August 7-19, 2012
Lake Michigan is well over 300 miles long. The winds typically come from the west/southwest, so we knew we had to pick our travel days carefully for our trip southward. For 3 years, I have been deferring the weather watch to Roger. Since our hold-up in Mackinaw City, I started monitoring the weather websites myself. The problem with the 3 different sites was that sometimes we’d get 3 different forecasts. It didn’t take long to figure out that Lake Michigan was pretty temperamental; winds, waves, storms and fog were what we’d hope to minimize if not able to avoid. We figured out that we had to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. So each time we go out onto this “Great Lake”, we batten down everything we possibly can.
On Wednesday, August 8th, we finally got out of Mackinaw City at dawn and went the full 60 miles to Charlevoix, MI. The ride was okay; nothing sticks out in my mind 11 days later, except for… the Beaver Island ferry that crossed in front of us as we neared the breakwater in Charlevoix. Roger & I were discussing our ETA and whether or not we could make the 2:00 bridge opening behind the ferryboat into Charlevoix, when all of a sudden the wake, along with the swells coming out of the west, got us good! The boat went side to side about 3 times and it was the worst rolling we’d experienced to-date. The boat recovered easily after a string of bad words came out of my mouth. We had some chairs on the upper deck, the bungee cord came loose, and the chairs slid across the deck. Lucky we didn't lose one overboard.
Then I went downstairs and everything -- books, DVDs, etc. had flown off the shelf in the salon. And our 2 LazyBoy recliners and side table moved into the cabin almost 2 feet away from where they were. Drawers slid open in our stateroom; stuff fell onto the floor. And when we opened the cupboards, we had to catch things in the air! The martini shaker almost knocked Roger out! I can tell you next time a ferry goes by, we'll be more alert for the wake we know is behind it.
Charlevoix was just as charming as we’d expected – an upscale resort community. We settled in nicely for 3 nights (which turned into 4 nights because of weather, of course). First on the agenda: Roger finally got his hair cut—I had never seen him with his hair this long! I bought out the Farmers Market – blueberries, peaches, basil, pie, bread, bagels, tomatoes, and more. We went to the movies and saw The Bourne Legacy. On the 3rd day, we caught the Waterfront Art Fair. It was fantastic and I was told that artisans have a difficult time getting into this annual 1-day show in Charlevoix. We rode our bikes along Lake Charlevoix and one of the “cottagers” offered to take our picture. Weather had kicked up again and we had to go on a wait list for an extra day at the marina. Luckily, we set our alarm and were 3rdin line for an extension, which came through by noon that day. It was a great place to get stuck for an extra day!
Next on our itinerary was Leland, MI, about 46 miles from Charlevoix. It was a one-day stop at the Leland Town Marina, which was very nicely rebuilt 3 years ago. We had no problem getting a slip, but by the end of the day, the marina was full. Leland is home to “Fish Town”, which is a National Landmark District, a restored fishing town with lots of shops that cater to tourists. We went out for dinner that night and I had walleye that was delicious!
On Monday, Aug. 13th, we headed toward Frankfort, MI. We passed Sleeping Bear Sand Dune, which is over 400 feet high. It was pretty incredible, even in the dreary, drizzly weather. Frankfort itself looked a little beaten down, contrary to how the Waterway Guide touted it. On the way to Frankfort, a text message from our daughter-in-law Kelly gave us a lift! Kelly and Brett are expecting a boy!! We’ve known about the baby, but were patiently waiting to find out if we should be buying pink or blue!!
We were glad to be able to leave Frankfort behind. We also skipped Manistee and Ludington. With weather delays and all these stops, it would take us 2 months to get down Lake Michigan. We got into Lake Michigan in the fog and it stayed with us for most of the trip. We couldn’t have done it without our radar, especially because Roger spent an hour and a half inside the cabin on a conference call and I was driving the boat upstairs in the pilothouse. If I had any concerns, we agreed that I would pull back on the power and he would come up right away. Fortunately, everything went smoothly. We arrived at Snug Harbor Marina in Pentwater and it was a nice surprise. We took a slip on the fuel dock, easy in and easy out for our next morning’s early departure. Pentwater is small, but quaint. There were plenty of nice shops, but by the time we walked up to town, the shops were closed. Roger’s good luck, not mine! We went into a really nice grocery store, ‘Cenzo’s and bought a carrot cake that rivals any we’ve ever had.
From Pentwater, we went to Muskegon. We knew the downtown area was a few miles away from any of the marinas, and at the last minute we chose Great Lakes Marina. Lucky! We looked at the weather and booked in for 3 nights. This marina gives 50% off to “Loopers” and we paid $20/night! After going to a slip that the dockhand assigned to us, we decided it was too narrow and we took a spot at the end of a T dock. That was fine and we were directly across from Barb & Craig’s boat “Alacrity” (friends we met in Georgian Bay and the North Channel who had gone back to Colorado for a month). Soon after we tied up, we had 2 visitors: Jim Allen, the local AGLCA host (Great Loop organization) came aboard for a beer and offered us a ride anywhere we needed to go; and Phil Moyer, a seasonal slipholder from Houston who also offered us a ride. I took Phil up on a ride to Petco later that day and to the Post Office the next day. He & his wife Virginia came aboard one night for Happy Hour and we had a great visit. Such nice people here!
I reserved a slip at the Grand Haven, MI Municipal Marina for Saturday and Sunday nights. This is a busy marina and I was glad I’d looked at weather far enough in advance to book a slip and really glad that the weather cooperated – somewhat. The photos show the weather forecast on my iPhone – waves 1 foot or less. Right!!! They were much more than that and even had a really short chop. Winds were right on our nose, so it was up and down and up and down for quite a while. We were glad that it was only a 14 nautical mile run!
We pulled into the dock, which is right against Grand Haven’s waterfront boardwalk and there were a bunch of people watching us. One of the guys we’d met in Muskegon on our dock was there with his buddies and they took our lines. Everyone wanted to chat with us, and when I went to check out the Farmer’s Market, I had just missed it. Oh well! I walked the art festival, but it was not as great as Charlevoix’s and took a walk to downtown where the street was closed for a sidewalk sale. This is a great little town and very accessible by walking. The municipal docks are right on the river and although there’s a little motion on the boat, it’s fun to watch all the traffic from our cockpit. Today, the Coast Guard boarded a number of boats right in front of us.
At night, there is a show at the Musical Fountain across the river from us. It is a synchronization of water, music and multi-colored lights and is presented each night of the summer and lasts about 20 minutes. We watched from our upper deck and took video, but I couldn’t get it to load in the photo gallery. Since Roger & I know about “pumps”, we took an interest in the design of the water part of the show. The water display is pumped through a system that spans 8,000 feet of piping and pumps 4,000 gallons per minute! There are 1,300 nozzles of varying diameters that create the effect of “Dancing Waters” which reach a height of 125 feet using single stage pumps! It was just fantastic!
Tomorrow’s weather looks good and we will leave Grand Haven and head into Saugatuck, MI for a night. After Saugatuck is South Haven for 2 days, where once again we will receive our mail. And maybe one more stop before we reach Michigan City, IN where we started the Great Loop almost exactly 3 years ago. We have less than 100 miles to go and it’s becoming a little emotional for us as we near the end of this adventure. Until then, we are going to enjoy the last few stops to the fullest!
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