Lake Michigan trip - safety precautions

[Cevin c Taylor]

An opportunity has come up to sail my '83 CP 16 with a friend out to South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan.  It's about 7 miles (straight line) from the nearest point on the NW MI coast.  It's about 9 miles from the best launch site.  I'm pretty excited about it, but I don't want to be foolish.  I've seen Lake Michigan as smooth as glass and also very scary.  Obviously watching the forecast and having a Plan B is foremost.  I've also been reviewing the Coast Guard list of safety equipment.  I have a handheld VHF radio and one that is wired into the boat.  I guess I'd rather err on being overprepared.  Lk Michigan can be very cold; I was thinking of getting a wetsuit.  I see them locally on Craigslist for about 50-100$.  There are also some shipwrecks off the island that I can use the suit to dive with.  I'm going to fix up a way to bungee the drop boards down, and I've got a strong bungee on the lazarette hatch.   I don't want to spend the $ on an inflatable dinghy.  I have a 13' sit on top kayak that won't sink, but it seems somewhat ridiculous to tow it behind when it's almost as long as the '16.  I have a 4.5 hp outboard that's been pretty dependable, though it takes several pulls to start it.  What are reasonable measures to take?  My main concern is a sudden storm catching us by surprise and getting into a situation beyond our skills (relatively novice at this point).  I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have.  

[Vipersdad]

Here are a few things-----

Learn how to "heave to".

Wear your PFD when out of the cockpit.

Use jack lines and clip in when needed.

Check your clevis pins and cotter keys before departure.

Have an extra anchor and lots of rode.

"Reef early"

Don't take a leak off the stern.

If you keep the hatches battened down in a blow the boat will be fine.

V.

[wes]

Nice list! Very good advice. My own rule (hey, I'm the captain, so I get to make the rules on my boat) is that PFD's must be worn all the time, not just when out of the cockpit. I don't allow anyone on my 19 unless they are wearing a PFD. I invested in four nice, comfortable inflatable Mustangs, so that nobody could argue about comfort or clumsiness. We take them off only at anchor if we go swimming, or go to sleep at night. When underway, it's PFDs for everyone.

Tell any complainers to watch the videos of the America's Cup races, where the crew are required to wear freaking CRASH HELMETS. I'm going to impose that rule too, just as soon as my 19 is capable of 40 knots.

Wes

[skip1930]

One thing about a jack line ... spend the money and purchase one with a quick disconnect that hitches into your PFD, witch should also be fitted with an optional 'D" ring and put a lanyard on the jack line Q/D release for an easy pull.

In his book, Airborne,  Wm. F. Buckley, Jr. tells of the loss of a sailing competitor who was washed overboard while attached to a jackline and subsequently beat to death at the waterline by the ships quarter wave. The man overboard could not get free and the crew could not pull him up in a timely fashion against the rushing water during a Bermuda race.

Doesn't a closed companionway sliding hatch cover and therefore holds down the drop boards when dogged down?

You know how to heave to right? Pee into the cockpit on your knees if need be. But never stand and do that over the side. The Coast Guard always finds a lot of dead floaters with their fly's unzipped and wash the pee out through the scuppers. You do have a 3 lb Hills Brothers coffee can on a lanyard right? Brings water on board for flushing, can slow the boat down if 'surfacing too fast' when tied to a long 25 foot line, or lay out 100 of just line tied to the stern cleat. Same thing. And can act as a shock absorber when at dock or anchor when sunk and attached to a cleat.  

Don't panic if things go South. The boats buttoned up so she won't take on any water, and the boat can take twice as much as the skipper can.  Forget about any schedule or course ... do what ever it takes to ride into the waves and/or wind. Don't broach. And steer away from land so you don't fetch up the shore.

File a float plan before you leave home.

Rule # 1. If there are three on a boat and one goes overboard, not the skipper steering the boat but the duffer MUST point at the man overboard and never, never stop pointing at the swimmer no matter what the boat is doing to come about for a rescue. If site contact is lost in big waves, the swimmer is likely to be lost. This should be addressed before leaving on a voyage.

skip.

[Vipersdad]

Good points Skip.  When we teach keel boat at Hoofer Sailing at UW-Madison we spend an hour or so each lesson on MOB drills out of the 3 hour lesson.  Students continue to take multiple lessons until they are given a rating.

[Cevin c Taylor]

Thanks for the input.  Keep it coming.   I have read up on heaving to, and watched videos, and even tried it a couple of times, but I don, t think I have the hang of it yet.  It probably wouldn, t inspire confidence in my buddy if I got onboard in a wetsuit.  I'm going to get a second anchor.  We'll definitely wear pfd's the whole time.

[skip1930]

" Thanks for the input.  Keep it coming.  " O.K. Better yet, join a United States Power and Sail Squadron and take the basic courses and read the supplied class materials.

skip.

[relamb]

I've been out around the Manitou Islands several times, from both Leeland and Franfort, in a CP 23.  I've also singlehanded my CP23 from Frankfort to Sturgeon Bay WI across lake MI and back.    Check out the safety gear requirement for the races like the Chicago-Mackinac, and the Great Lakes Singlehanded Society.  Take all of that stuff, although you would not need an EPIRB if you keep your cell phone in a waterproof box and also have a handheld VHF and GPS.  When singlehanding I'm tethered, wear an autoinflating pdf, and also have pouches attached with a handheld waterproof VHF and pocket GPS.  They're tied to me in case I somehow end up off the boat.   The most important thing, is weather, weather, weather.  Watch the weather, track what's coming at you in the next 24 hours, and stay home if the weather's not going to be good.  Or if you get out there, stay out there until you know you have a window to get back.  Watch out for fishing nets, I almost ran over one at dusk off South Manitou, and saw several more the next day. The islands are beautiful, and you can boat right up to the wrecked freighter on the south end of South Manitou.  I never took my CP16 out there, but I had it elsewhere in 4-5' seas.  The boat will take it, if you can.  Also, for a "life raft", I take a bright pink ski tube about 40" in diameter.  Kept it inflated as a last resort.  ...and the kids also were able to go tubing on the way over to the islands.

[Cevin c Taylor]

relamb:  Thanks for the advice - I never knew about the nets.  I'm hoping to check out the wrecked freighter.  Weather is looking good right now, but with relatively weak winds.  I have a HH VHF, and a HH GPS.  I'll check out the gear lists on the sites you mentioned.  I'll post up some pics after we get back. 

[relamb]

I didn't know about the nets either, until I was practically on top of one.  There was a pole-buoy at the end, only about 50 yards off the beach of South Manitou Island.  I saw the buoy and wondered what it was, then noticed a long string of floats for several hundred yards and another pole buoy out quite a ways.  I was able to turn just in time to go around the end of the net, between it and the shore.  Another half hour and it would have been dark and I probably would have run right over it.  I later saw two more, down  in the bay where the Platte River comes out.

[Cevin c Taylor]

Just a quick update - we did the trip, and it was fantastic!  The weather was perfect - I really don't think it could have been much better.  All our preparations were well worth it.  We hit 2-3 foot swells in the Manitou Passage between Sleeping Bear Dunes and South Manitou on the way home, and she took them just fine.  I'll be posting a more detailed report with pics as soon as I can.  I just wanted to say thanks for all the input.  The safety precautions all gave me great peace of mind.  We also practiced heaving to until we could do it quickly and securely.  It's nice to have that skill. 

[Westcoast DAD]

Just a side tip for anyone looking for Safety tips. Hatch boards have a tendency to go missing in situations where you really really need them. Always have a tether setup on your hatch boars that can also be used to hold them in place if say you get rolled. I know a couple of folks on various boats who learned this the hard way. One of them was run over by a water spout on Green Bay and rolled - hatch board was in before the roll and missing after the boat came back up- getting the boat back on the move would have been far easier had the hatch board stayed put.

Just a little tip. Also I've seen instrument faces and fairly solid hatchboards damaged and cracked by taking a good wave over the stern - make sure your hatch boards are more than just a flimsy piece of plastic cutting board material. Wood boards are strong and work great or high tech plastics with some backing structure to keep them from bowing and popping loose under pressure.

Just some simple ideas that can dramatically increase your chances of self recovery if you happen to luck out and get run over by a water spout.