Irish Boat Shop is the PLACE! We knew it when we first arrived and could see dock hands sprinting for our dock to receive us. When you are approaching a marina, observing from a distance, sometimes through binoculars, it is hard to discern someone standing at a dock. But a running dockhand in a bright red shirt is EASY to see and thus was our introduction to Irish. Sophie rocks!

Everyone we met at Irish from dock hand, to customer service to technician was not only an expert in their field, but also skilled in teaching and explaining, taking time to share extra tips that would help us down the road far from Lake Charlevoix. In short, these folks were an absolute delight to be around, which is good since we were around them all a lot.

Further assets for the marina include a great grocery store a half mile uphill, but seems much shorter on the way home, even with provisions. We also spent a lot of time at the park next door enjoying its nice sandy beach and lots of grassy areas for long dog walks. While we were there they had a "cigarette boat" Cruise-In down the lake and we saw more than a hundred of these sleek machines racing up and down the Lake Charlevoix. One of the boats has twin helicopter engines that run on jet fuel and they had to go to the nearby airport just to fill it up.

One of our last days at Irish, we came into the marina from a late afternoon sail, after the shop was closed and dock hands had left for the day. We weren't sure where or how we were going to dock and there isn't much room in there for last minute decision making. We saw a few boaters unloading at the public boat ramp when a lovely young woman separated herself from the crowd calling out, "Do you need some help? I'm the harbor master here!" She left her friends and ran to help us on the dock. As she helped secure our lines she explained that she had been working there for seven years. Her parents also worked worked in the shop as do the parents of most of the dock hands.

The folks at Irish Boat Shop are a hard working family operation. And even if it was only for a week, we were happy to be a part of that family. Thanks for everything, guys! We will carry a part of you with us wherever we go.