Every other year I’ve been heading up an intermediate level day trip out on Lake Michigan during the WMCKA's End-of-Summer weekend. WMCKA was founded 20 years ago by several hard-core sea kayakers who taught me my skills, I figure it’s least I can do to encourage other WMCKA members who are interested in serious, big water kayaking to use and refine their big-water skills. Two years ago I led a trip from North Bar Lake to the Platte River, we ended up with three paddlers on a weekend that was forecast to be cool, cloudy and rainy.
In Mid-summer I sent out an invitation both by a “WMCKA Update” and in the newsletter. The qualifications were that you needed a boat at least 15' in length, permanent bulkheads or flotation, a reliable self-rescue and the ability to paddle in 2-4 foot waves for 2 hours. Four of the first six people to sign up were people I didn’t know. This is quite worrisome because I have know idea of their true abilities and can only take them at their word that the have the skills that I’ve required for the day.
By the end of August I had about a dozen people who had signed up for the trip. Now I knew about half the people on the list and some email exchanges had made me pretty confident that the whole group was qualified for the eleven mile trip unless conditions that day were “ugly” and at that point we would discuss other options for the day.
The trip we settled on was to start in Frankfort, paddle about five miles North to the lighthouse at Point Betsie where we’d stop for lunch before heading about six miles East to the mouth of the Platte River. There were other options if conditions were too extreme for that trip.
In the days heading up to the weekend the weather forecast wasn’t optimal, but it wasn’t that bad either. Temperatures would be in the mid-60s, rain for the day was likely, but no thunderstorms and the wind was supposed to be from the SSE and S at about 10mph with 2-3 foot waves. If the rain wasn’t too bad or missed us, it would be a nice day to paddle.
The morning of the paddle we met at the picnic area at M22 between Lake Michigan Rd and the Platte River. We were now down to a group of seven that consisted of Mark Ferguson, Paul Fishback, David Moore, Brad Plummer, Mark Sheeres, John Straatsma and myself. I re-stated the plan for the day and the forecast and we started moving gear.
When we got to the beach at Frankfort a look out at the end of the jetties revealed some pounding wave action... a bit larger then 2-3 foot wave from the forecast. John Straatsma had already indicated that he wasn’t real at ease with large following waves, but I tried to assure him that because the wind was from the SSE conditions might improve once we got North of the pier. John agreed to paddle out and assess the conditions. He could always come back and do something else.
In the forefront of my mind was the fact that a week earlier two kayakers were rescued by helicopter from the middle of Sleeping Bear Bay. They were paddling off of Sleeping Bear Point in 25-30mph winds and got swept a mile from shore and were swimming the the water 2 miles apart when rescued. The next day their boats were located at Pyramid Point, 6 miles from where had been paddling when their ordeal started.
As we were prepping our boats, David Moore let us know that he had forgotten to pack his sprayskirt, but he did have a pump to pump out any water in his cockpit if it became an issue. A quick check of the group's collective inventory found two extra sprayskirts, one of which fit David’s boat just fine. This would be the first example of why it’s a good idea to paddle with a group - especially when conditions aren’t optimal.
As we launched, it started to rain in earnest. At least we were all dressed for getting wet.
Once we reached the end of the channel we found out just what the conditions on the lake were all about. There were definitely some “healthy” 3 foot waves out there. They were hitting the jetties and bouncing around pretty good between the two piers. The wind was stronger then expected, probably 15-20mph. A glance north showed those conditions extending north for the entire five-mile leg to Point Betsie. John was definitely not comfortable, but successfully paddled out and made turn around the lighthouse to the north side of the pier before announcing that he was going to opt out of the rest of trip.
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| Heading to Point Betsie. (Photo: Brad Plummer) |
Realistically assessing your skills and the conditions you are paddling in is one of the most important skills one can have. Knowing when to stop and act on the knowledge that you are about to do something that is not safe is something that paddlers need to feel free to express to the group and others in the group need to be remain flexible enough to accommodate those decisions. John was able to realize that for the next five miles, he’d be paddling in conditions that were well beyond his comfort zone. He paddled into shore and we made sure that he made it to the beach safely.
The remaining six of us continued paddling North towards Point Betsie. A pretty consistent rhythm of waves and wind pushed us along at a good clip. There were about a half-dozen 1-3 foot waves followed by two to three 3-4 footers. The group kept close enough to make sure everyone was doing well and before reaching the Point we gathered up to discuss landing possibilities.
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Rounding Point Betsie. (Photo: Jay Bert, walksoftlyphotos.com) |
The water around the lighthouse was surreal. I’ve never seen anything quite like it while paddling. The color seemed to be almost white with a hint a blue making it very hard to see the texture of the waves. The jetties and brake-wall around the light was reflecting the 3-4 foot waves back on themselves making for even higher peaks. A bit further, around to the north and east of the lighthouse, the water calmed down a bit, but the swells were still breaking hard on shore and the beach was littered with fist sized boulders. Little did we know that one of the boats had sustained some damage while making the landing. More on that later.
Once out of our boats, we headed off towards the lighthouse in search of a roof. En route we met John again. He had driven up from Frankfort and joined us for lunch. We found the refurbished fog-house building which was empty except for some tables and chairs.... the perfect lunch spot!
After a few minutes Jay Bert, one of the volunteers at the lighthouse, came in and talked to us about our trip and mentioned that he kayaks quite a bit as well. He handed Paul his card and told us that he had taken some photos of us from the top of the lighthouse. This was great news to those of us who had been unable to take any pictures due to the rain, waves and wind on the lake.
After filling our stomachs and relaxing a bit, we headed back to our boats and launched through the surf. The short, steep beach and dumping waves made this one of the more challenging parts of the day. Mark Ferguson’s foot braced had come loose during his launch, but conditions east of the lighthouse were such that he could paddle OK and it wasn’t worth attempting another landing and launching off the rough beach.
Once out beyond the surf zone, we met up with Jim Jorgenson and Dave Fletcher who had paddled down from the Platte. They paddled back with us for a bit before landing on the beach for their own lunch.
For the next 30 minutes, conditions were perfect. There was still the occasional swell wrapping around the point, but for the most part we were in the lea of the wind protected by the bluffs at Point Betsie and padding on flat water.
Half way from Point Betsie to the Platte I noticed that Mark S’s boat was riding very low in the stern and a bit high in the bow - definitely a situation that needed quick attention. We made quick work of getting on the beach and found a few gallons of water in Mark’s boat along with a penny sized hole that had been punched through the hull. Another quick survey of the group's inventory found two sources of duct tape, the most accessible being in the pocket of Paul Fishback’s back pack. We dried off the area around the hole and put two pieces of tape on the inside and outside of the boat. Mark Ferguson used this opportunity to fix his food peg and we were soon back on the water and headed for the home stretch.
We pulled into boat launch at the end of the Platte River shortly before 3pm. Once on shore we checked Mark S’s boat. The duct tape patch had held fast and no additional water had come in.
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| Mark Sheeres (front) and Paul Fishback after the repair. (Photo: Brad Plummer) |
Kenneth Nesbitt was waiting for us in the parking lot. Kenneth had headed up the other WMCKA group that paddled down the Platte River to Lake Michigan. He offered to watch our boats while we drove down to Frankfort and retrieved our cars. An hour later we were in dry clothes, boats loaded and ready to head to Joe’s Friendly Tavern in Empire to have dinner with a group of 22 of West Michigan’s finest kayakers.
Overall, the plan for the day had been executed, albeit with a few hiccups, none of which ended up as major issues due to the planning, resourcefulness and behavior of all the members of the group. All seven members of the group (this includes John Straatsma) acted just as you would hope any member of the group would. Staying together, acting as one and not allowing pride to hinder the safety of the group.
