Winter in Bayfield

This morning the lake looked magical. The fog hung low around Madeline Island, you can see it in the distance, heavy & clinging to the shore.

The sun was so bright I couldn't see the image on my camera screen. I took lots of photos and got a few decent enough to share.






The birds were taking refuge from the below zero wind chills, though a few were bobbing around on the waves.
















The ice is forming in between the finger piers; it forms in little sheets & chunks and when the swells move them it sounds like tinkling music.



















It's not sailing season but the lake is just as beautiful.

Boats in the Water - part 2

Our new boat, Dragonfly, went in this past week. She was stored on a cradle all winter but the process for putting her in was a bit different than for Egret. They back a trailer up to the boat. The trailer has hydraulic "arms" that lift the boat up off the cradle.

Then they just pull the trailer out with the boat resting on it.

The boat is pulled down to the water.
It's a bizarre experience to be walking down the road with the boat.

The trailer is backed up to the awaiting crane & from here it's just like Egret went in.

The straps are run underneath the boat and attached to the frame the crane is holding.

She's lifted up off the trailer, turned over the water and lowered down.

She's in!

Boats in the Water - part 1

We have three of our boats in the water & ready to sail! Our first boat in was Egret. The boat spent the winter on a cradle. A tractor pulls the cradle over to the loading dock. They run two straps under the boat and hook them onto a frame held by a crane.

The crane operator lifts the frame and boat up off the cradle.

The crane turns the boat around to the other side of the loading area, places her over the water and lowers her in.

The straps stay under the boat while the crew goes below to make sure everything is good to go.

Once she's checked out and the engine is running she's driven over to the City Dock to await your arrival!