You know the saying, “Good things come to those who wait”? That could not have been truer for us over the last week as we made our way down Lake Michigan. If you read last week’s post, you know that we were hunkered down in Charlevoix, Michigan, for a week while we waited out some intense winds. It’s easy to get antsy while waiting, but our patience completely paid off come Wednesday last week.

A handful of Loopers that were also stuck in Charlevoix decided to leave last Monday; however, when we looked at the wind forecast, we didn’t feel comfortable leaving the dock. The wind gusts were still over 15 knots, with the sustained wind not much less than that. It was definitely the right decision to stay because nearly all of those who departed sent us a message saying we were smart to stay put, as the lake hadn’t been given enough time to lie flat.

Before leaving Canada, Evan and I agreed that we would not push our comfort levels while traversing Lake Michigan. We had no timeline to get to Chicago, allowing us the peace to wait for the good weather days. For us, that is wind gusts under 15 knots but preferably under 10. Having this understanding in place before navigating the intimidating Lake Michigan put us at ease. It allowed us to go into it fully trusting each other not to push one another. 

Wednesday morning, the winds had finally died down enough for us to leave Charlevoix. Although it was an adorable town, we had seen just about everything there is to see, so we were eager to get moving again. Our goal for the day was Frankfort, with the option to bail out in Leland if necessary, but by the time mid-afternoon rolled around, the lake was absolute glass. About an hour out from Frankfort, I could tell Evan was thinking the same thing I was — we shouldn’t waste this incredible weather. What would happen if we kept going?

We did need to get fuel in Frankfort, which actually made the decision to keep going even easier. We’d pull into town, Evan would fill up the fuel tanks while I took Ripley on a short walk to use the bathroom. If we didn’t need fuel and we didn’t have our dog Ripley, we could have gone without stopping, but alas, it was a good excuse to quickly stretch our legs. From Frankfort, we ended our 16-hour day in Manistee, Michigan.

The weather looked just as good on Thursday, so we went in with the same mindset — let’s knock out as many miles as possible. This took us just outside of Whitehall, Michigan, where we stayed at South Shore Marina. Friday morning came quickly and…you guessed it, the weather was still amazing. The winds looked like they would pick up a bit in the afternoon, so we didn’t push it too hard and called it a day after 46 miles, dropping anchor in Saugatuck, Michigan. We agreed that the charm of Saugatuck made it a top-five town along the Loop for us. There were many shops to walk through and several waterfront restaurant options. The anchorage was also in a no-wake zone, making it a calm two nights on anchor.

We gave ourselves a rest day to explore Saugatuck on Saturday, but raised anchor yet again on Sunday to continue to St. Joseph, Michigan. This was a quick last stop in Michigan because Monday morning, we left the beautiful state and crossed into our 11th state on the Great Loop  — Indiana! We plan to spend two nights here before completing our time in Lake Michigan and pulling into the new Navy Pier Marina in CHICAGO! We’re giddy with excitement thinking about pulling into this city that is close to both of our hearts, and can’t wait to share more with you next week.

Cheers to continuing the adventure!