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PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 8:04 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 10:44 am
Posts: 32
Location: SE Michigan
I saw some old posts about trekking in Michigan on Hobie cats. I am looking for advice on put in spots and beaching. Seeing as I saw the very places I want to go mentioned. I'm plenty familiar with backpacking and camping, I've toured Isle Royale by canoe. An AI would be right up my alley, but I have a new to me '84 Hobie 16 in great shape, and we are busy acclimating to it on smaller local lakes in SE Michigan (oh the joys of trailers and docks).

Does anyone have any advice on launching locations for cruising around Sleeping Bear Dunes, Painted Rocks, Manistee National Forest, or other great spots in the region. We had a great time backpacking the Nordhouse dunes and would love to coastal sail down, drop camp and be able to move between the water and and the woods. We'd like to take the kids up to the Sleeping Bear Dunes in July and camp; having the ability to spend parts of the day sailing off the coast would be great.

I'm not seeing good launch sites, or at least, I can't recognize them from maps and aerial views yet. I can see some possible ways to roll across parks with a set of cat trax (which we don't have), but not spots to drop in from a trailer.


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PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2013 11:26 am 
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Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2011 8:16 am
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Location: West Michigan (Grand Rapids, Holland Area)
There aren't too many places that you'll be able to launch right into the great lakes, especially without cat trax, with creativity,persistence, and strength you'll be able to come up with a few. But plan on paddling through some rivers and channels to get to the big lakes or hitchhike a tow or get a motor mount.
Weko beach in Bridgeman, MI on the SW side is sweet, back your trailer right into Lake Michigan and it's only a short sail to the Warren Dunes and there is camping there and a lot of other accommodations near by. I haven't found anything comparable yet, but I've only lived here for a couple years. We do travel a lot though.

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Cesar (Cez) S.
H16 - "He gone!"


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PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2013 4:47 pm 
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Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2011 8:37 am
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Hi,

I sail a hobie TI out of Leland Mi. If you are interested in sailing around Sleeping Bear there is some amazing sailing to be had.

You should put in in Leland Harbor. I think it costs 20 dollars, but they provide parking for your car and trailer. Then sail out into the Manitou Passage ( the boys of water between the Manitou Islands and the mainland). A fantastic sail is to sail out to the tiny harbor on North Manitou Island. It's twelve miles off shore. In my TI it has been a great day sail. The harbor on North Manitou is amazingly cool. It's basically a ferry stop with a ranger station. You can camp on the island. Hang out for an hour, or bring a tent and spend the night. Then sail back. It's really a great sail.

The other thing that's great from the harbor of Leland, is to sail south in the manitou passage, through Good Harbor Bay, then down to Pyramid Point (Pyarmid point is an amazing lesser know part of the sleeping bear dunes. It's this sheer cliff of sand. You can climb to the top if you are feeling perky. But I would suggest bringing a wet suit and snorkeling gear. At the base of pyramid point is the wreck of the steamship The Rising Sun. A buddy of mine and I tried to find it last year but the water was too rough. It's only in nine feet of water, and it's stack is actually out of the water.)

There is one other GREAT sail I know of in the sleeping bear area. Put in at public launch in Suttons Bay mi. Then sail north east out of Suttons Bay to the Old Mission light house on Old Mission Penninsula (the Penninsula that separates the east arm of Grand Traverse bay from the West Arm. Then sail back.)

Each of these sails depending on wind are great day sails.

Those three sails are amazing. Good luck.


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PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2013 7:19 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 10:44 am
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Location: SE Michigan
Thanks! Leland--I was thinking Glen Arbor seemed a ways out. I probably need to recalibrate my sense of distance. I am thinking about parking the family at DH Day on the north side, then sailing back over and overnighting it on the beach. We'll have a party of about 5, so we'll be taking turns on the water for the late July excursion.

Those should be great sails for my wife and I though. I was looking at doing a trip to Manitou last fall, but we went to Nordhouse in Manistee and found it amazing.

I spent the fall/winter drooling over TI pictures, but I can't imagine getting one in the budget. We picked up the H16 in great condition w/trailer, cheetah and motor for less than half the price of a used AI. I guess I'll want to practice running with the motor rig. The put in spots I saw for Manistee camping (Ludington or Manistee) both had channels to navigate to reach the big lake.


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PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2013 7:29 pm 
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DH Day is a great place. Leland harbor is about a 25 minute drive north up M22. I might make a suggestion. The prevailing winds are FROM the north west. (Thus, I think you say north westerly??). On a typical day this might mean a morning drive up to Leland with your trailer, and then a sail through Good Harbor Bay, past Pyramid point landing at DH DAY might be more than possible. In the sails I mentioned above, we were sailing up and back.

If you run into any problems you could beach in Good Harbor Bay. I assume its appropriately named for precisely this reason. It is a beautiful enormous sweeping beach. A lot of which is part of Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. And if you did want to call it quits, Good Harbor Bay is easily accessible by var from Bohemian Rd. Bohemain Road would be about a ten or 12 minute drive from DH Day. I haven't sailed south of sleeping bear, but slightly north of Glenn Arbor is pretty amazing.


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PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2013 7:31 pm 
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Oh...

One last thing you probably know this already, but M22 the road you'd drive north to Leland has to be one of the flat out most beautiful roads in the country. (So you will not be board on the drive to Leland).


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PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2013 7:34 pm 
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One last thing. Camping on South Manitou Island is free. There is a Ferry that leaves from Leland Harbor a couple of times a day, if you want to ferry to a camp site.


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