I am planning a trip from Port Colbourne west along Lake Erie, North through St Clair and Lake Huron and on to Little Current on manitoulin Island. I will be sailing through the night and only stopping for pump outs etc. Any tips or advice would help!
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Gene Foraker
Transit of Erie
I reccomend you go up the Detroit River and St Clair River in daylight. Freighter traffic is heavy and there are many hazards with a fast current. The current is less if you stay off to the side, but don't suggest this at night. Gene
I reccomend you go up the Detroit River and St Clair River in daylight. Freighter traffic is heavy and there are many hazards with a fast current. The current is less if you stay off to the side, but don't suggest this at night. Gene
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Warren Feldstein
to georgian bay
I am planning a trip from lake Ontari to Midland end of May. We should compare notes.
I am planning a trip from lake Ontari to Midland end of May. We should compare notes.
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Colin Campbell
To Warren
My e mail is campbell_colin@bcl-magnetics.com if you e mail me there and we can start some dialog.
My e mail is campbell_colin@bcl-magnetics.com if you e mail me there and we can start some dialog.
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John Vasey
Lake Huron/Georgian Bay/North Channel
Colin/Warren, I have spent a great deal of time sailing from Ports like Port Elgin, Tobermory, Midland, Little Current and all the surronding areas, if I can be of help please email me vaseyj@ihorizons.net John Vasey
Colin/Warren, I have spent a great deal of time sailing from Ports like Port Elgin, Tobermory, Midland, Little Current and all the surronding areas, if I can be of help please email me vaseyj@ihorizons.net John Vasey
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Capn' Odie
North to Little Current
Colin, Nice choice on your destination!! We have sailed the North Channel area and I can't think of a nicer cruise in this area. The hardest part of your trip will be the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and St. Clair river passages. I would agree that it would be best to travel this area in the daylight, but without planned stops during the transit your best bet will be to keep moving. You will be spending about 7 to 8 hours in each river plus the transit of Lake St. Clair. It is long and tedious. Once in each river there is no escape except to local marinas. Study your charts carefully, stay to the right and keep a sharp watch for freighter traffic. I do suggest that once you make Port Huron you will want to continue into the lake, but an overnight stop at Port Huron (excellent facilities) will make the trip more enjoyable. Get some rest, take on supplies, pump-out and prepare for Lake Huron, it is a wonderful lake to sail. (I've also sailed Erie, love it too). Once in Lake Huron, head for Tobemory, great place to start your cruise of the North Channel. You will not regret this cruise, but you WILL complain about the passage of the rivers. It's tough, but you can enjoy it!! Best of Luck Capn' Odie
Colin, Nice choice on your destination!! We have sailed the North Channel area and I can't think of a nicer cruise in this area. The hardest part of your trip will be the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and St. Clair river passages. I would agree that it would be best to travel this area in the daylight, but without planned stops during the transit your best bet will be to keep moving. You will be spending about 7 to 8 hours in each river plus the transit of Lake St. Clair. It is long and tedious. Once in each river there is no escape except to local marinas. Study your charts carefully, stay to the right and keep a sharp watch for freighter traffic. I do suggest that once you make Port Huron you will want to continue into the lake, but an overnight stop at Port Huron (excellent facilities) will make the trip more enjoyable. Get some rest, take on supplies, pump-out and prepare for Lake Huron, it is a wonderful lake to sail. (I've also sailed Erie, love it too). Once in Lake Huron, head for Tobemory, great place to start your cruise of the North Channel. You will not regret this cruise, but you WILL complain about the passage of the rivers. It's tough, but you can enjoy it!! Best of Luck Capn' Odie
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Tom Ehmke
trip through lakes erie,st.clair and huron
Colin, Two summers ago I made a similar cruise to Drummond Island at the mouth of the St. Marys River. At that time we sailed the coast of Michigan and made the trip in five days sailing 10-12 hrs. a day. We plan to do the trip again this summer only this time we want to sail the coast of Ontario and spend some time at Tobermorey. My comment is this. The toughest part of the trip is motor-sailing upstream through the Detroit and St.Clair rivers. The current slows snailboats WAY down so allow plenty of time for that part of the trip. We sailed from Put-In-Bay to the north end of the Detroit River in 15 hrs. and got beat up pretty good by the weekend traffic on the river.We transited Lake St.Clair and the St.Clair River next day and that took about 12 hrs. We were fortunate to have a south wind on both days which allowed us to motor-sail. If the wind had been on our nose, we might still be there!! Needless to say, make sure you have the appropriate charts to get through the rivers. It's a great feeling to finally sail under the Blue Water Bridge and into Lake Huron. Best of luck. If you want to yak some more about the trip, e-mail me at your leisure. Best wishes, Tom Ehmke
Colin, Two summers ago I made a similar cruise to Drummond Island at the mouth of the St. Marys River. At that time we sailed the coast of Michigan and made the trip in five days sailing 10-12 hrs. a day. We plan to do the trip again this summer only this time we want to sail the coast of Ontario and spend some time at Tobermorey. My comment is this. The toughest part of the trip is motor-sailing upstream through the Detroit and St.Clair rivers. The current slows snailboats WAY down so allow plenty of time for that part of the trip. We sailed from Put-In-Bay to the north end of the Detroit River in 15 hrs. and got beat up pretty good by the weekend traffic on the river.We transited Lake St.Clair and the St.Clair River next day and that took about 12 hrs. We were fortunate to have a south wind on both days which allowed us to motor-sail. If the wind had been on our nose, we might still be there!! Needless to say, make sure you have the appropriate charts to get through the rivers. It's a great feeling to finally sail under the Blue Water Bridge and into Lake Huron. Best of luck. If you want to yak some more about the trip, e-mail me at your leisure. Best wishes, Tom Ehmke
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