Come Sail Away With Me
One North Coast Couple embarks on a dream
The brilliant horizon of Superior on a breezy summer day in Marquette is increasingly punctuated by billowing white sails against that endless sapphire skyline. One day in the next few weeks, beneath one of those sails will be Greg and Andrea Timm at the helm of their unfolding dream. Ten years ago this month they first sailed together with some friends to Mackinaw Island and they’ve dreamed ever since about getting back there on their own boat. Soon, they’ll do just that as they sail their newly-acquired CAL-33 sailboat from Lake St. Clair back to Marquette.
The Alfresco sailboat makes ready for it’s voyage from St. Clair to Marquette, MI by the end of July 2014. (courtesy of Greg & Andrea Timm)
While any time spent traveling tends to be a relationship test, surely the close quarters, planning, focus, and teamwork involved in long-distance sailing takes this to an extreme. “We do better together than apart” says Andrea, as the two sit relaxing over coffee with me in island-themed attire on a break from their hours of daily preparations.
Though their minds are whirring with the innumerable tasks and to-do’s in the week before departure, their smiles belie the slightest stress. Greg tells me, “With most sailing couples we’ve met, one or the other just isn’t really into it and it doesn’t last but this girl is miraculously right on the same page with me, encouraging me.” I smile and wonder for a moment if sailing isn’t some sort of metaphor for life and relationships and it occurs to me that Greg and Andrea are certainly a model of inspiration in that regard.
Selfie from the top of the mast. (courtesy of Greg Timm)
The call of the sea is ancient and powerful. Those of us who’ve lived our lives around The Lakes know it well. Greg and Andrea are both water people, having grown up around lakes and boats and having come to the UP and settled here 17 years ago. They’ve sailed with others in the Caribbean, the East Coast and the Lakes. Several years ago, they began their own journey as boat-owning sailors with their first sailboat, a Catalina 27’ named “Moonshadow”.
That first big step confirmed the old adage that ‘a boat is a hole in the water into which you throw money’, but also brought them on a voyage of growth. They learned everything first hand; from how to rewire a sailboat to navigation and electronics to the development of confidence on the water on their own, but together.
The two will set off from Lake St. Clair – weather providing – on July 5th, along with friend and crew member Scott Binkley. They will make their way up the St. Clair River, consisting of about eight hours motoring and then raise their sails to the prevailing south winds to make their way northward, following the Lake Huron shoreline. Given the fourth of July holiday, the Port Huron to Mackinaw race (which Andrea’s son will be sailing in) and the proximity to Canada’s equivalent of our independence day, the two will encounter heavy boating traffic en route.
While they have their concerns; Lake Huron’s fickle nature, the sparse and limited ports of safe harbor in Superior, the unpredictability of Great Lakes weather – they have great hopes for this voyage. Among them are fun, togetherness, learning, exploration, growth and perhaps the name for their new boat. Though it came with the name “Al Fresco” the previous owner requested to keep the name and this journey will no doubt be rich with potential naming opportunities. In addition to stopping over on Mackinaw Island, the couple will have the experience of navigating the Soo locks. Enabling ships to travel from the lower Great Lakes to Lake Superior, the locks along the St. Mary’s river are the means by which they will manage the 27’ climb into the lake of their home port.
Bow view of the Alfresco sailboat. (courtesy of Greg & Andrea Timm)
Though there are many potential perils from engine trouble to sudden dangerous weather to navigational and shipping traffic hazards, the two are approaching this journey with a good attitude and a willingness to exercise a contingency plan. They’ve taken 19 days total off from their careers as MRI techs, but if that’s not enough to make it they will cut their voyage short and go to plan B. “You have to know your limits out there, and I’m not going to push any of them on this trip”, says Greg. After months of preparation, thousands of miles driving back and forth, feeling like they’ve been away from home for a year, surely the temptation to press on will be strong. Something tells me that these two will make the right decisions though. And as I leave them to their itinerary I’m somehow sure that this will be a milestone journey for them in many lifelong ways.
Before wrapping up our coffee chat I ask them both what they’ve learned about passion, pursuing that which they love despite the challenges. “The most empowering words for me came from my ex-brother-in-law when I was in a failing marriage with two kids and struggling through school”, Says Andrea; “Just DO it”. And from Greg; “Every obstacle you overcome makes you more determined”. This dream has seemed to them both foolish and impossible at times, but they continue to envision and to dream and to do it. For them – in sailing and in life – that has made all the difference.
Join us here at Marquette Magazine as we report Greg and Andrea’s progress in further installments along their way and upon arrival in late July.
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