The Sailing Vessel 'Heaven Bound'

 

Death's Door  

 

 



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Door County 2012 

The summer of 2012 Debbie & I vacationed in beautiful Door County, Wisconsin, staying at a Bed & Breakfast right on the shores of Eagle Harbor on Green Bay, which is actually an arm of Lake Michigan.  Each day we would go cycling at Peninsula State Park in the morning then sailing on Green Bay in the afternoon.  

One of my goals with our new-to-us sailboat was to sail to 'Death's Door', the area at the top of the Door County peninsula where Green Bay and Lake Michigan meet.  I think Debbie was a little nervous about going with a rookie sailor at the helm so she volunteered to take pictures from the shore - some of which you will see below.

A bit of history - Door County peninsula is surrounded by Green Bay on the west side and Lake Michigan on the east side.  At the northern tip of the peninsula, Green Bay and Lake Michigan join.  The passage between Green Bay and Lake Michigan was originally called 'Death's Door' due to it's reputation of being difficult to navigate during rough weather.  Apparently the chamber of commerce thought it sounded a bit 'rough' for tourism so they shortened the name to 'Door County'...

 

Our B & B

Our Bed & Breakfast - Overlooking Eagle Harbor on Green Bay

Waiting

Waiting at the marina - just a few steps from the B & B


Getting Her Ready

Getting her ready to set sail for an afternoon of fun...

 

 

 

Turtle Friend

This guy loved to hang around the boat at the slip...



Headed Out

Headed out for the solo trip to 'Death's Door' & Lake Michigan...



The Tower

After seeing me off, Debbie climbed to the top of the tower (upper right) on Eagle Bluff and took pictures of the boat as I was leaving.  To get an idea of how large Eagle Bluff is, look for the people standing on the shore and in the crevasses of the bluff.

The water definitely has that 'Green Bay' look from this angle...

 

 

 

Long Distance Away

This is the view that Debbie had from the tower

That's Horseshoe Island in the background



Horseshoe Island

Sailing past Horseshoe Island in Green Bay for the 'photo op'

As you can see, she is zoomed in quite a bit!


Headed North

Headed North now toward 'Death's Door' & Lake Michigan


Noaa Chart

Here's the chart of the Western side of Door County peninsula.

I sailed from Eagle Harbor on Green Bay (lower left) to the infamous 'Death's Door' (upper right) where Green Bay and Lake Michigan join



Lighthouse

This is just one of several lighthouses on the peninsula


Water Everywhere

I know that Green Bay this is the smallest lake of the Great Lakes, however, it sure looks like an ocean when you're out there!


Deaths Door

Death's Door is ahead on the right just beyond the bluff

Further North of the bluff is Washington Island

 

 

 

Captain Brad

If you look closely, you just might see a smile in there somewhere...

 

 


Door County Sunset

We were treated to this beautiful sight every night!

We stayed in the quaint town of Ephraim, WI.   Each evening it seemed the entire town would come out to the shoreline to enjoy this beautiful sunset.  The funny thing was, the minute the sun dropped below the horizon, everyone would literally disappear and the entire town would be closed for business.  The first couple of evenings we tried to find even a coffee shop that was open but to no avail.  We eventually learned that, if you want something after sunset, you better get it ahead of time!


(Unretouched photo)