Muskegon, Michigan

Southern Style left Ludington for Muskegon, Michigan on Wednesday morning September 19th.  Our trip started with a coastguard announcement that they were looking for a sailboat in trouble somewhere near the Ludington harbor entrance.  We saw one sailboat in the area as we pulled out and were just about to call the coastguard to tell them when we heard another boat describe the sailboat we were seeing.  It was pulling a dinghy behind and the person looking for assistance said he was not pulling a dinghy, so we continued on our way.  We never saw any other sailboat, but did hear within the hour that the coastguard had reached the stricken sailboat and all was well.

Entrance to Muskegon

We pulled into Muskegon around 2:00 PM and got tied up.  For dinner we walked across the street to a little dive bar, type place and I had my reservations about what our meal would be like.  To our surprise, we had a great meal.  It was very simple, but sure was good.  My French dip was awesome and Keith said his ham and cheese melt was excellent.

Thursday was our first full day in Muskegon and we had a relaxing morning then grabbed a quick lunch and headed to the waterfront to see the USS Silversides.  The Silversides is the most famous surviving WW II submarine.  She was launched August 26, 1941.  At 312 feet long and 27 feet wide her standard complement was 6 officers and 54 enlisted men.  She sank more ships (30 Japanese vessels and damaged 14) and took down more tonnage than any other surviving WW II submarine.  She also rescued 2 American pilots and laid 16 mines on separate patrols.  The first appendectomy ever performed on a submarine was performed in the ward room of the Silversides by the Pharmacist Mate (there was no surgeon on board).  This surgery was depicted in the movie, Destination Tokyo, starring Cary Grant.  Through her service both during WW II and after, she lost only one sailor who was fatally shot in a machine gun exchange with the Japanese.  She is quite an impressive vessel and our tour was very interesting.  An extra treat for our tour was a WW II submarine veteran that took the tour with us.  He is an American treasure.

USS Silversides SS-236

Forward torpedo room

The torpedo goes in here

Bunks with torpedo right next to where the sailor would sleep

Top Deck

We had about 12-16 people on our tour and it felt plenty cramped.  I can not imagine what it would be like with 60 men on board and no fresh air for an extended period.

Just behind our marina was the SS Milwaukee Clipper.  This vessel was built in 1905 and substantially rebuilt in 1940.  She is the oldest passenger steamship on the Great Lakes.  She is a National Historic Landmark and can be toured weekends Memorial Day to Labor Day.

SS Milwaukee Clipper

Friday was our first day on our loop when we really could not move the boat do to weather.  There were gales of 35 knots and 6-9 foot waves on the lake.  We knew this was coming and figured we would be in Muskegon at least until Saturday.