APOSTLE ISLANDS ADVENTURE 2023

[Seachelle]

Hi, everyone!

I apologize, I'm a bit slow-on-the-go following up with various marinas to learn availability for transient slips this upcoming season. I reached back out to Kelly at Port Superior Marina, earlier today, but got her voicemail. I left a msg for her and, hopefully, she will reach back out to me soon. I plan to contact other marinas that folks have mentioned in this thread as well, so I will work my way through the list and report back what I find.

Sadly, it looks like I will, most likely, be unable to attend, myself, as I made the very difficult decision to find a new captain for beautiful SV No Mas. (She is now in South Carolina, with a very excited captain who's planning many adventures for the two of them!) I am not sure that sailing my Legacy in the region we've proposed is something that I want to do, but perhaps. I'm not certain how that will all shake out, as of now.

With the above said, I'm wondering if there is someone, here, who would might be willing to take over the organization of this event? I am happy to continue to help, of course, but am hoping someone may be willing to take up the reins where we've left things thus far.

Carl, thanks for letting us know about CLR and your schedule -- and many congrats on your daughter's new baby on the way! Wonderful!!!

Hope you all have been enjoying the holiday season and Happy New Year!!!

~ Chelle

Edit: I spoke with Kelly at Port Superior Marina. She said that slips are available, however, they're still waiting to see if they can sell some of those slips as seasonal slips for the 2023 season. She asked us to check back in April 2023 for transient slip availability. She thought she'd have about 10 transient slips (she's guessing).

[Dogboy]

After owning a Sunday cat and a compac 25 in my past, I?m about to rejoin the compac community with a Horizon Day cat.  It would be a little tight, but my 13 year old and I are potentially interested in joining for the first half of the week, assuming it?s the first week of August.  Not sure I?m a good person to organize as I?ve never done that before, nor am I familiar with the area and I need to leave Wednesday.  I would be willing to help organize if someone else can be primary.

[passagesfromtheheart]

Hello, folks-who-are/were-interested-in-an-Apostle-Islands/Lake Superior Com-Pac gathering! I am happy to report that I've recently enjoyed some 'adventuring' up in the Apostle Islands this summer! I have learned a lot about the area as a result! I think, next summer (2025), I may be able to swing organizing an Apostle Islands meet-up -- is anyone still game?

Fair winds!
~ Chelle (formerly 'Seachelle' on the forums)

[MichaelQuigley]

If I end up with a 19 by then, I might be up for that!

[crazycarl]

3 of us are planning a return to the North Channel next summer. No dates set yet, but if the 2 events were consecutive weeks, I'm in.

[Christopher]

I'm interested in next summer.

[slode]

We were already planning an Apostle Island trip next year, so Sylvia and crew are definitely a go if timing works out.

[passagesfromtheheart]

So excited to hear that there's still interest in a Com-Pac Apostle Islands gathering! We're going back up, in mid-September, and I will continue to research amenities/cruising grounds out of the Bayfield, WI, vicinity.

We visited Bayfield, earlier this year, in mid-July. Then, we went again, last week, for another boat shopping/sailing trip. The weather in mid-July was unusually warm, according to the locals with whom I spoke (I think it was in the high 80s/low 90s and pretty humid). Last week, while we were there, the weather was in the upper 60s/low 70s for the highs. We were lucky to have both sunny weather and good wind (no rain!) for both the July and August trips; I'm curious to see what the weather will be like, for our next trip, in September.

There are a handful of marinas in the area we could use as home base and/or stay at during the trip:

Bayfield Marina
Port Superior Marina
Pikes Bay Marina
Schooner Bay Marina
Washburn Marina
Ashland Marina
Madeline Island Yacht Club

I will report back on anchorages around the islands, but one, in particular, I'd personally like to visit is off of Stockton Island -- it's called Presque Isle Bay. There are a lot of hiking trails on the island, too, which could be nice in order to stretch our legs: 5 Incredible Stockton Island Hiking Trails: A Hiker's Paradise in Apostle Islands

If memory serves me, many moons ago, my family also anchored on the eastern side of Stockton Island -- I think it might have been called Julian Bay, and there was/is a gorgeous, white sandy beach on that side of the island. We spent the afternoon swimming, as I recall, and I loved every moment of it!

Just as something to whet the appetite: This website features various Apostle Islands ferry tours and adventures -- it gives some great ideas re: some of the attractions of the various islands and may pique some of your interest in deciding upon which islands to cruise to on our boats: https://www.apostleisland.com/ Some islands have caves to explore, lighthouses to see, trails to hike, beaches to relax. Also, if people want more nightlife types of activities, we can always plan a night or two in town.

I'm thinking of trying to organize a week-long sort of adventure to allow for travel time (trailering!) to and from the Apostle Islands. It's about an 8+ hour drive for me, so in essence, two days of driving for me and I am hoping for 5 days of cruising the islands.

Let me know what y'all are thinking! If you have other resources to share for helping shape up a cruise itinerary, please chime in!

As for dates, I'm thinking August, though I think some folks also suggested Sept. My hubby and I are flexible, here!

Fair winds!
~ Chelle

[crazycarl]

It's 3 days driving for me. I would like to sail the north channel fo two weeks and then head over to Bayfield, or vise-versa. I don't know what the weather is like in July, but CLR is the last week of June, if I could tie all my driving together...🤔

[passagesfromtheheart]

Heading back up to the Apostle Islands next week. Going sailing out of Bayfield as well as also going sailing in the Duluth/Superior area -- will snap some pics and take video to share with y'all of our adventures. I'll look into more planning goodies re: the area to share as well. If anyone wants me to look into anything, specifically, while I'm in the vicinity, please give me a shout out. Cheers!

[passagesfromtheheart]

P.S. Carl, I think you're a moderator of the CPYOA forums, right? Wondering if you see this, is it possible to change the title of this thread from "APOSTLE ISLANDS ADVENTURE 2023" to "APOSTLE ISLANDS ADVENTURE 2025?"

[passagesfromtheheart]

Hey, folks!

Over this summer and fall, I made four trips up to Lake Superior for boat shopping and sailing in the Duluth-Bayfield/Washburn/Ashland (Apostle Islands) areas. I made some videos of my excursions and thought I'd share them, here, to whet your appetite for sailing the Apostle Islands this coming 2025 season! (See links, per below.) Let's see if we can make a 2025 Apostle Islands Com-Pac Flotilla work!

I will be keeping my new-to-me 2002 Com-Pac 25, SV Solitude (formerly forum member Rafici's boat) at Washburn Marina, which is a lovely and very friendly marina. It has a great ramp and plenty of parking for people to park their trailers. I can ask the manager about transient slips for folks -- however, I'll need to have a boat count to give to them an idea as to how many slips we'd need. I have been told that slip availability is typically not known until somewhere btwn Jan.-Feb. -- this is because they have to wait for current slip holders to see if they're renewing for the 2025 season.

The above said, there are lots of other options for marinas in the area, too. Of course, the advantage with our trailerable Com-Pacs is that they're easily launched and rigged, so if necessary, it's easy to relocate to another marina, if necessary. Plus, if we anchor out -- no slip necessary. It's all manageable and we can make it happen!

I'd suggest to start researching islands you'd like to visit, but we also need to keep in mind the travel times for reaching said islands. For example, Madeline Island is the closest Island to Washburn and would be easy to reach within a daysail (and even back, I think).

One of the destinations I have in mind is Stockton Island. Beautiful anchorages, white sandy beaches, and trails to hike! But, I've been told it takes about 5 hours (from Bayfield) to sail there with decent wind -- and that's aboard a 36+ ft sailboat! I'm surmising with the shorter waterlines we have with our boats, it will take longer -- of course, there's also always adding the 'iron sail' in the mix, if needed.

Again, with trailerable boats, we can always relocate to areas which would put other islands within reach, as opposed to departing from Washburn or Bayfield.

Check out a map of the area: https://www.nps.gov/apis/planyourvisit/maps.htm

Here are my videos of sailing in the Apostle Islands area, as well as video footage of my new-to-me Com-Pac 25! ENJOY!!!