Great Lakes End to End

[Mike OReilly]

To echo LS's comments, we've revised our plans for heading out the St. Lawrence. Instead of trying to get to the Halifax area from Lake Superior (the far western end) in one season, we're going to move our boat down to Lake Ontario the first season (next summer) and then head downstream the following year. Choosing the St. Lawrence route really doubles the distance if you're heading south (as we are ... eventually). We're in no rush though, but if we were I'd definitely choose the Erie canal or perhaps the Mississippi route.

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by HoppySailor

Living in Montana, winter is a time for dreaming and planning

A little inspiration for your dreaming and planning:

The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas: Jerry Dennis: 9780312331030: Amazon.com: Books

[Hard A Lee]

Sounds like a great adventure! I grew up sailing out of Bayfield (Port Superior) around the Apostles and out to Isle Royal. I'm hoping to one day make the trip through the Great Lakes on the way south as well. For now, I'm living in Park City, Utah and looking for a small boat to get my wife and I some learning time together...

The Apostles are amazing and Isle Royal is a truly unique place. I've heard the Slate Islands are really worth seeing and I'd love to see the North Shore too. I've also heard great things about Barkers Island.

Where are you sailing in Montana?

[HoppySailor]

Thank you all for your recent replies. I started this thread quite a while ago and thought it was dead. We still have three years to go before we can begin our great adventure so we do have a lot of time to think things through. Reading the comments about the cold and the fog on Superior in June give me a little concern but cruising is about the journey and not so much the destination. Reading comments by folks who cruise Superior make me believe that it's not to be missed. I dislike the cold and dark Montana winters and cruising Superior in June isn't going to make for summer like conditions. But.... we consider spending a summer sailing the great lakes an opportunity of a lifetime and may as well go end to end. I'm not interested in the St. Lawrence seaway because of the distance and what I perceive to be difficult conditions once in the Atlantic. We'll head down the Erie Canal and Hudson river most likely and gain our ocean experience a little at a time as we make our way south.

To answer an earlier question, we currently sail on Flathead Lake in western Montana. The lake is about 28 miles long and up to 15 miles wide in the areas of the longer bays. It has predictable winds most of the time and is an absolutely beautiful place. In the early and late seasons we are often the only boat on the water. But the season is short, the water is generally cold, and after 11 years there's nothing new to see. We're ready to move on.

[Ketchgould]

We hope to sail to New York in the next few years from the apostles. 79th Street boat basin on Manhattan and the Hudson is $1200 for a 6 month mooring! Cheap. Includes shower, ice and laundry.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Ketchgould

We hope to sail to New York in the next few years from the apostles. 79th Street boat basin on Manhattan and the Hudson is $1200 for a 6 month mooring! Cheap. Includes shower, ice and laundry.

It can be pretty rough there. Many times we could not make coffee in the morning cause' we needed both hands to hold on.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

It can be pretty rough there. Many times we could not make coffee in the morning cause' we needed both hands to hold on.

X2 There is a reason such a great location is so cheap.