Grand Haven (NOT), Muskegon (NOT), White Lake ?

Surprise, surprise, surprise the forecast was wrong again.  We were off by 8 AM, that is early for us, and the waves were indeed 1 foot.  We started cruising in slo-mo as all looked good.  The winds were not to increase until 5 PM and we would be in Grand Haven by 2 PM, excellent.  About 9:00 I noticed that most of the waves were now 2 ft and that the wind was picking up.  So I picked up my speed, it is only money after all.  About an hour later most of us (ie. we were five boats on this leg) decided to forget Grand Haven and head for Muskegon, 13 miles closer and about 2 hours shorter for the others.  It was only 40 minutes for us but the waves were up again to about 3-4.  By 11:00 we were encountering some 5 footers and Muskegon was still 15 miles away.  By this time we had had enough and spotted the entrance to White Lake.  After a quick check of the books we saw that there were a number of marinas here and a small town adjacent. 

Since the forecast looked bad, really bad for the next couple of days, we chose a marina with a laundry and floating docks to make it easier for us.  As we got close to the Crosswinds Marina it poured, rained cats and dogs for about 5 minutes.  When the down pour slowed we got our slip assignment and then docked ourselves yet again.  This was a little more difficult though; the quarters were tight and the dock was only 40 feet long and it was raining.  For Linda to be able to step off the swim platform I had to bring our bow pulpit over the dock almost to the other side.  We managed and got Q tied down so that we could pay and grab a bite to eat at the marina restaurant.  This marina is basically full of seasonal boaters and just a few transient slips.  The other boaters and the staff here are very friendly and they called a couple of absent boaters to see if they could find a better slip for us knowing that the weather was going to turn ugly.  They found us a 50 ft slip that was better protected from a south wind so we moved, again single handily.  We are becoming quite self sufficient in docking in different scenarios and conditions.  This is a good thing.

Forecast:  LAKE MICHIGAN FROM GRAND HAVEN TO WHITEHALL ...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING....REST OF TODAY...WEST WINDS 15 TO 25 KT INCREASING TO GALES TO 35 KT. CHANCE OF SHOWERS. WAVES 4 TO 7 FT BUILDING TO 8 TO 12 FT....TONIGHT...NORTHWEST GALES TO 35 KT. SHOWERS. WAVES 10 TO 14 FT.

We may be here in the town of Whitehall on White Lake for awhile.  The forecast predicts nothing less than 3-5 foot waves right through Tuesday.  Well if nothing else I can catch up on my updates.