Day 137: Whitehall to Holland, Michigan
Day 137: Tuesday, August 30th: We got underway this morning with winds forecast to increase during the day. We decided to go as far as we could before the seas got uncomfortable. Ruth got a picture of the two lighthouses as we left. It's easier to see their relative positions from this angle. Also, the ubiquitous fishing boats are trolling around still:
We stopped about ten miles south in Muskegon, MI for fuel. Ruth had called all up and down the coast looking for the cheapest fuel. The best prices were in Muskegon and we bought diesel for $2.429/gal. Little did we know what hurricane Katrina was about to do to fuel costs!
As we proceeded down the lake a north wind began to build up and the seas grew. The seas were from behind which made Otto the Autopilot work extra hard. About 4:00pm we were nearing the entrance to the harbor at Holland, MI, our target for the night. The seas were up to three or four feet and we were glad to be here. This huge lighthouse greeted us as we entered the harbor.
Like many of these harbors there is actually a lake inside the channel from the big lake. These lakes make for great boating and this one was no exception. We met this side-wheeler tour boat, Holland Princess, on the way in:
The captain of the tour boat radioed us and chatted for a while. Seems he had done the Great Loop a couple of years back before he became the tour boat skipper. We've met Loopers everywhere!
Our friends, Dick and Pat on Another One had caught up to us as we entered the harbor. We got the last two big slips in the Anchorage Marina. This marina is quite nice and quite busy:
There is a yacht club that shares this facility; the "clubhouse" is quite well equipped with showers, lounge, laundry, etc:
The docks are very sturdy and well-kept:
We bumped into two more Loopers here: Dream Catcher V that we had met in Drummond Island a few days ago, and Norvic belonging to two folks from Canada who had just started the loop about ten days ago.
We enjoyed happy hour aboard Another One. It's probably the last time we will see Pat and Dick because they will move on ahead of us and turn right at the Mississippi River to go home to Dubuque, IA, having completed the Loop. We will turn left to continue.
Our plan for the next few days is to rent a car here in Holland and drive to Ft. Wayne, IN, to visit with Ruth's family there. We will return on Friday, September 2nd, and get underway whenever weather permits.
So, we will suspend the logs until we return.
Position tonight: N42 47.494 W086 10.999
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