New Home Port for No Worries

jssailem · Mar 24, 2018

Yeah for you @Apex .. Now if I get to Michigan I can send up a flare in Traverse City and see if I can catch a sail. Traverse City brings back fond memories of a Honeymoon years ago.

New sailing waters lots to discover. Fun to enjoy the Movie in the Park events.

31seahorse · Mar 24, 2018

Congratulations on the nearby slip. Beware of the Grace Memorial Harbor Flu that may strike Fridays about noon!

Will Gilmore · Mar 24, 2018

What a change to have your baby so much closer. A quick two hour sail seems so much more possible, I'm sure.

Congratulations.

- Will (Dragonfly)

LeslieTroyer · Mar 24, 2018

That is the only thing I miss from childhood home. 5 minutes to the boat, 30 minutes from snow skiing and hours from anywhere. Port Angeles. A good place to be from.

Les

DougM · Mar 26, 2018

I keep my boat in Manistee, but have always wanted to take it up to the bay and dock it for an extended time. It would still only be an hour from my house. Somehow life gets in the way.
Its just a great place to sail.

jssailem · Mar 29, 2018

@Apex. your sailing/motoring not driving a car. The Oday28 does what about 6 miles an hour? Based on these assumptions you estimating on the water time of 10-11 hours per day. That is a big chunk. Possible but extremely tiring. The issue is not if you'll survive, but will you be alert and rested when it counts to make decisions.
I have found that when sailing to get somewhere after about 6 hours the alert level to all that is going on declines. I try to limit my challenging events... Docking, passages through shoals, busy marinas to when I am at my best, not after an 11 hour day. Not that I have not pushed my sailing hours when I thought I needed to, I just try to schedule my sailing to limit the risks of poor decisions.
Think about your trip as a 6 day adventure of 5.5 hours on the water and have fun.
Tips...

Take a friend.
Be prepared for the worst.
Wear PFD's all the time
Have Jacklines - tethers and use them
Do not jump on to the dock from a moving boat to get tied up.
Be willing to stop over in route for a day or two should the weather change for the worst.

sailnoproblem · Mar 29, 2018

I cannot believe how far a lot of you sailors have to drive just to get to your boat. I give you credit. I guess I am very lucky to be less then a mile from my slip.
If I had to drive a hour to my boat chances are I would not have one. As I stated in a previous post, I guess I am not a serious sailor.

Jackdaw · Mar 29, 2018

Assuming you are not passage-making, so not sailing at night.

Understand how long your day is going to be. Pick a minimum cruising speed (I use 5 knots). If the boat speeds falls below that, motorsail directly towards your destination. Helps planning.

Plan your stops. Let someone know your plan.

Start early each day, with a final go/no-go based on latest weather forecast.

That time of year on north lake michigan.... No matter how warm the day gets, it will be brutally cold at night.

Will Gilmore · Mar 29, 2018

You have 2-3 crew,
Plan, as above, also, plan your sailing time. Establish watches so you aren't always the one who is "up". It's your boat, so you will, of course, always be the one who's up, but having someone else who understands they are the watch for a certain period of time will help you relax a little and extend your stamina. If your crew doesn't know how to sail, teach them. They will want to learn. Let them tack, go through the figure 8 MOB maneuver. Give them confidence that they can bring her about and, if not hold her in irons, at least, let go the sheets after bringing her around. your crew's confidence is your respite.

- Will (Dragonfly)

Jackdaw · Mar 29, 2018

I gotta say, I'm a bit jealous.

If I could swing the work thing, I've always thought that the Traverse Bay / Charlevoix area would be an IDEAL place to live; being a sailor/skier/michigander. My high school buddy is the TC area Chamber of Commerce president, and he goads me all the time with great pictures, stories, or videos.

Jackdaw · Mar 29, 2018

Will Gilmore said:
You have 2-3 crew,
Plan, as above, also, plan your sailing time. Establish watches so you aren't always the one who is "up". It's your boat, so you will, of course, always be the one who's up, but having someone else who understands they are the watch for a certain period of time will help you relax a little and extend your stamina. If your crew doesn't know how to sail, teach them. They will want to learn. Let them tack, go through the figure 8 MOB maneuver. Give them confidence that they can bring her about and, if not hold her in irons, at least, let go the sheets after bringing her around. your crew's confidence is your respite.

- Will (Dragonfly)

Will, boats that are day sailing (not passage-making) will not set up or use watches. Watches are for 24+ hour periods of sailing when people HAVE to sleep, and you set up watch captains. When day sailing the skipper of the boat stays 'on watch', and might assign a crew member to drive for a while.

Will Gilmore · Mar 29, 2018

Jackdaw said:
Will, boats that are day sailing (not passage-making) will not set up or use watches. Watches are for 24+ hour periods of sailing when people HAVE to sleep, and you set up watch captains. When day sailing the skipper of the boat stays 'on watch', and might assign a crew member to drive for a while.

Did I misunderstand? I thought someone wrote something about 10+ hour sailing days. That's a long time to be the only one on watch, day or night.
I still think it's a good idea to parse responsibility because it is tiring. The passage is 195 miles in three days. That's about 65 miles a day.

I guess I was thinking about it the wrong way.

- Will (Dragonfly)

Jackdaw · Mar 29, 2018

Will Gilmore said:
Did I misunderstand? I thought someone wrote something about 10+ hour sailing days. That's a long time to be the only one on watch, day or night.
I still think it's a good idea to parse responsibility because it is tiring. The passage is 195 miles in three days. That's about 65 miles a day.
I guess I was thinking about it the wrong way.

Even with 10 hour days, you would not have a formal watch transfer. Like I noted you will informally get spelled when you want to take a break, but never a 8-bells 'the boat is yours' kind of deal.

quadrille38 · Mar 29, 2018

I had an O'Day 28 some years back. Out of White lake about 10 miles from you in Muskegon.
Use the 5 knot rule mentioned above. If your can't sail at 5 motor sail or motor. And plan your days based on making about 5 knots average.

Break the trip up into segments. In our 28 we'd do it in 5 or 6 legs because we didn't want to do 12 hour days. We had small children and those long days would have caused a mutiny. With our 38 we have a faster speed and with heavier boat it can take more weather and not be such a hard trip. With the right crew you may be able to do longer days but remember it is early in the season and it will be cold so your energy can be stretched and the weather can be unsettled. Plan fuel stops into your schedule. Again remember it's early in the season and many of the marinas along the way may not be on long summer hours yet. So if you are making long late passages stop for fuel before 5:00 to be conservative.

From Muskegon to Pentwater out around Little Point Sable is about 40 miles and that's a pretty full day of 8 hours assuming you make a steady 5. Always watch the weather when rounding the point. Northwest winds build and when you round the point it's common to slammed with larger waves and wind. You can actually round the point and head for Ludington and the distance / time is about the same as making Pentwater.

The next leg would be Ludington to Manistee. Around 24 miles. That involves rounding Big Sable point and the same caution applies. Watch the wind direction because rounding that point can have same conditions.

Next is Manistee to Frankfort. Another 24 miles. Frankfort is a good place to stop because the next leg beyond Frankfort is another 35 miles up through the Manitou Passage.
The passage can be a funnel and winds can build. Last year we were planning to head from Northport around and south to Leland. We were seeing 10 to 15 knot winds in Northport and when we called Leland they told us not to come. They were seeing 30 plus knot winds and 12 foot plus waves.

You will likely want to stop at Leland because the trip up around Grand Traverse point into Grand Traverse Bay and down to Elk Rapids is 35 miles from Leland.

Have warm clothes and dress in layers.

Jackdaw · Mar 29, 2018

quadrille38 said:
I had an O'Day 28 some years back. Out of White lake about 10 miles from you in Muskegon.
Use the 5 knot rule mentioned above. If your can't sail at 5 motor sail or motor. And plan your days based on making about 5 knots average.

Break the trip up into segments. In our 28 we'd do it in 5 or 6 legs because we didn't want to do 12 hour days. We had small children and those long days would have caused a mutiny. With our 38 we have a faster speed and with heavier boat it can take more weather and not be such a hard trip. With the right crew you may be able to do longer days but remember it is early in the season and it will be cold so your energy can be stretched and the weather can be unsettled. Plan fuel stops into your schedule. Again remember it's early in the season and many of the marinas along the way may not be on long summer hours yet. So if you are making long late passages stop for fuel before 5:00 to be conservative.

From Muskegon to Pentwater out around Little Point Sable is about 40 miles and that's a pretty full day of 8 hours assuming you make a steady 5. Always watch the weather when rounding the point. Northwest winds build and when you round the point it's common to slammed with larger waves and wind. You can actually round the point and head for Ludington and the distance / time is about the same as making Pentwater.

The next leg would be Ludington to Manistee. Around 24 miles. That involves rounding Big Sable point and the same caution applies. Watch the wind direction because rounding that point can have same conditions.

Next is Manistee to Frankfort. Another 24 miles. Frankfort is a good place to stop because the next leg beyond Frankfort is another 35 miles up through the Manitou Passage.
The passage can be a funnel and winds can build. Last year we were planning to head from Northport around and south to Leland. We were seeing 10 to 15 knot winds in Northport and when we called Leland they told us not to come. They were seeing 30 plus knot winds and 12 foot plus waves.

You will likely want to stop at Leland because the trip up around Grand Traverse point into Grand Traverse Bay and down to Elk Rapids is 35 miles from Leland.

Have warm clothes and dress in layers.

great post.

New Home Port for No Worries

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SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

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SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

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