Bristol-Blue Lake Michigan Sailing Adventures

This year I have decided to switch up not just my bottom paint but I'm starting to phase out the varnish for teak oil.  The varnish does a nice job but it tends to have some difficulties holding up on horizontal services and the toe rails.  The other problem I tend to run into with the varnish is the need to have several good warm days to apply it.  My plan is to have the boat in the water sometime in the next week and frankly we've only had a few days that would have been warm enough to varnish. This season, I have moved to a mixed medium; some areas varnish and some teak oil.  By next season I expect all of the wood work on the boat will be switched over.  I have been pleasantly surprised how well the two have worked in combination.  The teak oil color matches very well and two coats of oil bring the sheen right up to the same level of the remaining varnish. Starting sanding of the rails. Nicely scuffed up peeling and flaking removed. Horizontal surface issu

Venetian Festival festival is a big fundraiser for local charities put on by the Cow Hill Yacht Club .  It starts out Friday evening with a kid's tent down town.  (Later the tent becomes a beer tent.) BB took Myles to that while I messed around in my garage. (see side note at bottom) Saturday was rather gloomy all day and we had friends over.  Then cleared up in the evening just in time for the boat parade.  We had planned to watch the parade from the marina with our friends but they ended up heading home early. All that swimming I think tired them out.  So we headed out for a little motor ride and anchored in the moring area with the other boats.  This was a super choice the boat parade circuled us.  The theme this year was Vikings and the boat decorating competion was fierce. A crowded anchorage area. At the start of the parade our local fire boat spraying fountains of water. Soon the Vkings arive. Morgan Out Island with glowing dragon head.  This thin