This post may contain affiliate links*
Our Summer Home
When we were searching for a boat to buy, Kyle was looking all over but we were fortunate that we found SV Zeke E Boy in the Great Lakes. Although it was a tough 3-day journey to bring her home to New Buffalo harbor, it could’ve been much farther. And we were also glad that she has always been in freshwater.
When we first saw her, I was overwhelmed and thought it was too big of a boat – especially for our 1st one on the Great Lakes. But we reasoned that we could spend time fixing her up and not continue to get a new boat every few years …
After just 1 season, I’m starting to feel more comfortable on the boat. I still get butterflies in my stomach when we leave the dock – mostly because we are big and draft 5’2″. This is deeper than most boats on the Great Lakes, and especially compared to power boats going in and out of the New Buffalo harbor.
The Harbor
New Buffalo is the southernmost marina in Michigan on the eastern coast of Lake Michigan, so there is A LOT of boat traffic – especially from jet ski and ski boat rentals plus there are ~1,000 boats docked in the various marinas tied to the harbor. There are a few sailboats, but powerboats and fishing boats are the overwhelming majority.
New Buffalo is mostly a spring / summer / early fall tourist destination with many people traveling to second homes, condos and boats from Chicago, South Bend, Indianapolis and other nearby Midwest towns.
Sailboats getting stuck
Unfortunately for us, the only downside to the New Buffalo Harbor is its narrow entrance and depth. In the last 3 weeks we’ve seen at least 5 sailboats get stuck at the harbor entrance! We do not want that to happen to us.
Thankfully, this was not SV Zeke E Boy stuck in the harbor. Although it was a beautiful sunset, we felt horrible for these 2 sailors coming home. Luckily, they were able to power through without needing a tow.
History
Earlier this year, I read a book on the history of New Buffalo, Michigan. The harbor was founded by Wessel D. Whittaker, a sea captain from Buffalo, New York. He had dreams to make the New Buffalo Harbor, the grandest shipping harbor on Lake Michigan. In 1834, his schooner, Post Boy, ran aground during a storm near the present-day village of Grand Beach, a housing community just south of New Buffalo. The ship was destroyed, but he and his crew survived and hiked back to New Buffalo. He immediately bought the land and traveled home to Buffalo, New York to get more investors for the area.
Unfortunately, Whittaker’s dreams were never completely realized as Chicago and other harbors on Lake Michigan grew larger and more populous than New Buffalo. Currently, the harbor entrance is maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers for “primarily recreational navigational interests”; it is not large enough for a lot of commercial traffic.
Dredging
In order to keep the harbor maintained and matching with the official harbor map, it requires dredging every 1 – 2 years. They finally started dredging in late August this year, and from the rumors at the marina, it was delayed because there was an issue submitting the permits on time. I’m trying not to complain because it is sorely needed; however, this is the best time of year for sailing and the harbor entrance is already very small – especially for us so we’ve been hesitant to sail these last 2 weeks.
I think we’re just being overly cautious because we had an incident in late August where we couldn’t enter the harbor because the pipes were floating in the entrance. We had to turn around in the narrowest part and wait about an hour before we could come back in and dock our boat. I’ve talked with other sailors at our marina who are fearless. They draft deeper and still go out – even during weekend holiday traffic! One in particular said, “oh, other boats will just move out of the way when we’re coming in…” Someday, we may be that brave too!
The Marina
Once we get past the New Buffalo harbor entrance, the marina where we are renting is very nice. There’s a long stretch of water where Kyle navigates as slow as possible, and I’m getting the boat ready to dock, and enjoying the views of incredible boats, condos and houses. We are also fortunate that our specific dock is near the end so we have a large area to turn around and get lined up properly. It’s helped us get used to the boat and learn how to maneuver in tight spaces.
The Facilities
The marina has separate Men’s and Women’s shower rooms with shower stalls, hair dryers (in the women’s) and several bathroom stalls. It’s a very nice facility. There is on-site, professional management that maintains the facility – docks, lawn care, pool and hot tub as well as a common indoor room that can be rented for parties with a TV, microwave, fridge and more. There’s also a fish cleaning station that we will use as soon as we do some catching with our fishing 🎣.
The People
Kyle & I have met so many friendly folks at the marina this year. There’s usually someone available and willing to help us dock the boat. And although there’s mostly power boaters, the other sailors in the marina are extremely helpful and always willing to provide advice – especially when figuring out how to navigate the channel / harbor entrance.
Our boat slip is at the end of 1 of the docks so it often takes 20 – 30 minutes just to get back because we stop to talk to everyone along the way.
Howdy, Neighbor 👋
Our specific slip neighbors have been incredibly friendly to us this season. They are willing to share meals, umbrellas, chairs, etc. We couldn’t have asked for a better summer boating experience this year. If the harbor entrance is better maintained, it would be a no-brainer to stay at this marina for a very long time – we may even consider buying a dock in the long run!
The Town
New Buffalo is a small beach community in the Harbor Country of southwest Michigan, aka Lake Michigan Sunset Coast. It’s a popular resort town due to the location on the Lake Michigan shoreline and proximity to Chicago. Amtrak provides three trains per day at the New Buffalo station, which drops off very close to the New Buffalo municipal marina.
Food & Drinks 🍺
Of course, the most popular restaurant is The Stray Dog. There’s often a line waiting for it to open. Kyle & I also enjoy Casey’s Bar & Grill in New Buffalo, but there’s lots of other restaurants in town or close by.
Recently, we ate at Beer Church Brewing Co., and the Wagyu Beef Pastrami wood-fire sandwich was amazing!
Ice Cream
Lately, a favorite tradition after a day on the water and a meal on the boat is to walk to either Nancy’s or Oinks 🐷 to share a hot fudge sundae while walking to the New Buffalo beach and enjoying a beautiful sunset.
Tell us what you think
Let us know what you think of New Buffalo, Michigan by sharing your feedback in the comments below. Do you have any favorite restaurants or traditions that we need to try? We’d love to hear from you!
– Kara from Zeke Life
Live like Zeke
You’re such a good boy!
