Mackinac Island (and Hessel)

[john6206]

Hi all -

Couple things first - I’ve been sailing small boats on the great lakes for about 20 years now (Mostly bays). I’m pretty conservative about when I launch. My usual plan includes being in a location about a week, and hoping for three ‘small boat friendly‘ days - sometimes the fates spoil me, and once I towed a boat 5 hours and didn‘t launch it all week. Such are the risks of having a hobby that is entirely dependent on the weather. So on the one hand, “better safe than dead,” but on the other hand, “a ship at harbor is safe, but that’s not why we build ships.”

and yes, I know how quickly a good forecast can go bad.

having said all that.

We are planning a cruise for next summer, my original concept was to launch from st ignace and sail to Hessel, cruise around st Martin bay for a couple days and return to st ignace.

version 2 is spending a week in the marina at Hessel and day sailing from there. lots of great destinations between Les Channeaux and St. Martin Bay, and the lack of facilities on my 18’ boat makes returning to the marina every night pretty appealing.

question is, should I consider Mac Island a potential stop? Or, if we really want fudge should we drive to st ignace and let Star Line do the sailing? Of course, having grown up in Port Huron, “sailing to Mackinaw” is a dream that goes pretty deep.

small challenge is that it’s a super busy harbor. I would likely make reservations 6 months early, and if the weather is bad that day I’m out $30 . . .no big deal.

bigger challenge is the wind and waves, on an average day the straits are challenging for a small boat. The original plan had us coming within a few feet of the island, but on the northwest corner, the most protected side of the island. The harbor is kinda sticking right out in the straits. If I approach from Hessel I’d only be catching the full glory of the straits for a short time.

thoughts?

 

[jon hansen]

ferry waves, ferry waves, ferry waves. some of the lumpiest water on the great lakes.
a fun stop thou. the smell of horse urin on a hot day, not so much.
for my family it was straight up to the livery stable, rent a horse and ride all over the island. or you can rent a private buggy and go exploring.

 

[sesmith]

It's about 4 nm from St Ignace to Mackinac Is. What could possibly go wrong in 4 miles? . I think it would be a fun destination, weather permitting. When we went there this summer, it was a motorboat ride as the lake was calm that day (we came up from Cheboygan). There was about a 20' sailboat there at the docks when we were there. As mentioned, the ferry traffic would probably be your major concern. Also, on a small boat you will bounce a lot at the docks during your stay from the ferry traffic depending on where they put you (probably calmer along the walkway by the shore).

Not sure if they do reservations there. My understanding was that it was first come first served. We did call ahead earlier in the day to see how full they were. Lots of room that day (during the week and covid has put a damper on things this season).

 

[john6206]

Thanks for the replies.
It’s a DNR marina, I assumed the reservation would be the same process as at other DNR marinas.
that being said, there is a lot of variability. we made reservations in traverse city 6 months out, when I called t9 make reservations in Escanaba they acted like I was crazy, “just show up, we’ve got room.”

 

[David in Sandusky]

We have stayed twice at the DNR Marina. Nothing but good things to say about it! I think the Capri would take care of you getting to Mackinac on an average weather day. The real question for me is 12 nm Mackinac to Hessel,, and 15.5 nm Hessel to St. Ignace sounds a little risky to me. Getting decent winds to make both legs on about getting say you need them sounds like a stretch. So I would overnight at Mackinac, then back to St. Ignacio to trailer to Hessel, and enjoy the protected leisure and short legs of “The Snows” from there.

 

[DEB AND DION]

We keep our boat at St Ignace. You can make reservations on the DNR site and should for Mackinac island as they fill up on normal years, not this year. You can cancel reservations If you call 24hr. ahead of time. If you can take a bike, take it and ride in the center of the island. You can also ship your bike by ferry for about $15 round trip then pick up when you get your boat there. Or you can also rent bikes by the hr. I would plan to spend at least 2 nights on Mackinac island. Do not go to Mackinac island if there is going to be very much wind from the SE. The ferries do not run at night so you will not get waves at night from the ferries. You will have ferry waves on the way over to the island, Just watch the weather. Go to the fort, it is worth it. You can PM if you have any questions.

 

[jon hansen]

riding bikes is good, eating fudge is bad, but in a good way. what makes mac island special is the no car rule. everything is about the horses as it was in year of yore. you can ride a bike in and out of every little town on the great lakes. on mac island, three blocks from the dock are livery stables. you can hire a private buggy or hire a horse with saddle. the bridle trails go everywhere, they are the special magic that are not available anywhere else. walk, trot, canter, gallop, jump, climb, explore,....... if you did not learn to ride at summer camp as a kid, then a private buggy is the way to see the island. the horses know every short cut back to the barn, but, you can easily direct them to go where you want. it's a hoot, it's special, it's life a hundred and fifty years ago.
try it , you'll like it. it's what is special about the island.

the fort is fun, buy a fife, play a tune, talk a deal and fire the canon.

you cannot see the island from a bike like you can from a horse. the bridle trails through the forest are special. all the features of the island are available by horse.

and bikes are great too, love bikes, this is not an anti-bike rap, just pointing out what you cannot find anywhere else.
a pocket full of hard candies will make the horse your best friend.
peppermints .............

 

[john6206]

Been to the island many times, biking around the perimeter is easy, across the middle kicked my butt.
l‘ve also done tons of hiking on the island, and yes, I’ve sucked fudge.

 

[Jackdaw]

Twhen I called t9 make reservations in Escanaba they acted like I was crazy, “just show up, we’ve got room.”

True that, when we stopped in at the Escanaba Marina last month (wonderful facility BTW) there was like 10 boat in the place.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Last year I had a chance to visit as we had driven up for a wedding. Sisters-in-law poohed the idea going over via ferry. Be the last time with the sister in law. Good excuse to return