America's Boating Club Grand Traverse Bay

A boating club with activities all year long, from the Shakedown Cruise in June through the Cruise of the Bay in September to our monthly winter dinner meetings, there is always something happening.

We offer boating classes through Extended Education Services of Northwestern Michigan College that range from a basic boating course for the Michigan Boating Safety Certificate, to advanced classes.

Shakedown Cruise 2026!
Was A Roaring Success
Clinch Marina
Traverse City

The Friday evening Grill Out and Potluck picnic was a good time! Grillmaster Brian grilled some excellent burgers and the potluck offerings were outstanding as usual. Jan brought her famous deviled egg sailboats, Nancy's desserts were delicious, and of course there was the famous old family recipe garlic pull aport bread from Tom and Jan. Those along with all kinds of summer salads, dips, baked beans and other dishes too numerous to mention made for a great meal. An the company of friends was icing on the cake.

Saturday morning found several members at the downtown farmers market, especially at 9 Bean Rows for pastries, then back to the marina for coffee and conversation. Dinner was at Little Fleet, a popular gathering place great for food, drinks, and people watching. Of course there was ice cream at Milk and Honey on the way back to the boats.

Shakedown 2026 did not disappoint! Thanks to organizers Tom and Janet Stone for making the Shakedown Cruise another resounding success.

Lobster Bake
Northport Marina

The 2026 Lobster Bake was a huge hit! "The Bake" kicked off Friday evening with hamburgers and all the trimmings, and it kept going on Saturday with Prime Rib or Lobster dinners. The weather was just perfect, and guests from Detroit, Lansing, Birmingham, Grosse Pointe, Flint, Mount Clemens, and St. Clair Shores came together with Grand Traverse Bay members for the biggest event of the GTB summer season. Grand Traverse Bay is inviting all D-9 clubs to join next year's guaranteed good time on August 13-14! So Save The Date!

eQuality Cruise 2026: Staying Closer to Home
Another Successful Event!

The eQuality Cruise 2026 featured 22 people, 8 boats, and 3 cars. We kicked things off in Charlevoix with our traditional movie night, watching Captain Ron. Afterward, most of us headed to the Villager for dinner where we had amazing server. He was fantastic because he didn't write anything down and got all our drinks and food orders right and on time. The next morning we visited the first of three Farmers Markets at Charlevoix then in the evening we all enjoyed music in the park from our boats.

Next we went to Boyne City. The afternoon was spent touring the Van Dam Boat Works where they create amazing custom wooden boats (starting around $1.4 million). Most of them are runabouts in the 26-foot range though some are larger. It was a great tour of the facility but it was interesting to see that only two boats were being worked on and no new boats were being built. Normally they would have two or three boats in production but times are tough right now which is a reflection of the current situation.

That evening we had our traditional Brat Cookout. Sadly Jan's cousin Jim who usually grills his famous Wisconsin brats couldn't make it this year, so grill master Brian took over. Another wonderful dinner.

The Boyne City Farmers Market (the second one on this trip) was held on Saturday morning. It was a huge market with lots of vendors. Several of us took advantage of the market to stock up on vegetables and sweets.

Because of the weather forecast we spent another day in Boyne City, which meant we only had one night in Petoskey where we had Docktails. Well, to be honest, thanks to Donna's amazing organizing, we had Happy Hours every day!

Mike, Mary, Bill, and Ralph sailed from Petoskey to Harbor Springs on Tuesday the 18th. The wind was strong, reaching 20 knots or more, making for a speedy journey! It was a blast, and it was the only day Cavalier actually sailed. Of course Tallula had her sails up most of the cruise. Mike and Mary are truly skilled sailors.

Our first night in Harbor Springs was spent enjoying dinner at Bar Harbor, a cozy local bar near the harbor. The food was delicious, though we had to split into groups of four. Bill and Nicki joined us in Harbor Springs, which was a great addition.

Harbor Springs boasts some wonderful shops and a couple of fantastic museums. Wednesday morning brought another fantastic Farmers Market (the third one this trip), along with a delightful bakery. The historical museum had some interesting exhibits including photographs from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Then there's the Shay museum. Shay was an inventor with some rather unusual but practical ideas. He designed a locomotive for the lumber industry that could tackle steeper hills and sharper turns than traditional ones. He also created a steel power boat with a truly unique design. The siding on his house is stamped metal, just like all the interior walls. It's a fascinating place.

Sadly the cruise was cut short for most of us because of unfavorable weather forecasts. All but Tallula returned to their home ports on Thursday. Mike and Mary continued their journey to Beaver Island.

Even though the boating ended early, many people gathered for the End of Cruise Dinner in Suttons Bay on Sunday where we had a fantastic meal, good conversation, and lots of laughs.

Overall it was a fantastic trip!

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Today is Wednesday October 7th 2026