Marina Cruise info Pentwater MI. & South?

Escapade

Escapade

Well-Known Member
SILVER Sponsor
Jan 10, 2007
1,262
Lake Michigan
Boat Info
44 Sundancer
Engines
QSC500
We are five Sea Rays+ looking forward to Pentwater, MI and South for a cruise this summer. We are browsing our cruising guides and plan to get Reservations in place this January for an August trip. We have been to Ludington and places North and need to discover Pentwater and places South. We Family cruisers looking for best recommendations on Marinas, Places of interest ( Parks Music History ect.), best casual dining, oh and did I mention shopping. Any tips on dinghy exploration, best beach spots, cheap fuel, and kid stuff to do. We plan on being in Michigan the first 10 days of August and will require a minimum of five slips 44-38'. We generally like a few days in a port to learn and discover. As usual, We truly appreciate your input!
Mike
 
I would recommend starting in Grand Haven. Stay at the Municipal Marina right at the edge of downtown shopping and restaurants. The annual Coast Guard festival is July 30- Aug 8 so slips will likely be unavailable at that time. A very popular boating week....fireworks, carnival, etc. Beach on Lake Mich is very nice here and there are areas both N and S of the piers where anchoring near shore is a popular activity. The Grand River is navigable for many miles and Spring Lake is nearby so dinghy trips are great.
Another good shopping port is Saugatuck. Nice little cruise up the Kalamazoo River. Try to get into Singapore Yacht Club or Seargents Marina (Coral Gables facilities are very run down). Lots of shops and restauarants.
South Haven is also a short walk to downtown and the beach. A long dinghy ride up the river is a lot of fun here. Cool skate park for kids at the beach. Again, the municipal marina is a good choice.
Have a great trip.
We plan to hit Milwaukee again this summer as well. Nice marina and just a short trip across the lake. Any recomendations you have would be appreciated.
 
Sum, when are you heading up Milwaukee? We went up there for summerfest and had a great time, plan on doing it again in 2010.
 
Barefoot
Let us guys on R Dock know too.
We might be interested in tagging along.

I also know a few of the guys on M Dock are looking to travel this summer too.
Last year just never worked out for many overnight trips.

Dan
 
Hey,
Don't forget the Illinois Waterway is the Corp doesn't have to close it because of Michigan's Attorney General. Come up the Calumet Sag Canal into the Des Plains River. Morris, Seneca and Ottawa have a lot to offer. Then head back up the Chicago and Ship Canal and cruise through downtown Chicago and you are back in the big pond again.:thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
320Bob said:
In that case I'll have to pull the old Drum Major outfit out of moth balls!!:smt043
Click to expand...


Hmmm... Ahhh...

I'm not really sure I need to see that outfit.

But if you do, maybe you can borrow one of TurtleTone's hats!!

And we will make a video of it.

Dan
 
Sum Escape & all- Here is some info on Milwaukee-
Milwaukee’s main transient marina’s are McKinley Marina, Lake Shore State Park, & Discovery World Pier Wisconsin. McKinley is a large full service marina 15-20 minute walk from the festival grounds. Lakeshore State Park and Discovery World Pier Wisconsin are adjacent to the grounds and have Electric only. All are newer floating docks. Summerfest Rocks! 11 day Music festival, fully accessible by boat. 10 of the 11 music stages are included in ticket price. There are free or discount promotions each day. The first night (June 24th ) has the “ Big Bang Fire works” display. This is best viewed at the docks of Lake Shore State park or at anchor in the Milwaukee inner harbor. A close second and third summer festival is Festa Itlaiana & Irishfest. Next to Summerfest is the Discovery World ( Great for Kids and adults ) with interactive exhibits from Les Paul to engineering plus a great aquarium. Each week they have outdoor music and family Movies. Fridays they have out door fish fries. Opening this summer next to the discovery world is a Seafood restaurant. A block away is the Milwaukee art Museum and across the street is the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum. The Milwaukee Air Show is hosting the Blue Angles this year June 11-13 over the water. The harbor basin is fed by several boat able rivers. The Milwaukee River has free dockage to bars / restaurants, a multi tenant public market w/ great food vendors from bakeries, butchers, fruit / veggies and restaurants. The river is also a good dinghy trip. Rip Tides ( Drinks better than their food.), River front Pizza, Milwaukee Ale House, Water Buffalo’s, and Rock Bottom to name a few. Rumor has it the Harley museum is putting in a small pier. A 15 minute walk north of the marina is the outstanding Bartolotta’s Northpoint Custard & Burger stand and a few minutes north is Bradford beach w/ snacks, food, & cocktails. Best areas for rafting off of are in front of Summerfest and inside Summerfest Lagoon. Our favorite is White Fish Bay’s Sandy Beach. Please feel free to reply or drop me a PM for more detail. Stop by for a cold one! - Mike
 
Wife and I are interested in making the crossing from Grand Haven to Milwaukee this coming summer. I have a son that lives there and we talked about making the trip for the Summerfest activities. We'd be very interested in taging along with another boater or group. We only have a 230CC buy given decent weather conditions would consider making the crossing. It appears to be about 81 miles and at crusing speed of 25-30 mph, I figure we could make it in 4-5 hours or less. Is this a rediculus goal in a boat our size? Definately would not attempt it alone but with another boater for safety, it seams it ought to be doable. Any thoughts?

Bill & Becky
 
Escapade,
Thanks for the great info. We may PM you this summer if we do get a chance to cruise on over. If you get to Grand Haven, let us know, we are just across the channel from the municipal marina and can dinghy over with some cold ones! Have a great 2010!
 
CaptianWilly said:
Wife and I are interested in making the crossing from Grand Haven to Milwaukee this coming summer. I have a son that lives there and we talked about making the trip for the Summerfest activities. We'd be very interested in taging along with another boater or group. We only have a 230CC buy given decent weather conditions would consider making the crossing. It appears to be about 81 miles and at crusing speed of 25-30 mph, I figure we could make it in 4-5 hours or less. Is this a rediculus goal in a boat our size? Definately would not attempt it alone but with another boater for safety, it seams it ought to be doable. Any thoughts?

Bill & Becky
Click to expand...
Not impossible, but the weather will have to cooperate and you may need to exercise a lot of patience waiting for the right day to cross. Remember, on your way to Milwaukee, chances are the waves will be on your bow and with a 23 you will want it pretty calm. Return trip should be a following sea. Another boat to travel with is an excellent idea. Throw out a posting a few days in advance of your trip and good luck!
 
Captain Willy-
There are quite a few that cross in vessels of same size. They do organize and travel in groups. The problem is the lake or even just areas of the lake can easily TURN in three hours or less. Two things related to weather that may be of interest. One, Mid Lake Data buoy. You can call for info and look up on the net for current conditions at Mid lake. The best tool we have is "Sirius Weather". We see real time weather plus forecasts for virtually anywhere. Safe travels!
 
Scott get a hold of Snug Harbor in Pentwater. Its a nice place and the people are friendly plus they have fuel. Sometimes they take a group and raft them off. They also have a lot of slips. The town is about a 3 minute walk from the Marina. Its quaint and quieter than a lot of the ports and a good place to relax. As far as Saugatuck goes get a hold of the Singapore Yacht Club or Sargents Marina and try to get docks at either one. My guess is between the two places you could all stay on the Saugatuck side and be downtown. Its more fun when you do not have to ride the Interurban bus. My boat is at Sargents. Call Spark and get on the list as we do have transint docks. WE also have a fuel dock for gas and diesel. Send me a PM if you need more information Scott.

John
 
Thank you all for the great information. We've been out 20+ miles off Grand Haven fishing. The boat is well set up with everything but radar but a quick check of the weather conditions and an early morning start sound like a good idea. We made the trip back from Grand Haven to South Haven one morning and the lake was so flat the clouds in the sky reflected like a mirror (it was beautiful).

I lived on the Milwaukee side most of my life so I do know how quickly the lake can change. Ought to be relatively easy to to pick a day that there is a good 5-6 hour window though and make the run...but again...with another boater. Do any of you log a 'flight plan' with someone at the marina prior to leaving. I know when we went out of McKinnly Marina in Milwaukee we would leave our destination and approximate return time with the harbor master. If he didn't hear from us within a couple hours of our 'plan'...they start investigating. Many times we'd just motor up to Port Washington and stay the night but always called the Harbor Master to inform we arrived safely. They always seemed respectful that we did that.

Only time I've been across the lake was with a buddy of mine that had a 38' Cigarette with 3 502's. Damn thing would do 85 without even breaking a sweat and he had the notion to make the run across just because he could. Glad I wasn't paying for fuel but the lake was dead flat and we made it in a little over an hour. Never really noticed any change in the water mid way but at that speed it was tough to notice much of anything.

Thanks again to all...looking forward to maybe meeting some of you this coming summer. I'll post when we are coming up and maybe make some new acqaintences. Michigan is our favorite location for boating. Never at a loss for things to do or people to meet. Boaters are definately the friendliest people! :thumbsup:

Bill & Becky
 
Bill-
Regarding notifying the harbormaster. We generally let them know of our vacancy but, due to our flexibility and cruising in a pack give no destinations. Although we do make reservations we keep options open. If the forecast is poor we might check status at the next port and run early or take an additional day. In retrospect it does sound like a good idea to copy the harbormaster on the itinerary. Mike
 
Thanks Mike & Scott for the good suggestions. Thats the value of a forum like this to learn from the experience of all you seasoned boaters. Hope to see you on the lake sometime this coming summer!

Bill
 
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