03 Oct Days 19,20 – Gone to Grand Haven

Not much to write about for the last two days.  Yesterday the winds were strong easterlies and overcast skies with showers off and on all day.  I took a wet dinghy ride across Muskegon Lake to Torrenson Marine to pick up some new fuel filters and a new Joker valve for the head.  It wasn’t too bad in our anchorage in Snug Harbor but by the time I got to the other side the waves were two footers with whitecaps.  Fortunately, my new Gill foul weather jacket worked very well. 

A little after noon we pulled up anchors and left for Grand Haven.  Because of the strong east winds we hugged the shoreline for the 14 miles to Grand Haven. 

It turns out when you are living on a boat you don’t even need to change out of your pajamas to drive the boat.

Grand Haven has a cool lighthouse at the end of a really long pier.  I have seen many pictures of huge waves crashing against it.  There is a good web cam here that you can aim and zoom in and out from the internet.  I didn’t get any good pics of it on the way in because I was too busy trying to take a web cam selfie/movie of our entrance.  I did get a movie but I am not sure how to upload them yet so maybe later it will show up here.  Jan did get this pic after we passed it.

There is supposed to be a free wall to dock on here and that was part of the reason we came to Grand Haven but when we got there I took one look at it and we opted to pay for a slip at the municipal marina.  There are no posts to keep you off of the wall and with the high water levels on the lake there was only about a foot of wall to tie up to. Even in the marina the water is washing over the edge when the swells wash in.  This picture is from yesterday when we first tied up.

Today was a work day, Janet has been busy making new hatch covers to replace the one that went swimming in Lake Muskegon.  While she was doing that a kind passerby that was interested in learning about the Loop took the Watson’s and myself up to West Marine to spend some more Boat Bucks.  I can’t seem to leave that store without some overpriced something I need. 

This evening as I write this there is a west wind blowing and the waves are wetting the cement walks.  The river is full of duck weed and it is getting washed up on the sidewalk causing small snow drifts of green slippery stuff to accumulate.  I am still nervous of slipping and re-injuring my ankle so I am very careful navigating around snow drifts of green slippery stuff.