Just in case you are wondering or confused, our blog is a few days behind where we actually are at any given point in time. I need time to sort through photos, download them, write a post and finally have internet to be able to post it online.

So, on Tuesday June 16th after our crossing of Lake Michigan, we arrived in Pentwater, Michigan. Our first harbor in the state of Michigan, as we work our way up the coast. We were excited to complete the crossing and now explore what this new town holds in store. Pentwater is a small town with just a handful of shops, and restaurants that line the main street. Once you enter the main channel, it opens up a bit into Pentwater Lake.

This is our view coming into the entrance to the town of Pentwater. I didn’t get all the photos I wanted on the way into Pentwater, since we were a little nervous getting the boat ready to come in and understanding where we were going. Here is a photo of the entrance on the way out.

Red and green, go between, easy enough right? We learned that the white pillar with the green mark from far off looks like another sailboat on the horizon. It isn’t until you get closer that you realize, hey that sailboat hasn’t moved in like 30 minutes.

There is a beautiful beach off to one side of the entrance right on Lake Michigan. We came in all bundled up still and there are people on the beach in swimsuits! It’s always warmer when you get into a harbor.

Pentwater has walkways all along the entrance canal that are lined with beautiful homes.

Here’s a nice shot of the Pentwater Yacht Club

We stayed at a marina call Snug Harbor. There was also a municipal marina in Pentwater however, the municipal marina is closed for the entire 2020 season while they rebuild the marina. One of the challenges on the Great Lakes currently is historic high water levels. Lake Michigan is at an all time high and is about 5 – 6 feet above normal water levels. This has created a challenge for many marinas on the Lake. For reasons we don’t quite understand many of the marinas here have fixed docks and not floating docks. With high water levels many of these fixed docks are now underwater or about to be. Snug Harbor is no exception. In the photo below where you see those posts that are in the water, normally these are out of the water and there is a dock outside of those posts that is fully underwater. If you look closely you can see electrical posts for boats to plug in along this area too. This is normally where Snug Harbor ties up larger boats. Also notice the ground by the trees, it’s all new looking dirt and gravel. They have brought in fill to raise this area about 2 feet since it was marshy and un-useable. About half of Snug Harbor marina is underwater. So, it’s a bit snug now.

For some perspective, take a look at the marina’s website photo that shows how different this area is. https://www.snugharborpentwater.com/

Here are some photos of the marina from our boat.

The marina staff where ready on the dock to greet us and help us get the boat landed and situated. They were very friendly and accommodating. After we were all tied up, we went to the office to check in and they gave us all the information we needed for our stay. The code to the bathrooms and showers, the wi-fi password, and a general overview of what is in town and what is open. After all the check in formalities, Mark and I went off to explore the town. It’s not a very big town, so it was only about a 4 – 5 block walk total from the boat down the length of the main street. There were only 2 restaurant options in town and we chose the one closest to the water. There are still many businesses closed due to COVID, which re-affirms our decision to wait a year to leave on our larger journey. You could tell that this town is bustling in the height of summer, but right down it feels very much like the off season even though summer is here. We ate outside on the patio at the Village Cafe & Pub. It’s the green building in this photo from the water. You can see the umbrellas just to the left of the flag. We had some beers, perch and onion rings, delicious!

A celebratory beer after our first crossing! Cheers until next time!