Days 128 – 132: Sept 28 – Oct 2. After spending a couple days in Holland, MI when we returned from our whirlwind 2 week trip away from the boat (see previous post), we left Holland for South Haven, MI on Thursday, 9/28 – a 3 hour run with less than 5 knot winds and flat seas. We welcomed the 65-70 degree weather and clear skies after spending an extra day in Holland due to rain and no room for us in South Haven or St. Joe. As we get closer to Chicago and the re-opening of the locks on the Illinois River, the loopers are stacking up in the marinas around Chicago making finding a slip much more difficult. Fortunately, we have reciprocity from the Annapolis Yacht Club with the Chicago Yacht Club and have a reservation there, so we know we have a place to go in Chicago.
South Haven was another quaint Michigan waterfront town with a vibrant Main Street, farmers market and very nice clubhouse and facilities at the municipal marina. We enjoyed the Michigan Maritime Museum on Friday morning and it’s excellent display and history of steam ships, pleasure and working, from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. As World War 1 ended (1914 – 1918), it was a time of relative prosperity, disposable income and the growing middle class. Steam ships with various classes of state rooms offered cruises on the Great Lakes. These ships offered elaborate dining rooms, dance halls, games, and more. The roaring 20’s saw couples and families cruising the Great Lakes in luxury for weeks at a time or seeking out destinations like Mackinac Island, Thousand Islands or other resort towns on the coast. The Great Depression (1929 – 1941), mass produced automobiles, the expansion of the rail system and WWII all contributed to the demise of the luxury steam ship era with many out and out scrapped, but some converted to working boats such as tugs or even air craft carriers. It was a very cool museum with interesting interactive way of telling their story. We left there and found a local water front restaurant called Captain Lou’s where the fish and shrimp tacos were excellent and the decor….. well just a bit odd! See pic below.
There were 14 or 15 looper boats in South Haven, most who we had not met. We enjoyed appetizers and docktails with them on Friday night and collected many new boat cards! Since we hadn’t yet had a chance to enjoy the downtown area, we stayed one more day on Saturday, which was a beautiful sunny 75 degree day – a bit unusual for Michigan at the end of September.
The weather forecast for the next several days was unseasonably warm with nearly flat seas on Lake Michigan and little/no wind. With the Michigan ports to our south getting more and more crowded with Looper boats and a perfect day to cross Lake Michigan to Milwaukee, we “called an audible” and decided on a change of plan. We ditched the idea of continuing south to St. Joe’s and then Michigan City and decided to set out to Milwaukee instead. Milwaukee was about an 8.5 hour run west and slightly north. We figured we’d spend a couple days there and head down the Wisconsin coast instead of the Michigan coast to Chicago, arriving around 10/7. We had been informed that the locks would not open as planned on 10/1 and would be delayed by 5 days, so we had time. Our flotilla would now be scheduled to pass through all 3 locks on 10/14 instead of 10/9.
We were up and out early on Sunday, leaving South Haven around 8:00 am eastern time and arriving in Milwaukee around 3:30 Central time. This was the first time we were truly out of sight of land for several hours, but the conditions were ideal. We took on about 800 gallons of fuel in Milwaukee, then anchored just south of South Side Yacht Club to enjoy a leisurely dinner and quiet evening.
Monday morning we headed north to McKinlay Marina, which is walking distance to downtown, where we had a reservation. We were disappointed to learn that both the Milwaukee Museum of Art and the Miller Brewery (where you can get a tour) are closed on Monday and Tuesday…. Dang! So we opted for the Harley Davidson Museum and lunch at the Public Market.
Very cool museum (John Zierhoffer would have LOVED it!). Gary clearly loved the Hogs; I liked the history of the business with the ups and downs in quality, ownership and customer experience! The Museum had an amazing display of over 400 motor bikes/motorcycles starting from the first Harley Davidson built in 1903 in a 10 x 15 shed. Willian Harley and Arthur Davidson started the company with 2 other Davidson brothers: Walter and William. Harley Davidson is the only remaining motor cycle company in the US.
Tomorrow, it’s lunch with a CIO friend of Carol’s who lives in Milwaukee, then the Brewers game against the Diamond Backs – Wildcard game for the National League. Wednesday looks like good weather to head down the coast – destination Racine, WI.
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