Traveling the Lakes on a 50’ Sunseeker

Published: Wednesday, October 3, 2018
By: Erik Kyle, Publisher, Great Lakes Scuttlebutt

I have been a boater all my life — from small fishing boats to pontoon boats, jet-skis and jet boats to a sailing career, and multiple powerboats ranging from 23’ to 65’ — and, as a publisher of a Great Lakes boating magazine, I get all kinds of additional, great opportunities to enjoy our waterways. Even with my experience, I was overwhelmed with excitement when I was asked to deliver a prototype boat — the brand new 50’ Sunseeker Predator — from Bay Harbor, Michigan, to Catawba Island, Ohio (about 400 nautical miles)!

Our trip began at the Bay Harbor Yacht Club, which is, by far, one of the finest facilities on the Great Lakes. Habormaster Martin Leemaster runs a tight ship there, and he greeted me and my First Mate, Eddie Knight, at the dock. After going over the outside of the vessel, we went aboard and Eric Kreuger of Jefferson Beach Yachts Sales (JBYS, St. Clair Shores, Michigan) gave us a great shake down of the boat’s systems. JBYS is the only Sunseeker dealer for the Great Lakes, have enjoyed a very long relationship with the luxury boat manufacturer, and are highly knowledgeable about the brand. It only took a quick hour or so and then we threw off the lines and headed to Petoskey City Marina to fuel up and start our adventure.

As we headed out, being unfamiliar with the waters of Little Traverse Bay and the Mackinac straits, I was glued to the Garmin watching out for reefs and other possible targets. All the while, we were hitting about 5-7 footers from a 25-knot north wind. I don’t think you’d be surprised to learn that I was more than a little nervous taking this valuable boat on a long trip in conditions like this, but I got over it quickly because the boat did ALL the work. It was nowhere near as challenging as I thought it was going to be.

Rather than turning around in lieu of better conditions, the boat just took it all in stride and made me feel very comfortable at the helm regardless of the wind and waves. A couple hours into our trip, we were in the straits and could see the majestic and enormous Mackinac Bridge! We followed the buoys and cans under the bridge and, another couple hours later, we rounded the tip of Michigan and took a recommendation to overnight in Presque Isle.

6am came quickly and we were off for our next stop at Jefferson Beach Marina on Lake St. Clair. This was, by far, my fondest memory of the trip as we were out of sight of land for about three hours while crossing the Saginaw Bay. Eventually, we came upon the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and, all of a sudden, we were playing dodge’em boats with small fishing boats and jet skis and pleasure craft everywhere! This was very different than the Lake Huron trip but, again, the boat handled fantastically and our trip down the St. Clair River turned into a great afternoon with plenty of freighter sightings. When we got into Lake St. Clair, I was surprised at how quickly we were able to jump right over to Jefferson Beach Marina, and at how easy it was to come in to dock, fuel up, and get a GREAT late lunch at the Watermark Grille.

From here, I had been in these waters many times before, so I felt very at home leaving Lake St. Clair, traveling around Belle Isle, heading through Detroit and the downriver area, and ultimately into Lake Erie - again, a pleasant late afternoon cruise. However, Lake Erie always has a way of reminding you who’s in charge… Just like in northern Michigan, we met five footers on the front quarter of the boat, throwing walls of water over our bow. Quickly, the retractable roof went up and we found ourselves safely tucked away while the boat took it all in stride. We actually made it across the Lake in less than two hours. With so many Lake Erie trips under my belt, the beautiful Put-In-Bay monument always makes me think of home and there’s a certain amount of peace that comes to me when I have the monument in my sights. We pointed the boat a little east of PIB and, before we knew it, we had the Catawba water tower on our 12 o’clock. At 6pm, we came into Catawba Island Club and were greeted by my waiting family, who was just as hungry for dinner as I was. CIC took special care of the boat so that the next night we even had another chance to take her over to the Crew’s Nest at Put-In-Bay to celebrate my daughter’s 14th birthday. Great memories and great times on the all new 50’ Sunseeker Predator!