Question for Chicago-area sailors

Stu Jackson · Nov 6, 2012

The marinas in Chicago are run by the City. You could find out about them by looking up the City website or using Goggle.

duality · Nov 6, 2012

i live in naperville and keep my boat in the chicago harbor system. there are plenty of slips available!! due to the construction of a new 1000 slip harbor. unfortunately if you do not live in the city of chicago itself you will be charged an additional 25% fee. the new harbor bill arrives in the mailbox every year on Christmas eve. my wife and i refer it to our Christmas card from the city. i expect my bill to be about $6000 (40 foot slip) for the 2013 season. it goes up every year roughly 3to 8 %.

there are inland lakes, the chain of lakes in the fox lake area, lake geneva wi which has a big sailing community and alot of racing from what i hear, they make the melges in that area.

getting back to lake michigan. you could rent a slip in new buffalo mi, which i can get to in about 1 hour 45 minutes from downtown naperville. its a very pretty harbor, will cost less than chicago and you will have a vacation every weekend.

good luck

mike

Scott T-Bird · Nov 6, 2012

Here are the fees for all Chicago Harbors: http://www.chicagoharbors.info/2012 Harbor Fees.pdf

The star docks are a good deal. Basically, they are floating "island" docks that you have to access by dinghy, but it gives you a nice little community on your "star". Moorings are also available instead of slips. Be aware that some harbors can't accomodate sailboats because of bridges that don't open.

IF you don't want the downtown hub, Montrose Harbor is excellent and has a great beach. But it is not easy access from the southwest. I would consider Jackson Harbor if I were you. It is in the area where the University of Chicago is and the Science Museum. It is also the location of the Chicago World's Fair Columbian Exposition in 1893. The book The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson is an excellent read! I highly recommend it!

You won't find any other harbors in Illinois other than Winthrop Harbor on the Wisc. border (convenient access off I-94). Otherwise, you can look in Kenosha or Racine Wisc, Indiana or Michigan.

You probably won't like the Chain o Lakes because the water is very muddy, dirty, shallow, WAY too many powerboats and don't let all the interconnected lakes fool you, bridges keep sailboats in separate bodies. Other lakes (in Lake County) are generally private and access is difficult at best. Lake Geneva is far from Naperville but beautiful beyond belief. Probably VERY pricey. People like the Wrigley's have their summer mansions there ... it's sort of the "Newport" of the midwest. Lots of options in southern Wisconsin, though. I don't know about Indiana and south of Chicago. Nothing out west.

higgs · Nov 7, 2012

Other options for you include Winthrop Harbor, IL, a very nice marina or Kenosha, WI. Both of these are municiple marinas. A little farther to the north is Racine which offers a number of options.

Lake Delevan in WI is a small lake with a lot of sailing on it. The chain of Lakes in IL is not the best sailing lake as there are many. many power boaters using those lakes.

Terry in Naples · Nov 7, 2012

Monroe St harbor

2 decades ago I kept my boat at Monroe st habor. It was the worst place I ever have kept a boat. Unless this has changed a lot I would cross that one off my list.

atwhite2 · Nov 7, 2012

We keep our boat at Winthrop Harbor... We keep in on a trailer, but we use indoor mast-up storage. It is a very large marina with tons of slips. Easy access of I-94, never any marina traffic. We live in Northbrook, so its a little bit of a drive for us, but totally worth it. The Ramps are free public access and the indoor mast-up storage is very affordable.

higgs · Nov 7, 2012

I agree with Terri - Monroe Harbor is not well protected. Worst night I ever spent on a boat was there.

DJN51 · Nov 8, 2012

Dock my 23.5 hunter at East Chicago Nice Harbor.Good people,Electric,water cable Slip fees have stayed the same 4 yrs now,30 ft $2058.00 .Also Hammond is nice God beach breezes all summer.Welcome to Chicago.

flynfol · Nov 8, 2012

North Point Marina will probably take you 90 minutes from Naperville. The place is first class though and you will feel like being at a vacation home. It is a days sail to downtown though. Forget the Chain of Lakes.....unless you sail dinghies on weekdays early in the morning. Lake Geneva is beautiful......but you can spend as much on a mooring can as a slip on Lake Michigan and the launch ramps are a real headache when busy.

Http://Npmonline.com

John23883 · Nov 8, 2012

If you don't mind a bit of a drive.

We live within spitting distance of the Chain-o-Lakes and never sail there. As was noted, it is a motor-boat lake. Average depth 3 1/2 feet! There is only one lake deep enough to sail on.

For day sailing we drive up to Lake Geneva and launch in Williams Bay. For a small lake, (1 mile by 8miles?) it is deep. By the time we are entering the main lake from the bay it is 85 feet deep and 142 at it's deepest. You can't buy a house on the water for less than a few million and the slips aren't cheap.

For week long sailing we drive up to Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin one week every month and stay on the boat in the High Cliff State Park Marina on the Northeast corner of the lake. $93 a week with electric and fabulous showers within 50 feet! The marina is actually run by the yacht club not the state. They do have yearly slips also. Is it a bit of a drive? Yes. It takes us about 3 hours, at 55 mph or less, towing about 6000 pounds of H26, but the lake is huge (12 miles by 30 miles?) and has many places to stay the night all around the lake. The people are friendly and if you are used to a busy lake this will seem deserted even on a weekend. Also there is fantastic ice cream within walking distance.

You could reduce that to a 2 hour drive if you launch at the bottom of the lake in Fond-du Lac. That may seem like a lot of driving but I doubt you can get from Naperville to Chicago in less than an hour. Then it will cost you more to park then the launch fee!

We also do two week cruises on the Great Lakes with other sailors, usually in August. With a trailerable you have your choice of Lakes Michigan, Superior, Huron and Erie within a day's drive. The choices on these are so many, you could never saill all the possible places.

higgs · Nov 8, 2012

jblersch said:
Thanks to everybody for all of the helpful information. To some it might seem like a silly thing to factor into considering a new job, but...well...you know...

See you on the lake-
Jeff

Silly? Not to anyone here!

Tally Ho · Nov 11, 2012

In addition to the Chicago area marinas, there are 2 or 3 in northwest Indiana.

Hammond is the closest to Chicago
East Chicago is next
Michigan City is the farthest from Chicago of the 3.

Hammond is fairly new, decent facilities.
East Chicago is somewhat run down, and and an industrial area. I keep my Hunter 280 here though, because it is cheaper than Hammond, and closer to my house.
Michigan City is a very nice marina, but too far for me. I can be to East Chicago in half an hour from my house, and about the same from down town Chicago.

Greg