Greetings From Grand Haven, Michigan

We have been in Grand Haven since Saturday (9/3/16) with the intention of being here a couple of nights but Lake Michigan had other plans for us. For those of you not familiar with the Great Lakes they can be a wild beast. When we first started out on the Loop I was very skeptical of this coming from San Diego where we deal with the ocean and swells and waves all the time. What? A lake is going to be so challenging and something to head caution towards? I didn’t buy it. My first indication should have been when we crossed Lake Ontario a couple of months ago– we had beam seas (waves that hit us directly on the side of the boat) in 2-4feet waves with the occasional 5 footer and we were being tossed around like rag dolls. Then again crossing Lake Huron we had big waves and high winds. Now I was paying attention. Since those crossing we now check both the waves and the wind before heading out on the Great Lakes. For the past several days Lake Michigan has had large waves (up to 8 feet) and 20-30kt winds. The Tidings could definitely handle it but it would be a wild ride and one we would rather not take. We are in no hurry to get anywhere so why push it? This seems to be the looping attitude.

     Coming into Grand Haven was a real shock. We arrived the Saturday of Labor Day weekend and it was a wild boating scene and one we haven’t seen since we left San Diego. There were boats and people everywhere. As we entered the harbor boats were all jockeying for position, getting very close to us and passing us in narrow tight quarters. All of which made us very uneasy and longing for the Georgian Bay where we would anchor and be 1 of 3 boats with not a building or cottage in site. This was a crazy big city for us.

We made it through the channel untouched and approached our first bridge on the way to our marina. Both the Waterway Guide and the GPS told us the bridge was 25ft high and not a problem for us at 22ft. As we approached it looked really low. Jeff instructed me to look at the top of the boat as he proceeded slowly. Very quickly I could see that we weren’t going to make it and told him to back off. All this in swarms of boats coming in both directions, hugging our sides and riding our stern. Jeff stopped and the other boats passed us as he slowly started pivoting the boat around. We were very confused and called the bridge on the radio. The bridge master was very nice and told us the bridge height was only 17ft and that if we wanted to pass through his next scheduled opening was at 5:30. This was at 4:40. We had no choice but to slowly trawl around and wait. This was so challenging because of all the boating action all around us. There was no place to tie up while we waited so Jeff decided to float in front of a marina so that the other boats could go around us. After what felt like forever we finally got the bridge opened and made our way to the marina an hour and a half after entering the harbor.

The only thing that kept us calm was the fact that at the marina we had guests waiting for us – my mom and dad. Yay!! Jan and John Dornick were here in Grand Haven for a visit. The night before they had been in East Lansing, Michigan watching my cousin Tyler play football and after some quick calculations by my mom she realized that we were only an hour and thirty minutes from where they were. They hopped in the car and headed over. What a nice surprise it was to see them. We were all so excited!!!

We toured them around the boat then we all sat topside for happy hour.

After some libations we drove into town and had a nice Italian dinner followed by a water show to music. Apparently every night the town puts on a water show and people sit in bleachers to watch. It was amusing for me to see but the guys were not so amused and were glad that it ended shortly after we walked over. The four of us headed back to the boat for what would be our first sleepover and the Tidings first overnight guests. I was so excited that not only was it our first overnight guests but it was my parents! Their room and bathroom was all set up for them and after the big dinner and lots of drinks we decided to call it an early night and headed to bed. The next morning we all ate breakfast and my parents headed out before noon. They had a long 5-hour drive back to Lima, Ohio. We said our goodbyes and it made me excited for the next time that they visit.

Since their visit Jeff and I have moved marinas two more times here in Grand Haven. After the Labor Day weekend a lot of people left so we were able to get a reservation at the Municipal Marina right in town. Much to our chagrin it was a wild ride at their docks. They have no wall blocking them from Lake Michigan so they are susceptible to all of the lake currents that flow in and with our keel we were flying all around. We had 6 fenders out on one side of the boat and were still slamming the dock wall. It was nauseating and not a comfortable night so we left. Our third marina is great. It has a pool, is in nature and out of town and best of all no lake surge. The bike trail is nearby and we plan to utilize it very soon. Weather calls for thunderstorms the next 24-48hrs and the waves and wind will continue until Friday. We will be staying put until then and hope to be anchored out in Saugatuck Friday night.