Summer Trips Planned

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe one night in Frankfort and one night in Traverse would balance cost/value.

Sum Escape said:
Crystal Lake is just that....crystal clear. You would have a great time cruising it. Frankfort is a fun little town to shop and a number of nice restaurants. It is not a Traverse City, but the lake is awesome.
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sea hare said:
We will also be doing a similar trip.. Tenatively Aug 16th. We slip on Lake Winnebago in WI, so were gonna get trailered up to Sturgeon Bay, then over to Frankfort, Leland, Charlevoix, then Boyne City. This will be my first time traveling any distance on Michigan so my nerves are shaky but still super excited. Obviously weather and equipment is top priority
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I've crossed the lake twice in my 30' Sundancer. Ludington to Sturgeon Bay and Ludington to Port Washington. The Sturgeon Bay trip was solo which was a bit tense, but once we made the trip is was no big deal. You'll be fine. We did have a float plan with a friend with instructions to call authorities if we missed our check-in time for the solo crossing. You'll enjoy that itinerary. Frankfort will be very busy with salmon fisherman that time of year so use caution. Leland is a great port, The new docks there are a little tight but the harbor staff is outstanding and will get you in your slip. Charlevoix is nice and as I've stated before, Boyne City was a real nice surprise. Stay at the Harborage Marina as opposed to the municipal. It's much nicer for the same money. Maybe one extra block from downtown. Cafe Sante is great for dinner.
 
sea hare said:
We will also be doing a similar trip.. Tenatively Aug 16th. We slip on Lake Winnebago in WI, so were gonna get trailered up to Sturgeon Bay, then over to Frankfort, Leland, Charlevoix, then Boyne City. This will be my first time traveling any distance on Michigan so my nerves are shaky but still super excited. Obviously weather and equipment is top priority
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Hey man I have seen you out on Boatingwinnebago.com. My suggestion is to invest in good safety equipment. Get your self a registered EPRB with the USCG, and either wear the vest or have it right next to you. We have put ours on when the lake gets intimidating. We also have a float-able safety bag that goes with us and is out on deck when we run. It will have everything you need if something bad does happen. In a time of crisis safety equipment will be your best investment. If you have the right equipment and can accurately signal the USCG no matter where you are on the lake you are 30-45 min from a rescue. I have made the crossing a few times and it can be fine and it also can be terrible. You have to be able to just go with the flow and change your plans when weather dictates it. Last year we did not even make it across because of the weather. If you want to check out what we have and how we use it hit me up I am in Neenah so we are close.
 
These trips all sound great. We are heading down from the Detroit / Lake St. Clair Area to Maumee Bay and then Put-In-Bay. We will be visiting Maumee June 29th thru July 1st and Put-In-Bay July 2nd thru 4th. We have booked the slips at Maumee, but are having trouble booking in Put-In-Bay. It seems a lot of places don't take reservations, so does anyone have any suggestions for slips at Put-In-Bay? FYI, we have about 7 boats going on this trip. Thanks and hope everyone has safe, enjoyable trips.
 
My suggestion is get there early. I believe the harbor is first come first served. Last time we were there, the slips were full. We had to anchor in the bay and wait. The other option is to tie-up to a mooring bouy or drop hook and the water taxi's will take you to the island. That's what we did until we could get a slip later in the day!

gkuypers said:
These trips all sound great. We are heading down from the Detroit / Lake St. Clair Area to Maumee Bay and then Put-In-Bay. We will be visiting Maumee June 29th thru July 1st and Put-In-Bay July 2nd thru 4th. We have booked the slips at Maumee, but are having trouble booking in Put-In-Bay. It seems a lot of places don't take reservations, so does anyone have any suggestions for slips at Put-In-Bay? FYI, we have about 7 boats going on this trip. Thanks and hope everyone has safe, enjoyable trips.
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KC_Sundancer said:
Our plans are heading northwest to all the Keweenaw ports, Isle Royal, Thunder Bay Ontario and back home to Munising. If Big Bay's harbor is dredged by then maybe a stop there along the way.
Fishing, diving and relaxing - can't wait. :grin:
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KC, I was in Big Bay last Sept with no problems, I've seen it worse. So far for 2013 Superior is matching 2012 levels, let's hope it doesn't drop from there.
 
Woody said:
KC, I was in Big Bay last Sept with no problems, I've seen it worse. So far for 2013 Superior is matching 2012 levels, let's hope it doesn't drop from there.
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We occasionally take a road trip up there for the day and, looking from the dock, the entrance has looked like you could walk across. Hard to judge depth from the shore with the sandy bottom and the clear water makes it even more deceiving. I'd like to make that our overnight stop along the way. It splits the distance to Houghton making for a less rushed trip, especially on the first night.
This year should be good with all the heavy lake effect we are still getting in Munising, the water is staying here instead of evaporating and going elsewhere, some of it anyway.

Thanks for the Big Bay note. :thumbsup:
 
surfinjoe said:
My suggestion is get there early. I believe the harbor is first come first served. Last time we were there, the slips were full. We had to anchor in the bay and wait. The other option is to tie-up to a mooring bouy or drop hook and the water taxi's will take you to the island. That's what we did until we could get a slip later in the day!
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Thanks for the information. We are trying to reserve some slips at PIBYC, but currently no one is answering email or the phone. Also we thought Duggans took reservations, but we heard they have new owners and now don't take reservations. Crews Nest takes reservations, but is full this week. I guess if we cannot book reservations we will have to do something similar to what you suggest, however with 7 boats it's not so easy.
 
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In Bay Harbor. We have an 87 foot Horath and a 125 Berger here off our stern waiting out the 10 to 12 footers for today. I talked to captain of the 125 and he says Lake Michigan 10 footers are a different story than ocean and he is staying even though he is due to pick up owner at Chicago Burnham Harbor today
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Doug - I am so glad you are having a great trip. The pics are great. The lake is suppose to be lumpy tomorrow and Saturday on the south end so hopefully this will not slow your travels. Best wishes for continued safe travels.
 
Sunday is day 8 of trip in Petoskey. We are heading to Charlevoix tomorrow.
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Three days in Ludington MI - The Badger really spits the coal! We had a mat on swim platform and its outline was very visible after one day
 
And just think of that Badger stuff in your lungs too.....
Nice trip for you. Glad you had a good time. Pics are great. Have a safe "rest of trip".
 
We did our trip the last week in July. All I have to say is where did summer go or actually where is it. I think we had about a week of what could be considered summer weather and then the door was slammed shut. We did not have great weather and are contemplating not doing it next year. The gamble is just too high. The amount of money it costs to do these trips I do not want every ride to involve kids getting sick and being scared the whole time. The entire week I think we had two days of decent weather every other day was small craft advisories. There were reports of 14 foot waves in Frankfort when we were in Leland attempting to go across or down to Frankfort and we ended up just turning tail and going back into Leland. www.alwaysstarboard.com
 
We left on July 19 and crossed to MI on the 20th. We left Sheboygan on the 20th a 6 am to try to beat the lake. but the last 30 miles to Frankfort was at least 3-5's with an occasional 7 or so. I was running with the wipers on and taking spray over the hard top at about 10 knots. (plus I probably ran on plane too long and did some banging before we cut back). We had the same from Petosky to Charlevoix, but that was only 15 miles or so. Generally we moved on good days and avoided the bad, but there was some cold windy days.
 
We ran that week as well. Best I can say is we have a really clean hull. Our last leg of ride home Sheboygan to MKE was near glass. I'm really becoming a fair weather sailor.
 
Great thread!!!! This year, because we got the new boat, and it jostled up the summer, our big trip was just Kenosha to Sheboygan, but had an awesome time. Was very much impressed with the Sheboygan harbor and water front.

Next year, will be the big trip.... 2-3 weeks. I'm giddy just thinking about it!
 
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