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] *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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] > > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not > to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ > *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 6/26/2000 8:39:43 PM Central Daylight Time, markschoon_at_va.prestige.net writes: > I'm hoping someone on the list might share his or her > experiences paddling in and around Isle Royale. Bill Newman did a thorough summary of the Isle Royale situation. Here are a few more points for those who may be contemplating the crossing from the mainland. I've done the crossing at various points four times over the years, including one of the first circumnavigations of Isle Royale in 1984. If you are planning to depart from Grand Portage, avoid crossing straight over from that point. It's about 20 miles and is a popular route for the power boat crowd and the commercial ferries. They have complained in the past about encountering kayaks in that corridor. The crossing can be reduced to 14 miles by crossing from Pigeon Point, farther up the Minnesota shore, where Michigan, Ontario, and Minnesota meet. The nearby Susie Islands are controlled by the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa and by the Nature Conservancy, and are off limits to kayakers. Paddle through but don't land or camp. This will reduce the political problems for the Lake Superior Water Trail Association and other groups that are trying to present a favorable image of sea kayaking to the Grand Portage band and other people of the North Shore. Also, do not park, trespass on, or use Grand Portage reservation land without permission. This includes most of the shore of the lake in that area. Parking is available at the marinas, the reservation casino, the Grand Portage Monument, and the state park at Pigeon Falls. If crossing from Canada (17 miles from Silver Islet), there is a designated customs official at park headquarters in Rock Harbor. I had a hilarious run-in with an official in 1993 who wanted to require that my "ship" have a name for his records. While on the island, check for the latest camping regulations and fees. The water-based campsites, particularly on the northeast end, are often snatched up by the power boat people. -Andy Knapp Minneapolis 66 F (19 C) and sunny. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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