Roger Long wrote:

I'm contemplating an early spring, west to east, trip the length of Lake
Erie to deliver a 32 foot sailboat. It's a reasonably capable boat. It was
designed for Caribbean sailing and sister ships have made trips such as from
Australia to England. I have a fair amount of ocean sailing experience but
I grew up near the shore of Lake Erie and heard the "It's much worse than
the ocean." comment many times.

Any informed and experienced opinions on early spring conditions would be
appreciated.



On April 14, 1990 I brought CIRCE home to Grand Haven, MI from
Manitowoc, WI. We (crew of 5 on a 45ft steel sloop) had a delightful
trip. BUT I damn near killed a friend of mine - he slept against the
hull w/o enough sleeping bag, and the cold and pneumonia that followed
was long and deep. My son slept in a hammock & bag slung under the boom
and was fine except for the dew. Bottom line - The weather can be nice
early, but as your other responders point out don't set your plans that
time of year by the calendar. Perhaps half of the days will be suitable
for travel comfortably. For safety, night sailing might be a marginal
bet in a new boat with cold water and fast changing weather - even a bit
risky in unfamiliar rivers or channels.

Scanned your site, I suspect you will love your find. Select your
delivery crew with both strong back and wise seamanship in mind? Just
did a 600mi delivery late summer down Superior and Michigan sailing
sorta 24/7 on a 32 (stopped 16hr for R&R at Mackinaw Island) with a
5-crew. Again a great time, but we needed to hide in a gunk hole when
the seas kicked up and it became uncomfortable. Too, could would have
lost a crew overboard except for the harness - still, she was sore after
being thrown on the lifeline and winch by a "rouge" while switching off
at the helm. Do the jack-line trick.

The great lakes water is low Feb / high July - driven by evaporation
mostly. But this is small annual change on top of larger 7 to 11 year
cycles. We have seen low water for a few years now so ports with
shallow entrances are at their worst. Where there is commercial traffic
there is plenty of water for pleasure boats (save at some docks). I did
the Oswego and Erie in the mid '90s with a 4-crew nicely on a 44 ketch.
Make SURE you lash the mast well, it's like the inter coastal getting
past big-fast-boat-wakes. I'd be interested to hear how much water
there is in the canal after you make the trip - I may do the same late
next year in CIRCE and I need 6-1/2ft(-).

Summing up: Allow yourself 25% more time than you might in mid summer.
Bring more warm clothing than you believe you can use - especially good
foulies and safety gear. Enjoy the adventure...