New Home Port for No Worries

DayDreamer41 · Mar 30, 2018

Wife and I sailed from Muskegon to Port Huron in Sept of 2016 but that was in Sept with much warmer conditions and predominant winds from the SW, although a couple of those days we were beating a N by NW wind. I planned 5 days to Traverse which ended up being 6, we had to sit one day listening to gale force winds howling in Leland.
As already been mentioned, warm cloths a must in layers the water temps should be right around 42*F, generally the winds blow average 12 from the west which could make for a great sail in some rolling seas. Alway use a PFD, survival suits make for a more comfortable passage that is for sure, but are rather expensive.
Our trip
Muskegon to Pentwater - Winds 10-12 SW 50 NM 9 hrs
Pentwater to Frankfort - Winds 12-15 WSW building to 15-18 65 NM - 12 hrs
Frankfort to Leland - Winds 15-18 SWS - 45 NM - 7 hrs (we were flying this day) Sat a day in Leland due to gale force winds
Leland to Petoskey - Winds 10-15 SW - 54 NM - 11 hours (sailed through a large storm that hit hours ahead of schedule)

I would say that this part of our journey would be about the equivalent distance to the one you are about to take.

Respect Lake Michigan it certainly can be fierce and above all enjoy the trip, I am sure you will want to do it again some day. What a great place to be at some many great locations to sail to from GTB.

quadrille38 · Mar 30, 2018

Apex said:
Thanks Quadrille: A great distillation of the legs. With that type of journey, I might even be able to pull in temporary crew for a couple legs. I was looking at the charts last night

What engine do you have in your O'Day? We had the OMC sail drive and it was a 2 cycle so we had to keep any eye on plug fouling. On the positive side it was a 30 HP so it had good power. Friends had a similar O'Day but it had the 1 cylinder diesel. Better fuel economy but it was decidedly under powered when it came to motoring into a chop. And if you are trying to make distance and you have to tack 10 to 15 miles out into the lake and back because you can't make headway in the chop you need to factor that into your planning.

We've done the trip up the shoreline frequently (with a few years going across the lake instead). We did it with the 28, and later with our Catalina 34 and more recently with out Hunter 38. Last summer was the first time we'd gotten in to Elk Rapids by boat. Spent several days there and loved it.

If you have any questions that pop up, shoot me a note and I'll try to offer any information I can.

DayDreamer41 · Mar 30, 2018

When we did the trip we were advised that Ludington was a tricky place to get into so we cut the first leg short to Pentwater. We had left Muskegon late and Ludington would have been approached in the dark not a great thing for the first night with our new to us boat.

quadrille38 · Mar 31, 2018

DayDreamer41 said:
When we did the trip we were advised that Ludington was a tricky place to get into so we cut the first leg short to Pentwater. We had left Muskegon late and Ludington would have been approached in the dark not a great thing for the first night with our new to us boat.

That must have been a few years ago when water levels were down. Although interestingly I'd rate Pentwater as much trickier to get into because it's a narrower channel and can be prone to some serious shoaling. At one point when the water levels were down a few years ago there was concern that Pentwater was going to be closed to boats because they had a 5 foot depth in the channel. They community had to raise funds for urgent dredging. Now that water levels have gone up its less of an issue. The channel in Ludington is big and well maintained as the car ferry Badger comes in and out of there. Apex it's more like the Muskegon channel you are familiar with.

Pentwater or Ludington are both wonderful stops so you can't go wrong. When you round little Sable you will find that it takes roughly the same time to travel to Pentwater or Ludington even though Ludington if farther north. Pentwater is kind of tucked down in while the course to Ludington is at more of an angle across.

In Ludington you have 2 Marina choices. The Municipal or Harborview. Both are very nice. Harborview is private but welcomes transients. When the water levels were down the muni had some depth issues at its entrance and with fixed docks getting off the boat required a steep climb. Water levels are back up so it's likely less of an issue.

Apex - I thought you might have the 1 cylinder Yanmar as that was the more common engine. Who knows, you might even have my friends boat as he sailed out of Muskegon before he sold the boat. The only reason I raised the question was that when going head to head with our friends boat I found our 30 hp sail drive could push into the wind and chop better than his 8 hp one cylinder so he had to figure more travel time between ports. (Although having to mix oil and gas for my 2 cycle and clean plugs every other tank of fuel were significant negatives for my engine.)

quadrille38 · Mar 31, 2018

Apex said:
hey quadrile! no worries has a unique interior, a PO built cabineets which i truly enjoy. looks really nice. same boat? she also has a queens cup class winner sticker.....sail numer 22802

Sorry don't know those details. It's been a long time