Families take to
e water for advert ure, dinzng and
by residents of southeast Michigan.
And the sport itself, whether sailing
or boating, is a great family activity,
says Emilye Semansky of Farmington
Hills. She should know. Both she and
her husband, members of the Great
Lakes Yacht Club, have participated in
boating every year since the mid-1980s,
a tradition their grown children have
continued with their own children. "It
really is a family thing now," she said.
From late spring to early autumn,
many sailors and boaters in the metro-
politan area favor the marinas lining
the shore along Jefferson Avenue in St.
Clair ShoreS for docking their craft,
some of which can cost hundreds of
thousands of dollars. Like the boats,
marinas vary in price range, amenities
offered and overall character.
For those who aren't sure if they are
ready to take the plunge and invest a
JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR
Special to The Jewish News
or Arnie and Janice Tracht,
it starts with the first warm
spring day, when the ice
flows melt and the crocuses
break through the ground. The West
Bloomfield couple head for the out-
doors thinking not about watching
birds or even taking in a game at
Tiger Stadium. Instead, as with other
seasonal boaters and sailors weary of
winter, they flock to the marina to
prepare for another summer on the
open waterways.
"We'll start thinking about it in
March, what we have to do to get
ready," Janice Trachr said of the
preparations for their boat, The
Main Atrachtion.
With 3,200 miles of Great Lakes
shoreline, at least 11,00.0 inland lakes
and more than 36,000 miles of rivers
and streams, it's no surprise that
water sports area favorite pastime of
Michiganders statewide. Currently,
there are more than 900,000 regis-
tered watercraft in the state, the
largest portion of which are owned
, ,
Liatt,t)
T
86 Detroit Jewish News
Boating is a family affair for morn
Michelle Taigman and daughter Claire
of West Bloomfield. (Michelle is the
daughter of Renee and Bob Epstein.)
-s and boaters can cosi'
he Detroit River, Lake Sr.
Clair and the Clinton River
• are all home to a variety of
dining experiences for water-
way navigators.
Here's a short list of restaurants —
all with boat slips, all with children's
menus — which cater ro seafaring
families. A word to the wise: If you are
traveling with young
b children, it might
be best to hit the restaurants during
non-peak hours. The places tend to fill
up fast and attract a more mature
clientele as the days turn into nights.
8/6
1999
Renee and Bob Epstein, of West Bloomfield
and members of the Great Lakes Yacht
Club, often boat along Lake St. Clair.
• Jack's Waterfront Restaurant.
Located in the Emerald City Marina
on Lake Sr. Clair, this restaurant car-
ries a children's menu with five items
but is known more for its tender,
potato encrusted Nv h i re fi s h and an
ever-changing daily specials menu,
which is served after 5 p.m. The aver-
age meal is $10 and dress is casual.
,Docking is available along the restau-
rant's 1,000-foot-long dock.
• Gar Wood's Bay-view Lodge. This
huge log cabin is as cozy as _ it gets, , Lea-
wring two fieldstone fireplaces, corn-
w o r up a wia
fortable seating and a waterfall-fed
pond. Casual attire is welcome, as are
hungry families. The children's menu
carries seven selections. The adult
menu, complete with varied pasta
dishes and a changing daily fresh
catch, averages $10.95 for entrees.
Located in Belvedere Bay north of
Metroparkway, the restaurant offers 25
boar slips for docking.
• The Beach Grill. This Jefferson
Beach Marina hoc spot has more than 60
items on the adult menu, ranging from
burgers at 56 to prime rib at $19, and
111
m e r fun.
ton of time and money in a boat,
Kellie McGraw of Jefferson Beach
Marina's Boat Rental Club suggests
the best avenue may be renting one.
"Before you commit yourself to
the cost and the ,time that boat.own-
ership requires, it might be wise to
see if you like boating or sailing
first," McGraw said.
Sailboats start at $150 for a mini-
mum four-hour ride, but the power-
boats can cost up to $500 for the same
amount of time. McGraw's business
also offers captains to man the boat
during an excursion at $25 an hour.
"The way ro go really is to hire a
captain to take charge of the helm.
It takes all of your worries away and
you can enjoy your outing,
McGraw said.
Whichever way families take to the
water, Tracht promises it can be a
memorable bonding experience.
"Some of the best times we've had as
a family were on the boat," she said.
For more information about
Jefferson City Boat Rental, call
(810) 778-7600.
an appetite.
has a 10-item children's menu as well.
The atmosphere is casual, and the crowd
doesn't really change much until about 8
p.m. Docking is available at any one of
the 50 slips or in the marina itself
• Andiamo Lakefront Bistro. Lake
St. Clair is home to this extension of
the Andiamo empire and is as welcom-
ing to families as it is to singles. In
addition to the six-item children's
menu, the restaurant is known for its
roasted peppers and calimari appetizers,
its Charlevoix-srvle whitefish and its
daily fresh catches, all of which run
c\/