Hi folks, my wife and I purchased Sailboat and Ontario waters a couple days ago. we are US citizens who have always sailed the great lakes. We did not know after until after we purchased it that we had to bring it back into the US at Sault Ste. Marie Michigan. We are in the north channel In the area of Drummond Island. My wife and I are older folks and we need to get this boat to Sault Ste. Marie to check it in as soon as possible. We do not know what route we should take to get there. If there is anybody out there who has some experience, please help us. We need to be doing this right away because the season is getting short and we can’t leave the boat in Canada. It’s paid for. if there are any great lakes sailors out there who have made this voyage up to Sault Sainte Marie with a Sailboat please share how you made that route. we appreciate any help you could give us it very very much. Thank you. Thank you so much for helping us.
Need Routing help for navigation to Soo Michigan
- Thread starter Jimongee
- Start date
I haven't seen anyone answer here. I'm not the best person to answer as I've not made that leg of the trip. But looking at the charts it looks like you would cross under Saint Joseph Island and run up the shipping lanes from there. Run up the East side of Neebish Island as the West side is traffic against you. Then the East side of Sugar Island and into Saulte Ste Marie.
Looks like a lot of skinny water outside of the channels - what is your boat? Do you have the currents for that area? Sure looks like you will need to consult those. How much fuel do you have in board? How reliable is your engine? From the charts it sure looks like a lot of motoring if you are in a hurry. From near Chippewa Point on Drummond Island to Sault Ste Marie is roughly 50 nm. If you can make 5 knots that's a 10 hour day. Definitely need to know the currents there.
Where are our Great Lakes sailors?
dj
Looks like a lot of skinny water outside of the channels - what is your boat? Do you have the currents for that area? Sure looks like you will need to consult those. How much fuel do you have in board? How reliable is your engine? From the charts it sure looks like a lot of motoring if you are in a hurry. From near Chippewa Point on Drummond Island to Sault Ste Marie is roughly 50 nm. If you can make 5 knots that's a 10 hour day. Definitely need to know the currents there.
Where are our Great Lakes sailors?
dj
The question is confusing. Where is the boat now? What is your final destination. I guess I read you are at an undisclosed location in Ontario and need to clear customs then get to your final destination at Drummond island.
Hello!
Two years ago we brought our boat up Lake Michigan, through the St Marys river to Sault Ste Marie, and across Lake Superior.
We entered the river at Detour, which I believe is adjacent to Drummond Island.
The trip up the river was about 40 miles, give or take. We draw 6.5' so we were careful to stay between the channel markers. We favored the west channel, but we would have been fine either way.
The channels are too narrow to comfortably sail, so we motored the whole way. At about 6 knots it took us a comfortable 6.5-7 hours.
Overall it was one of the easier legs of our journey.
Once you round west into Sault Ste Marie you should be able to plot your final location easily enough.
The only things to watch for: there are freighters traversing the channel, so you need to be sure to give them room. There is enough room to move aside as they pass.
There are also ferry's between Drummond Island and Detour as well as Sugar Island and Sault Ste Marie. They're not big boats, but they will expect you to stay out of their way.
I believe the rules say you can traverse the waters on either the US or Canadian side, so I recommend you take the easiest route to get the boat over to Sault Ste Marie.
Good luck and have fun!
Doug
Two years ago we brought our boat up Lake Michigan, through the St Marys river to Sault Ste Marie, and across Lake Superior.
We entered the river at Detour, which I believe is adjacent to Drummond Island.
The trip up the river was about 40 miles, give or take. We draw 6.5' so we were careful to stay between the channel markers. We favored the west channel, but we would have been fine either way.
The channels are too narrow to comfortably sail, so we motored the whole way. At about 6 knots it took us a comfortable 6.5-7 hours.
Overall it was one of the easier legs of our journey.
Once you round west into Sault Ste Marie you should be able to plot your final location easily enough.
The only things to watch for: there are freighters traversing the channel, so you need to be sure to give them room. There is enough room to move aside as they pass.
There are also ferry's between Drummond Island and Detour as well as Sugar Island and Sault Ste Marie. They're not big boats, but they will expect you to stay out of their way.
I believe the rules say you can traverse the waters on either the US or Canadian side, so I recommend you take the easiest route to get the boat over to Sault Ste Marie.
Good luck and have fun!
Doug
you may want to join the Great Lakes Cruising Club. They have in their members section harbor guides for every port in the Great Lakes. There is a very extensive section that talks about the North Channel and the trip up the river to the Soo. Covers everything from navigation, routes, currents, ship traffic, and more.
Are you sure you have to go all the way up there and just not check in at Yacht Haven on Drummond or Detour? Might be worth a call up to the customs office in Sault Ste Marie.