On Fri, 03 Feb 2006 22:25:07 -0500, in message

Wayne.B wrote:

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

Last summer I went from Kingston ON up and around Manitoulin Island
and back down, covering a lot of the distance you're talking about.
I've also been down the St. Lawrence as far as Iroquois.

I've done part of the trip and know quite a bit about the rest. The
only way to do the entire trip with your mast up is to follow the
freighter route - through the Welland Canal to Lake Ontario and out to
the Atlantic via the St Lawrence River and Seaway. Should be no
problem for any reasonably sized mast under 100 feet or so. This
route is well over 1,000 miles out of the way of course.

It's 1000 miles that I find rather tempting, and I think you may be
underestimating... Yes, the fast way south is through Oswego, and even
the tall ship Bounty chose to go that way last year.

There shipping channels, locks et all
as you sail this route, is it hard in a small sailboat? Is it difficult to
navigate? What about the big ships?

You will do a lot of motoring, trust me on that one, and the big ships
have the right of way at all times.

It doesn't have to be a lot. It's about 12 hours down the rivers from
Sarnia to Lake Erie, and about the same in the Welland, and the rest
can be quite comfortable sailing in the prevailing westerlies. Don't
even think of beating down Lake Erie. Some of the narrow spots in the
upper St. Lawrence may have you powering up, but it is quite possible
sail from Kingston to Iroquois.

The locks are not difficult nor all that expensive.

CDN$160 total through the Welland. Going down is easy with two. Going
up is a little more difficult as the inrushing water can be quite
turbulent. We had three on board up-bound, and we were busy and worn
out by the end of the climb.

Pay cash with Canadian money at each lock.

New this year at the Welland: Pay by credit card at an automatic
machine at the check-in dock. I'm not sure about the St. Lawrence.

Enjoy the trip!

Ryk