It would be a 65 mile travel day from Frankfort to Pentwater. We got an early start to try to get ahead of pending storms. As you can see, they caught up with us. It is not recommended to try to outrun storms in a boat!
The contrast in colors of the clouds – the beautiful waters – and everything in between – was amazing. You can see the choppy waters bouncing the fishing boat around, and it was just 7:00 in the morning. Swells today were 2-3 feet at 4 second intervals.
As we moved down the coast, the weather began to improve. We passed Big Sable Point Lighthouse on our port side. Big Sable was the first station constructed on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan to aid in navigation.
On this voyage we passed Ludington, Michigan, a neat stop while bringing Kara Mia home two years prior. There is where we had our first “looper docktails” and watched The Badger. The SS Badger is the largest cross-lake passenger and vehicle ferry on the Great Lakes. It is a four-hour 60 mile cruise that takes passengers, autos, RVs, tour buses, motorcycles, bicycles, and commercial trucks across Lake Michigan from Ludington to Wisconsin. The SS Badger has been in operation since 1953 and is the largest coal-fired passenger ship still operating in the United States.
NEBO is a tracking app that we log on each day. It allows others to see our location and direction of travel. We like to see the whereabouts of other loopers as well. The black circles show Kara Mia!
Although we did get rained on, we ultimately found better weather when we entered the channel at Pentwater, another beautiful little resort town in Michigan.
We really would like to know what these people do when winter comes! We docked at Snug Harbor Marina and nearby was another Carver 43SS just like ours. We have only seen three of these ever. Less than a block away was the first of six blocks that make up the town of Pentwater and lead to the beach.
The streets, shops, artwork and churches resemble those we have seen at many of our stops. The artwork here is a rather colorful bike rack in the shape of fish.
We stopped in The Antler for a bite to eat – – – – – Among their specialties are angus burgers, buffalo burgers, and elk burgers. Notice their door handle is a large antler!
It was a pleasant surprise to find this cozy little fresh market, “Cenzo’s”, the only grocery store in Pentwater. Cenzo’s, with an upscale flavor, is located right downtown, near the marina. It is a family run, gourmet grocery store that carries local produce, wine, artisanal meats, breads and cheeses, small craft beers, and unbelievable sandwiches. They even have a piano for customers so inclined to play.
November 11, 1940 was a bad day in Pentwater. Seventy mile per hour winds whipped the lake into 25 foot waves. Two freighters and a tug went down that day between Little and North Sable Points where the lake has a long fetch to the west, south and north. Seventeen men were rescued from one of the freighters, all the others lost their lives.
RANDOM STUFF:
While cruising down the lake we were startled by a loud alarm. We pulled the throttles down, bringing her from 30 to neutral. It took us a few seconds to learn that it wasn’t our engines, but rather our cell phones announcing an AMBER ALERT. This was a first for us!