Oday 25 sailing and trailering for the Apostle Islands
- Thread starter egaumer
- Start date
Great great choice.
There are several marinas where you can trailer launch and leave your truck. Washburn Marina is probably the most trailer-sailor friendly, but is a few hour sail south. Most Bayfiled marinas cater to big boats; many do not even have ramps.
The islands are very trailer sailor friendly; there is always a lee to find even if the wind picks up. And your CB boat will be able to use NPS docks that most boats (including ours) cannot.
Normally you will anchor in 10-15 feet of water with a sand bottom; a danforth or plow will be a fine anchor.
The town of La Ponte on Madeline Island is a very fun place. Stockton Island has three very good anchorages. Have a good VHF. Listen to NOAA weather; the forecast wind direction will dictate where you can sail (and also spend the night!)
The water can be cold, and sometime there is fog. Make sure you have:
VERY good PFDs (ones you are willing to wear 100% of the time if needed)
Local chart
GPS (handheld is fine)
Foghorn
Binoculars
VHF!
If you can spring for it, get a hold of a copy of this book. Worth its weight in gold.
http://www.amazon.com/Bonnie-Dahls-...d=1392061368&sr=8-2&keywords=the+superior+way
Drop us a note if you go. We are at Pikes Bay. One of our racing crewmembers on our First 36.7 has a 25 and can share some intel.
If you feel up to it head out farther, with a good weather forecast the whole group is yours. Here is some friends of our we met at Devils Island last year in their Chrysler 22. That's Canada in the background.
There are several marinas where you can trailer launch and leave your truck. Washburn Marina is probably the most trailer-sailor friendly, but is a few hour sail south. Most Bayfiled marinas cater to big boats; many do not even have ramps.
The islands are very trailer sailor friendly; there is always a lee to find even if the wind picks up. And your CB boat will be able to use NPS docks that most boats (including ours) cannot.
Normally you will anchor in 10-15 feet of water with a sand bottom; a danforth or plow will be a fine anchor.
The town of La Ponte on Madeline Island is a very fun place. Stockton Island has three very good anchorages. Have a good VHF. Listen to NOAA weather; the forecast wind direction will dictate where you can sail (and also spend the night!)
The water can be cold, and sometime there is fog. Make sure you have:
VERY good PFDs (ones you are willing to wear 100% of the time if needed)
Local chart
GPS (handheld is fine)
Foghorn
Binoculars
VHF!
If you can spring for it, get a hold of a copy of this book. Worth its weight in gold.
http://www.amazon.com/Bonnie-Dahls-...d=1392061368&sr=8-2&keywords=the+superior+way
Drop us a note if you go. We are at Pikes Bay. One of our racing crewmembers on our First 36.7 has a 25 and can share some intel.
If you feel up to it head out farther, with a good weather forecast the whole group is yours. Here is some friends of our we met at Devils Island last year in their Chrysler 22. That's Canada in the background.
O'Day launching
I've kept my O'Day 25 in Bayfield area for the last 6 or so years. Last year I launched at Buffalo Bay Marina (Red Cliff). It is connected to Legendary Waters Hotel & Casino and as long as the water levels are decent, it is pretty easy to launch from there. I've also launched at the Bayfield city launch which may be little more crowded and steep but it was deep enough at the time.
Next season there will be at least two O'Day 25's in the Buffalo Bay Marina.
sPk
I've kept my O'Day 25 in Bayfield area for the last 6 or so years. Last year I launched at Buffalo Bay Marina (Red Cliff). It is connected to Legendary Waters Hotel & Casino and as long as the water levels are decent, it is pretty easy to launch from there. I've also launched at the Bayfield city launch which may be little more crowded and steep but it was deep enough at the time.
Next season there will be at least two O'Day 25's in the Buffalo Bay Marina.
sPk
I also have an oday 25 and want to try the Apostle Islands. I have read some books about sailing Superior, and it seems to be an awesome place, natural beauty and great sailing. However, after freezing may behind off for the last three months and still at least two more to go, I think I want to go to a hot place instead. I KNOW my wife does! Seriously, is there a time in the summer there when a relaxing swim after a day of sailing can be had? Also what about mast raising crane?
If you go in August, I would reccomend having 12 volt fans on the boat to make sleeping more comfortable. If I remember correctly, the water temp was right around 70 degrees in the shallows. Perfect for cooling off after a hard sail.
Here is a link to a video I made last year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm8NsGYgRjo
Here is a link to a video I made last year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm8NsGYgRjo
Thanks for link...nice family and boat! Did you anchor out and sleep on the boat? How many days/nights did you stay?
We spent 5 nights on the boat. (3 at the Redcliff marina, 1 at the Presque Isle dock on Stockton and 1 night on Madeline at the yacht club.) This year we are going to anchor out. Santa brought us a new inflatable dinghy for Christmas. Summer can't come soon enough for us.
If you want to consider alternatives, think about Lake Michigan and the Door County peninsula. I've sailed up and down the western coast of Lake Michigan and also quite a bit of Green Bay. Harbor hopping on either shore is easy (most harbors are 20-25 miles apart) and I really like Door County from Sturgeon Bay north. It's protected, the water is quite a bit warmer than Lake Superior once summer gets here (http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2607), and there are plenty of places to visit (Sturgeon Bay, Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Ephraim, Washington Island, ...).
Still, I have got to get up to the Apostles. I read much of Bonnie Dahl's book (1st edition) and it looks like a great place to sail. Isle Royale also looks like a great place to visit, but that's a big chunk of open water for a 25 ft. sailboat. I know that Marlin Bree has done it in a 22 ft. wooden boat that he built. But I've also read his books and also a recent edition of Sail which highlights the challenges of that lake. I'm pretty sure that I do not want to tackle the open waters of Lake Superior in a 25 footer. The Apostles would be great though and they are protected.
Dave
s/v Lagniappe
O'Day 25
Still, I have got to get up to the Apostles. I read much of Bonnie Dahl's book (1st edition) and it looks like a great place to sail. Isle Royale also looks like a great place to visit, but that's a big chunk of open water for a 25 ft. sailboat. I know that Marlin Bree has done it in a 22 ft. wooden boat that he built. But I've also read his books and also a recent edition of Sail which highlights the challenges of that lake. I'm pretty sure that I do not want to tackle the open waters of Lake Superior in a 25 footer. The Apostles would be great though and they are protected.
Dave
s/v Lagniappe
O'Day 25
Wow, it is almost like O'Day 25's are taking over the lake!!!! But, that is the beauty of a trailerable boat. You can take it where you want and enjoy it. Bayfield, as mentioned, does have a city ramp, but parking your truck and trailer there is limited to 3 days. Right next to the ramp is the Black Hawk Marina and the owner there might be of some value to you in terms of a transient slip and a place to keep your truck and trailer. If you are planning on spending the night in the islands your boat needs to be equipped with the proper safety equipment, which you probably have for the most part, but one thing many trailerable boats might not have is an anchor light. This must be turned on at posted sun down (not when it gets dark) and must be on all night long or you might be confronted by a park ranger. No big deal, you don't want anyone to run into you in the middle of the night anyway. There are places you can dock (first come first serve), such as the dock in Quarry Bay or in the small marina (both on Stockton Island), but it is $10 for overnighting. If you have a dinghy with an outboard on it, make sure you have battery powered legal lights if you intend to motor after dark. A VHF radio is a must for weather reports and to see where the winds are so you can find yourself a calm anchorage in the lee of an island or mainland. Charts are a good idea (even a place mat chart which is available at the Apostle Islands Marina will offer up a good reference for getting about the islands), but GPS is real handy (but not necessary if you have charts). Line of sight navigation is pretty easy if you just keep alert and stay in the islands. Charts are good so you know how much water you have underneath you too. The lake is very deep, but there are shoal hazards here and there. It can be cool or very hot. Depends on the time of the year and mother nature. Later in the summer jumping in the water is not all that bad and if you are in the shallows of a place like Long Island, the water is more like bath water.....very warm. If it is very foggy, not recommended that you venture out, but fog really is not so frequent. If it is blowing like stink you might want to sail with reservations as well, but usually sailors are praying for wind and have to motor too much, but when it blows, it can blow hard. Lots of protection with the islands, however, but like any big or small body of water, you have to use common sense. It is a beautiful area, great sailing and if you get on some islands, great hiking and some of the light houses are open for tours as well (that info on the web). Bayfield is a charming little fresh water seaport with lots of shops and restaurants and watering holes. Madeline Island is charming as well with more restaurants and entertainment at Tom's (twice) burned down cafe, if you like that sort of thing. It's a sailors haven on Lake Superior. If you want more specifics, feel free to message me with questions, etc.
The best thing about this thread is that it covers both of our next two seasons sailing trips, Green Bay and Lake Superior.
This forum is the best. Great people here. In my past life I spent a lot of time on other life relevant forums where it seemed like everyone spent all of their time flaming each other.
This forum is the best. Great people here. In my past life I spent a lot of time on other life relevant forums where it seemed like everyone spent all of their time flaming each other.
We had an O'day 27 before we moved up to our 35 and we sailed the 27 across the lake from Bayfield to Grand Marais, MN. For those unfamiliar, that's about 55 NM offshore. I wouldn't have wanted anything smaller than that, not that it couldn't be done, but the trip home saw 5 - 6 footers on the aft quarter and a great beam reach home. Great sail, the boat handled well but I don't know if I'd have felt the same on anything smaller.
Anywhere in the islands and the 25 would be perfect.
Anywhere in the islands and the 25 would be perfect.
Bring warm clothes! I used to sail in the Trans Superior race (around the first of August) and always wore long johns, wool sweaters, wool hat and chopper mits at some point in the race. I have also swam off the boat during calms and although it was refreshing and you didn't linger, we didn't get hypothermia either. On a cruise to Isle Royale on my Oday 23 in 2011 we swam every day and I was amazed at how warm the water was (not even cold enough to cool our beer as I had planned). We trailered our boats to Thunder Bay and then sailed to Isle Royale, spending a week exploring the island. We had a wonderful trip. The main limitation of my 23 foot boat was the limited space we had for gear (including those warm clothes mentioned above), water, fuel, food, ice, etc. on a week long cruise. There are more services available in the Apostles, so that shouldn't be as much of an issue. Make sure you have the proper gear on board and that everything is in good working order, become proficient at shortening sail quickly, expect fog, learn how to navigate and have paper charts on board, keep track of your position and keep an eye on the weather at all times (as Stan Rogers sings "don't take the lakes for granted" ). Perhaps most importantly, be flexible with your itinerary. Build in a couple extra days so you can wait out a storm if need be. The lake has sunk many a ship over the years, so the size of your vessel is less important than good preparation, good equipment, good skills, and using good judgement when conditions are challenging.