Our Recipe for Crossing Lake Michigan
"Long voyages - any voyages - in a small sailing craft are most complex operations when they are carried out properly, in a seamanlike manner. The idea of escaping the problems of life by sailing away is a fable. -Tristan Jones from Yarns , 1983. The above point is well taken and quickly understood once the shoreline disappears. You'd better have your ship together and know how to react to any "problems of life" rather instinctively when running to a safe harbor isn't an option. While crossing Lake Michigan (or any of the Great Lakes) isn't quite the same as a bluewater ocean passage, there are some similarities in how you prepare and the safety equipment you should carry. Since I get a lot questions here on the blog about crossing Lake Michigan and keeping young children safe on such a passage, I thought I'd share our recipe for safety on a crossing. On our ~72 nautical mile crossing of Lake Michigan this summer, we used the following safety gear: 1