AquaFennatic Great Loop Blog: Ludington MI to Grand Haven MI

Aug 27^th – It was a rainy morning with thunderstorm warnings throughout the day. The Ludington anchorage was getting a little choppy and the mine close by made noise all night long thus we decided to travel a short distance (15 miles) for another anchorage. The winds were blowing off-shore thus it made for a calm run from Ludington to Pentwater MI. We anchored in the bay across from a number of marinas. Later in the day 3 Canadian Looper boats pulled in. We already met Pat and Lynn from “Adamant I” in Gore Bay and they introduced us to two other boats with them: Michael and Rene of “Sea Mist” as well as Harley and Janice from “Folly”. We went for docktails on Adamant I with the crews of the other boats and enjoyed their company. We then returned to our boat trying to decide what our next move will be. This type of trip really keeps you on your toes. You always have to research your options and ensure the weather is good enough to make a move. You always need to have a Plan B just in case Plan A doesn’t work.

Aug 28^th – It was a sunny day with moderate winds that became light during the day. We left our Pentwater anchorage in the morning to head for Grand Haven MI which was about a 57 mile trip. It was a following sea most of the way and I was traveling at 18 mph which was a perfect speed for the waves ... in my mind I was singing a Beach Boys tune ... “Everybody was surfing, surfing USA”. When we got to Grand Haven I could not believe the number of boats on the water ... there were hundreds of boats moving up and down the river. We found a free dock that we tied to with some other Loopers and spent some time people watching. We went for a walk to check things out and then met up with Canadian Loopers Henri and Kathy from “Kiddy Kat” for dinner at the Snug Harbour restaurant. When we got to the restaurant there was a massive line, however it was for a corn dog place beside the restaurant that someone told us is very popular with the folks here. In the evening, Grand Haven has a musical fountain light show that we watched and seemed to be popular with the crowd.

Aug 29^th – It was a sunny hot day with no winds. We decided to stay in Grand Haven since we’re really enjoying the area and there are a large number of Loopers here. We went for a walk into town, up along the beach and then went swimming in the lake. The water was Exxxcellent! It was one of the most beautiful beaches we’ve ever been at and it was quite busy for a Monday. We met a Canadian Looper, Dan & Kathy from “Odyessey”, that we’ve met years ago in Killbear park in Georgian Bay. What a small world! They offered us a cold one while we discussed our mutual connections and we finally figured out that we also met them while we were all anchored in Killbear during cocktail hour in the water around a blue floating serving area that belonged to friends of ours, Gary & Lynn. After our get together with Odyessey we went to visit other Canadian Loopers, Henri & Kathy on “Kiddy Kat”, since they invited us by for a drink earlier in the day. For those of you missing the monkey in our photos ... Maria says to you that he’s a “pain in the ass” to carry around!