Last summer, we paid our first visit to Bayfield and took the ferry to Madeline Island last for a 25 mile bike tour. This year, we returned to the area (Pike's Bay) for a 4 day coastal cruising course with Thom Burns of Northern Breezes Sailing. Our boatmates Bill and Eric (father and son) shared the experience.
As we drove up from Minneapolis, the forests showed increasingly broad flashes of orange, yellow and red. The cool Summer has thus far been followed by a warm Autumn, allowing the color changes to progress slowly and the green to linger. A pair of Sandhill Cranes fattening up among a flock of Canadian Geese portends the Fall migration, and the still balmy evenings evoke whispers of an Indian Summer.
We took advantage of perfect sailing weather for the first two days, putting Taboo (a 36' Catalina) through her paces and soaking up instruction from Thom. We slept aboard, and spent what little free time we had studying for our bareboat certification tests.
The winds shifted and rains approached on day three, but this did not dampen our spirits as we headed for Saxon Bay, 23 miles down the south shore. Motoring into an unfamiliar harbor in the dark and rain was a bit of a challenge, but was rewarded with a feeling of accomplishment (as well as beer and pie).
The winds and weather were more favorable on the return trip, and left us looking forward to include a bit of sailing in our upcoming trips.
