Best North American Cruising Grounds?

[blt2ski]

Puget sound is one of the busiest port style bodies of water as far as commercial traffic goes in the world. Comparing it to say a SanFransico bay, chesapeak etc. The reality is tho, that the commercial channels are well marked, you usually see the ships far in advance. I have to admit, it is fun in the summer on sat and sun about 5pm in Edmonds where tenuki and I sail out of, there are three cruise ships heading north at 30 min intervals. They create some really big rollers, kind fun to sail over in reality.

personally, I would not worry about the ships. yes they exist, there is one every 30-60 min coming or going into the area some place. A lot of tug traffic. To me, I enjoy seeing the ships come and go, just like I can sometimes hear the edmonds ferry horn 5 miles away, along with the trains on the waterfront.

All in all, a great place to sail, stink pot around etc. IIRC there are more boats per capita than any place else in the US. lots of boats of all shapes and sizes. Rivers are great for kayaking, rafting........

Too many things to do, and not enough time. I've been to the top of ranier, baker, adams, olympus, quite the vews from up there! Never get tired of looking at them volcanos from the water either.

Winter temps in seattle go from 35 for ave low to 45 for the high in jan, coldest month, August is usually the warmest, 65-80 is pretty typical, with no wind till noon, and 5-15 out of the north till evening. You do not have to really worry too much about winterizing a boat. yeah we have a week or two at different times from Dec untill feb that the temps will be below 32 the whole time, but typical low is 15-20F, high about 25-30F for the week. IIRC it has been down to 0F maybe 2 or 3 times. Rarely does it hit single digits, unless north of the skagit river, then it does get a bit colder during the arctic blasts that can come down. Usually it is clear, north winds 5-20.

Radar is good to have, more for the foggy days and times than anything. lots to do and see!

marty

[anthony11]

Originally Posted by Faster

More than one season and still potential year-round sailing (certainly no winter haulouts)

I've been trying for some time to figure out why people in some areas only have their their boats in the water a couple of months a year, then go through the hassle of having it hauled out and parked somewhere where it can't be sailed. What's the reasoning?

[sailingdog]

Umm... ICE is a pretty good reason. Up here in New England, and certainly the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, winter can be quite nasty... and not very suitable for keeping a larger sailboat in the water.

Originally Posted by anthony11

I've been trying for some time to figure out why people in some areas only have their their boats in the water a couple of months a year, then go through the hassle of having it hauled out and parked somewhere where it can't be sailed. What's the reasoning?

[Ron H]

Wondering if I can re-ignite this thread. We recently moved to Iowa and are now land-locked. Planning to bring the bring the boat from New England to the Great Lakes this summer & will spend future summers mostly aboard. Question is: Where to?

We tend spend our time on a hook looking for sunsets, and quiet coves instead of slips and civilization.

Any recommendations?
Ron

[xort]

how far do you want to travel to the boat from Iowa? There are some very large resovoirs in Iowa.
Next closest would be Lake Michigan. The lower lake doesn't have as many anchoring places as Green Bay but that is farther to drive.
The best of the Great Lakes is the North Channel & Georgian Bay over on the east side of Lake Huron. Too far to drive for a weekend but a great vacation spot to plan for.

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Umm... ICE is a pretty good reason.

And snow. Somehow the thought of having to shovel up to a footor more of snow off the decks and out of the cockit doesn't attract . Then there's the wind and cold. 25 kts is wonderful when it's warm, but in sub-freezing, and especially sub-zero temperatures, it becomes down-right brutal.

Some people around here do leave their boats in the water and bubble the hulls. You can spot sailboats out on the lakes in the wintertime, when they're not frozen-over. Or so I'm told.

Jim

[SailChick20]

Originally Posted by xort

The best of the Great Lakes is the North Channel & Georgian Bay over on the east side of Lake Huron. .

Also, Les Cheneaux Islands near the North Channel...

[bubb2]

The Atlantic coast north of New York. So much history. Mystic CT. Newport RI. Boston, MA. Gloucester MA. and all of Maine. Hallifax NS.

[Ron H]

The boat's a Barberis Show 38, 6.5' draft. We haven't found any reservoirs that look workable - maybe Rathbun Lake, but it's small & Lake Michigan is only an extra hour or so drive. We're on a teacher's summer schedule - planning to spend most of the summer on the boat and make the drive only a couple times (I want once each way and the family is discussing options).

I can't find much gunkholing on Lake Michigan - seems like mostly slips. We'll drive further for better destinations - are Green Bay & Lake Superior the place to go? Can you recommend any marinas to talk to as potential home ports?

Thanks!

how far do you want to travel to the boat from Iowa? There are some very large reservoirs in Iowa.
Next closest would be Lake Michigan. The lower lake doesn't have as many anchoring places as Green Bay but that is farther to drive.
The best of the Great Lakes is the North Channel & Georgian Bay over on the east side of Lake Huron. Too far to drive for a weekend but a great vacation spot to plan for.