Destination:
New Buffalo – 5th (longest and last) leg
Guests Onboard:
Kyle & Kara
Departure
Port:
Grand Haven Municipal Marina
Date/Time:
08/22/23 @ 5:50 AM ET
Arrival
Port:
The Moorings Association in New Buffalo, MI
Date/Time:
08/22/23 @ 6:40 PM ET
Length:
85.2 nm
Duration:
12:50 (engine = 12.9 hours)
Weather Conditions:
Cloudy with no sunrise, sun came out ½ way home and got hot ~3 hours from NB
Temperature
65 with a north wind, so it felt very cold on the lake
Wind (speed + Direction)
7 – 11 ENE and died down all day until ~2 hours from NB then it picked up from South
Wave Height
1 – 1.5′
Notable Places, Experiences & Events
Kara didn’t sleep well – the weather was perfectly calm, and yet the boat rocked, rolled, creaked and groaned all night. When will we get used to this?!? And start trusting our equipment!
We woke up very early, and left the dock before daylight. We had enough light to leave because the channel and piers were lit well. But once we got out to the lake, it was pitch black!
The marina is on the Grand River so we had plenty of room to back up and get going in the right direction.
After exiting the piers, we got our heading and continually had to check to make sure we were on track … until the sun started rising and there was enough light to see land. It was very cloudy for ½ the trip – no sunrise, and very little sun meant that it was chilly on the water.
About ½ way home, the sun finally came out and made the trip more enjoyable. We took a direct route away from shore, which meant we were over deep, dark waters. I think the deepest part we saw was 232’!
Time seemed to chug along very slowly. If there’s anything we learned on our trip was to live in the moment. Not to worry about what’s coming up later that day, or even tomorrow, but to be present and focus on just being …
Several scriptures come to mind:
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”📖 Psalms 46:10 NIV
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 📖 Matthew 6:34 NIV
~3 hours from New Buffalo, the winds and the waves really died down, which means the biting flies came out as well. We were being attacked, so Kara got out the weapons and we traded driving pretty frequently to keep moving and to keep time moving. The sun was beautiful and it got hot!
It was so beautiful coming into New Buffalo harbor. The winds did pick up from the South, which was predicted, and why we pushed to come home so quickly.
Kyle never docked any better, and our home dock never looked so good. We quickly divided tasks and wrapped up SV Zeke E Boy. We stopped at the grocery store for a frozen pizza, and couldn’t wait to shower without shoes and sleep in an immovable king-sized bed!
We had a wonderful trip, and learned a lot about ourselves and the boat. Most of all, we appreciate having our cottage-in-the-woods to have some time away from the boat as well. We loved the journey – the ups and downs – and the adventure of exploring the sunset coast of Lake Michigan! 🌅
Total details for our Summer Sailing Trip up the Sunset Coast of Lake Michigan:
- 5 legs at 5 different harbors and 2 new ones that took 9 days
- 297.3 nm
- 46 hours and 45 minutes out on the lake
- 48.0 total engine hours (no actual sailing was done – only motoring from port to port!)
