Another early morning for us.
We left Ludington before the sun came up.
We were trying to beat the Badger before he left at 7 a.m.
And we did.
This was supposed to be a good weather window for us.
It was going to be a long trip, about 67 miles to Grand Haven.
As soon as we got out of the channel, Lake Michigan started beating us up.
And did not stop.
It looks like a nice day.
Cloudy with the sun peeking through occasionally.
But don’t let that fool you.
It was a long, miserable five hours in bumpy waters.
It was so uncomfortable that I just sat around and did nothing but hang on!
No food service.
No beverage service.
Nothing but hanging on!
Labor Day Weekend
Not only was the lake not cooperating but there were so many boats out because of the holiday.
But we did finally make it to the channel.
Grand Haven Municipal Marina
We worked our way down the channel to get to the marina.
Now to say it was busy is a complete understatement.
Since Lake Michigan was crazy bumpy everybody decided to make the channel the cruising strip (like in high school).
So we dodged and maneuvered our way down.
When we got a little closer, we found out that our slip was being occupied by a houseboat and they weren’t going to leave until their check out time at 1:00 p.m.
It was 12:45 so we joined the cruisers and went up and down the channel.
Killing time.
Fifteen minutes isn’t that long.
But when you’re in a big boat with hundreds of other boats of all sizes, it’s a challenge.
Of course, Sam handled the situation with finesse.
As a reward, when we finally made it into our slip, we were positioned right across from Grand Haven’s Musical Fountain.
Grand Haven
We stayed in Grand Haven for three nights and had a chance to see the town.
And what a great town it is.
And thank you, Grand Haven, for a great stay.
Hey guys! Debbie and her new are flying out to Toronto on Tuesday with a departure planned for Wednesday from Killarney. They will be running pretty fast. I do hope they take advantage of the great stops. We will leave the boat in Waukegan till after October 5th at which time I will be fully healed and we will bring Whisky Business back to Louisville, crossing our wake at the confluence of the Cumberland and the Ohio Rivers. Hope to see you soon!
Ok, Jerry. What? Debbie’s new what?
So excited to hear that you will be finishing!
Heal quickly, my friend.
And we will see you out here soon.
Awww, it looks like such a lovely town. I’m sorry you had to endure a day of rough seas, but I guess that really makes you appreciate the calm waters that much more!
Love,
Venessa
You are so right about that! We do appreciate the calm waters more. Love you.
Hi Rev & Sam, The Great Republic Freighter that you posted looked so familiar so I looked it up. When we lived outside of Cleveland in the 80s, we use to go to the Flats on the Cuyahoga River. Friends of ours bought a sail boat & (no clue what they were doing) was sailing it down to their dock in Ashtabula OH. There was a bunch of us celebrating at a Restaurant as they motored down the Cuyahoga.
The Great Republic was the American Republic then. It was the largest ship that was able to navigate the Cuyahoga River (carried supplies to a Steel Mill) & on the River coming through. Our friend thought he could sail by the ship but they had someone come out with a bull horn & said “You in the Sailboat, get in that corner & don’t move.” Our friends were so humiliated & never lived that one down.
We saw the American Republic frequently navigating the Cuyahoga & of course that story came up along with another story, I can’t post here…lol. While viewing your video, I kept thinking how it looked so familiar. We had moved back to Pennsylvania but continued following the Freighter. In 1996, it carried the Olympic Flame on her deck to dock near the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. They renamed her in 2011 the Great Republic. Who would have ever thought I would see her again on your video & even recognize it.
http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/greatrepublic.htm
The AIS system is a really good idea since you will encounter large boats, freighters & barges that are football fields long & not able to see you.
Just wondering if Paducah, KY is on your loop? it is where the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers come together, halfway between St. Louis, Missouri, to the northwest and Nashville, Tennessee, to the southeast.
Safe travels & Boat Drinks!
What a crazy story! I can’t believe that is the same freighter. It was hugh. The weirdest part (if you saw our video about it) was that Sam wanted to be the captain of it. Oh boy.
After seeing the size of some of the barges and freighters, I am so thankful that we got AIS.
We are really going to be relying on that going down the rivers to keep us safe. We really could have used it going through New York Harbor. Thankfully, our buddy boat had it and told us where the ferries and barges were.
Yes, we should get to Paducah, KY, sometime late October.
Thanks for the good wishes. This has certainly been an incredible experience so far.
I heard Sam on the video say that he wanted to be the captain. I was always in awe of how they navigated it down the twists & turns on the Cuyahoga.
Paducah is a really cool town with beautiful painted murals on all their Flood Walls. My favorite one was from a flood & they have a cow out on the balcony of a house. We were there several times when Dennis worked in the area at a plant. They have the Dixie Belle Riverboat there. It was 4th of July & they played “God Bless America” as they were leaving the dock (with that calliope like sound). It was the neatest sight.
Tell Sam to check out the Benson Ford Shiphouse. It would be the perfect house for him. http://www.shiponthebay.com
Safe travels & Cheers, it is probably time for Docktails!
OK. I’ll tell him. Yes, it is that time again! LOL