Five Things Worth Getting Right Before Memorial Day Weekend

The first weekend of boating season on the Great Lakes is the one where I see the most preventable problems. Not because boaters are careless — most are excited and well-intentioned — but because the boat has been sleeping for six months, skills get rusty over a winter of waiting, and the water still has the bite of April in it whether the air feels like June or not.

Memorial Day weekend on Lake Erie, the Detroit River, and Lake St. Clair brings out everyone at once. Marinas are crowded. Channels are busy. Half the boats coming out of winter storage haven't been fully shaken down yet. And the water temperature in late May on these lakes is still in the 50s. That's not a number that hurts your toes — that's a number that triggers a gasp reflex in the first thirty seconds and shuts your muscles down well before help can reach you.

Here are five things worth getting right before you untie the lines this weekend.

1. Wear the PFD. Yes, even on a warm day.

Cold water doesn't care that it's 78 degrees and sunny on the dock. If you go in the water on Memorial Day weekend in this part of the world, you have minutes — not hours — to get yourself back onto the boat or onto something that floats. A life jacket buys you most of those minutes back. It's the difference between an embarrassing story and the other kind.

I wear mine when I'm working the deck on a delivery. My First Mate wears hers. We don't have a conversation about whether it's warm enough or whether we look silly. It just goes on. Your kids and your guests will follow whatever you do — set the example.

2. Don't skip the pre-cruise engine room check.

Your boat just woke up. Even if your yard did the spring commissioning, even if everything looked fine on the launch day shakedown, this is the moment to be thorough. Strainers clear. Fluid levels where they should be. No new puddles anywhere. Blowers running before you turn the key. Bilge pumps cycling. Batteries holding. Shore power off and stowed before you start.

I have walked through engine rooms in May and found loose hose clamps, a generator strainer that was never reopened after winterization, and a fuel filter that was finger-tight at best. None of those are catastrophic if you catch them at the dock. All of them can be catastrophic if you find them an hour into the lake.

If you want a more structured way to think through this, the Captain's Coaching package walks through pre-cruise and post-cruise routines that become second nature after a few runs.

3. Brief your crew before you start the engines.

This is the one most captains skip and the one that pays back the most. Two minutes before you turn the key, talk to whoever is on board. Where the life jackets are. Where the throwable is. Where the fire extinguisher is. Who is helping with lines, and which line comes off first. What channel the VHF is on. What to do if something goes wrong and you can't get to the helm.

That last one is the conversation nobody wants to have and the one that matters most. If your First Mate has never thought about what happens if you slump over the wheel on a Saturday afternoon, this weekend is a fine time to walk them through it. The First Mate's Emergency Playbook is a good starting point.

4. Plan for the crowd, not for the empty lake you remember.

If you typically run out of Grosse Ile, Wyandotte, or anywhere on the Detroit River, you already know what's coming. Memorial Day weekend doubles or triples the boat traffic. The Trenton Channel will feel narrow. The mouth of Lake Erie will look like a parking lot in spots. Sailboats are out. Wakeboarders are out. PWCs are out. Freighters are still working their schedule, which doesn't change for a holiday.

Slow down earlier than you think you need to. Give other boats more room than you think they need. Assume the boat coming toward you doesn't know the right-of-way rules — because half of them genuinely don't, and the half that do may have had a beer at lunch. Keep your head up, your radio on, and your speed reasonable.

Docking will feel harder than it did last October, because it has been six months since you did it. That's normal. Take it slow, use a spring line, and don't be embarrassed to abort an approach and try again. The people watching from the dock would rather see a second attempt than a fiberglass repair. If you want to put a real edge back on those skills, the approach I walk through here is the fastest way I know to shake the winter off.

5. Pick the weather. Don't hope for the weather.

May weather on the Great Lakes is moody. A morning that looks fine on your phone can build into a thirty-knot afternoon in a hurry, especially on Erie. Check the forecast the night before, check it again in the morning, and check the radar before you cast off. If the window doesn't look right, the boat will still be there next weekend.

The captains I respect most are the ones who have no problem calling it. Staying tied up on a marginal day isn't a failure. It's the move.

Memorial Day weekend should be a great weekend. Most of them are. A little preparation the night before, a clear conversation with your crew at the dock, and the discipline to put on the PFD and watch the weather will keep it that way.

If you'd like an extra set of hands on board for the first run of the season — or a structured coaching session to shake the winter off — get in touch. Otherwise, enjoy it. The season is here.

— Captain Tom