Saugatuck, MI to St. Joseph, MI

Date             September 7, 2011

Day               71

Departure     Saugatuck Yacht Service, MI 7:35 am

Arrival          West Basin Marina, St Joseph, MI  12:25 pm

Miles               41.7 

Cumulative   1506.9

NOTE: For a larger view of each picture, click on the picture, then click again for an even larger view!

The weather forecast was favorable for leaving today, so onward we go.  Three other looper boats also left Saugatuck around the same time, all headed for St. Joseph.  The wind was 10 to 15 knots from the northeast and the waves were two feet, with an occasional four footer thrown in for good measure.  Again, we had the waves come at us on the starboard aft quarter (that's the right side rear quarter for you non-boaters!), so again we experienced a slight roll with a push from the waves.  It was a fairly comfortable ride, but Bob had to work to steer as the waves would cause us to go off course.  As the morning progressed, the waves did get a bit larger, but not unmanageable.  When the four of us (Erika Lin, Last Dance, Ookpik and NautiNell) arrived in West Basin Marina, we found  3 other looper boats already here (Confetti, Dovekie and Docker's Inn).  So what do a group of loopers do best?  Have a docktails party in the late afternoon!  This was the biggest group of loopers we have encountered so far.  A good time was had by all as everyone shared their looper stories.  Based on the upcoming weather forecasts, the weather doesn't look favorable for a crossing to Chicago until possibly Sunday; so here we will stay and wait until we can make the crossing.  Tomorrow we plan on going into the town, so more pictures will follow in the next few days.

Lighthouse at the entrance to the St. Joseph channel

Early evening sunset over West Basin Marina from the back of our boat