On Fri, 03 Feb 2006 22:10:36 GMT, "Jasper Windvane"
wrote:

This is a way off, maybe, plan. BUT:

Have any of you experienced cruisers taken a boat [sail, of course] from
Lake Michigan to the Atlantic Ocean? And not by truck! On the water, in
the boat, sailing ............ from Lake Michigan to the Atlantic Ocean.


I shall be doing the trip later this year. A few of the things I've
learned:

1. If you are prepared in advance you can get your mast destepped and
stowed and be on the canals in 1 1/2 hours complete with a wooden
cradle for your mast. My surveyor has done this trip.

2. Its around 500 miles through the canals and rivers to NY.

3. Apparently you can't sail at night, although I'm not 100% sure of
this.

4. Free US raster charts are available for the whole of the NY canal
system, but you can't get free charts for the Canadian section of the
St Lawrence. I use OziExplorer to read the raster charts which can be
downloaded from NOAA web site.

5. The weather can be unpleasant in the St Lawrence area so be
prepared for fog and wind at the same time. This from Jimmy Cornell's
"World Cruising Routes" 5th edition, p 168:

"The area from Maine to Newfoundland is affected by fog, particularly
in the spring and summer. This is caused by a S or SW wind bringing
warm moist air over the sea, which is kept cool by the Labrador
Current. A careful lookout for the many fishing boats and lobster pots
in this area must be kept when visibility is poor. A northerly wind
tends to clear the fog. Also in spring and summer up to July, when
polar ice is breaking up, icebergs are sometimes carried south into
the area off Newfoundland. In spite of the danger of ice, even during
the summer months, it is possible to sail in these waters provided a
good lookout is kept both in the daytime and at night.

When sailing in poor visibility in Canadian waters, contact 'Traffic'
on channels 13, 14 or 21 to report your position course and speed, and
to receive information on any shipping in your vicinity. The US coast
and Nova Scotia are normally out of the iceberg zone."

Have fun
M