Chapter 21

The rigging crew left them at Portage Lake ... they overnighted and went to the races with Julie and the crew. A raucous night ... the track was sand but well watered and packed. It wasn't clay racing but it was fun. The track was close to round so no matter where you sat it was on a curve. In dirt track racing all the action happens on a curve.

It was a full half mile so the modifieds were really moving. After two days on a sailboat the speed of the cars was mesmerizing. They sat together and cheered together. They booed the flagman, he had favorites and it showed. They ate expensive greasy hamburgers and waterlogged hotdogs with chili and onions. The track had a beer license so there was a lot of drinking in the stands. The boat crew didn't agree with the unfair rules but the locals were happy. It didn't come to fists but it was close. Everybody went back to the boat. A couple of the crew picked up a pair of track flies and made the boat rock all night long.

Heavy heads in the morning make for a long day. Gatorade replaced the minerals that alcohol depletes and the headaches went away.

The crew that picked up the track flies were ashamed to be seen with a pair of pug ugly dogs but you know that a girl who rates a two at ten o'clock is a ten at two ... nothing like last resorts and alcohol to turn a 'never happen' into a keeper. David was hoping they weren't taking penile illnesses back to Pentwater.

Breakfast was at a pretty good restaurant ... there was food and lots of it. It was reasonable. After it was over, everybody went back to the boat. The riggers were picked up by John, the Mill owner and Andrea paid them for their time. It was fairly early and David wanted to make knots. They motored out the channel and Andrea put her newly learned lessons to use. She shut down the engines and raised the sails. David and Julie retired to the Captain's Quarters.

Andrea was burning with jealousy but David had a plan.

He left Julie sleeping and crept out of his cabin. As they went up the lake David slyly disconnected the sonar repeater at the helm but left it on in the wheelhouse. Then he set it to give Andy the idea that it was on the blink ... literally. It kept restarting and shutting down. She suffered with it for a while but finally set the auto pilot, went to the chart locker and picked out the USGS maritime chart for upper Lake Michigan. The government charts have the depth in fathoms printed on the paper. The sonar might be broken but the depth sounder still worked. It was an excellent cure for the sonar fail.

Julie actually slept while this was going on ... the races wore her out. The party after didn't help either.

Late in the day, the Lighthouse at Frankfort was sighted and a turn to starboard was made. The channel to Aux Becs Scies Lake (Betsie Lake) is wide and deep.

Frankfort and her sister town Elberta, were once an important port on the northern end of Lake Michigan. There were two massive piers for the use of Lake shipping and a railcar ferry steamed to Wisconsin with a load of freight daily. There was a major rail terminus with roundhouse and turntable on the south side of the lake and rail connections on the north side. The tracks are gone and there are trees growing on the big piers today.

Now it's a sleepy little town with half the lake silting in. From important Lake port to sleepy tourist town in just a few years.

Crystal Lake to the east is huge but has no access to the Lake. A channel to Crystal would be more like a canal.

They tied up along the lengthy north retaining wall and waited for the police to come tell them they had to move. The police never did show so the boat spent the night. In the morning, however the police were out in force ... both of them ... and they had to move the boat.

Civic cooperation did appear. The local septic tank cleaner came and emptied their holding tank for a measly thirty-five dollars. The police left ... new money in town for services is always welcome. Thirty-five dollars isn't much but Frankfort needed the word of mouth advertising. Pumping boat holding tanks is much easier than emptying residential septic tanks ... there's no digging involved. Still, it was a service and boaters appreciate service.

The local fuel distributor was next in line. Andrea told the man that they hadn't used fuel much but he insisted ... he told her you never know when the next number one diesel is available. Twenty-five gallons at 75 cents per isn't much but David was happy to get it. Ludington was a buck a gallon and much maneuvering to get to the pumps.

The breakfast at a local diner was good ... a reminder of days gone by when as many as nine big Lake boats unloaded everyday. Cheap too. This was day four ... tomorrow they'd have to find fresh perishables. There was a problem with that they discovered half way to Leland.

Leland harbor wasn't deep enough to float the boat ... and Leland was the next grocery store. They could lay off and call for a delivery ... and David might do that. If that wouldn't work then the next straight line port was Saint Ignace in the Upper Peninsula and after that Cheboygan. Cheboygan was out of the way if they were going to the Princessapality.

A poor second choice would be Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Only sixty five miles west but one hundred thirty miles out of the way. It could be a navigation lesson for Andrea but there was plenty of other opportunities for that. Lake Erie was the perfect place to teach the art of the sextant and the Spherical Geometry involved in navigating out of the sight of land.

The best thing David could think of was to radio Leland.

Yes, they would deliver ... there was a fee but all things considered ... it wasn't bad. Everything was local ... home garden grown and local beef, pork and chicken. There was even a source for Bison. They promised the eggs were free range chicken eggs and no feeding fish guts.

"Be careful," the grocery man said. "The Lake bed has been shifting ... thank you Sleeping Bear Dunes ... don't depend on the charts."

David radioed in a list and asked them to double it. His plan was a present for Wendolyn Too.

Andrea complained about the sonar ... David pretended to fix it ... yeah, right ... it wasn't broke ... just disconnected. The area was dangerous enough so he played no more tricks. Lake Huron was plenty deep and island free ... after they passed Thunder Bay ... now there was a ship trap. Lake Huron would work well for arranged emergencies.

"I'm going for a nap, Andrea. You have the con." As soon as he shut and locked the door he used his grandfather's watch and time bunked sideways to the island.

"Just in time for dinner, I see," David said.

"David, you scared the shit out of us," said Wendy Too. "We're expecting trouble tonight and Junior is pissed."

The Twins said, "You're here, you might as well eat. Sit."

He did ... suddenly he was beset by a cute but developing girl. Junior nearly knocked him off his seat. "Grandpa!!" she shouted in his ear, "How are you?"

"Deaf ... how are you? Growing up I see."

"Yeah, just like Mom ... I hate the damn things." She looked down at a growing set of boobs. "They itch and Mom won't let the boys scratch 'em for me." She batted her eyes and said, "Will you?"

"Junior!!" cried Wendolyn. "Shame on you ... he's your grandfather."

David chuckled, "That don't mean I won't scratch 'em for her." He hugged her close and wiggled his fingers about a foot away from the prize.

Junior's eyes got big and she struggled to get away, "Grandpa, I was just teasing."

"So am I, kid. So am I." He squeezed her and let her go. She just snuggled in closer. "So, Junior ... what's got your knickers in a twist?"

"It's them damn southerners ... they keep trying my patience ... I got my ring upgraded and I'm about to do something nasty. The president elect, George Herbert Walker Bush, thinks he's so smart. I'm about to do him a mischief."

"Hold on ... he's not president yet."

She patted her watch, "He will be."

"Your watch shows you the future?"

"It shows the possible future and he's it. Just because Mom discovered oil on the Princessapality he thinks he can take over. Ain't happening. Dr. Leary is coming by tonight and we're going to plant our new flag on the whitehouse lawn."