Re: [Paddlewise] Isle Royle

Hi Mark,

Bill Newman here.  I have not been all the way around the island but I have crossed out from Pigeon Point to
Rock of Ages lighthouse (15 statute miles?), gone the length of the island on the north side, and then
crossed back from Amigdaloid Island to Silver Islet (22 statute miles?).  My coauthor of Sarah Ohmann did
the Isle Royale circumnavigation route in our guide book Guide to Sea Kayking Lake Superior and Lake
Michigan.  The route description gives you the basics about safe harbors, and sections of shoreline that you
can and cannot land on in rough weather.

Be careful in September.  On Lake Superior it might be summer or it might be Fall -September is the
transition month.  As the Gordon Lightfoot song describes - you don't want to be on the Lake when the Gales
of November come early.  The calmest weather is usually in June or July and winds start to pick up in the
second half of August.  The weather may be calm in September or some years it can be more like October or
November weather with every third day a small craft warning and winds of 25-30 knots maybe 40 or 50 if you
get really unlucky.

Most of the really nasty storms are October and November in most years, but some years September can be
pretty rough.  I know a guy who had his charter boat neatly moored inside the snug harbor at Grand Portage
and a October storm came and dragged the 3,000 pound pig iron anchor from the bottom and deposited the ship
on the shore of Isle Royale.  Divers now have another ship wreck to explore, the Grampa Woo.

Once on the Island you have a fairly friendly shore on the SE side of the island that is exposed to the open
Lake.  Much of the shore is gravel or sand beach that you could crash land on before the weather gets really
nasty.  On the NW side of the island there is a great deal of cliff and rock coast.  Not big high specacular
cliffs, but steep 45 degree or better rock that ranges from 5 to 20 feet high with almost no safe place to
land in rough weather for miles at a time.  Be careful about weather when paddling along the north side.  In
calm conditions there are little gravel beaches to land every mile or so but in five foot or better seas you
will have to paddle 3 to 5 miles between safe places to land for much of the north shore.

The NE part of the island (inside Amygdaloid Island or Belle Isle for example)  has some nice long channel
islands and bays that provide great shelter.  Blake point at the NE tip is a rocky headland that can get a
bit nasty, but you should be able to round it in any reasonable weather.  Water temperatures are fairly warm
in September at least for Lake Superior - expect 50-55 degrees F.  I would recommend a dry suit since air
temps will probably be similar to the lake maybe up into the 60s,and you should not get too hot.  It has
been pretty cold this spring.  Last weekend the Lake was at 39 F at the ODAS bouy off Outer Island.

I don't want to sound like a fear monger, but if you have limited vacation time and if you are not
comfortable paddling in seas over six feet and winds over 20 knots the ferry is the way to go in September.
You might have dead calm or you might have steep breaking waves 8-10 feet or more and high winds - it is
really a crap shoot that time of year.  Ocean paddlers who have not seen Lake Superior in a fall storm often
underestimate just how nasty it can get.  End of October when Sarah and I finished our Great Lakes Guide
books Lake Superior got hit with a storm that included 80 knot winds and 25 foot seas.

mark's prestige wrote:

> In September I=92ll be doing a circumnavigation of Isle Royale in Lake
> Superior.  I=92m hoping someone on the list might share his or her
> experiences paddling in and around Isle Royale.
> =20
> Also, I=92m considering doing the crossing from the North Shore
> (approximately 15-20 miles), though the longest crossing I=92ve done so
> far is about 5 nautical miles.  Could someone offer suggestions for
> preparation and training?  Has anyone on the list paddled Lake Superior
> in September?  Is that a reasonable time for predictable weather?  Etc.
> =20
> Looking forward to the advice and the adventure.
> =20
> Mark
> Fredricksburg, Virginia
>
> [demime 0.92b removed an attachment of type application/x-pkcs7-signature which had a name of smime.p7s]
>
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