Depth Challenged Chicago Bill says “buy a ticket”

Last first.  It isn't altruism.  You deserve to be paid for what you do, simple as that.  You don't go to the theater, opera, symphony, see a film etc. free.  You buy a ticket.
In many ways sailing where I am is the exact opposite of where you are.  You're on a group of islands surrounded by water.  I'm on land surrounding 5 large interconnected lakes (the Great Lakes).  The water surface area of the Great Lakes is almost the same as the land surface area of the British Isles the combined coastline of the Great Lakes is almost the same as the coastline of the British Isles.  If I were to sail all around the perimeter of all the Great Lakes it would be similar in distance to what you've done. 
It is all fresh water here.  I pump water through a filter the size of a grapefruit and have unlimited clean water on the  boat.  No tides here either.  The water never goes away leaving you high and dry on the mud. While we have lots of birds we tend to see them more on the smaller inland lakes, say, while duck hunting in a duck punt (we call them duck boats or sneak boats.  A punt is a play in American football). Also see them in harbors.   And oddly we have a lot lf the same birds.  What are Canada Geese doing in Britain?
The rivers into the Great Lakes aren't as large or navigable as the ones you explore.  Well, there is the  St. Lawrence, but it is pretty far from me. Almost forgot the Detroit River and St. Clair River.   My boat draws 6' so it wouldn't be a good choice for thin water. We do have the Great Loop but the river and canal parts are outside the Great Lakes.
I also don't cruise like you do.  Mainly race.  I do sail the boat to starts and back from finishes (often by myself) but most of the harbors on the southern 2/3 of Lake Michigan all sort of look the same to me.  We also lack the history you have.  During the Jacobite rebellions ;the Indians were paddling around the lakes here in birch bark canoes.  There is really good cruising in the North end of Lake Huron but it takes a bit to get there.
Your videos are wonderful.  Love seeing all the different boats, the rivers, cities, and the history.  We do have mud like you show on some of our coastal areas, but not here.
Hope you're able to get a heated dry boat for the future winter sailing.  In winter here (that would be now) the boats are all on the hard in boatyards.  The harbors all freeze.  They will go back in the water in spring.
Keep those videos coming!
Regards,
This is about Dylan Winter's Blog, Sailing around Britain.

There are no comments yet.

Leave a Reply