Day 86: Travel to St. Joseph

Day 86: October 12:  Great travel day! All 4 boats: Wayward Wind, Zendeavor, Isle of Skye and of course Slàinte Mhath left the dock at about 7:20 am and headed south. At 7:30 in the morning it is still so dark, making these early morning starts seem like we are traveling at night. Our initial plans were to make it at least to South Haven but conditions were so good that we kept going, trying to get as far south as possible. It's time to shed the coats, hats and sweatshirts and find a place where the sun takes her place in the sky early enough to light our way and warm our bodies. 


Zendeavor leading the way out of Grand Haven

The sun began to show her stuff as we made our way out of the harbor. Sandra snapped a picture of us as we made our way onto Lake Michigan.


As we moved further away from shore, a slight chop built up.  John altered our course a bit to get closer to shore, looking for a smoother ride. Isle of Skye had the same idea, soon traveling about 1/2 mile from shore just off our port side. Paul radioed that conditions were ideal; we certainly agreed!


A few miles off of South Haven David and John agreed the day was young and we would keep going. We would have arrived in South Haven at around 1:00 and there was still plenty of daylight left and we wanted to put more miles behind us. We radioed Paul our plans. He and Angie decided to pull into South Haven anyway; wait out the impending storm and then move on in a few days. I imagine she needed a break after getting hit in the head a few days ago, getting seasick and departing from Manistee at 5:30 am. 

While underway, we called a few marinas, checking to see if they had diesel and what the price was. We carry 600 gallons and were about 1/2 full. Still plenty but at this time of year, many marinas are closed for the season, especially the municipal ones. This is not the time to take any chances.  

A marina in New Buffalo quoted a diesel price of $5.75 while West Basin Marina in St. Joseph said it was $4.53. We radioed David with the information and we agreed it was a good idea to pull into West Basin and take on fuel and water. 

We slowly made our way into the St Joseph River, past some cottages, a Coast Guard station and St Joseph River Yacht Club before turning to port. 


The marina is located in a small basin that is just outside the St Joseph swing bridge. It is probably one of the most well protected spots we have seen throughout the trip. 

From a distance we couldn't quite see the entrance to the marina; it looked like we would head right into the rock wall; just an illusion! The entrance was actually quite easy to manage. David was already at the fuel dock so we tied up to some pilings to wait. There were a couple of other boats tied around the fuel dock including a sailboat and a commercial fishing boat.  While we waited we heard the bridge signal; indicating it was about to close for an oncoming train. We were told only a few trains go by each day, including one early morning commuter train.

A train crossing the St Joseph River

It was about 4:00 by the time we finished taking on 100 gallons of fuel and fresh water. We plan on filling the tanks completely once we get to Indiana as the price there is quite a bit lower than here. Pat, the dock hand, was very friendly and helpful. He agreed that we should wait to fill up in Indiana, noting the price difference. 

We discussed going on to New Buffalo which is about 30 miles away; arrival time would have been about 7:00 so we made the decision to stop for the day, choosing to pass through the bridge and tie up at the free wall right on the other side. 

The St Joseph Railroad Bridge, constructed by the West Michigan Railroad company, is the last bridge to cross the St. Joseph River before it empties into Lake Michigan, providing a gateway for boats entering St. Joseph. Construction began in 1889 and was completed in 1904, replacing an older outdated 1887 bridge. The bridge remains open to boat traffic, closing only when trains are scheduled for crossing.


We tied up at the free wall, which is along a maritime trail, for the night. With no west wind forecasted, we should be able to comfortably wait out the nasty weather for the next of days. Given current projections, we will probably be able to get UW on Monday. 


We headed into town, stopping for dinner at Azul Tequila for dinner. Service was quick and friendly and the food and margaritas were delicious. We even got to practice our Spanish! 













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