One of the reasons we love to boat is that we are more prone to make new friends while we’re cruising, Visiting friends in Palm City, Florida, was no exception.

We briefly met Alyn & Diane in our hometown, Traverse City, they also live there part of the year, and we share a passion for boating. One day they stopped by to look at our Ranger Tug, which Jim often works on while it is parked in our driveway. It’s as simple as that and before we knew it (well, actually a few months later) we were visiting them at their home in Palm City, Florida. They found us a dock nearby to tie up to for the night and insisted we join them for an overnight at their home. We had a nice tour of Palm City, shared happy hour and pizza with them and another couple, and slept in a very cozy king-size bed. It was fun, we shared boating stories and laughed a lot.

Diane is a very talented artist, I enjoyed her artwork displayed all over the house. As an artist myself, it was inspirational.

The Bells had a nice dock for Kismet to tie up to during our visit. We used Their golf cart to get back and forth, from their house to the boat.

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New Tug’s First Time Cruising the West Arm Grand Traverse Bay! 

The crew on board Kismet today were excited for the tug’s inaugural cruise on West Arm Grand Traverse Bay. Skyler, Sarah, and friend David joined us for an afternoon trip to Power Island (also referred to as Marion Island). We put the boat in at Elmwood Township Marina, their facilities are exceptional. It was the perfect day for a cruise and lunch at the island.

Power Island is a 202-acre property located in the west arm of Grand Traverse Bay. It’s approximately nine miles west of Downtown Traverse City and is a favorite spot for boaters to congregate on a hot summer’s day. With the beautiful turquoise color and the clean, crystal clear water of the Great Lakes, one might easily confuse this island as being located in the Bahamas, sans palm trees and exotic sea life.

West Arm Grand Traverse Bay – A View of the Bay!

Game time and lunch on the bay. Food just tastes better when cooked and eaten out on the water. We had plenty of sunshine and calm water for our afternoon cruise. As Jim often says, “It doesn’t get much better than this.”

After a fun day on the bay, it was time to trailer the boat and head home. The boat launch at Elmwood Township is an excellent spot to launch or trailer a boat. It’s usually not too busy and we can quickly get in or out when needed. The staff is very helpful and well organized. There is also a spot right next to the launch a boater can tie up to for a short time to prepare the boat for cruising or to pick up or drop off crew or passengers when needed.

Kismet is back on the trailer and ready to go home. Another plus of having a trailerable boat is that we can park it right in our driveway, adding to the affordability factor of owning a trailerable boat.

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