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Western Michigan Cruise
2004 |
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The 2004 cruise was the first that we have taken on First Look our Pearson 31. My son James and his wife Lida joined us for the first week and Kathy and I planned to sail on our own for the second week. We picked the weekend of the Mac Race to start since slip availability is better on the south end of Lake Michigan with the boats all going north. Our plan was to leave on the Saturday evening and sail overnight to New Buffalo Michigan. From Waukegan, our home port, the trip was approximately 64 nautical miles. We then intended to take our time going up the Michigan coast. We had visited New Buffalo last year in Pipers Dream and Kathy and I enjoyed the town and the municipal marina. The marina at New Buffalo now takes reservations which means that you are not at risk of finding a place to tie up.
We go underway at 2300 CDT after a nice dinner at the Waukegan Yacht Club. The wind was 10-15 out of the northeast with 1-3 foot seas. While overcast, our course took us past Chicago and the city lights provided all the illumination that we needed. By dawn, the winds had dropped and we were forced to motor sail the rest of the way, arriving at New Buffalo at about 1300 EDT. The entire crew had a touch of seasickness with the building beam seas and we were all glad to see the harbor entrance. The harbor has a reputation for being shallow but we had no difficulty with the channel. The municipal marina is along the south side of the river and all the slips are for transients. The facilities are clean and well maintained and the staff very helpful. Joe and Marge Daddino, friends of ours from work, were vacationing in New Buffalo and we had a great dinner ashore at their vacation home. |
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| First Look at the Municipal Marina New Buffalo |
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| The following morning we got underway for a short hop up to Saint Joseph. The winds remained out of the north and we motor sailed to get in early to ensure that we could get a slip at the municipal marina. The Saint Joseph Municipal Marina does not take reservations but we did not have difficulty in getting a slip. The marina is on the north bank of the river just after entering the harbor and is well protected. We pulled into the fuel pier and requested a slip assignment and had the choice of several. The marina is close to a swimming beach and is an easy walk to downtown (if you do not get lost and take the long-cut as we did). Saint Joseph has a number of nice restaurants and shops and we enjoyed an early evening stroll and dinner at the Pump House (good food and very reasonable prices). |
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The Saint Joseph Light at the harbor entrance |
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Fuel pier in the municipal marina |
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On to page 2 |
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