Great Loop: Lake Michigan Weather Resources

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Lake Michigan Weather Resources

I built this page to give better access to weather resources for planning our boating trip south, down the east side of Lake Michigan.



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Great Loop: Kingston to Campbellford

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Beth Meets Ollie on the Good Ship Pivot After completing our re-provisioning in Trenton, we awoke to marginal weather and the need to make a Go, No-Go travel decision.   Severe Thunderstorms were forecast, with high winds.   We studied the weather data and interpreted that the weather would pass north of our route.   So we cast off at 8:30am to be at the first lock for it’s 9am opening. This sign, in Trenton, designates the start of the Trent-Severn Waterway When we got to the lock, we could see that we were the sixth boat in line and would be in the second group to lock through.   At the last minute, a boat in the first group asked to swap with us so they could travel with their friends in the second group.   This kind, simple act, set us up for a very easy travel day.   Being in the first group means the lock masters will call ahead and subsequent locks will have their gates open as you approach.   This expedites travel greatly.   We motored int...
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Great Loop: Smack Bayou/Panama City

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Sunrise in Smack Bayou The morning fog was slowly lifting as we glided across Destin Harbor headed for the Bay.  Once Amy Marie entered the large open bay, she received a good saltwater spray spa treatment as we started our trip to Smack Bayou.  The wind was 10 knots gusting to 15 which insured wind chop and waves as we crossed two bays that had plenty of wind fetch.  Fortunately, our Ranger Tug R27 handles these conditions well.  She does like to throw spray as she cuts through the chop and then the wind throws the spray back onto the boat.  As a consequence, the windshield wipers going constantly.  Contrary to what you might believe, the vessel handles the chop best if you speed up.  This raises the bow and improves her ability to slice thru the rough water. Air Boat ready for action During the first couple of hours of our voyage visibility was reduced to about half a mile to a mile.  With radar and AIS we were able to keep track of other vesse...
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Great Loop: Leaping from Leland to Ludington

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The Steam Ship Badger Departs Ludington for Manitowoc Wisconsin Our stay in Leland was truncated, as we saw our weather window was closing for being able to continue south on Lake Michigan.  Determine to achieve a port as far south as possible, we planned for an early start the next morning with Frankfort as our initial destination and Ludington as a stretch goal if the weather cooperated. Fortunately it did.  We had plenty of fuel remaining as we passed Frankfort, and more importantly, the wind waves were 2' or less and winds were less than 15 knots.  So we pressed on.  In total, we travelled 90 miles for the day.  This is twice our typical distance.  But we made it to a port much closer to Grand Haven.  This was important as my daughter Katie was going to be in Grand Rapids for the upcoming weekend and we hoped to see her.   The Big Sable Point light house is located just north of Ludington One of the prominent landmarks along the way The L...
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