Crossing Lake Michigan

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

On Friday July 6th we left Racine bound for Grand Haven Michigan.  On board was Judy and Brian along with daughter Erin and her boyfriend Ryan.  This was our first destination cruise aboard Sweet Escape and was intended as a shakedown cruise following upgrade and maintenance work that had recently been done.

We got a late 9:15 A.M start due to an electrical issue that turned out to be a false alarm and as a result we elected to motor the entire way in order to maintain a consistent speed and make better time.  The goal was to arrive in Michigan in time for dinner.

The weather was beautiful with winds out of the north at 8 to 12 knots and seas at about a foot.   Brian set our course and the autopilot did it’s job. 

At about mid lake the wind died to nil and we were almost immediately inundated by swarms of vicious biting black flies.   It defies logic that there would be flies that far offshore but they seem to thrive there, hanging out waiting for unsuspecting boaters.  We found ourselves ill prepared with only one fly swatter which we used to massacre hundreds of the biting little @@#$%’s.  If you ever cross Lake Michigan wear long pants that cover your ankles and a shirt with long sleeves.  Insect repellant does nothing to slow down the invasion.  Since this crossing we have read various suggestions on how to deal with this scourge of Lake Michigan.  One was not to kill them because if you kill one 250 come to the funeral and then proceed to eat the corpse! 

We arrived in Grand Haven at about 5:00 P.M. tired from the heat and from fighting off the flies.  We found the Grand River very busy with boats of all types from kayaks to motor yachts.  We docked at the Grand Haven Municipal Marina and then freshened up before dinner at Porto Bella’s, a very good Italian restaurant within easy walking distance in downtown Grand Haven.  Following dinner we spent a few minutes watching the Grand Haven Musical Fountain, a sort of dancing waters show set to music that the City of Grand Haven puts on nightly in the summer along the riverfront.

The next morning we made sausage and eggs for breakfast and then after eating we left Grand Haven under a clear blue sky bound for the White Lake inlet and the City of Whitehall some 23 miles to the north.   As we motored out of the Grand River channel back into Lake Michigan we encountered winds right on our nose at about 16 knots.  Because of the north winds we once again elected to motor.

As we cruised north the winds began to steadily increase along with the seas.  What had been 16 knots suddenly became 25 and the two to three foot waves that had been forecast had grown to five or six.  This continued as we approached the Muskegon channel entrance.  We considered going into Muskegon Lake but while the ride was uncomfortable the boat was fine and we were making good progress north.  

About four miles north of Muskegon, the winds began blowing at gale force.  We were consistently getting wind gusts in excess of 40 knots and the sea state continued to increase as well with waves frequently in excess of ten feet.  We continued on to White Lake, beating into the north wind and accompanying seas.  The boat was pounding in the waves and the crew was getting soaked in the cockpit from the spray.  Everyone was relieved when we entered the very narrow channel at White Lake.  The lesson here is that you cannot trust the weather reports.  Nothing like this was forecast.  Had it been, we would have stayed put in Grand Haven.

We motored the four miles to the east end of White Lake and docked at the Whitehall Municipal Marina.  This is a very nice marina with concrete docks with wood sides that is almost always empty.  It is the closest marina to the very quaint towns of Whitehall and Montague and is within easy walking distance to the business districts of both including several nice restaurants and a supermarket.  I do not understand why more boaters do not take advantage of this nice little marina as we were one of only five boats docked there that evening.

After a quick cleanup all four of us walked the three blocks to Pekadill’s.  Pekadill’s is a local sandwich restaurant located in what was once an old general store.  They serve great home made sandwiches, soups and ice cream.  If you are ever in Whitehall be sure to stop there.

After dinner Brian and Judy walked to the local supermarket, Montague Foods to buy among other things several fly swatters for the return trip to Racine the next morning.

On Sunday we left Whitehall around noon and motored back out to Lake Michigan where we found perfect conditions.  What a difference a day can make.  16 to 18 knots of wind out of the northwest and about two foot seas made for great sailing.  We raised both sails, a full jib and a 70% mainsail and sailed on a starboard beam reach for about four hours before the wind started to decline.  We then motor sailed for another couple hours before the winds died completely.  The good news?  No flies at all save for a couple of stragglers who showed up and were easily dispatched with our new fly swatters.

They say that no two crossings of the lake are alike and we found this to be true.  Crossing eastbound on Friday we never saw anyone or anything, not a ship or another boat.  On our return westbound we encountered three AIS targets, two ships and the Lake Express car ferry and as we mentioned the greatly appreciated absence of flies.

Overall Sweet Escape performed very well, even when beating into ten foot plus waves.  They say the boat can handle much more than you would ever want to and that certainly appears to be true.

We arrived back in our slip in Racine at about 9:00 P.M. following a beautiful sunset.  All in all this was a successful shakedown cruise for Sweet Escape.  There are a few minor issues that we need to address before we depart on our cruise south in a little over two weeks but all in all mission accomplished.

See our albums page for photos.