Does anyone have helpful hints on cruising the Apostles? Tyype of anchor - is bottom sand or rock? Amount of water to carry, a reasonable time to be there, etc. Thanks Kevin Hunter 260
Apostle Islands Wisconsin
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Need water?
Sounds like a great trip! One of the prettiest places in N.A. Isn't all the fresh water you could possibly need right under the boat? Last time I was on Lake Superior, I wouldn't hesitate to even drink it right out of the lake, although that's not recommended (unless you have those tablets that hikers carry). North shore is very rocky, not sure about bottom conditions in Apostles. I'll bet Gord knows a good bit about it.
Sounds like a great trip! One of the prettiest places in N.A. Isn't all the fresh water you could possibly need right under the boat? Last time I was on Lake Superior, I wouldn't hesitate to even drink it right out of the lake, although that's not recommended (unless you have those tablets that hikers carry). North shore is very rocky, not sure about bottom conditions in Apostles. I'll bet Gord knows a good bit about it.
Apostles
Let’s see, I was last in the Apostles in about 1988 - at which time there was lots of SAND Bottom in the anchorages. Only one chart - #14973 - is needed to sail Chequamegon Bay and the Apostle Islands. The Canadian North Shore, not to be confused with the South Shore (which Americans insist upon calling the North Shore), is mostly rock or good mud (clay), with the following exceptions: Sheeshebe Bay (sand) ... i couldn’t think of any other sandy bottoms
Back in those days (80's) I used Bruce and a Danforth anchors. Anchoring conditions are pretty forgiving on Superior - good sand in the Apostles, and hurricane hole protection on the N. shore. Get Bonnie Dahl’s Cruising Guide: “The Superior Way”, which covers the whole lake. http://www.lakesuperior.com/catalog/swiii.html
Let’s see, I was last in the Apostles in about 1988 - at which time there was lots of SAND Bottom in the anchorages. Only one chart - #14973 - is needed to sail Chequamegon Bay and the Apostle Islands. The Canadian North Shore, not to be confused with the South Shore (which Americans insist upon calling the North Shore), is mostly rock or good mud (clay), with the following exceptions: Sheeshebe Bay (sand) ... i couldn’t think of any other sandy bottoms
Back in those days (80's) I used Bruce and a Danforth anchors. Anchoring conditions are pretty forgiving on Superior - good sand in the Apostles, and hurricane hole protection on the N. shore. Get Bonnie Dahl’s Cruising Guide: “The Superior Way”, which covers the whole lake. http://www.lakesuperior.com/catalog/swiii.htmlGreat anchor on your boat
Kevin, Before I bought my Hunter 30 I had a '96 Hunter 26 that my wife and I hauled to the Apostles every year for a week of sailing. The danforth that came with the boat seemed to work fine. It is the premier sailing area in these parts. If you have any other questions please email me. Bobheyjudenospam@juno.com
Kevin, Before I bought my Hunter 30 I had a '96 Hunter 26 that my wife and I hauled to the Apostles every year for a week of sailing. The danforth that came with the boat seemed to work fine. It is the premier sailing area in these parts. If you have any other questions please email me. Bobheyjudenospam@juno.com
Sea caves
If you get a chance, check out the sea caves west of Bayfield and a bit east of the funky town of Cornucopia (small marina here). The caves are beautiful. I was able to kayak through several of them on a calm day last summer. It is definitely sandy on this part of the lake, with the occasional boulder field where a cliff crumbled. Growing up in St. Paul, to us the 'north shore' was always the arrowhead part of Minnesota that is on the north-northwest end of the lake. Perhaps people have wrongly generalized the term, applying it to the rest of the American shore as well.
If you get a chance, check out the sea caves west of Bayfield and a bit east of the funky town of Cornucopia (small marina here). The caves are beautiful. I was able to kayak through several of them on a calm day last summer. It is definitely sandy on this part of the lake, with the occasional boulder field where a cliff crumbled. Growing up in St. Paul, to us the 'north shore' was always the arrowhead part of Minnesota that is on the north-northwest end of the lake. Perhaps people have wrongly generalized the term, applying it to the rest of the American shore as well.
Coast Pilots
Kevin if you go to the NOAA site you can download the Great Lakes Coast Pilot for free. It is a rather long download but has all the bottom info., marinas, obstructions etc. About like a cruising guide with out the fluff. Very good reading for winter dreaming. Sorry I couldn't post a link the site was down this morning.
Kevin if you go to the NOAA site you can download the Great Lakes Coast Pilot for free. It is a rather long download but has all the bottom info., marinas, obstructions etc. About like a cruising guide with out the fluff. Very good reading for winter dreaming. Sorry I couldn't post a link the site was down this morning.
Bob, how's the bugs?
Hi Bob, Having been there are the flies as bad near the islands as I've heard? If they are any tips on battling them? Also I really don't want to pull a dink along is that a mistake? I've got an O-23 with a swing center board. Thanks Ed
Hi Bob, Having been there are the flies as bad near the islands as I've heard? If they are any tips on battling them? Also I really don't want to pull a dink along is that a mistake? I've got an O-23 with a swing center board. Thanks Ed
Chartered a Catalina 34 there in 2003
We were there for a week, and anchored in a different place every night. All of the bottoms were good holding in sand. The flies were not much of a bother (We were there in the third week of August.) There were a lot of house flies (of the non-biting variety.) We controlled them with screens and a swatter or two. The one night we anchored in a bay on the shore was the only time we had the big deer flies, and smaller biters. The swimming was excellent, with cool water where we anchored, and nice water on the beaches. We made one run to shore to pump out, but did not really need to refill our water. The archipelago is not so big as to make this a problem. You can get water on the one or two islands with premanent park establishments and camp grounds. You could easily carry a camping water purification kit to avoid that. We enjoyed our dink. I would recommend taking one to get ashore for the beaches and exploring which we did at every anchorage. Good luck - this is a great cruising ground! David Lady Lillie
We were there for a week, and anchored in a different place every night. All of the bottoms were good holding in sand. The flies were not much of a bother (We were there in the third week of August.) There were a lot of house flies (of the non-biting variety.) We controlled them with screens and a swatter or two. The one night we anchored in a bay on the shore was the only time we had the big deer flies, and smaller biters. The swimming was excellent, with cool water where we anchored, and nice water on the beaches. We made one run to shore to pump out, but did not really need to refill our water. The archipelago is not so big as to make this a problem. You can get water on the one or two islands with premanent park establishments and camp grounds. You could easily carry a camping water purification kit to avoid that. We enjoyed our dink. I would recommend taking one to get ashore for the beaches and exploring which we did at every anchorage. Good luck - this is a great cruising ground! David Lady Lillie
Flies
Ed, I've been told by the sailors that have there boats in the local marinas there that if the flies are bad at one island the usual deal is to go to the next island and they probably won't be there. We've only experienced the biting flies once and it kept us busy with fly swatters etc. For trailor sailors there is a nice choice of marinas with Washburn, Port Superior and Bayfield being our favorites. If you get to some of the islands early enough you can also tie up to piers instead of anchoring. If your coming up from Iowa drop the boat in Lk Pepin for a few days. A 23mile by 3 mile wide spot in the Mississippi. It's a great sailing area. We have 4 sailors from Iowa that keep their boats at our marina in Pepin WI. The marina has a high percentage of Hunters,approximately twelve 26' Hunters also including my old one, Nodee.
Ed, I've been told by the sailors that have there boats in the local marinas there that if the flies are bad at one island the usual deal is to go to the next island and they probably won't be there. We've only experienced the biting flies once and it kept us busy with fly swatters etc. For trailor sailors there is a nice choice of marinas with Washburn, Port Superior and Bayfield being our favorites. If you get to some of the islands early enough you can also tie up to piers instead of anchoring. If your coming up from Iowa drop the boat in Lk Pepin for a few days. A 23mile by 3 mile wide spot in the Mississippi. It's a great sailing area. We have 4 sailors from Iowa that keep their boats at our marina in Pepin WI. The marina has a high percentage of Hunters,approximately twelve 26' Hunters also including my old one, Nodee.
Interesting Bob
the prices at our local marina are going thru the roof and been thinking about looking around. Lake Pepin have plenty of depth outside the nav channel? And thanks all for the comments on flies Ed
the prices at our local marina are going thru the roof and been thinking about looking around. Lake Pepin have plenty of depth outside the nav channel? And thanks all for the comments on flies Ed
Thank You
I thank all of you for responses. I have ordered Bonnie Dahl book and look forward to Lake Superior. Kevin O'Meara
I thank all of you for responses. I have ordered Bonnie Dahl book and look forward to Lake Superior. Kevin O'Meara
A couple other suggestions
Kevin, We have been there two different times. Once with a hunter 23 and once with a hunter 27. This year we had 8 boats in our group. All towed from SE Iowa. The marina to start out at is: Apostle Islands Marina About $30.00 per day 107 Manypenny Avenue Bayfield, WI 54814 (715) 779-5661 A public ramp is within 3 blocks and cost $5.00 There is free trailer parking at the marina. Most of the islands with lighthouses or fish camps or other things to see have docks. You usually aren't allowed to stay overnight, but you can dock to visit. The bay at Stockton Island is a wonderful place to anchor. We were caught in a microburst while anchored there. We had a large danforth that was buried so deep in sand we had to work to get it out. You can easily get by without a dinghy. We had virtually no flies this year in July. The mosquitoes were bad on a couple islands, but easily controlled with DEET. The marina is two blocks from downtown...... the town is only 5 blocks haha. Good restuarants decent small grocery store. Great fresh fish markets. The link below is for the home page of the National park Service Apostle Island National Lake Shore. Let me know if you have any other questions. I have quite a bit of information that I have collected including a 16 minute DVD presentation that I put together for our Power Squadron gathering. Ward 10 Days was a good lenght of time for us.
Kevin, We have been there two different times. Once with a hunter 23 and once with a hunter 27. This year we had 8 boats in our group. All towed from SE Iowa. The marina to start out at is: Apostle Islands Marina About $30.00 per day 107 Manypenny Avenue Bayfield, WI 54814 (715) 779-5661 A public ramp is within 3 blocks and cost $5.00 There is free trailer parking at the marina. Most of the islands with lighthouses or fish camps or other things to see have docks. You usually aren't allowed to stay overnight, but you can dock to visit. The bay at Stockton Island is a wonderful place to anchor. We were caught in a microburst while anchored there. We had a large danforth that was buried so deep in sand we had to work to get it out. You can easily get by without a dinghy. We had virtually no flies this year in July. The mosquitoes were bad on a couple islands, but easily controlled with DEET. The marina is two blocks from downtown...... the town is only 5 blocks haha. Good restuarants decent small grocery store. Great fresh fish markets. The link below is for the home page of the National park Service Apostle Island National Lake Shore. Let me know if you have any other questions. I have quite a bit of information that I have collected including a 16 minute DVD presentation that I put together for our Power Squadron gathering. Ward 10 Days was a good lenght of time for us.
summer sail
Had quite an adventure last summer with my 1980 H25 ‘Breezin’. Pulled the boat from Des Moines to Bayfield, WI to spend 2 weeks around the Apostle Islands and to consider sailing across lake to the NE to Isle Royale. The Dodge Ram 1500 pulled the boat fine although the quality of the road surface of I35 North of Minneapolis made the haul a bit uncomfortable. Fifty-five was about the safe speed to reduce swaying of the tow. I had been to Bayfield earlier in the year (February) to check out the marinas (got to drive the ice road to Madaline) and eventually connected with the folks at Port Superior Marina. Very good people. Made a reservation with them for the last week of July and the first week of August. Bought “The Superior Way” to make a few plans ahead of time and set off after a fair amount of prep work and cleaning on the boat. Got to Bayfield too late to launch after setup (had a nice dinner at Maggies) so I and my crewmate slept onboard while parked in the DNR lot located very near the city ramp. That night, however, there was a fantastic and prolonged display of the Northern lights (first time to see them for me) – what does one say? Good omens? I could only hope. Having spent my short sailing career on a 6 mile long Iowa lake I found Superior to be, well, big. Poor word but it’ll do. The weather was perfect (only a couple of rainouts) and the water and islands – pristine is the right word. Very uncrowded. Many fine anchorages, moose, bald eagles, saw a black bear once, nice hiking once you dinghy in to an island, interesting lighthouses, on and on. It reminded me of an extended trip to France I took a few years ago – there is only so much 14th century stained glass one can see and not become a bit numb to the impact of it. The bar of normalcy goes way up in a hurry. It was like that – one pristine anchorage after another. Great sailing. It was very nice to set a course and not be tacking every 20 minutes. Water ranged from glass to swells of 6 feet. There were a couple of times I couldn’t get any spit up as my mouth was so dry from a bit of fear while in conditions I hadn’t encountered before. But, the boat did great as well as all the other gadgets and gear I had bought during spending orgies over the winter. I can’t say enough about GPS (Garmin 176C with Blue Chart chip for Superior). Amazing. I had paper but never referred to them. The Zodiac I pulled along behind was very useful as a transport to shore, a fuel dump and garbage scow. I had sealed and insulated the icebox and put a large, thick glad bag type of thing in as a liner. Blocks of ice in the bottom lasted for days so cold storage for perishables was no problem. The sail from Raspberry Island across the open water to Isle Royale took 26 hours going and 32 hours returning. Brilliant, clear and cold nights during the crossings. Satellites streaking across the sky, shooting stars, could see the Milky Way, lake freighters lit up like Christmas trees. A lot of activity out there at night. I had put a radar reflector up the backstay before departure and this made it much easier for other traffic to see the boat as we crossed the marked shipping lanes. Sometimes we would run port to port until the laker passed and I could resume heading. Isle Royale is a beautiful place and well worth the sail to get there. Way back into a little anchorage in Chippewa Harbor was the best. By the end of 2 weeks I was ready to get off the boat. Ran into no freak storms or fog and the weather predictions from the VHF were right on most of the time. A couple of lessons 1. proper crew selection is critical, crabby crew members can make things very difficult at times. 2. I need a bigger boat.
Had quite an adventure last summer with my 1980 H25 ‘Breezin’. Pulled the boat from Des Moines to Bayfield, WI to spend 2 weeks around the Apostle Islands and to consider sailing across lake to the NE to Isle Royale. The Dodge Ram 1500 pulled the boat fine although the quality of the road surface of I35 North of Minneapolis made the haul a bit uncomfortable. Fifty-five was about the safe speed to reduce swaying of the tow. I had been to Bayfield earlier in the year (February) to check out the marinas (got to drive the ice road to Madaline) and eventually connected with the folks at Port Superior Marina. Very good people. Made a reservation with them for the last week of July and the first week of August. Bought “The Superior Way” to make a few plans ahead of time and set off after a fair amount of prep work and cleaning on the boat. Got to Bayfield too late to launch after setup (had a nice dinner at Maggies) so I and my crewmate slept onboard while parked in the DNR lot located very near the city ramp. That night, however, there was a fantastic and prolonged display of the Northern lights (first time to see them for me) – what does one say? Good omens? I could only hope. Having spent my short sailing career on a 6 mile long Iowa lake I found Superior to be, well, big. Poor word but it’ll do. The weather was perfect (only a couple of rainouts) and the water and islands – pristine is the right word. Very uncrowded. Many fine anchorages, moose, bald eagles, saw a black bear once, nice hiking once you dinghy in to an island, interesting lighthouses, on and on. It reminded me of an extended trip to France I took a few years ago – there is only so much 14th century stained glass one can see and not become a bit numb to the impact of it. The bar of normalcy goes way up in a hurry. It was like that – one pristine anchorage after another. Great sailing. It was very nice to set a course and not be tacking every 20 minutes. Water ranged from glass to swells of 6 feet. There were a couple of times I couldn’t get any spit up as my mouth was so dry from a bit of fear while in conditions I hadn’t encountered before. But, the boat did great as well as all the other gadgets and gear I had bought during spending orgies over the winter. I can’t say enough about GPS (Garmin 176C with Blue Chart chip for Superior). Amazing. I had paper but never referred to them. The Zodiac I pulled along behind was very useful as a transport to shore, a fuel dump and garbage scow. I had sealed and insulated the icebox and put a large, thick glad bag type of thing in as a liner. Blocks of ice in the bottom lasted for days so cold storage for perishables was no problem. The sail from Raspberry Island across the open water to Isle Royale took 26 hours going and 32 hours returning. Brilliant, clear and cold nights during the crossings. Satellites streaking across the sky, shooting stars, could see the Milky Way, lake freighters lit up like Christmas trees. A lot of activity out there at night. I had put a radar reflector up the backstay before departure and this made it much easier for other traffic to see the boat as we crossed the marked shipping lanes. Sometimes we would run port to port until the laker passed and I could resume heading. Isle Royale is a beautiful place and well worth the sail to get there. Way back into a little anchorage in Chippewa Harbor was the best. By the end of 2 weeks I was ready to get off the boat. Ran into no freak storms or fog and the weather predictions from the VHF were right on most of the time. A couple of lessons 1. proper crew selection is critical, crabby crew members can make things very difficult at times. 2. I need a bigger boat.
more on summer sail
Kevin, I carried 2 anchors - one 12.5 pound Danforth and one Danforth of 25 pounds with 200 ft of rode and 20' of chain on each. Only needed to use the 25 lb. The 25lb held nicely on a rock bottom off Outer Island when wind shifted during the night and put us right into it with 25 mph winds with gusts to 46. The boat probably displaced about 5500 lbs as loaded. I carried two 5 gallon containers of fresh water, about 20 gallons of water in the onboard storage bladder hooked to the sink, one large portapotty, extra ice in a chest although I didn't need it and a total of 18 gallons of fuel for the Nissan 9.8 hp 4 stroke outboard - can't say enought good about that motor. I think it manufactured fuel instead of using it. If you have other questions contact me at dlb@netins.net. Make the trip. It was wonderful. Keep in mind we had no weather, fog or equipment issues. I will go back.
Kevin, I carried 2 anchors - one 12.5 pound Danforth and one Danforth of 25 pounds with 200 ft of rode and 20' of chain on each. Only needed to use the 25 lb. The 25lb held nicely on a rock bottom off Outer Island when wind shifted during the night and put us right into it with 25 mph winds with gusts to 46. The boat probably displaced about 5500 lbs as loaded. I carried two 5 gallon containers of fresh water, about 20 gallons of water in the onboard storage bladder hooked to the sink, one large portapotty, extra ice in a chest although I didn't need it and a total of 18 gallons of fuel for the Nissan 9.8 hp 4 stroke outboard - can't say enought good about that motor. I think it manufactured fuel instead of using it. If you have other questions contact me at dlb@netins.net. Make the trip. It was wonderful. Keep in mind we had no weather, fog or equipment issues. I will go back.
Sailing Breezes Online Magazine
See the Cruiser’s notebook feature articles: “Smart Cruising the Apostles” - by Marlin Bree (July 2003) “How to Cruise Superior's Northern Arc” - by Marlin Bree (June 2003) “Black River Harbor” - By Cyndi Perkins (November/December 2004) and many, many others ... http://www.sailingbreezes.com/
See the Cruiser’s notebook feature articles: “Smart Cruising the Apostles” - by Marlin Bree (July 2003) “How to Cruise Superior's Northern Arc” - by Marlin Bree (June 2003) “Black River Harbor” - By Cyndi Perkins (November/December 2004) and many, many others ... http://www.sailingbreezes.com/
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