myiW Current Conditions and Forecasts Community Forums Buy and Sell Services
 
Hi guest · myAccount · Log in
 SearchSearch   ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   RegisterRegister 
Moving to Ann Arbor, MI: Where to Sail?
Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Eastern and Central USA & Canada
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
spreadeagles77



Joined: 13 Feb 2005
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 2:58 pm    Post subject: Moving to Ann Arbor, MI: Where to Sail? Reply with quote

Duties call for me to move from San Fran to AnnArbor and need to decide whether to get rid of my gear. Are there good spots to sail in the area? Please help.

Desperately seeking wind.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
rpdemink@yahoo.com



Joined: 04 May 2016
Posts: 21

PostPosted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I live in portage mi, dont know whats in the immediate area you are moving to, but do know there is good sailing here, If you have been sailing SF bay, you will fit right in w/the great lakes wave -B&J sailors.
I like mostly flat water -speed sailing so stay mostly on inland lakes. There is an active group for all abilities here on the west side of the state, and assume there are some on the east side as well.
I do know there is some sailing on Lake Lansing, but I dont know how big it is or what conditions are like. WELCOME! Very Happy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bmmiller



Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 110

PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:17 am    Post subject: Michigan Wind Reply with quote

I recommend looking into Lake St. Clair or western Lake Erie. Both are about 1 hour east. Lake Michigan is a much longer hike to the west, about 3 hours from Ann Arbor, but it is littered with tons of great windy beaches.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
wgigs



Joined: 09 Jun 2002
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 1:31 pm    Post subject: Huron Reply with quote

Also have a look at Lake Huron on the Canadian side -from the Sarnia bridge all the way up to Sauble beach. SW & NW prevail and rock in mid august on !!!!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bgill2000



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 8:30 am    Post subject: Ann Arbor Reply with quote

the closest lake is Whitmore & also sterling state park, lake erie is about
30 miles away. haven't sail there in about 10 years, their was a windsurfing shop & club near Ann arbor but I dont know if it exists anymore. Goog luck!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
logosz85



Joined: 22 Feb 2007
Posts: 24
Location: Birmingham, MI

PostPosted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 8:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Check out my response to the Windsor, Ontario posting. Since you will be in Ann Arbor you might be better going to Lake Michigan rather than Huron/St. Clair/Erie. Either way you have a fair amount of driving to do in order to get good results. Not to disuade you, but you might want to purchase a good water ski boat. You will get more consistent results with that than you will good wind and waves especially if you are from San Fran. Don't get me wrong it can be very good here, but the forcasting is sketchy and you have to drive a ways to get good wind and surf...Did I mention the local "professional" forecasting is sketchy. Millard Berry on the Yahoo group I posted in my reply to the Windsor, Ontario sailor is quite good at spotting the local wind trend so keep an eye on his predictions. You will need a floaty board (106 to 110L and a free ride board in the 84L range). 4.0 days for 185 lbs guy occur about 3 time a year. Mostly you ride a 6.0 to 6.5 sail. If you only have weekends to sail cause you work a lot I would be prepared to drive to Lake Michigan a lot (Muskeegon, Grand Haven) or buy the ski boat and keep it at Whitmore Lake.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
chunter



Joined: 26 Jun 2007
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 1:02 pm    Post subject: I am so sorry for you.....I just moved away from AA Reply with quote

spreadeagles77,

You may as well sell your gear! I kid you not you will be so upset with the wind in Ann Arbor especially coming from the Bay.

I lived in AA for 3 years. There are TONs of lakes near by....BUT all are surrounded by houses and trees. These people will not let you on their lakes. Not that its a problem the wind is so finicky on in land lakes that it will not be worth the effort. I spent my first 2 months trying to find something in the area with no luck. Whitmore is not a bad option but its again not easy to launch from. To find the wind you are going to have to drive!

Now the only place close is Lake St. Clair. Unfortunately, it is about 1+hr drive (with traffic). You have to go through Detroit or around to get to it and that eats up time. SO the after work sessions are long gone for you. AA/Detroit traffic is terrible. Plus St. Clair is so shallow that it is a stangnent gross water source. It smells like Sh*t because Detroit's Sh*t is in it. But its all we had...there are about 30 sailors that call it home.

So here goes....The best sites are: Lake St. Clair (metro Parks), Tawas Point, Harsen's Island, and a few up and down the east shores. Plus Case Lake is worth a shot too. Lake Michigan is too far of a drive except for the weekends. You really are not located close to any of the Norther sites or Western sites. Michigan is surprisingly BIG and you'll be in the very far SE corner.

Go to www.Greatlakeskiteboard.com. Brian is an awesome guy (ex-windsurfer). He has all the kite spots mapped out with conditions which work well for windsurfing too. FYI: Tawas Point is meca for kiters now. If you kite you'll love it there. I took his kite camp and Highly recommend it. Plus you'll get SOOOOO much more water time (and snow time) on a kite in MI then on a sail. Summer time is dead for sailors but Kiters are flying all summer long.

Hands down my favorite windsurfing spot is Harsen's Island. Its on Lake St. Clair but on the opposite side of the St.Clair launch. 2 hours from AA. Its like Hatteras! Watch you fin! Hey thats a plus for you. You are only 9-10 hours from Hatteras Smile Not the Gorge but its something.

Again I am sorry to have to tell you all this. I had high hopes for AA when I moved their but my number of days on water dropped to a miserable number. And I am originally from Ohio so that has to tell you something... I never had a LOT of windy days on the water in Ohio and I had almost none living in AA. It was just to damn long of a drive to the launches. AA is just to far West to be able to quickly get to the eastern lake regions and Canada area.

If you keep your gear....you will need A LOT of it. MidWest Sailing requires a huge quiver of sails and boards. My quiver is: 4.7,5.4,6.4,7.2,8.5,10.6: 91L,120L,168L. My 4.7,5.4 look like brand new !! Or they did until I moved. Now I use them a lot. And I need a 4.2 and 79L now.

But one good thing AA has is Mountain Biking. If you are a Biker you'll love some of the trails. They are not like the NorthWest (OR,WA) trails but they are great for the MidWest. Check out Potowatomi (sp)....its the BEST and only 15m away from downtown AA. Torn-Shirt is another really fun trail.

Hope you're not a USC fan...you are heading to the "Big House" land. I personally hate UM......>GO BUCKEYES< If you need anything else let me know.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Terryg11



Joined: 24 May 2005
Posts: 55

PostPosted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Total BS from the kiter.

I was in Muskeegon last year and raced (sailboats) --it looked great, either inside on lake Muskeegan or better outside on Lake Michigan--I wished I had gear. Looked like some real fun light wind wave sailing there--sometimes more. I'd get a board like an Aero 117 for those waves.

Oh, and I recommend checking the wind sensors there (which I've done) .
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
chunter



Joined: 26 Jun 2007
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 1:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Terryg11 wrote:
Total BS from the kiter.

I was in Muskeegon last year and raced (sailboats) --it looked great, either inside on lake Muskeegan or better outside on Lake Michigan--I wished I had gear. Looked like some real fun light wind wave sailing there--sometimes more. I'd get a board like an Aero 117 for those waves.

Oh, and I recommend checking the wind sensors there (which I've done) .


I'm not a Kiter. I have tried it. But to this day have never been planning upwind on a kiteboard. But I find it humorous that you'd call bullshit just because you thought I was a Kiter. Do Kiters somehow not know local conditions and knowledge like us sailors? But I can tell you I've been skunked plenty in Michigan's summers only to watch as a kiter flew past.

You can call total BS only after you have actually lived in Ann Arbor (like me) and tried to find LOCAL reliable wind. So far I am the only one to comment here, who has actually lived and worked in AA. I'm not saying you can't windsurf in or around AA. But it is extremely hard to do so. I totally agree that Lake Michigan is great for wind. But its not good except for weekend trips. And Lake St. Clair is only good for a Sat/Sun trip mainly due to AA/Detroit traffic. Which leaves little options M-F after work.

FYI : AA is 3 hours from Muskegon. AA is 1 hour to St. Clair Metro Beach (w/o traffic. Add 30-45m for traffic). AA is 2.5 hours to Tawas. AA is 50m to Wamplers and that is if Rt.12 is not backed up, which it always is. AA is 20m to Ford which has only one launch and in a bad direction and questionable water quality.

When you are looking for a quick after work session Lake Michigan won't due! And St. Clair is very frustrating to get too... And local options are crappy.

Take my advice as it is... advice. Its not the gospel written in stone. At least you have the Mt. Biking and the Bars or Water Skiing(big in MI) as an option. Terry would you like to chime in on your local knowledge of the AA area and experiences with I-94/ or 275/696 traffic? Oh Wait you're not a Local are you?

SEagle if you get there and find a local "Honey Hole" great. I never found it. You'll see many many lakes. But like I said they are all closed in with trees and homes. Which makes for very finicky wind and pissed off home owners. And the ones people do sail on (Case, Whitmore) require a good deal of driving and patients to get there. Good Luck!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Terryg11



Joined: 24 May 2005
Posts: 55

PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 9:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The tipoffs were the 'better sell your gear' comment & the contact a kite shop comment. Likely there's somewhat closer wind/Lake access than Muskegon (2 1/2 hours, by the way) . If you've 'been skunked while kiters fly past' then get a bigger sail/board--you can go way before they can (I do). Or go kiting, I really don't care. But there's no reason to tell other people to sell their gear.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Eastern and Central USA & Canada All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum

myiW | Weather | Community | Membership | Support | Log in
like us on facebook
© Copyright 1999-2007 WeatherFlow, Inc Contact Us Ad Marketplace

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group