Cheboygan, WI to White Lake, MI

Aircooled · #1 (**permalink**) 03-02-2006

I've just purchased an Oday 26 and plan to sail it across from Wi to Mi in late April.

I'm not a native to Michigan so I dont' have a lifelong knowledge of spring wx patterns. Am I planning to do this in a month with decent windows of wx, or am I planning to attempt this too early?

I'm not new to sailing and I'll have a good crew, but this is my first L. Michigan crossing.

Denr · #2 (**permalink**) 03-02-2006

This is hardly a month worth of sailing, I would think with a NE wind this would be a 15 hour trip, stop being a *****!

Aircooled · #3 (**permalink**) 03-02-2006

That'll get you an ass kicking at the dock.

Irwin32 · #4 (**permalink**) 03-02-2006

I don't think aircooled was saying the voyage would take a month - he was wondering if April might be a bad month to find a weather window to make the trip.

There can be some fierce storms during April and strong NE winds can kick up some very steep 7 or 8 footers or more. However, if you are flexible, I would think you could find a 15 hour weather window to shoot across. It'll be a cold trip as water temps will probably still be in the 40s.

sailortjk1 · #5 (**permalink**) 03-02-2006

Just what Irwin said. Very cold with lake temps. in the 40's. I don't care what the thermomoter says, when the wind is blowing across a cold lake you are going to be cold. Plus this is a completly open water crossing. Once you head out of Cheybogen and make the commitment, you are not going to have anywhere to duck into and no protection.
To answer your question, my opinion is yes, April is a bad month to be cruising across open waters on Lake Michigan. But hey, thats just me.
White Lake is a great destination, but I would wait.

Aircooled · #6 (**permalink**) 03-02-2006

Thanks for the advice. I'll take it as good advice and wait a month to mid-late May and stay flexible about the wx window.

Irwin32 · #7 (**permalink**) 03-04-2006

The port is actually Sheboygan. Cheboygan is in Michigan on Lake Huron, south of Mac Island. Are you new to sailing, Aircooled?

Aircooled · #8 (**permalink**) 03-05-2006

Irwin32, thanks for the correction. I'm not new to sailing, just new to the Great Lakes Region. I'm a SoCal sailor transplanted to the midwest by Uncle Sam.

Irwin32 · #9 (**permalink**) 03-06-2006

I guess all I would say to an experienced sailor coming into the Great Lakes is not to underestimate them becasue they are "inland". Ted Turner had to eat his hat.

I have done some S, Cal sailing during the winter. It is a light wind area, as are the Great Lakes. The difference, I think, is that when it does blow on L Mich waves are very steep unlike the long swells i saw in S. Cal. * foot waves out there were nothing, but on L Mich it is quite a ride. The other thing that will be different are thunderstorms and lightning that are part of Great Lakes sailing. If you do more than day sail, you just have to learn to deal with them.

locrian13 · #10 (**permalink**) 03-06-2006

I remember a story about someone in from CA who was crewing in a Lake Michigan regatta...the Bluenose, I think, so named because it is late in the season and the weather is often cold and temperamental. At any rate, he spent many hours before the race looking down his nose at Lake Michigan and its sailors, wondering what this weenie little lake could possibly have to offer a sailor such as himself.

One ripped off toenail and several gashes and bruises later (not to mention probably a minor case of hypothermia), he informed all present that they could take this &#$(*!$ Lake Michigan sailing, he was going back to CA. And there was much rejoicing (and chanting of "WUSS WUSS WUSS WUSS").

Now, that's not to say that Lake Michigan isn't a fantastic place to sail. It really is. But as Irwin said, don't underestimate it, and don't underestimate the weather.