Author: Jackie Schanz

As we arrive into the inlet at Reefpoint Marina in Racine, the visibility has improved, but clouds remain. Reefpoint Marina is another large marina with 921 slips. They have all the amenities you could ask for…heated pool, 2 hot tubs, laundry room, restaurant on site, walking distance of downtown Racine, and even a pizza and…

Southport Marina advertises as “Lake Michigan’s Newest Destination”. The marina doesn’t appear “new”, but It definitely is new to us! They have 435 slips, wonderful amenities, and is within walking distance of downtown restaurants and attractions. Even though Kenosha has a population of approximately 100,000 people, and is situated half way between Chicago and Milwaukee,…

It is a short trip up to Northpoint Marina in Winthrop Harbor. The direct route is roughly 6 miles, but we take advantage of the nice weather and water conditions to travel a bit farther out into Lake Michigan and calibrate the auto pilot. Captain Tom likes everything just “perfect”! The beauty, clarity, and blueness…

We depart Chicago with clear blue skies, drastically different from our arrival day. We leave Chicago’s inner harbor, busy with lots of activities! We enter the outer harbor and pass by the Chicago Harbor Light, which premiered its state of the art engineering marvels at the Chicago’s Worlds Fair in 1893. It was moved to…

Four miles outside of Chicago in Lake Michigan, we pass the 4 mile crib (sensibly named as it is 4 miles off the Chicago lake shore). This is one of nine permanent water cribs that the city of Chicago has built. The purpose of these cribs is to house and protect off shore water intakes…

The calmness ends at Lake Michigan. It is angry today and for 60+ miles we are at its mercy. The small rocky inlet into New Buffalo is intimidating, to say the least, but we make it into the harbor at New Buffalo without any mishaps thankfully. We arrive to our slip in New Buffalo wondering…

Our first journey of the season is a a short one, just 30 miles. We leave Grand Haven around 10 AM. The weather is sunny and cool. Thankfully the lake has calmed down. We don’t have much company except a fishing boat near the inlet to Saugatuck. The inlet is barely discernable from a distance,…

After a long winter in Cincinnati, we are back to Grand Haven to take delivery of Prime 11. It’s June and boating season has begun in Northern Michigan. Mother Nature, however, did not get the memo. It is cold with occasional frost warnings. Despite the chilly weather outlook, Prime 11 has to come out of…

Before long, we are at the entrance of the Grand River leading us into Grand Haven. As it is a great weekend, we decide to spend a few days exploring Grand Haven. We pass by our future winter home for Prime 11 as we head to the Grand Haven Yacht Club. The yacht club members…

We say goodbye to Leland around 9 am and the fish smokehouses are busy doing their thing! Lake Michigan is fairly calm today. We head out into the lake and around the shoals by the North Manitou Shoal Light Station. Since Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state in the US, it is not…