Chicagoland Locations

[Tackdan235]

Hi,

my wife and I recently purchased a Hunter 23.5, that included a slip on Lake Michigan for the rest of the summer.
we went out yesterday for our first sail, and it was a little choppy.
Are there any other inland sailing lakes than Lake a Geneva you could recommend?
winds were 10-15 from the SE and waves were occasional whitecap.
we found out wife and son (12 yo) are allergic to Dramamine

thanks

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Lake Delavan, Chain O Lakes, Wolf Lake... Pay attention towave height forecasts and buoy data. Weve had some pretty calm waters lately. I think it was 20kts with only 1ft waves on Sunday

 

[Tally Ho]

Hi,

my wife and I recently purchased a Hunter 23.5, that included a slip on Lake Michigan for the rest of the summer.
we went out yesterday for our first sail, and it was a little choppy.
Are there any other inland sailing lakes than Lake a Geneva you could recommend?
winds were 10-15 from the SE and waves were occasional whitecap.
we found out wife and son (12 yo) are allergic to Dramamine

thanks

Do you have a trailer?

If not, you can get south of Chicago to the Hammond Marina area and there is a nice bay, and a breakwall to sail behind...pretty calm usually.

I sail out of the East Chicago, IN marina, and we are tucked behind the Mittal steel that juts out into the lake almost 2 miles. I can sail behind the steel mill even on a bad north wind day...as long as I don’t venture too far east

you can see the steel mill on the map...my slip is south of the mill. Hammond marina and the bay is north of the mill.

Greg

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I've sailed out of Hammond Marina a few times. Nice place, huge property. Harbor Master is super nice. Even volunteered to help step the mast of my 19 footer. Bathrooms and trailer parking are a little bit of a walk from the launch ramp. Casino is next door if you're into that

 

[Tally Ho]

Yes, it is. Very nice Marina. A guy I know had a 50-foot Hinckley there, and kept it in the
water all winter. Unfortunately, his boat got struck by lightening during the MAC race a few years ago...I think he took the boat back to the east coast.

My marina (Pastrick Marina in East Chicago) is a bit more ”industrial”, with a steel mill to the north, a cement plant to the south, and 2 gambling boats in between.

I don’t see much traffic that far south, maybe a barge or 2 and an occasional Laker bringing rock or something to the cement plant.

But it is closest to my house, and the cheapest place around. I don’t “hang out” at the marina like some of the dock rats....so it doesn’t really make much difference to me. A place to park the boat when I am not sailing it. And we store them right in the parking lot over the winter, so that is easy.

We are blessed to have Lake Michigan (Or the Great Lakes) as our playground...no tides or salt water to deal with, but a body of water bigger than I will ever be able to fully explore!

Greg