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A boat sits several feet below the dock, at the St. Joseph West Basin Marina, Tuesday. Some boats are stuck in mud and sand. (WSBT/Ted Land / October 9, 2012) |
Boat owners on Lake Michigan are trying to get their vessels out of their slips and onto land in time for winter, but this year that ritual is especially difficult, because the water level is so low.
In some places boats are stuck in mud and sand.
Those that are able to move are making it with just inches to spare.
“I’m probably 2 inches off the ground,” said Patrick Nelson, who was cleaning his 35 foot sailboat, named Captain Blood, at the St. Joseph West Basin Marina, Tuesday.
“My slip is usually two slips over, but I got stuck in it earlier so I had to move down,” he said.
Across the harbor, another crew was cranking a rope on a winch to muscle their way through the muck.
Blame the summer's high temperatures and lack of rain for the low water level. Plus, last winter the lake didn't freeze and that meant more evaporation.
According to the US Army Corps of Engineers website, the water level in Lake Michigan, Monday, was about four tenths of an inch above the historic minimum, set back in 1964. It’s only been dropping since July.
“I’ve been racing here for, I guess, 15 years, 16 years, and we used to be able to step off the boats right on to the dock,” said Nelson, who now must climb four or five feet up a ladder.
