Pentwater, MI

A new strategy for this leg of the journey: the other Loopers left in the morning battling some 3-4 footers meaning that there were some that were even bigger.  Since the forecast called for the winds to diminish to 10-15 and to veer to the northeast (ie. better for us who are on the east side of Lake Mich and heading south) we decided to wait until after lunch to make our move.  We did have a good lunch and we actually ate near noon for a change instead of our usual 2 PM arrival time.  The wind dropped a little but was still basically coming out of the west (ie. not good).  We decided to leave port; clearing the breakwall was awful, and the waves were still up and hitting us pretty much on the beam.  For my non-boating fans, waves on the beam or side of the boat cause the boat to roll from side to side as well as go up and down the waves.  It is like being shook from side to side while riding a bucking bronco.  I was not going to prolong this abuse.  I let Q go and we did the 38 miles in about 2 hours beating the other boats to Pentwater by almost an hour.  Well, there went the savings from the reduced dockage rates at Manistee.

Another deviation.... since we were acting so independently today, we called the Pentwater Yacht Club to see if they accepted transients from other yacht clubs.  For those who are not aware, Linda and I are members of the Thousand Islands Yacht Club.  In deference to my friends at Westport, I try to keep this fact low key so that I am not shunned.....again.  Anyway the Manager was very pleasant and welcomed us to use their dock.  I was assured that there was power and that the kitchen and bar would be glad to see us.   We pulled up to the dock where a couple of people were sitting.  Nobody got up to assist us so Linda and I managed to dock the boat ourselves, looking quite like we knew what we were doing.  After tying up, I searched without success for some power outlets.  I went inside and there were quite a large number of people sitting and wandering around but no office manager.  I lined up at the bar to ask a few questions but never got to the front as people kept cutting in front of me.  I was not getting a warm feeling so we left and headed for the municipal marina.  I noticed while passing the other slips at the yacht club that none of the boats had power connected to them.  I guess having power means that the lights are on in the building???

The town of Pentwater was much more friendly.  There were plenty of touristy shops, bars and ice cream parlours.  The biggest surprise was the dinner we had at the Village Cafe with another couple.  The waiter was great; friendly, outgoing, witty and helpful.  Linda ordered the cafe's special caesar.  Instead of a celery stick or pickle it had 4 large shrimp on the rim.  The cafe had some rather unique menu items as well and the food was delicious. 

A couple of glasses of wine in front of the boats as a nightcap and we were ready to retire early so that we could get an early start the next morning.  The forecast said the waves would be 1 foot or less building to 3-5 in the evening.  We decided to go for Grand Haven about 60 miles; should be a piece of cake in 1 foot seas.