Heading to northern lake michigan next week

Phasma, come on up....things aren't quite like some folks are telling you.:D
Must have scared him off. Where do you boat on the big lake Woody. Do you visit the Soo and the North Channel?
 
You guys mentioned Manitoulin island... We have charted trawlers up there a number of times. One of our favorite places is the Benjamin islands ...South Benjamin. Islands are north side of Manitou above Gore Bay. Just a beautiful area. Here are a couple of pics tied up tight to the rocks.. so easy to get off to explore and fires at night on the rocks. An area you must see at least once.

Benjamins1.jpg
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Must have scared him off. Where do you boat on the big lake Woody. Do you visit the Soo and the North Channel?
I haven't been to the North Channel yet but it's a run I plan to make when I can get 3 weeks or so together. I've been through the Soo Locks but haven't spent any time in the area. So far my boating is mostly in the triangle on this map.
Capture5.JPG
 
You guys mentioned Manitoulin island... We have charted trawlers up there a number of times. One of our favorite places is the Benjamin islands ...South Benjamin. Islands are north side of Manitou above Gore Bay. Just a beautiful area. Here are a couple of pics tied up tight to the rocks.. so easy to get off to explore and fires at night on the rocks. An area you must see at least once.

View attachment 59148 View attachment 59149
We've been all over that area. It is beautiful and some of our friends have spent the better part of a summer hanging out there.
 
I haven't been to the North Channel yet but it's a run I plan to make when I can get 3 weeks or so together. I've been through the Soo Locks but haven't spent any time in the area. So far my boating is mostly in the triangle on this map.
View attachment 59150
What are the best things to see and do in the triangle?
 
Sbw1,
I pulled up my waterway guide and started doing some homework on Lake Superior. I was puzzled by your comment about fuel. Maybe I misunderstood your comment. The waterway guide shows the longest distance between fuel stops is 90 miles. That being the distance from Sault st Marie to Grand Marais (Burt Township Marina). The rest of the fuel stops are only 30-40 miles. Am I missing something? I appreciate your warning and certainly don’t want to get myself into a bad situation. Other than weather I don’t see where a trip to Lake Superior would be a hazard. Can you help me out with more info?
What is the name of your 'waterway guide'?
 
What are the best things to see and do in the triangle?
What I like is the natural aspect, still a bit wild, few boats once away from marinas and beaches, areas without cell service, ah ha kids...no wi-fi here, put them things away.

I'd recommend getting the touring guide called 'The Superior Way'. Done by sailboaters it's got great detail on the lake, anchorages, ports, amenities, and some history.

Certainly coming from the east don't miss the Pictured Rocks Lakeshore, maybe Big Bay, MI....Jimmy Stewart made Anatomy of a Murder there. Hike up to the lighthouse at the Huron Islands, becareful going to the dock. Go through the Keweenaw Waterway, stop at Houghton/Hancock. I'd recommend a run up to Copper Harbor at least. Bayfield, WI is probably most like some nice lower MI ports and you could spend the rest of a summer just getting a feel for the Apostle Islands and Isle Royale.

Going clockwise around the lake there should be no problems finding fuel until after Rossport, Ontario. Between there and the Soo you'd have to make arrangements for fuel. Easy enough to do I'm told but don't ask me who, and where.

As far as Lake Superior waters go...Any competent planning and weather watch practices that work on Michigan will work on Superior. It can get nastier than hell up here but I don't think much different than Lake Michigan or Huron. With every boat I've had I always get to the same point where I feel 'this is getting to rough'. My run to storage last fall was a dilly. Supposed to be sunny, 2' or less. Squall after squall popped up and stirred the lake up so bad my autopilot couldn't keep up, it got confused I think because the fluxgate compass couldn't handle the crazy boat movement. Last part of the trip was me trying to stay on course...what a work out that was.
 
Waterwayguide.com
I look at that also. It is a little deceptive, example....on Isle Royale it shows many marinas and it is incorrect, just about all are docks only, some that aren't suitable for boats over 3' draft. On the Keweenaw Peninula it shows Eagle Harbor with fuel when it hasn't had fuel for over 10 years. If it's any help to you I'd be up for a phone conversation....lots easier than typing.
 
I look at that also. It is a little deceptive, example....on Isle Royale it shows many marinas and it is incorrect, just about all are docks only, some that aren't suitable for boats over 3' draft. On the Keweenaw Peninula it shows Eagle Harbor with fuel when it hasn't had fuel for over 10 years. If it's any help to you I'd be up for a phone conversation....lots easier than typing.
That was my thought as well Woody. You really need to do a good job of fuel planning when your theoretical range can go to pot wth a change in the seas. For example our boat can go from nearly 1 mpg to under .5 in a big following sea. On Lake Michigan you can almost always duck into a full service marina if things take a turn for the worse. Superior requires some added respect the way I see it.
 
Thanks to all who offered advice on our trip north. The visit to South Manitou island was fantastic, I recomend it to anyone who will be in the area.
The weather forced us to head home two days ahead of plan so we missed Petoskey. We did bike from Frankfort to Beulah on the trail system, that was well worth the time too. Charelvoix was a great two day stop as well.
The 410 and Cats performed perfectly, we ran thru some 5 ish footers on our way south, that made for some boring 15 knt travel but it didn’t last for more than an hour.
I will attempt to upload a couple pics from the island. The pic overlooking the bay was taken from the railing on the lighthouse, our boat is anchored on the left.
 

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Thanks to all who offered advice on our trip north. The visit to South Manitou island was fantastic, I recomend it to anyone who will be in the area.
The weather forced us to head home two days ahead of plan so we missed Petoskey. We did bike from Frankfort to Beulah on the trail system, that was well worth the time too. Charelvoix was a great two day stop as well.
The 410 and Cats performed perfectly, we ran thru some 5 ish footers on our way south, that made for some boring 15 knt travel but it didn’t last for more than an hour.
I will attempt to upload a couple pics from the island. The pic overlooking the bay was taken from the railing on the lighthouse, our boat is anchored on the left.
Pat,
Nice meeting you in Elk Rapids we docked next to you, we spent two nights in Leland after leaving ER than headed back to Montague Wednesday afternoon after the lake calmed down a bit that cut our trip by a couple days but that was okay. Our trip consisted of 11 ports 22 days and about 550 miles.....Hope your dad enjoyed his time on the boat!
 
Pat,
Nice meeting you in Elk Rapids we docked next to you, we spent two nights in Leland after leaving ER than headed back to Montague Wednesday afternoon after the lake calmed down a bit that cut our trip by a couple days but that was okay. Our trip consisted of 11 ports 22 days and about 550 miles.....Hope your dad enjoyed his time on the boat!
Hi
It was great meeting you as well. Your boat is in amazing condition, great job keeping her in like new shape.
My Dad enjoyed his first trip on “big water”. We made a detour over to Northport on the way to Charlevoix, stopped for lunch and a swim. Checked out Gull Island, what a nasty place!
On the return trip we had to skip Leland and push on to Frankfort Wednesday afternoon. Thursday mid day we ran the rest of the way back to Grand Haven.
I would like to catch up with you after season and review your floor installation details again. That might be a winter project???
Thanks
Pat
 
Hi
It was great meeting you as well. Your boat is in amazing condition, great job keeping her in like new shape.
My Dad enjoyed his first trip on “big water”. We made a detour over to Northport on the way to Charlevoix, stopped for lunch and a swim. Checked out Gull Island, what a nasty place!
On the return trip we had to skip Leland and push on to Frankfort Wednesday afternoon. Thursday mid day we ran the rest of the way back to Grand Haven.
I would like to catch up with you after season and review your floor installation details again. That might be a winter project???
Thanks
Pat
No problem, I’d be glad to show you the floor and the trim I used, I’m at the boat a fair amount over the winter so that shouldn’t be a problem, I store in Whitehall.
Rick
 

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