Stee6043
Well-Known Member
My family and I had a fantastic trip to Leland and back last week in our 400DA. We were away from our home port for 7 days visiting three other ports north of Grand Haven.
The trip could not have gone much better, with only one exception - I had to miss the CSR meetup in Grand Haven due to me leaving port a day early to beat some nasty seas. I'm still bummed about it.
We hit Frankfort on our way north, spent two nights at Jacobson Marina. We really enjoyed our time in Frankfort and will return. The marina was great, the downtown was fun. A great spot.
From Frankfort we went north to Leland where we spent three nights at the Leland Harbor Marina. On our way both to and from Leland we spent time on the beaches of South Manitou island. This part of our trip was unexpectedly awesome and relaxing. On the island there was nobody else around, turquoise water and a stocked cooler. We originally planned to stay two nights in Leland but weather forced a third. Leland is awesome, I will go back, but two nights would have been ideal. We were running out of options for the kids on day three without access to the beach (big waves, strong/cool wind). And we had hit every eating establishment in town by the end of day two.
On our way back to Grand Haven we spent one night in Ludington to break up the trip heading south. I got one brewery stop in and one decent breakfast and that was about it, a quick stop. Due to timing we only got to see the Badger park once, fun for the kids.
All in all a great trip. We will go back...or maybe push on to Mackinac next year. The ole 400DA performed like a champ, even if a bit thirsty with gassers. The only hiccup was on our first leg. A 2-3' following sea turned to 4's with an occasional 5' as we approached Frankfort. I was taking waves up to the anchor for the last 10 miles +/-. During this time (I can only assume) I lost my forward Dripperguard on the AC outlet. They were kind enough to send me a free replacement that very next day. It makes me wonder if I'll have to keep replacing these if I put the bow into the waves enough times. Great customer service no matter what, however. I will continue replacing them even if I have to pay since they perform very well at the dock.
All in all a great family summer trip in Michigan!
The trip could not have gone much better, with only one exception - I had to miss the CSR meetup in Grand Haven due to me leaving port a day early to beat some nasty seas. I'm still bummed about it.
We hit Frankfort on our way north, spent two nights at Jacobson Marina. We really enjoyed our time in Frankfort and will return. The marina was great, the downtown was fun. A great spot.
From Frankfort we went north to Leland where we spent three nights at the Leland Harbor Marina. On our way both to and from Leland we spent time on the beaches of South Manitou island. This part of our trip was unexpectedly awesome and relaxing. On the island there was nobody else around, turquoise water and a stocked cooler. We originally planned to stay two nights in Leland but weather forced a third. Leland is awesome, I will go back, but two nights would have been ideal. We were running out of options for the kids on day three without access to the beach (big waves, strong/cool wind). And we had hit every eating establishment in town by the end of day two.
On our way back to Grand Haven we spent one night in Ludington to break up the trip heading south. I got one brewery stop in and one decent breakfast and that was about it, a quick stop. Due to timing we only got to see the Badger park once, fun for the kids.
All in all a great trip. We will go back...or maybe push on to Mackinac next year. The ole 400DA performed like a champ, even if a bit thirsty with gassers. The only hiccup was on our first leg. A 2-3' following sea turned to 4's with an occasional 5' as we approached Frankfort. I was taking waves up to the anchor for the last 10 miles +/-. During this time (I can only assume) I lost my forward Dripperguard on the AC outlet. They were kind enough to send me a free replacement that very next day. It makes me wonder if I'll have to keep replacing these if I put the bow into the waves enough times. Great customer service no matter what, however. I will continue replacing them even if I have to pay since they perform very well at the dock.
All in all a great family summer trip in Michigan!