Eastern Shore of Lake Michigan

[dLj]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to post his question, but here goes.

I may have an opportunity to move to Kalamazoo Michigan. I'm looking at the Eastern Shore of Lake Michigan, places like South Haven, St. Joseph, but I really don't know anything about this area. Is there anyone here that knows about marinas, sailing, etc. in this region? If I end up moving to Kalamazoo, I'd sure like to take my boat there. But I don't know anything about that area.

If anyone has any knowledge or advice about sailing, marinas, etc. in that area, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks.

dj

 

[jssailem]

DJ.
Holland, MI is 1hour 3 min from Kalamazoo.
Saugatuck, MI is 1hour 4 min from Kalamazoo.
Both have marinas, supporting communities and accessibility to the Lake.

 

[David in Sandusky]

South Haven is 32 Miles from Kalamazoo, Benton Harbor is 45. Both have yacht clubs and marinas.

 

[Parsons]

Nicer sailing communities on the west coast of Michigan than the east. Michigan state harbors are great, and you can cruise up the east coast to traverse city and mackinaw. Welcome.

 

[justsomeguy]

K'zoo is home to Bell's Brewery.

Isn't that enough?

 

[gettinthere]

Lake Macatawa (Holland) is decent size if you want to get off the dock when the big lake is angry.
Saugatuck is more cosmopolitan than Holland, tho Holland is nice.
A friend drives up from Indiana to his boat in Holland, bypassing Saugatuck. Hmmm.

 

[DougM]

If you don’t mind driving a bit further north both Muskegon and White Lake have ample sailing facilities. They are big enough that when Lake Michigan is in one of its moods, you can still sail on the smaller lakes.
Both lakes have dockage and boat yards that can handle maintenance and winter storage.

 

[DayDreamer41]

Lake Michigan is a beauty and a beast as you may have gathered by previous posts, a very large lake with its 300 mile length orientated mostly with the prevailing winds allowing for very large wave action. St Joseph, South Haven, Grand Haven all have wonderful facilities. As others have mentioned if you go to Muskegon or Holland they have inland lakes connected to the big lake which allow for sailing days where the big lake would be of a great challenge. The West coast of Michigan has lots of places to sail to for weekending or further for the longer trips.

 

[dLj]

Thank you everyone. All great tips and advice. Its looking to me like a bit further north seems better for me. I currently drive 4 hours one way to Lake Champlain from my house to my boat, just about anywhere up is less of a drive than that from Kzoo...

The Great Lakes are fantastic, all of them. I went to college in Madison WI and spent a summer up in Door county with my kayak at that time. I am definitely aware that Michigan can get mighty fierce...

Another question sort of related to this. I'm looking at sailing my boat from Champlain to Michigan. Anybody have thoughts on which way would be better? I could go north to the St. Lawrence and then through the major shipping channels of the Great Lakes to Michigan, or I could go south and through the canals of New York and over. I'm going to have to do that trip in multiple steps as I won't have enough vacation time to do it in one shot. Not sure which way may be better. Any thoughts on that would also be welcome.

dj

 

[DayDreamer41]

I think I would just bite the bullet and truck it across to Lake Michigan or at least to Lake Erie and then sail from there, just my humble opinion. From the East end of Lake Erie to Grand Rapids is about 850 miles at least 60 of those miles are against a 5 kt current, plus the 300+ miles up the Erie canal, would be a wonderful trip and I plan to do this in the next couple of years once I retire. My wife and I are considering a move to Connecticut about 20 minutes from the mouth of the Connecticut river.

 

[BrianH]

Dj,
Your actual route may depend on where you would feel most comfortable leaving your boat since you said you have to do it in stages. Also, the logistics of how to get to and from your boat may be challenging. One more thing to consider is goingthe St. Lawrence Seaway is that you will have to check into Canada (usually not a big deal) and back into the U.S. once you are through the Welland Canal (can be a pain, depending on the reporting agent).

Though the prospect of the adventure of the trip is exciting, I am more inclined to go with DayDreamer41's advice and truck it. Save your vacation time for exploring your new home.

 

[jssailem]

Save your vacation time for exploring your new home.

Or quit work and do both.

 

[gettinthere]

Going upstream on the Welland Canal requires 3 crew but you won't have to unstep your mast.

 

[dLj]

Going upstream on the Welland Canal requires 3 crew but you won't have to unstep your mast.

I'll have to unstep my mast no matter what way I go. If I go north to the St. Lawrence, have to unstep mast, if I go south to the canal, have to unstep mast, if I truck it, I have to unstep mast. I can take the Eire canal and go all the way across New York and go into Erie in Buffalo... Then I don't have to do the Welland Canal and I can restep my mast in Buffalo and then head onwards...

Or quit work and do both.

From your lips to Gods ears! May I have the economic good fortune to do just that!

I think I would just bite the bullet and truck it across to Lake Michigan or at least to Lake Erie and then sail from there, just my humble opinion. From the East end of Lake Erie to Grand Rapids is about 850 miles at least 60 of those miles are against a 5 kt current, plus the 300+ miles up the Erie canal, would be a wonderful trip and I plan to do this in the next couple of years once I retire. My wife and I are considering a move to Connecticut about 20 minutes from the mouth of the Connecticut river.

I think in this case, I would simply sell the boat where it is and look for another one in Michigan. The cost of shipping overland is just too much. I don't think my boat is worth the money to ship it. Where are the 5 Kt currents? Good grief, I understand my boat only goes 6 to 7 knots tops... Maybe I'm wrong on that point... 60 miles at 1 Kt... that's 60 hours... That does not sound like fun... So you are going to be able to sail on Long Island sound - lovely place to sail!

dj

 

[gettinthere]

I've run the Detroit and St Clair rivers. They typically have a current of around 2 to 3 knots. The worst place is the mouth of the St Clair river at Lake Huron where it does run around 4 to 5 knots but the trick is to stay VERY close to the Canadian side and you can avoid that. There is even a counter current for part of that stretch just below the bridge. It's wicked for about 2 miles.

 

[DayDreamer41]

@gettinthere you must have had some local coaching on that advice, I keep our boat in the Black River which is just West of the St Clair River's mouth and yes there is some heavy duty current there, not to mention some very scary swirling eddies under the Bluewater bridge. I have a buddy that brought his Baveria 46 up from the East end of Lake St Clair it took them more than 7 hours motoring against the current in the North channel / St Clair River around Harsen's island (40 miles) to Port Huron. But you are correct the worst current is running 4-5 at the mouth of the river, just for kicks when I have guests aboard just West on of the bridge closer to the Canadian side I will adjust motor RPM to have the Sapphire achieve 0 SOG, the look on their faces when I tell them it will only be a couple more hours to get out to the lake, when you can see the lake is only 500 yards further.

 

[Siamese]

I'm very happy to be living adjacent to the best marina in Muskegon, which incidentally, is the best sailing city on the Eastern shore of Lake Michigan. No fibbing.

Holland may be the 2nd best, but not nearly as nice as Muskegon. Muskegon Lake is a much better sailing lake than Holland's Lake Macatawa. I spent summers on our family boat on Lake Macatawa back in the 50's. Plenty of shallow water there. Family kept boat in Grand Haven in the 60's and 70's. I lived in South Haven for a couple years in the 80's. My recent visit to South Haven to visit the maritime museum revealed that South Haven is a much nicer town now than it was in the 80's, but that does nothing to change the fact that there is no inland lake in SH. It's Lake Michigan, or nuthin'. At about five miles long, and deep water, Muskegon Lake is a nice place to sail when the big lake won't accommodate. I have a slip at Harbor Towne Marina, which is the closest marina to the channel to Lake Michigan. The slips are all condo slips, but many of them are available as a seasonal rental, anywhere from $1900 to $2300 or so.

Grand Haven is a nice town, but again, it's pretty much Lake Michigan or nuthin'. They have Spring Lake there, but it's not really accessible to cruising sailboats.

White Lake is nice, but has a lot more shallow areas than Muskegon. May be a little more expensive, too.

The drive from Kalamazoo to Muskegon is considerably more than the drive to South Haven, unfortunately. I haven't checked, but I suspect that slip fees will be considerably less in Muskegon than South Haven. Muskegon is pretty much the cheapest place to keep a boat on the eastern shore.

Torresen Marina specializes in sailboat repair and has a deservedly good reputation. I use them to haul and store my boat. Driving further north than Muskegon to Pentwater or Ludington would make no sense. Nice towns, but not as good for sailing, and a considerably longer drive.

 

[DayDreamer41]

Nice response @Siamese we purchased our boat out of the Harbor Town Marina and Torrensen did the haul out for the survey, if we were on the West side of the state that is where I would want to keep our boat, very nice facility A1! we did our sea test in Muskegon Lake and then went out to the big lake to do an anchor deployment in about 3 ft waves.

 

[dLj]

Great info Siamese! Muskegon is not too far from Kzoo. If I end up out in Michigan for work, I'll be looking there.

dj

 

[Tally Ho]

I purchased a boat from a seller on Lake Macatawa. The lake has a lot of very shallow areas that need to be avoided. When we brought the boat home ( I am at the East Chicago, IN marina), we stopped at South Haven and got a slip on the river for the night...nice little town, but the public slip area was not much to write home about. We rocked and rolled all night it seemed.

But sailing Lake Michigan is a real treat! No salt water to corrode things, and I can get far enough out to feel like I am on the ocean. No sharks either !

Greg