Thinking Seriously About Doing the Great Loop

[Chinook]

We'd be a flotilla of two, as far as I know right now. I am hoping to meet up with as many Mac sailors as possible along the way. Lake Michigan is a big pond. Where abouts are you on the Lake? If you're anywhere near Grand Haven, we'll be starting there, and then harbor hopping down, probably to Michigan City before crossing over to Chicago. All will depend on early September weather. Your company as we begin would be great. If you're further north, you could greet us on the home stretch, in late summer, 2014. Assuming you sail on Lake Michigan, how are things like, typically, in early September? I expect we might have to wait out some rough water as we work our way down.

[dlandersson]

Oooh, oooh...I'm based in Michigan City. Gyroplanes is based in Hammond.

We'd be a flotilla of two, as far as I know right now. I am hoping to meet up with as many Mac sailors as possible along the way. Lake Michigan is a big pond. Where abouts are you on the Lake? If you're anywhere near Grand Haven, we'll be starting there, and then harbor hopping down, probably to Michigan City before crossing over to Chicago. All will depend on early September weather. Your company as we begin would be great. If you're further north, you could greet us on the home stretch, in late summer, 2014. Assuming you sail on Lake Michigan, how are things like, typically, in early September? I expect we might have to wait out some rough water as we work our way down.

[Chinook]

Michigan City is definitely a planned stop, being our probable jump off point for crossing to Chicago. We'll definitely look forward to seeing you a few days after our launch at Grand Haven. I see that Hammond Bay is up north, near Rogers Bay and east of the Macinac Straits. We'll be following the North Channel to Drummond Island and then crossing over to Macinac Island, before dropping down the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. Perhaps Gyroplanes will be out cruising in the vicinity of Macinac Island to greet us as we clear back in to the US. I wonder how many MacGregors we can meet up with on this cruise.

[dlandersson]

Michigan City has a very nice beach, park, zoo, marina, and mall complex - all within walking distance of each other. Casino is a bit further away.

Michigan City is definitely a planned stop, being our probable jump off point for crossing to Chicago. We'll definitely look forward to seeing you a few days after our launch at Grand Haven. I see that Hammond Bay is up north, near Rogers Bay and east of the Macinac Straits. We'll be following the North Channel to Drummond Island and then crossing over to Macinac Island, before dropping down the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. Perhaps Gyroplanes will be out cruising in the vicinity of Macinac Island to greet us as we clear back in to the US. I wonder how many MacGregors we can meet up with on this cruise.

[Chinook]

Michigan City sounds like an interesting place. I went to grad school at MSU and lived in Michigan for 2 years, ages ago. We saw a great deal of the state in those 2 years, but never managed to drop in at Michigan City. Looking forward to going there.

[Spector]

You might consider looking at this app for charts. I have not used it in the real world yet but they have been very responsive to my requests to add inland lakes etc.

http://gpsnauticalcharts.com/main/nauti ... app-videos

[dlandersson]

Notice the boat in the Michigan State map

http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-1 ... --,00.html

Michigan City sounds like an interesting place. I went to grad school at MSU and lived in Michigan for 2 years, ages ago. We saw a great deal of the state in those 2 years, but never managed to drop in at Michigan City. Looking forward to going there.

[Chinook]

Wow, that's really cool. How did they know I was coming to Michigan this year with my 26X? I'm going to be ordering my copy of the official Michigan State map, with the cool picture of our boat on the cover (well, a boat just like ours). Now, once I figure out where that cover photo was taken, I might try going there so I can take a picture of Chinook tied up at the very same spot.

[Chinook]

You might consider looking at this app for charts. I have not used it in the real world yet but they have been very responsive to my requests to add inland lakes etc.

http://gpsnauticalcharts.com/main/nauti ... app-videos

Thanks for the reference, Spector. I looked at it, but I'm a bit old fashioned with Ipads, blackberries and aps. I'll be going with a complete set of paper charts, along with the electronic US charts in my Garmin 545. I'll also be buying the Garmin chip covering Canadian waters. Additionally, I'll have all the US NOAA charts for the route downloaded into my laptop, which I interfact with the boat's GPS. That should keep me from getting lost, and provide adequate backup as well. When out in the dinghy, exploring confusing places like the mangrove channels of the Everglades, I generally take my hand held GPS along, so I can find my way back to the boat.

[Dawgfish]

Howdy! I just sailed south from central Illinois (illinois river) to Miss river to the gulf of mexico and am at Pensacola FL now finally. Personal experience with the trip has convinced me to start from Illinois in june or before if your going to sail the trip. If you have the rescources to motor a lot , then the river side can be done in fairly short order(weeks if you hurry) ! While I traveled down the Miss river to New Orleans , it was during extremely low water and this made access to the small towns nil. this made the gas rescources further apart than is comfortable . I had plenty of sandbars to protect from current and wake . I expect the Mighty Miss is a different story when at it normal or high water level. If you decide to take this route I would be happy to share my waypoints and info!
I heard the Tenn-Tom is the way to go for relaxing. The Mississippi river is quite exciting at times! Down right hair raising at other time !
You should know that the rivers have a tendency to channel the wind( it blows upstream or downstream) it was rare to get any other wind direction regardless of the forecast.

Best of luck!

[fouz]

I would like to hear more about your trip. Maybe make a trip report?

[Dawgfish]

I would like to hear more about your trip. Maybe make a trip report?

I am just now starting the Illinois river page on my website I will notify you when it get done(soon hopefully). It will have notes coordinates and whatnot.

[Chinook]

Time for an update on our possible Great Loop cruise. We're heavily into the planning and preparation phase right now. I've bought my Great Looper planning chart and burgee, so we're committed. We've circled a late August departure date for the drive east, and have made arrangements with a friend for storing the truck and boat trailer during the year we'll be underway. Our departure port will be Grand Haven MI, and we'll hope to be able to reach Chicago by the first week in September. I've worked out a tentative itinerary, so I can test out the reasonableness of completing the journey within a year's time. The estimated distance, in statute miles, is 6280 miles. My planning allows for 196 travel days, with an average of 32 miles/cruising day. This leaves us with 163 layover days, plus a little over a week for flying home during the holidays. I've completed my acquisition of charts and cruising guides for the entire cruise. I had very good success in buying used charts and guides from Loop cruisers who'd recently completed the trip. The entire collection of charts and guides probably weighs over 60 lbs. Boat preparations so far have included adding a second 50 watt solar panel, which I've mounted on top of our dodger; rewiring the boat, including installation of a new breaker panel; and installing a new mainsail stack pac/jack line setup which Blue Water Yachts has just come out with. Next month I'll get the bottom painted. Our route planned route will include a side trip out to the Dry Tortugas, a crossing to Bimini and Andros Island in the Bahamas, and once we get up to New York, we'll take the Champlain Canal option, followed by the Rideaux and Trent-Severn Canals across southern Canada, followed by a cruise along the North Channel of the Georgian Bay. I'll be posting a blog on the trip on our website, and we'll hope to meet and greet many members of this board along the way.

[Catigale]

Well, I found my old Erie Canal chart book, and managed to talk WM into trading me for the new one in comp for a faulty anchor rode they sold me.

Mike, if you are interested in borrowing that PM me.

Warning...you need good situational awareness coming up the Hudson and the canals, especially up near me, as shoaling and bottom shifting is rampant.

[Captain Jim]

Mike as a member of this board I have been following your various sojourns and must say the admiral and I are very envious of you folks. We have finally moved back home to upstate N.Y. after being away for 40 years. We have just settled down in a new home to us built in 1800 in Fort Miller, N.Y. with the Champlain Canal in our back yard and the Hudson River across the street in our front yard. So, if we can be of any assistance to you on your Great Loop journey do not hesitate to let us know. We are just north of Lock 6.

Fair winds,

Jim