apostle island trip

[jkh1021]

I am new to site and planning trip to Apostle Islands this summer. First question I have is on boat size, I own a sun cat that I have sailed two years on lake monroe in Indiana. Is the boat big enough for the islands? Any other advice or input on trip appreciated.

[skip1930]

Expect quite a ride.
Plan for weather days.
Should be able to make a harbor of refuge within a few hours.

A couple in our USPS boat club made the trip in a 26 foot Seaward with a wing keeled, and ended up being rescued by the Coast Guard when an anchor line went over the side in a rough crossing using the engine and wrapped the line around the prop shaft, ripping out the skeg and causing a bad leak. [like there is a good leak?]

Towed to a harbor with a lift by the CG cutter. The CG used two axillary pumps on the Seaward to keep up.
The Coast Guard female boat captain off loaded the two boaters and a dog, while she stayed with the Seaward and manned the pumps till making port.

Their are a lot of vessels on the bottom.

http://youtu.be/-BAMwqWxPA4

skip.

[kickingbug1]

  another trip you might consider is to lake carlyle in illinois for the 2014 carlyle lake rendezvous. i think this year will be either the 6th or the seventh year. salty 19 has all the details.

[wroundey]

All depends on when you go. My wife and I did a charter there in August of 1986 for our honeymoon. We had a couple of hours of wind and then spent the rest of the time becalmed.

[NateD]

It's not so much the size of the boat, but the preparation and the weather. People kayak out to the islands, so it isn't the size of the boat. I took my previous ComPac 16 to the Apostle Islands twice and had a great time. I took my ComPac 23 there and got two good days of sailing before a small craft advisory kept us in the marina for the remaining 3 days (still had fun hanging out in Bayfield). I also chartered a 36 footer with a group of people in August one year and had to motor the entire weekend due to a lack of wind.

Just monitor the weather reports, have a plan A, plan B, and plan C for where you will anchor/spend the night, and play it safe if you're not sure about something. Remember, if you go in the water, you'll have roughly 20-30 minutes of "meaningful movement" before the hypothermia sets in (even in August), so safety is the number 1 priority.

[Vipersdad]

JKH:  Here is a link to one of my posts from this past summer.  If it doesn't come up just do a "Bayfield" search on the site and you should be able to find it.

http://cpyoa.geekworkshosting.com/forum/index.php?topic=6617.0


I am very familiar with the area.  My mother and stepfather had a slip on the City Dock in Bayfield for many years and I am in the area for much of the summer.  If you want to message me we can find a time for a phone call.

Regards,

V.

[Jason]

Hi

The apostles are on my list as well!  I did a sea-kayak trip throughout the islands, and it is a truly beautiful area.  It's also an area to be taken seriously from a safety point of view.  Wind and waves can be serious in this area, and hypothermia needs to be avoided year round due to cold water temps.   In my opinion some keys to a safe trip are:

Pick a good weather-window to make the trip, don't go out in bad weather
Don't force a preset schedule, safety first not schedule or itinerary first
Have some experience sailing on the Great Lakes, maybe day sailing first before heading out on an overnight trip

Then have a properly outfitted boat
-Life jackets with built in safety harness for clipping onto a tether
-Tethers for each sailor and stout tether attachment points on the boat, located such that you can clip in and perform any functions that are needed in the cockpit or on deck
-lifelines
-VHF radio
-navigation and anchor lights
- need to gear up per coast guard regs....flares, horns, day signals , throwable floatations device, etc..
-check standing and running rigging, rudder hardware make sure it's in good shape. Boat needs to be in top shape, no little leaks, hardware attached well and in good condition, blocks and fair leads in good shape
-proper hatch boards and hasps
-don't know the suncats, but I would make sure that any vents on deck or lazarette hatches can be lashed down or held closed tightly somehow
-have 2 good anchors, not little light river anchors but nice big anchors maybe with some chain and with plenty of anchor rode
- keep a bucket or two on board and a manual bilge pump
-have a method for reducing sail in high winds
-first aid kits, flashlights, radar reflector
-study the charts and have a working knowledge of your gps, take paper charts of the region and a compass
-file a float plan with someone on shore and have a plan in place if you lose contact
-pack light and be aware of how much extra load you add to the boat.  Also be aware of where you load the weight and be sure to keep the boat well balanced.
-fully serviced outboard with spare fuel based on trip length, fuel stored properly, not in cabin
-foul weather gear and warm clothes.  Could be in the 40s 50s at night even in middle of summer
-couple paddles
-spare rope, ample docking lines
-take a fellow sailor and make sure you know each other's skills and manners.  Take a couple shakedown daysails on the Great Lakes somewhere.  Practice man over board drills.  Have a way to get back into the boat yourself, such as a boarding ladder.
-fully charged boat battery with solar charger if your trip will be long, and a means to charge cell phone on board
-bring tools for making rigging and hardware repairs and bring miscellaneous spare shackles, pins, nuts bolts (for example spare Gudgeon pins and spare mast bolt and nuts) spare fuses and a couple electrical connectors.

Not a complete list but those are some of my thoughts on it.  I am not familiar with the suncat, so can't say if it is a suitable boat for sailing in the apostles, but the items above are what I considered on my CP16 prior to sailing it in southern and northern Lake Michigan.   Hope you find this useful.  Be safe and have fun!

Jason

Jason Talbot
Sussex
WI

[Smier]

The apostle islands are on my bucket list of "hopefully someday"...  But here is an interesting write up by a member of another message board I belong to from his trip last year.

http://chryslersailors.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?t=4226&sid=786153d6176c65f3997bfd5f3c5228bd