMG_2890.JPG) |
Sailing past Navy Pier |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YsEicj8nK3rRt5FItREv6ouKgnpcOr4OR7ZXQmYFpSL3mueZlK7JSW7wwtB-vM5c5Gdv27kgP-J2E471eTKdq1wCv9AqgxuXrtE3sfBfDFNWUkOdosPOOCct_0ZfOTwTSd8z1uqgxNo/s320/IMG_2895.JPG) |
Chicago Skyline |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8aDJPVLTTYZaYJxd0M_1tt8RYWsNDEsCQf1ACI7skjreEIbBbwK2jNaOgNLdoXtAZ-3sj_1EEr21VZK-nZsCGfh1QW3Uy83Ll5-lFbJ57v3UNCzBS9feu5IWIz3jP4atMZ8OdrExw6Ao/s320/20130706-Erins-20130706-image-03+(3).jpeg) |
Rainbow over Navy Pier |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9XUvdrsrNRI4A546KqCfzjXGdu1oxhf_4VH_Ta5vBnr9Ar4RYiZugOSpPfGCyI3NAeGyHKf16w10DcjNZ1SGBXkjvvltIjeg4Nfrpyl4wC5AqlOn65rcN7ECB9LuhoGY4EfOC5q0S1Y/s320/IMG_2919.JPG) |
Sun setting in the west |
We returned to Belmont
harbor for the stay Saturday night.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdcRpRhrM5qUT8U_K1xQFunnLbFDMAqNldzn1h0VzIJeZ94_O87dG1o6aBVOxG0xDiQXmmPaC1UlKpn9d6O-w9ecKTx3wwXCzPBF2oK5_5Hnt9fHjFknezyYwp16fFAC3og_V6oDw5atA/s320/20130706-Erins-20130706-image-03+(2).jpeg) |
Belmont Harbor Saturday night |
On Sunday, my brother and I headed back to Waukegan.
We left at 11:00 am. The winds
were much more favorable so the trip was shorter. With the winds at our back and following seas
it was very relaxing. We got back to Waukegan at 6:00pm.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-qWaw7skzpTf6mgAfNcem9OuBg1KC6c44Whiq8WdBbjnDEn_l9IAJg4_vKksV2mzON-2dSqTfvmVpi8XBYqOOoYbE4RUQUoeNqpoSAViD7h1Rckh2y7XmB_wpwJAnRqHnt9PH6zQWLmI/s320/IMG_2920.JPG) |
Leaving Chicago and heading back to Waukegan |
Along the way we did a couple projects.
I added labels to the switches for the new electric flush
toilet
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstLTu12o5Bos1vhKZf-xDiW7ADgXaDzukOahBEwxHoDyywX2ef15Hjd0VXJ2j8j5_9r2gcbZMVFj0KI2dzfeLAw7G35crA2in4YDhxgdWYc9gogLBUq3ekiHkCxrrXUis6PLCCJmKlaw/s320/HeadSwitchLabels.jpg) |
Switch labels for the electric flush toilet |
My brother bought a couple “pool noodles” and installed them
on the stern rail by the stern seats for comfort.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipU1rqRhga0QWHsbhSRx9YnSGqkagkRb2PqyWhhrvBjg7T13QsL6B29bilZnOd5_wfWohKTskJvEgZg8IQh3DnF8a9gpX3Du5Z-ujS5mm9E0VSgObH4xNpOQtjfc4gp_alCE9JqnEgIWg/s320/PoolNoodles.jpg) |
Making the stern seats more comfy |
We installed line organizers that we had bought at the
Strictly Sail boat show back in February.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSUfy_szhGXtr9iDMhEwbYYN499piLkPTHunFnVmrqmdQbwgqG6ZWAUh_jgOAjO3SPR8yLdrHHJEvt8sIezIEb77xSU_TQ6h3DHi39_ViRLg3MPjeMfYDQoAw4kTg_Vi4kXiB9-b-KBY/s320/IMG_2934.JPG) |
First 3 line organizers installed on the port side |
And my brother hooked up a “Bluetooth” system to the boat’s stereo
radio so he could “jam tunes” from his phone.
The stereo is an older one with AM/FM radio and a cassette player. He put together a system that connects his
phone via Bluetooth to the cassette. “Rock
and roll baby”!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-tUI5dO7ya62TeSFQ7lBsZCNSPyChheD5tyHk813wori9iMPVO-v8d6YDfyutNUU_IY4Ni1chP12Niirc1JffBOc-aJVRMWsa7ZlUQC3-L8UAdtneRoIbozDL3eQPRIp5K7QypHhysY/s320/IMG_2938.JPG) |
Line organizer installation complete and Bluetooth system install taking place |
All in all it was a great way to spend a long weekend.