Midwest

Lake Erie is the shallowest of all the Great Lakes with an average depth of 62 feet. The area with the least depth is on the western side of the lake, where depths of 25 to 30 feet are common. Due to this shallow depth, waves build quickly on that end of the lake when the breeze picks up. Those who boat regularly around Cedar Point, the Bass Islands and Maumee Bay can attest to this phenomenon. The Iroquoian people who lived along the south shore of the lake are believed to have called the lake “Erige” or “cat” due to its unpredictable and sometimes dangerous nature. Lake Erie was carved out by a series of glacial advances and retreats over three Ice Ages. The glaciers left high sand ridges south of the current shoreline, this high ground served as trails for both Native Americans and pioneers as they traversed what was to become northern Ohio. The major naval battle in the upper Midwest during the War of 1812 took place on Lake Erie, near Put-In-Bay, in September 1813. The American commander Oliver Hazard Perry, who won the day over the British, is most famously known for his battle flag with the motto “Don’t give up the ship”. His brief battle report of his success at Put-In-Bay read, “We have met the enemy and they are ours…” This cruise begins in Cleveland and the estimated mileages between destinations for this itinerary are calculated running clockwise around Lake Erie. This cruise alternates between U.S. and Canadian ports of call, please follow all customs and immigration rules for both the U.S. and Canada while boating on Lake Erie.

The backbone of the Great Lakes is a rock formation called the Niagara Escarpment, and it runs along the Canadian shore of Lake Huron and creates some of the most dramatic cruising grounds on the lakes. The Bruce Peninsula, part of this escarpment, separates Lake Huron from Georgian Bay with magnificent overhanging cliffs and grottos. Sailing further northwest reveals the spectacular North Channel and the Straits of Mackinac. This strait between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and the surrounding region have historically been known as Michilimackinac. Pronounced “Mackinaw” for short, it has witnessed French Jesuit missionaries and voyageurs, the development of the beaver fur trade and the competition between England and France to be the dominant colonial power in North America. La Salle, the quintessential 17th century French explorer, built the first European sailing vessel to ply the Great Lakes. In August 1679, LaSalle set sail west upon Lake Erie cruising on waters previously traversed only by birch bark canoes. On the third day, he entered a strait at the western end of the lake. La Salle simply named it “le détroit du lac Érie” meaning the strait of Lake Erie. Today, we simply call the city now located there Detroit. That is where this cruise begins, and the first half of it approximates LaSalle’s journey along the northern shore of Lake Huron to Mackinac Island. This cruise alternates between U.S. and Canadian ports of call, please follow all customs and immigration rules for both the U.S. and Canada while boating on Lake Huron.

Lake Michigan’s name is derived from the Ojibwa tribe word mishigami, which means “large lake”. The French entrepreneur and woodsman, Jean Nicolet, was the first European to explore Lake Michigan in 1634. Since that time the number of people living along the shore of Lake Michigan has grown to 12 million. Even with the major port cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, Gary and Green Bay giving an urban flavor to parts of the coast, Lake Michigan offers over 1,500 miles of pristine coastline for cruisers to enjoy. Marshes, prairies, forests and even sand dunes that can reach several hundred feet, provide excellent habitats for all types of wildlife on Lake Michigan. Trout, salmon, walleye, and smallmouth bass are the most popular catches for fishermen on the lake. The lake is also home to water birds such as ducks, geese and swans, as well as bald eagles. Nearly four-dozen lighthouses stand along the beaches of Lake Michigan, a testament to the shipping history of the Great Lakes. This cruise begins in Chicago and the estimated mileages between destinations for this itinerary are calculated running counterclockwise around Lake Michigan. Since it is the only Great Lake that is entirely in the United States, boaters do not have to be concerned with customs and immigration clearances with Canada.

Lake Ontario has the lowest elevation above sea level of all the Great Lakes. Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron all flow downstream into Lake Erie. Erie then plummets into Lake Ontario via Niagara Falls and then the watercourse makes its way to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Wyandot people, better known as the Huron Nation, named this lake “Ontario” which means “Lake of Shining Waters”. In 1615, this nation had their first European contact with the French. The explorer Samuel de Champlain, known as the “Father of New France”, realized that the future of growth of French Canada meant establish amicable relationships with the native nations, such as the Wyandot. Lake St. Louis was the name Champlain gave this body of water and a later French mapmaker called it Lake Frontenac. Eventually the Wyandot name, Ontario, prevailed. Canada’s most populous city, Toronto, owes its growth to Lake Ontario in more ways than one. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a type of scow known as a stonehooker was in service in the Port Credit area on the northwest side of the lake. Stonehooking was the practice of raking flat fragments of shale from the shallow lake floor for use in construction, particularly in the growing city of Toronto. This cruise begins in Toronto and the estimated mileages between destinations for this itinerary are calculated running clockwise around Lake Ontario. This cruise alternates between U.S. and Canadian ports of call, please follow all customs and immigration rules for both the U.S. and Canada while boating on Lake Ontario.

“Superior” says it all since superlatives abound. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and the largest by volume in North America. The Ojibwe people called it gichi-gami meaning “a great sea”. Cruising around Lake Superior is a step back in time. At the mouth of the Michipicoten River, nine layers of encampments have been discovered. Two thousand years ago the Laurel people developed seine net fishing there. Through the years the lake passed through a variety of dominant cultures; Anishinaabe, French, British and American. Each group drew their sustenance and fortune from the lake and the surrounding natural resources. Harvesting fish, fur, copper, timber and iron ore, then transporting these products across Lake Superior brought wealth to the lucky and shipwreck to the mariner who did not heed the power of the great sea. Of the thousands of shipwrecks on the Great Lakes, the Edmund Fitzgerald is the most well known and occurred on Lake Superior. On the afternoon of November 9, 1975 the Edmund Fitzgerald cast off her lines from the docks at Superior, Wisconsin (just across the bay from Duluth). She had a full load of taconite pellets to feed the blast furnaces just south of Detroit. That afternoon, the National Weather Service predicted a storm would pass over Lake Superior, and the Fitzgerald’s route the following day. Just over 24 hours later the storm deepened with wind gusts from 70 to 75 knots and waves between 18 and 25 feet recorded. At 7:20 PM the Edmund Fitzgerald had vanished. She sailed no more, and all 29 souls on board were lost at sea. The prudent mariner should have a healthy respect for Superior, especially in the wilderness cruising areas of the Canadian coast. Lee shores in changing weather, poor holding at anchor and very cold water are all hazards, but the sheer beauty of the surroundings is well worth the risk for the sailor who is prepared and self sufficient. This cruise begins in Duluth and the estimated mileages between destinations for this itinerary are calculated running counterclockwise around Lake Superior. This cruise alternates between U.S. and Canadian ports of call, please follow all customs and immigration rules for both the U.S. and Canada while boating on Lake Superior.