2023 – Trip 24

Notable Places, Experiences & Events

We broke our #1 rule that we set for ourselves, no drinking 24 hours before sailing, but it turned out the South winds slowed down early in the morning, and the North winds calmed the waves … so we felt God was telling us to go!  

Before we left we took an hour-long walk from the marina to visibly look at the lake.  Yes, we can look at the data or webcam online, but it’s just nice to see it live to build our confidence.  Plus a morning walk is good exercise because if we leave we’ll be sitting the whole day.  Wind, waves and lake look good – let’s go!

We had 2 dock hands help us leave, and Kyle was especially nervous about the North winds so he asked them to hold the bow tight until we turn.  We backed out and things were looking good so they threw the lines on … unfortunately, we didn’t quite have flow yet, so we started turning the wrong way.  I didn’t have the boat hook near me, but I was able to push our boat away from the neighbors Sea Ray (that was sticking out from their dock).  We hit (bumped) anchors, and didn’t get tangled, but now we’re turned the wrong way!  Of course, there’s people watching asking if they can help … I should’ve said protect your boat, but I just said No I think he’ll just turn around.  Kyle was able to do a very tight loopty-loo without hitting any other boats!  We loved the marina and would definitely stop there again, but between being the stinky boat and the out-of-control boat, I’m not sure if they’ll let us!

Because we left a little bit later, we knew we could be fighting daylight – depending on what happens throughout the day … I called the Ludington Marina to make sure we could still check-in and get bathroom / wifi codes.  They were open until 8 pm – very nice!  Our calculation was to get us there between 5 – 7 pm.

Once again, not too memorable on the lake – except we passed and were passed by a lot of boats coming and going.  We hugged the shore the whole way, and it was really fun to see all of the houses.  I think that you could walk along the sandy shore beaches all the way from Muskegon to Ludington!  

Once we passed Little Sable Lighthouse, it was really fun to see the vehicles driving on Silver Lake State Park.  They looked like beetles and ants crawling all over the dunes.

The last 2 hours seemed to crawl by, but fortunately, the wind died down.  Right as we were about to pull into the Ludington harbor entrance, the engine starts revving down … oh no, not again!  C’mon little guy – keep running!  

There was a line of boats coming out of the harbor – including 2 sailboats with sails up.  What would we do if we lost the engine?!?  Time to get a plan together … 

Another miracle happened because SV Zeke E Boy kept chugging along until we got to our dock.  As we were pulling up, a dock hand from the fuel dock asked if we needed help docking – perfect timing.  YES!  

Once again, the docks aren’t super well marked, so we had to squint and ask which dock was which.  Kyle had a brain-fart, and couldn’t figure out how to get to the even-side of the dock … uh, you gotta go around.  We were all set up to dock on the left, but as we were pulling up, Kara realized that we were actually docking on the right.  Fortunately, she tied up a spring line on that side just in case.  

Kyle navigated us perfectly and we pulled in with no problems.  Whew, that was exhausting.  We tied up and checked in.  A warm shower and clean clothes never felt so good.

We made it to our destination!  What an accomplishment!  Ever since we scouted all of the marinas along the Lake Michigan sunset coast last spring, we knew we wanted to come to Ludington.  We’ve been enjoying Ludington Bay Brewing Co. Summer Fling beer all summer, so of course that where we headed for dinner and a cold one!  Cheers 🍻