This information Is from United States Coast Pilot 6

Charts 14906, 14933

(284) Grand Haven, Mich., is a city and harbor on the Grand River, 43 miles S of Little Sable Point. The towns of Ferrysburg, Mich., and Spring Lake, Mich., front the N side of the river. These communities are not visible from Lake Michigan because of sand dunes and hills immediately N and S of the harbor entrance. The principal commodities handled in the port are coal and sand.

(285) Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance Light (43°03.5'N., 86°15.4'W.), 42 feet above the water, is shown from a red fog signal building on the outer end of the S pier; a fog signal is at the light.

Channels

(286) The dredged entrance channel leads E from deep water in Lake Michigan between parallel piers at the mouth of Grand River and upstream for about 16 miles. The outer ends of the piers are marked by lights. South Pierhead Entrance Light and an inner light on the S pier form a range useful for approaching the harbor. There is a turning basin on the S side of the channel 2.3 miles above the mouth. A side channel extends N to the deep water in Spring Lake 2.7 miles above the mouth.

(287) In April-June 2004, the controlling depths were

15.4 feet (21 feet at midchannel) in the entrance and between the piers to the Grand Haven municipal marina (except for lesser depths from 5.7 to 9 feet in a large area off the piers of the municipal marina and at the entrance to South Channel.) A shoal area encroaches into the middle of the channel in about 43º04'00"N., 86º14'11"W., with a depth of 20 feet gradually decreasing to bare at the edge of the channel; a buoy marks the outer edge of the area. From the municipal marina, the controlling depths were 13.9 feet (21 feet at midchannel) to Lighted Buoy 4, thence 17.6 feet in the left half and 8 feet in the right half of the channel to the railroad bridge at Ferrysburg, thence 7 to 12 feet in the turning basin.

(288) In 1978, the controlling depths were 15 feet from the railroad bridge to the entrance channel to Spring Lake; thence in June-July 1980, 12 feet into Spring Lake; thence in October 1997, 4 feet from the Spring Lake channel to the C-Way Construction Co. gravel pits at Bass River. The channel limits from Ferrysburg to the upstream project limit are well marked by buoys. The channels are subject to shoaling.

(289) Large riprap stones have been placed along the lakesides and ends of the piers, and navigation should not be attempted close to these structures. Mooring to the piers or revetments is prohibited.

(290) The Grand River is not maintained above the junction with Bass River. Conditions are unknown, but depths probably do not exceed 2 to 3 feet at extreme low water for 23.5 miles upstream to Grand Rapids. Only small recreational craft navigate this section of the river.

(291) The lower part of Grand River has connecting shallow side channels separated from the main river by low marshy islands. Several connected bayous, or bays, have very shallow entrances with deep water inside. South Channel, the farthest downstream of the side channels, cuts across a bend in the river between points about 1.2 and 3.3 miles above the mouth and has a controlling depth of 3 feet.

(292) Spring Lake, extending N and connected to the Grand River at Ferrysburg, has depths of 19 to 42 feet except for shoaler depths at its head.

Danger

(293) The J.B. Sims Power Plant is on Harbor Island. Intake pipes on the W side of the island in the intake mode pose no threat to watercraft. The intakes have a compressed air blowback system to clear the screens. This blowback is capable of capsizing a small recreational vessel. The area is surrounded by rope barriers and is marked by signs.

Currents

(294) High-water periods on the Grand River are usually for two months during the spring. During these periods, currents may reach 3 to 5 mph. Currents up to 5 mph should be expected after periods of heavy precipitation, regardless of season.

(295) Grand Haven is a customs station.

Quarantine, customs, immigration, and agricultural quarantine

(296) (See chapter 3, Vessel Arrival Inspections, and appendix for addresses.)

(297) Quarantine is enforced in accordance with the regulations of the U.S. Public Health Service. (See Public Health Service, chapter 1.)

Coast Guard

(298) Grand Haven Coast Guard Station and a Marine Safety Detachment office are on the S side of the