Re: West Coast of Michigan to East Coast? Any one in here do this trip?
Boat's been on hard ground for a week and I'm having withdraws.Can't help you with the sailing aspects,but there's a ton of nice harbors to spend the night that are close to eating and drinking establishments.I can get you from Traverse City to Caseville,then you're on your own.I've done bits and pieces of it over the years but never all at once.Traverse City offers a lot of places that within walking distance from the municipal marina,then it's on to Charlevoix with a nice sheltered marina just across from the downtown district.From there we would normally make the trek to either Mackinac Island or Mackinaw City.Each of these are nice spots to spend a night.The Island marina can get pretty crowded on the weekend,but there are other spots to tie up for the day if you're power boating.A big keel would make some of these tricky.Cheboygan has a nice marina,but if I remember correctly it is on the outskirts of town.If you motor up the Indian River you will run into the downtown district.You could continue that trek up river and go thru some locks and take the inner Indian River voyage,which is a different story.Rogers City Marina is nice,but try to avoid the weekends when the fishing tourneys are happening in August,get's pretty crowded and crazy at those times.Alpena on the Thunder Bay River is an excellent spot to overnight.The Thunder Bay can be treacherous though.We used to do this sans GPS,so it's probably easier now,but still you'll need to pay attention coming around Thunder Bay Island.From there it's probably Oscoda or Tawas ity.I've launched from Oscoda but have never overnighted there.Tawas though has a great marina which is close to downtown.From there you can cut across Saginaw Bay to Caseville.Caseville has a nice marina however I've never stayed there.
If you decide to come into Saginaw Bay make sure you come up the Saginaw River to Bay City.This is my homeport,and there is a ton of stuff to do here.Beginning the 3rd week of June until the middle of August there is always something going on here.Boat races,fireworks festival,Pig Gig,you name it we got it.If you've got 2 weeks,I'd take the whole time to do the trip.My experience has always been the Lake Michigan part is hardest,with the westerly winds making the lake a crapshoot. Get yourself a nice set of charts,find the shipping channels and proceed with caution.The tricky spots are Charlevoix to Mackinac,but it's a ton of fun.I'm jealous,Good Luck ...
