Kalamzaoo Lake (Saugatuck)

This blog will chronicle our (Pat and Patty Anderson's)

cruising adventures on the Great Loop!

DAY 137 - August 15, 2017

No track today, forgot to turn on track recording!

It was a short cruising day, 27 miles from Grand Haven to Lake Kalamazoo in near perfect conditions on Lake Michigan. We had originally intended to go much father up Lake Kalamazoo and anchor just off the Saugatuck Town Dock, but just as we came in the channel from Lake Michigan, there was a little bay off to the right that had nice sandy beaches and looked very inviting, so we poked our nose in, and were able to get very close to shore to anchor in about five feet of water. This afforded great protection from winds, and wakes were not an issue, as everyone was going very slow coming in and out the channel. We never did get in any closer to town than our great little bay! Baxter had a great time on the sandy beach and the wooded uplands!

Kalamazoo Lake anchorage.
We were in five feet of water.

This little bay was obviously highly favored by local pontoon boats! I got a few photos, but there were quite a few more! There was also a sailboat anchored there when we arrived, but it soon left, as well as several other boats that stopped by but did not stay for long!

Pontoon boat on beach

Another pontoon boat!
We liked the canvas on this one!

Yet another pontoon boat!
Patty said I should take a telephoto shot of the men and send it to Hallmark for a "Caption this photo" contest!

We have a reservation at New Buffalo for Saturday the 19th. We would like to have spent a day or two more here since it is so pretty and quiet, but tomorrow is another great cruising day while the two days following do not look so good, so we are going to have to leave in the morning to go to St. Joseph. Saturday looks OK for the St. Joseph to New Buffalo cruise, but you never know until the night before or the day of! We have become believers in the "weather rock"- you hang a rock on a string. If it is wet, it is raining. If it is swinging, the wind is blowing! Most days the forecast has been far worse than actual conditions, and you could do just as well with the weather rock! We do care, however, about wind direction, and for that SailFlow has been pretty accurate, and the two bad days have the wind on our nose and speeds in the mid teens - not cruising days by us!

The weather was quite warm today, and the water warmer than anywhere else we have anchored, so it was a perfect day for a swim! I actually swam over to the pontoon boat with the nice canvas and chatted with the guy for awhile. He is from central Illinois but has a summer home on Lake Kalamazoo. He said he wanted to do the Great Loop, but did not think he ever would.  I did not pursue this with him, but the biggest part for us was deciding that we were just going to DO it!

In for a little swim in the warm water!

While we were anchored there, a stern wheeler came in and out probably three or four times. It was obviously a tour boat, but where it could possibly go to and return in the short periods it was out is a mystery to us!

Stern wheeler tour boat

I have mentioned it before, but we really are enjoying our Magma rectangular grill that we bought in Friday Harbor a few years ago to replace the round Magma after we accidentally dropped all the innards overboard. The rectangular grill cost and arm and a leg, but so far, it has earned its keep! Tonight we had the last two beer brats we bought in Glen Arbor. These are big boys, four of them weighed in at a pound and a half, and they are really tasty!

Beer brats on the Magma!

Here is a short video shot just before turning in - warning, this is creepy! It is bugs on the outside of the window of our head!

We continue to monitor the situation on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal for the Safety Zone closure, which does not now look like it will be a problem, and the other lock closures on the Illinois River, which certainly could be a problem. We will just have to take these one day at a time I guess! In less than a week we will be in Chicago, and beginning the inland river system, which to us is the Great Unknown! We are going to take a mooring ball at Monroe Harbor and spend a few days in Chicago. We are really looking forward to the Architectural Tour and then cruising through the heart of downtown Chicago!