Long Distance Sailing - Lake Michigan

Hello all,

Last August, a friend and I attempted to sail my Hobie 17 Sport from Leland, MI down the coast to New Buffalo - nearly to the Indiana border. After 5 straight days of fighting a strong wind from the South, we threw in the towel. According to our Garmin, we sailed over 225 miles in total, but only made it to Ludington (roughly half that distance).

Though it was a great experience, had we decided to do the trip in the opposite direction we certainly would have had a much better outcome. As it turns out, we met a man in Ludington who told us that only a few days prior he encountered two guys doing just that: apparently they departed from the Chicago area and were sailing north up the coast. What a trip that must have been... I am quite jealous of their good fortune!

I suppose the main purpose / goal of this message is to see if anyone would like to attempt such a trip. My friend and I would like to make another go at it either this summer or in 2012.

Also if anyone has any tips or advice for long-distance Hobie sailing, we are all ears. We thought we were pretty well prepared, but we'd love to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience.

DFS

Did a Muskegon to Ludington several years ago in August. Three catamarans, we all stayed together. One wiped out at Silver Lake and the water was cold, so we all quit. Thinking about another fun sail similar to that one. Main thing is to have road crew. Head with the wind, not against it and see how far you go in one day. Stay together, stay safe.

_________________
1989 Hobie 18 Worlds Boat, Magnum Wings & Spinnaker
1987 Hobie Holder 20 #273

dale.vanlopik"at"att"dot"net

I live in the western part Leelanau county and spend most of my time sailing on Glen Lake. Just purchased an H18 last September after having sailed for years on the family's old H16. The thought was to have something more capable for Lake Michigan. My brother and I want to take a trip out to the Manitous this summer, but we plan to get a little more experience on the boat in the bays first. (We launched out of Sleeping Bear Bay one day last October when it was really blowing out of the Northwest, and though nothing went wrong, we came back with our tails between our legs. It's serious business out there.)

Would definitely be up for something longer in the future. Shoot me a PM and let's start a dialog. It'd be great to have some others to sail with up here.

-Peter

Hey you MI sailors. I am planning a trip from TN to sail my 18 in the East Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City. We will be there Labor Day weekend. What type, if any, of cold water gear do you recommend?

BTW have you tried to reach anyone who has sailed in the Tybee 500? Distance race up the FL coast to Tybee Island, SC. A fellow Damon Linkus, who runs thebeachcats.dot.com website covered that race a few times. You may consider tips from those guys.

Good Luck - sounds like a great time.

_________________
1984 Hobie 18

You asked for someone that has "Long Distance" experience ....

My Resume' ....

Down the Bay .... (Chesapeake Bay ... +150m) ... 5X's .... on a H18 or P19

New England 100 ... ("Plankowner") .... 4X's .... on a H18Mag ....

Chesapeake 100 .... ("Plankowner") .... 10X's? ... on a H18Mag or P19 ...

NASS Race ... (Annapolis to Oxford Md) .... (founder of "Beach Cat" Class) ... 5-6X's ....

Currently Racing/Crewing on a 43' Corsair Tri in "CBYRA" races .... just completed "Coast Guard" Inaugural Race ... (160m race from Annapolis to Potomac ... & BACK!!!!) .... Gov Cup & Solomons Races .... 4-5X's ....

Many personal friends that have competed in the "Worrell 1000"/"Tybee 500" ...... (including three on the 43' Tri last weekend that have done the "Worrell"/"Tybee" multible times ...)

What do you want to know ????? ........

_________________
HarryMurphey
H-18 mag/ #9458
Fleet 54 Div 11

Ohhhhhh ...

Mr Wally Meyers, Past H16 National Champion is a "Iron Man" ...... from the days of the Worrell 1000 when they used H16's w/ a 3 man crew racing 24/7 from Ft Lauderdale to Va Beach ..... that is from the era known as ... the race on "PLASTIC BOATS WITH IRON MEN ...."

Also .....

Mr Matt Bounds knows ALOT too .... you may wish to speak w/ him .....

_________________
HarryMurphey
H-18 mag/ #9458
Fleet 54 Div 11

Thats over 4,200 miles! Like sailing from NY to LA then over to Dallas.

How old are you? HA, just kidding - thats a very impressive resume.

_________________
1984 Hobie 18

Yaaaa ..... I did most of that in my "young and foolish" days. You could say I've had alot of water pass under my keel ....

I was born Dec 30 1956 .... on July 4 1957 I was in a bassinett on my grandfather's 17' Thompson Outboard while my parents and grandparents watched the fireworks off Cape May NJ .....

So I've been a "water rat" since a youngun' .......

_________________
HarryMurphey
H-18 mag/ #9458
Fleet 54 Div 11

Most of my long distance miles on Lake Michigan are on the cross lake races, the Queens Cup, Clipper Cup, Trip and the old Transmichigan. I sailed on anything from a 24' trimaran to a Great lakes 70. I lost count after 36 times, It's got to be closer to 4 dozen now. Never did the Chicago to Mac, not sure I want to. I also did a cruise on a F-28 from Muskegon to the Island. Going under the Mac bridge was cool as well as going through Grays Reef.

I can tell you that the big lake can change very quickly, and it gets really cold at night, even in the summer. And I forgot about the flies.. bring bugspray.

A friend and I wanted to sail a beach cat across the lake but our wives put a crimp on that idea.

Contact me with any questions..........

_________________
1989 Hobie 18 Worlds Boat, Magnum Wings & Spinnaker
1987 Hobie Holder 20 #273

dale.vanlopik"at"att"dot"net

oh, so tempting...

Did a near-shore race on Lake Huron last September - Already we were dreaming of sailing from Tawas over to the thumb.

Up the West Coast of Michigan would be incredible. Maybe you could do a multi-stage event like Tybee or something. Start small and build over a few years...

_________________
Jeff R
'88 H18 Jolly Mon
'10 F18 Closely Called
cramsailing.com

Fritz and I ran (race officers) a race through CRAM years ago: The Gold Coast 100. St. Joseph MI to Holland on Saturday and Holland to Muskegon MI on Sunday. Saturday was a light wind day but Sunday was rough and windy. We wanted to run it again but the venues and dates didn't work out. I still have all of the information. The beach start on Sunday was rough. We sent them off in one minute intervals. If I remember the finish was a Tornado, Nacra 20, and a Hobie 16, and the Hobie flipped once. There was a article in Catamaran sailor and Multihull Magazine, Mike Fahle wrote them.

Lake Michigan can change its attitude in hours......Pick a day, if the weather and the forcast looks good, sail. If not, don't go out.

A few of us might do a fun sail up north this summer out of Muskegon, once again, the weather has to be good. May need a road crew or maybe just turn around and end back at the same place we started from.

_________________
1989 Hobie 18 Worlds Boat, Magnum Wings & Spinnaker
1987 Hobie Holder 20 #273

dale.vanlopik"at"att"dot"net

Dale,

Do you think that half their problem was too much wieght on that H17 Sport??? I have no experience w/ a H17 ... but have lots of friends in Div11 that race them .... the H17 seems to be wieght sensitive .... anything much over +200lbs and the boat sets down in the water to much. If you were on a beat, I could see the waves just stopping the boats forward momentum.

Maybe a H16, H18 or H20 would be a much better choice to handle the "Open" water conditions on the Great Lakes ...... when trying to cover long distances.

(I've only sailed/raced on fresh water lakes twice .... the rest of the time it's been "on the salt" .....)

(... and I've heard stories about those flies !!!!!!!)

PS: A "Seacart 30" that is out of Annapolis is suppose to be going west to do the "Mac" Race this year ..... a extremely fast tri !!!!!!!! If you get a chance go take a look at her ..... we just competed against her ... and she "smoked" us ....)

_________________
HarryMurphey
H-18 mag/ #9458
Fleet 54 Div 11

Harry, Yes the Hobie 17 is very weight sensitive. Loaded down with weight I can understand that they might have lost some pointing ability.

My Hobie 18 can turn into a dog somedays with 400+ lbs of weight on it, which is how I normally sail it (Team Bulk). I like the 18 because of the wings. It makes sailing comfortable, dryer and warmer. One goal I have is to sail all of the Great Lakes on the Hobie 18. I will get to Superior next as my daughter is going to Northern in Marquette MI in the fall. Then there is only one of the Great Lakes left to do. (now you know why I haven't invested in a new boat)

I love sailing in fresh water, no salt in the eyes and mouth. You don't have to wash off the boat or sails, and the rigging and corrosion is minimal. Fresh water boats last a long time. I have sailed in the Gulf on a F24 and crossed the gulf stream on a 36' monohull.

As for Lake Michigan, I have sailed across it when it was like a mirror, I have a picture from that trip on the cover of a old Scanner Magazine. My first time across was 28 mph winds and 8' waves, we reefed the main on the monohull and increased speed.

Like any sailing, perfect weather is a perfect day of sailing, but you remember the bad days longer, and those stories are more interesting. BTW my fastest time across Lake MI is 8 hours 6 min. The longest, over 22 hours.

The boat is finally on the beach, time to get out sailing soon.

_________________
1989 Hobie 18 Worlds Boat, Magnum Wings & Spinnaker
1987 Hobie Holder 20 #273

dale.vanlopik"at"att"dot"net