Plan for potentially longer sail times...I did about 30 miles and given finicky wind it took 15 hours give or take! Bring comfy stuff to sit on! Jazz On Aug 9, 2016 12:12 PM, "Andrei Caldararu via montgomery_boats" < montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
Hello fellow M-boat sailors,
I am planning on taking my two boys to a trip to Isle Royale sometime about two weeks from now. I have never been to Isle Royale, but I have sailed once for 4 days around the Apostle Islands. Our boat is a 1984 M-17, Seaweed.
My plan as of now is to drive the first day to Grand Portage from our home in Madison, WI, and sleep the first night there. (We are a bit flexible with the departure date, so we can wait if the forecast does not call for good weather.) The next day we would sail/motor from Grand Portage to Windigo, and then spend the next 4-5 days sailing around the island, hiking, and camping. The last day we’d sail/motor back to Grand Portage and take the boat out, and the next day we’d drive back, for a total of about 8 days door to door.
I don’t expect to sleep on the boat unless absolutely necessary (3 people would make for very tight quarters), but rather to tie the boat to various docks and to sleep in the lean-to cabins that the park seems to provide. If they are occupied we will have a tent with us.
I was hoping for some advice and recommendations about the trip. What things are a must to bring? How much fuel should we carry for the outboard (a 4hp Evinrude 2-stroke)? Recommendations for the route to go around the island, and particular coves/bays to stop in or explore? Should we go clockwise or anticlockwise around the island? I did a ballpark estimate of about 65 miles around the island, or about 4-5 hours/day of sailing if we want to go around the island. That sounds a bit much, is that realistic to cover in 4 days? Or should we just plan to explore only a part of half of the shoreline (south or north?) and come back the way we came?
Any advice will be highly appreciated.
Thank you, Andrei.