TRAVERSE CITY -- Mike Lautner sipped coffee in a folding chair on F-dock at Duncan L. Clinch Marina and chatted with festival-goers who strolled along the breakwall.
Lautner and his wife, Mickey, spend two weeks each summer living aboard their 27-foot cruiser during the National Cherry Festival, a time when the Traverse City residents abandon their cars for bikes and take life at a slower pace.
"It's my floating cottage, but I can take my cottage to Elk Rapids or anywhere else I'd like to go," Lautner said, adding they often take a sunset cruise with friends.
"We get up and we are right here on the TART trail. Anything we need we can get on the bikes."
A convenient location at the festival's doorstep and a common love of water draw scores of watercraft to the marina, home to as many as 150 vessels during the peak summer season, said Harbormaster Barry Smith.
About half of the spots are reserved for seasonal slip-holders with the other half dedicated to transient boaters. Temporary stays are limited to two weeks, Smith said, and competition for slips is intense.
"Within four hours from when you are able to book a slip, we are filled up," Smith said. "So for Cherry Fest and the week before we have been booked up for six months with the reserved slips."
Gordon Brown spent a recent morning wiping down the windows of his 56-foot luxury cruiser LoonAsea Too, where he and his wife, Sue, hosted friends and family throughout their week-long stay along A-dock.
Boating life definitely has perks, like the ability to watch the air show from the middle of West Bay or to duck away from the festival when crowds become overbearing, Gordon Brown said.
But some of the biggest benefits are a little less obvious, he said.
"Boating takes teamwork and planning and it keeps us pretty close," Brown said of his marriage.
Camaraderie doesn't end at the dock, either.
"We have met almost everyone here on the A-dock. It is almost the same people here every year for Cherry Fest," said Ann Schofield, who, for the past five years has spent the week aboard 45-foot Heaven Sent with her husband and two teenage children.
Sandusky, Ohio residents Erik and Jan Ahbel hauled their boat to Traverse City for the first time this year.
Like most at the marina, their two-week stay is an opportunity to remove themselves from the daily grind to enjoy the water and company of fellow boaters. But the festive atmosphere, the area's crystal clear waters and Traverse City's marina will keep them coming back, Erik said.
"It is the best marina we have ever stayed at. I am very impressed," Erik said as the couple relaxed under the canvas cover of their 26-foot cruiser, Jackie.
National Cherry Festival
Print this story
E-mail this story
