Islands of Deception

Lake Michigan and boats have been a part of my life since childhood. I’ve spent many summers cruising the lake on power boats as well as sail boats, but none was as memorable as the 1920s Chris Craft Whiskey Runner I saw when I was a kid. It’s been 50 years since I laid eyes on that beauty, but I can remember it like it happened yesterday.

My dad was a Navy veteran who was fond of boats and fishing. Throughout my childhood and into my teen years, he owned several different boats called cabin cruisers. This style of boat had a small kitchen, dining area and sleeping accommodations. My dad docked his boat at a marina in Grand Haven, Michigan in the 1960s and early 1970s, but as summer dock rentals increased in price, he moved his boat further up the Grand River to a marina where dock rent was less expensive.

During the summer months we would often spend the weekend on the boat, sleeping overnight on it and taking boat trips during the day. One weekend, my dad and several of his boating friends traveled upriver and beached their boats next to a park along the river. After a picnic lunch, all the kids enjoyed the playground equipment while the parents chatted. At days end we packed up and went back to the boat to return to the marina. As we approached the shore, there sat the most amazing boat I have ever seen—a long, sleek wood power boat made of gorgeous, deep brown mahogany with a glossy finish that glistened in the late afternoon sun.

It was love at first sight. I stood there gawking at that beautiful boat as its navy blue, triangle-shaped, Chris-Craft flag waved in the breeze on the bow. I followed my dad as he walked over to the owner. “It’s a whiskey runner,” the man proudly explained. “They used this boat to run whiskey during prohibition.” He then promptly showed us how a back panel on the stern of the boat flipped up to reveal a large cargo hold. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen.

I never forgot the moment I saw that beautifully restored Chris-Craft. I tucked that memory away and somehow that amazing wood boat found its way into my book Islands of Deception. 

* Above: Chris Craft boats photo from chriscraft.com/our-story/heritage/

My dad’s cabin cruiser docked in Grand Haven, Michigan in 1964. The bridge in the upper left of the photo is the bridge leading from Spring Lake to Grand Haven.