Sailing on Lake Superior
Hello All, Just chiming in on sailing on Lake Superior. Last year I took my M-15 up to Lake Superior and circumnavigated Isle Royale. For those who are not familiar with Isle Royale, it is a 45 mile long and 9 mile wide island located about 10-15 miles out into the lake near the Minnesota/Canada border. Almost the entire island is a National Park and is home to the longest running predator/prey (wolf/moose) study on the globe. I departed from Grand Portage, Minnesota for the 25 mile crossing to Windigo which is located at the southern tip of the island. The crossing was uneventful. From Windigo, whether one goes clockwise or counter clockwise there is a long passage (about 25-30 miles) to the next anchorage with no refuge so watching the weather was critical. Most of the rest of the island affords shorter passages though I did find myself sailing 10 hour days. Throughout the 10 day trip the voyage was spectacular. I had some exciting windy days, some slow windless days, plenty of fog and always incredible scenery to watch. With regard to safety, weather and water temperature was always at the forefront of my mind. I knew that if I fell in the water that survival would be dependent upon quick return to the boat. The water temperature is about 52 degrees. Therefore I had a harness and towed my inflatable kayak a good distance behind. I purchased an EPIRB for the trip and had other safety devices such as good ground tackle (22 pound Bruce anchor and plenty of warp in addition to two other anchors), GPS, and plenty of warm clothes to keep me warm and dry. With the water so cold, temperatures out on the water typically hovered around 55 degrees. At anchor it was about 70 or so during the days and dropped into the 50s at night. I watched the weather carefully and only once got caught in a very fast moving front. I was bobbing around in little wind when I saw a front move over the island and approach me. It looked like a wave rolling toward me. (I am attaching a picture of this.) I quickly lowered my sails and fired up the outboard. In a matter of minutes the sea went from calm to very choppy. It overturned my kayak which I then pulled in, deflated, and stowed in the cockpit. I rode out the wind and front. After it passed the sailing was great. Mosquitoes were a big challenge at night. Right at sunset (9:00 or so) the mosquitoes would come out. The seemed to thrive on the mosquito repellent I wore so that was useless. Fortunately I had rigged my companion way with mosquito netting which worked to keep the little blood suckers off me. I would spend about 10-15 minutes hunting down and killing those already in the cabin and then settle down to read a book while I was serenaded by thousands of mosquitoes. The noise was amazing! The mosquito netting was literally covered with them This year I am planning another trip -- this time during Labor Day. I will spend two weeks going around the island again, taking a bit more time exploring. Last year I was on a tighter schedule and had to keep moving each day. I have bought a new suit of sails which includes a storm jib and a main with two reef points. I will let you all know how that trip goes... John Hippe
John, Great report! I love to hear about Montgomery cruises to great places. I want to do them all :-) Doug Kelch "Seas the Day" M15 #310 --- On Fri, 7/25/08, John and DesAnne Hippe <jdhippe@gmail.com> wrote: From: John and DesAnne Hippe <jdhippe@gmail.com> Subject: M_Boats: Sailing on Lake Superior To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Date: Friday, July 25, 2008, 2:52 PM Hello All, Just chiming in on sailing on Lake Superior. Last year I took my M-15 up to Lake Superior and circumnavigated Isle Royale. For those who are not familiar with Isle Royale, it is a 45 mile long and 9 mile wide island located about 10-15 miles out into the lake near the Minnesota/Canada border. Almost the entire island is a National Park and is home to the longest running predator/prey (wolf/moose) study on the globe. I departed from Grand Portage, Minnesota for the 25 mile crossing to Windigo which is located at the southern tip of the island. The crossing was uneventful. From Windigo, whether one goes clockwise or counter clockwise there is a long passage (about 25-30 miles) to the next anchorage with no refuge so watching the weather was critical. Most of the rest of the island affords shorter passages though I did find myself sailing 10 hour days. Throughout the 10 day trip the voyage was spectacular. I had some exciting windy days, some slow windless days, plenty of fog and always incredible scenery to watch. With regard to safety, weather and water temperature was always at the forefront of my mind. I knew that if I fell in the water that survival would be dependent upon quick return to the boat. The water temperature is about 52 degrees. Therefore I had a harness and towed my inflatable kayak a good distance behind. I purchased an EPIRB for the trip and had other safety devices such as good ground tackle (22 pound Bruce anchor and plenty of warp in addition to two other anchors), GPS, and plenty of warm clothes to keep me warm and dry. With the water so cold, temperatures out on the water typically hovered around 55 degrees. At anchor it was about 70 or so during the days and dropped into the 50s at night. I watched the weather carefully and only once got caught in a very fast moving front. I was bobbing around in little wind when I saw a front move over the island and approach me. It looked like a wave rolling toward me. (I am attaching a picture of this.) I quickly lowered my sails and fired up the outboard. In a matter of minutes the sea went from calm to very choppy. It overturned my kayak which I then pulled in, deflated, and stowed in the cockpit. I rode out the wind and front. After it passed the sailing was great. Mosquitoes were a big challenge at night. Right at sunset (9:00 or so) the mosquitoes would come out. The seemed to thrive on the mosquito repellent I wore so that was useless. Fortunately I had rigged my companion way with mosquito netting which worked to keep the little blood suckers off me. I would spend about 10-15 minutes hunting down and killing those already in the cabin and then settle down to read a book while I was serenaded by thousands of mosquitoes. The noise was amazing! The mosquito netting was literally covered with them This year I am planning another trip -- this time during Labor Day. I will spend two weeks going around the island again, taking a bit more time exploring. Last year I was on a tighter schedule and had to keep moving each day. I have bought a new suit of sails which includes a storm jib and a main with two reef points. I will let you all know how that trip goes... John Hippe _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
Very impressive, John. Sounds like a great trip! I can't seem to find your photo; was it attached? Do you have other photos of the trip? Gordon On Jul 25, 2008, at 1:52 PM, John and DesAnne Hippe wrote:
Hello All,
Just chiming in on sailing on Lake Superior.
Last year I took my M-15 up to Lake Superior and circumnavigated Isle Royale. For those who are not familiar with Isle Royale, it is a 45 mile long and 9 mile wide island located about 10-15 miles out into the lake near the Minnesota/Canada border. Almost the entire island is a National Park and is home to the longest running predator/prey (wolf/moose) study on the globe.
I departed from Grand Portage, Minnesota for the 25 mile crossing to Windigo which is located at the southern tip of the island. The crossing was uneventful. From Windigo, whether one goes clockwise or counter clockwise there is a long passage (about 25-30 miles) to the next anchorage with no refuge so watching the weather was critical. Most of the rest of the island affords shorter passages though I did find myself sailing 10 hour days.
Throughout the 10 day trip the voyage was spectacular. I had some exciting windy days, some slow windless days, plenty of fog and always incredible scenery to watch.
With regard to safety, weather and water temperature was always at the forefront of my mind. I knew that if I fell in the water that survival would be dependent upon quick return to the boat. The water temperature is about 52 degrees. Therefore I had a harness and towed my inflatable kayak a good distance behind. I purchased an EPIRB for the trip and had other safety devices such as good ground tackle (22 pound Bruce anchor and plenty of warp in addition to two other anchors), GPS, and plenty of warm clothes to keep me warm and dry. With the water so cold, temperatures out on the water typically hovered around 55 degrees. At anchor it was about 70 or so during the days and dropped into the 50s at night.
I watched the weather carefully and only once got caught in a very fast moving front. I was bobbing around in little wind when I saw a front move over the island and approach me. It looked like a wave rolling toward me. (I am attaching a picture of this.) I quickly lowered my sails and fired up the outboard. In a matter of minutes the sea went from calm to very choppy. It overturned my kayak which I then pulled in, deflated, and stowed in the cockpit. I rode out the wind and front. After it passed the sailing was great.
Mosquitoes were a big challenge at night. Right at sunset (9:00 or so) the mosquitoes would come out. The seemed to thrive on the mosquito repellent I wore so that was useless. Fortunately I had rigged my companion way with mosquito netting which worked to keep the little blood suckers off me. I would spend about 10-15 minutes hunting down and killing those already in the cabin and then settle down to read a book while I was serenaded by thousands of mosquitoes. The noise was amazing! The mosquito netting was literally covered with them
This year I am planning another trip -- this time during Labor Day. I will spend two weeks going around the island again, taking a bit more time exploring. Last year I was on a tighter schedule and had to keep moving each day. I have bought a new suit of sails which includes a storm jib and a main with two reef points. I will let you all know how that trip goes...
John Hippe _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
Hi John, great report on your trip. My son and I were on Isle Royal back packing at the end of June last summer. Beautiful place. Saw Fox, Otters but no Moose of Wolves. Water temp then was only 48 degrees. I jumped in for a quick bath and right out! Seriously cold. We did not seem to have the bugs as bad but they sure do swarm! The DEET really worked. Not sure what you were using but you might try DEET next time if you have not already. Take care, Robbin M-17 #056 out of Breezy Point MD (great wind this afternoon!) John and DesAnne Hippe wrote:
Hello All,
Just chiming in on sailing on Lake Superior.
Last year I took my M-15 up to Lake Superior and circumnavigated Isle Royale. For those who are not familiar with Isle Royale, it is a 45 mile long and 9 mile wide island located about 10-15 miles out into the lake near the Minnesota/Canada border. Almost the entire island is a National Park and is home to the longest running predator/prey (wolf/moose) study on the globe.
I departed from Grand Portage, Minnesota for the 25 mile crossing to Windigo which is located at the southern tip of the island. The crossing was uneventful. From Windigo, whether one goes clockwise or counter clockwise there is a long passage (about 25-30 miles) to the next anchorage with no refuge so watching the weather was critical. Most of the rest of the island affords shorter passages though I did find myself sailing 10 hour days.
Throughout the 10 day trip the voyage was spectacular. I had some exciting windy days, some slow windless days, plenty of fog and always incredible scenery to watch.
With regard to safety, weather and water temperature was always at the forefront of my mind. I knew that if I fell in the water that survival would be dependent upon quick return to the boat. The water temperature is about 52 degrees. Therefore I had a harness and towed my inflatable kayak a good distance behind. I purchased an EPIRB for the trip and had other safety devices such as good ground tackle (22 pound Bruce anchor and plenty of warp in addition to two other anchors), GPS, and plenty of warm clothes to keep me warm and dry. With the water so cold, temperatures out on the water typically hovered around 55 degrees. At anchor it was about 70 or so during the days and dropped into the 50s at night.
I watched the weather carefully and only once got caught in a very fast moving front. I was bobbing around in little wind when I saw a front move over the island and approach me. It looked like a wave rolling toward me. (I am attaching a picture of this.) I quickly lowered my sails and fired up the outboard. In a matter of minutes the sea went from calm to very choppy. It overturned my kayak which I then pulled in, deflated, and stowed in the cockpit. I rode out the wind and front. After it passed the sailing was great.
Mosquitoes were a big challenge at night. Right at sunset (9:00 or so) the mosquitoes would come out. The seemed to thrive on the mosquito repellent I wore so that was useless. Fortunately I had rigged my companion way with mosquito netting which worked to keep the little blood suckers off me. I would spend about 10-15 minutes hunting down and killing those already in the cabin and then settle down to read a book while I was serenaded by thousands of mosquitoes. The noise was amazing! The mosquito netting was literally covered with them
This year I am planning another trip -- this time during Labor Day. I will spend two weeks going around the island again, taking a bit more time exploring. Last year I was on a tighter schedule and had to keep moving each day. I have bought a new suit of sails which includes a storm jib and a main with two reef points. I will let you all know how that trip goes...
John Hippe _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
participants (4)
-
Doug Kelch -
Gordon Gilbert -
John and DesAnne Hippe -
Robbin Roddewig