looking for a chance to sail on Lake Superior

[woodboro]

Suggested by another poster :

I am a novice at sailing.
However I have watched about 2 years of vids.. which has helped.

I am 65 , over all good health , but have a bad back.
I work out 3x a week , nothing with back tho.
I climb a minimum of 100 + stairs a day.

I was fishing with my brother in law in a 100+ hp in board took a wave and bounced , and felt it in my back.

I would like to sail for a 1/2 day , see what Lake Superior throws at me , and see if I can tolerate it.
If so , I will take sailing lessons thru Bayfield marina.

Later (target) to buy a Catalina 34-36 and sail the apostle islands during the summer time , and then dry dock the boat.

Can someone reach out to me , and start my new adventure in life ???

[Don C L]

This thread will probably get responses in the spring time.
But then again, if/when things get more frozen, you might try iceboating!
https://www.iceboat.org/

[woodboro]

Hey Don - you are a character !!!

Actually my grandfather did sail an ice boat on Madisons Lake Mendota , and went under the ice.

No thanks.

I appreciate your ideas though !!!

[Jammer]

PM sent

[Mike OReilly]

You could start by hanging out at a local marina, or yacht club, where there are regular club races. Captains are always looking for crew, and some are willing to take novices on if they show some aptitude.

[IBentley]

The gold standard for information about sailing on Lake Superior is Bonnie Dahl’s Superior Way. There hasn’t been a new edition for a little while but, by supplementing with internet searches, it is still the best there is.

[Trevor.D]

Hi all....New member here...I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask a question? If not let me know....
I too am looking to sail the N Shore of lake Superior and my question would be, what is the trip like from Thunder Bay to Sault St Marie on the Canadian side? What is the distance sailed? Fuel and marina stops? Provisioning stops ect.? Thx guys...Trevor from Campbell River BC Canada

[Redboat]

I live year round in Bayfield and worked at the Apostle Islands Marina, in the downtown area of the city. I was in the office/ship store. The ship store/service dept/parts dept closed down due to municipal takeover of marina management. Long, sordid story.

BUT, there is a vibrant and friendly sailing community here in Bayfield. There are several companies running lessons, charters (with or without a captain) as well as 2 yacht clubs. And that is just Bayfield, (pop. 550+/-).

Things are slow this time of year of course, but marina offices are open at Pikes Bay and Port Superior. Contact them and start the conversation. Come up and (if you are into this sort of thing) visit the bars (Creamery or Mortys are good; South Shore Taphouse in Washburn a well) on any given night there is bound to be a few sailors willing to chat and arrange to take you out. Might even be me!

Some of the best sailing in the world is here. Come and get it!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Trevor.D

Hi all....New member here...I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask a question? If not let me know....
I too am looking to sail the N Shore of lake Superior and my question would be, what is the trip like from Thunder Bay to Sault St Marie on the Canadian side? What is the distance sailed? Fuel and marina stops? Provisioning stops ect.? Thx guys...Trevor from Campbell River BC Canada

This is a bit of a thread drift from the original posting here Trevor, so you might do better starting a new one. But I'll give you a brief answer.

The north shore of Lake Superior is a stunningly beautiful area. It is vast, and very lightly populated. It is remote, with tons of anchorages, but few services, so those who venture far along this coast have to be pretty self-sufficient. The east, NE and north shores are all different in character, but all have great places to anchor. It's one of best cruising grounds in the world -- IF you like remote travel.

Once you leave the Sault the next marina is a ~100nm run to Wawa. The marina is up the Mishipocoten River, and is hard to get to with any deep draft boat, but the marina (Buck's Marina) used to have a service vessel that would come out to boats needing fuel or water or pump out. CHECK TO SEE IF THIS IS STILL THE CASE!

From Wawa it's roughly another 150nm (if you're following the coast) to Red Rock and/or Nipigon. Both are (or used to be) full service marinas. Water depths can be an issue in low seasons, but generally should be fine for most.

Your next marina stop is Thunder Bay, which is another ~100 nm from Red Rock.

That's it. You might be able to stop off Marathon and dinghy in for supplies, but fuel is virtually impossible to get. Rossport used to be a good stop, but it discontinued its fuel service many years ago, and I've heard the village dock is now condemned. Still worth a visit though. Silver Islet has a dock. Don't think there are any services, but Gord May (member here) would know best.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Once you leave the Sault the next marina is a ~100nm run to Wawa. The marina is up the Mishipocoten River, and is hard to get to with any deep draft boat, but the marina (Buck's Marina) used to have a service vessel that would come out to boats needing fuel or water or pump out.

There's a harbor at Whitefish Point on the U.S. side that's about 20 miles up from the Sault. Free slips on a first-come, first-served basis, no services.


We went along the south shore from the Sault to Duluth last spring.