Bentleyville Tour of Lights - Duluth MN

Bentleyville Tour of Lights, in Duluth, Minnesota, is an amazing, walk through holiday light experience. It began at the home of Nathan Bentley in Esko, Minnesota. He decorated his home for the holidays, adding more and more lights over the next five years and growing so large that his light show needed a new and larger site to accommodate the increasing crowds. Bentleyville Tour of Lights moved to Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth where it has grown even more. Millions of visitors have enjoyed this holiday extravaganza for the last 17 years.

We visited Duluth on a cold December Thursday, staying overnight at a downtown hotel so we could walk to the light show. After enjoying the holiday festivities, we stopped in at Grandma's Restaurant for a snack and a cold beer. We had a blast!

This event is magnificent. Parking cost $12 but entry is free and visitors are surrounded by over 5,000,000 dazzling lights. There is a towering 128 ft tree with a 40 ft base and 150,000 continuously changing light patterns that are synced to music. Complimentary hot chocolate, hot cider, popcorn, cookies and marshmallows are offered to visitors. Many cozy fire pits are available for roasting those marshmallows and warming chilled visitors. Costumed characters delight children all along the meandering walkways, offering hugs and hi-fives.  More than 1,500 volunteers make sure the magic continues each night. 

In addition to bringing holiday joy, Bentleyville conducts a food and toy drive to celebrate charitable giving.

You can read more about Bentleyville here:

Bentleyvilleusa.org

View from our hotel

Merry Christmas

Northern Lights

We were blessed with an evening of glorious Aurora Borealis this month. It wasn't the first time we'd witnessed this amazing natural phenomena, but it sure was the best we'd seen this far south in central Minnesota. The incredible light show was visible in Connecticut, Florida, and all over the southern United States. It was spectacular!

My first encounter with a glowing sky was in the 1990s. I was working nights and saw a red light in the distance on my drive home. I thought it was a police event and woke Dave to tell him all about it. From my description, he was certain that I had seen Northern lights. 

We were lucky to witness the Aurora when we had a slip at Knife River Marina, north of Duluth, MN. That viewing was very active with green and white colors that pulsed and danced across the northern sky. We sat on the rocks at the beach and watched, unable to take our eyes away. 

We happened to be in White Bear Lake visiting our friends Scott and Mary, during the most recent explosion! Mary received a bunch of notifications on her phone. Her daughter was sending cell phone images of the sky at her home nearby; glorious images of Northern Lights that streamed from one end to the other. We went outside and were rewarded with vibrant colors of red, purple, green and white. The streets were dotted with neighbors all holding their phones up and whispering in excitement as the colors and movement constantly changed! 

On our way home, we stopped at Otto Berg Park, on the north end of Stillwater, where it was dark with very little ambient light. The parking lot was buzzing with cars and folks were walking into the pitch black park to get a better view. It seemed like the entire town woke up and came out to share in nature's beautiful gift. Dave and I laid down in the grass and enjoyed the show until the wind and chill chased us back to the warmth of our car.

Northern Lights are magnetic, in origin as well as in attraction. They rate up there with meteor showers and phosphorescents. We never tire of viewing the natural expressions of beauty that they deliver. This particular show was special because it was visible with the naked eye all over the United States.

Canvas Waterproofing Project

A few years back, we purchased a heavy duty Sailrite sewing machine. It has been incredibly useful in creating an assortment of items for our Alberg 35, s/v Mystic. Among the projects we've completed are storage bags, winch covers, dinghy chaps, rain and sun tarps, and a winter cover.

The cover was our biggest project, taking a total of 50 yards of SurLast water repellent fabric. We got a great deal purchasing it from Rochford Supply's seconds bin for $5.00 per yard. The project took six weeks to put together but has proven to be well worth the work. It has protected our boat for the last five years, keeping her dry and shading her teak from the sun. Each spring, we inspect, clean and make repairs where needed. In spite of the exposure to the elements, it has held up nicely with only minor chaffing damage.

Last year, we decided to re-waterproof the canvas in the hope of extending the life of the cover. Over the counter spray products are easy to find but proved to be expensive. Dave researched making our own and found a recipe on one of the boat forums he follows. We decided to take it on as a DIY project.

There are only two ingredients in the waterproofing solution, silicone caulk and mineral spirits. We combined them in a large bucket then blended the mixture until the silicone completely dissolved into the mineral spirits. The amount of fabric we were working with required tripling the recipe. After cleaning the cover, we laid it on a poly tarp face up and rolled the waterproofing mixture over the entire cover, making sure to saturate every inch, then hung it outside until it was dry.

The fabric felt a little stiffer than before the treatment although it didn't feel heavier and it didn't smell like chemicals. Last fall, we installed the cover and crossed our fingers. When we returned in the spring, we found that a pocket of snow had accumulated over winter. As it melted it created a deep sag in the fabric, bulging downward with about 5 gallons of water. We were amazed to see that not a drop of water seeped through. The waterproofing did it's job!

I have to admit that I was a nervous about using a home-made recipe instead of purchasing a commercial product. I didn't want to ruin our cover. Not all fabrics can handle these chemicals, including Sunbrella. We researched SurLast and felt confident about the compatibility before beginning this project. We experienced a successful outcome and plan to use this method on our other boat canvas. 

 Waterproofing recipe:

10 oz tube of 100% clear silicone caulking 

1 gallon of odorless mineral spirits

Cleaning Sails

We are in the midst of winterizing our Alberg 35, Mystic. One of the tasks that was necessary this year is cleaning our main and jib sails. Both are going on 20 years old. The main is in pretty solid condition, the jib is starting to look a bit worn. 

We began the process by soaking the sails in a trough that Dave built with 2x4 framing and a plastic liner. We filled it with about 50 gallons of water and 2 cups of oxyclean dissolved in hot water. Oxyclean works by releasing the bond that dirt has with the canvas. It starts out as sodium percarbonate. When you dissolve it in water it breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and washing soda, (a kind of baking soda).

Sail soaking in trough

After the long soak, we scrubbed both sides of the sail with water and dawn dish detergent. We thoroughly rinsed it before hanging the sail from two trees. Once it was hung, we rinsed it some more and let it hang in our backyard all day until it was dry. 

Rinsing the main

More rinsing after hanging 

Once the main was clean, dried, flaked and stored we turned our focus on the jib. While we worked we kept an eye on the weather. The forecast called for rain in the afternoon. Unfortunately, precipitation arrived in the morning right after we'd hung the jib. Although it wasn't ideal, we draped the sail through our living and dining rooms. Dave added fans to speed up the drying. By dinner time we had a clean, and dry jib.

Jib hanging to dry

Jib draped through our house

That's a lot of sail

While we were cleaning the sails, we inspected them from the head to the clew. We found three tiny holes in the main that will need patching. The jib had deep stains on the sacrificial UV cover edge. After taking a closer look at this area we could see that it should be replaced. 

Cleaning our sails was a huge project that created two more huge projects. Each sail took two days to complete. Patching the micro holes in the main, and replacing the sacrificial UV cover on the jib will be labor intensive. We hope to have them completed before spring. 

The sails turned out great! Not all of the stains lifted but the majority of the canvas brightened during the process. We've owned Mystic for 13 years now.  It seems like a lot of boat projects are popping up these days. She's turning 60 next year, a good old boat that's seen a lot and travelled far. She's worth all of our hard work to keep her looking beautiful.

Haul Out Challenges

Fall in the Midwest means it is time to close up our boat for the winter. Our summer slip is in Menominee, Michigan, our winter storage in Oconto, Wisconsin. We wanted to make the 24 mile trek south around the middle of September, before fall weather set in.

The second week of September, Hi-Seas Marina, informed us that the Harbor Hoist used to haul our boat out had broken down. Summer had returned after a week of cold, wet and dreary weather in Menominee so we weren't really in any hurry. We were mostly concerned about being on the water in miserable conditions in October. It took longer than anyone hoped, to get that travel lift back in working order. Hi-Seas doesn't have a lot of staging area for boats coming in for the winter. The slips are full of seasonal folks who try to stay in the water as long as possible. There wasn't a slip for us to go to while we waited. The broken hydraulic steering system put a damper in the fall routine at Hi-Seas. A hundred plus boats had to be hauled out before November. There wasn't much anyone could do about the situation except wait patiently. 

Finally, there was a slip open for us at Hi-Seas. We were relieved to take this big step in wrapping up the season. We left Menominee under dreary skies with winds expected to be 10-15 knots from the north. We headed out past the breakwater into gnarly rolling 5 foot waves with a 5 second interval, and gusting winds. Pointing Mystic into the wind, we attempted to raise our main. It was so rough that we gave up and turned east to take the rollers more from behind us. The waves continued to cause havoc, making for a very uncomfortable ride. Dave pointed Mystic's bow toward Green Island to steady us as we tried unfurling the jib. The gusts whipped the sail back and forth. It refused to stay filled so we abandoned the idea of sailing, continuing east under motor power, until we had a clear shot past Peshtigo Point. Only then could we head south for Oconto. This was exactly why we were anxious to get to Hi-Seas, inclement weather! By the time we got to Peshtigo Lighthouse, we both had bruised and bloody shins from getting knocked around the boat during the first hour of the trip.

Peshtigo Light

Once we passed the lighthouse, things calmed tremendously in the lee of Peshtigo Point. The rollers slowly disappeared and the wind lightened. We pulled into Hi-Seas marina in glass calm waters and glided into the slip we had been directed to. We didn't know the status of the broken Harbor Hoist so we expected to stay put for at least a couple days. In the morning we heard a knock on our hull. The travel lift repair had been completed the night before and we were coming out of the water. This was great news. Things were finally falling into place.

Mystic in the well

Harbor Hoist Ride

Setting Mystic on her keel for a good washing

Mystic was set in jack stands in the same spot as last year, next to the flagpole. Once we were settled, we had to get back to Menominee to pick up our truck. We'd planned to ride our bikes back, along scenic roads through Oconto, Peshtigo and Marinette. The 20 mile ride took 2.5 hours but that included a good half hour stop at a park where we rested and ate snacks. It was a good ride on a beautiful day!

Placing her on jack stands

Once we were out of the water, we had boat projects to do. First on our list was a few coats of varnish on the teak. In 2020, we'd put 10 coats on freshly sanded wood and added a couple coats each year since. It looked great but was starting to wear through in spots. In fact, when we scraped it, huge sections came off in one chunk with ease. We discovered that a lot of the 2020 varnish was separating from the wood. Instead of a couple quick coats for maintenance, we were facing a major varnish job.

We focused on the oak anchor windless first which was peeling like an orange. Dave decided to apply epoxy instead of varnish for a longer lasting finish. We spent all day scraping and sanding then added the first coat around 4:30 in the afternoon. In the morning, we realized the dew had gotten to the epoxy overnight before it could dry and we had a cloudy finish. Discouraged, we scraped and sanded the first coat down and added a new coat earlier in the afternoon. This time, it dried clear, giving us the glassy finish we strive for.

Sanded out Bowsprite

Next we began working on our teak toe-rail. Over summer, everyone commented on how beautiful our teak looked. Unfortunately, it was also compromised. We tried to lift all the worst spots and sand out the greying areas but some the 10+ coats had to be 100% removed. We approached our work one hour at a time. Trying to muster an attitude of making lemonade out of lemons by reminding ourselves how beautiful Mystic will be once we complete the dreaded teak work before us.

Although our end of season experience hasn't worked out smoothly, we are getting close to comfortable about leaving Mystic on the hard until spring. We still have to empty and clean her. Dave will build our winter cover frame and we'll install the cover. Tying it down takes about four hours. It's a lot of work closing down for the season but Mystic deserves the attention we give her. She's worth it!

That's a wrap!