Posting of your message titled "Communications and Weather

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Many Great Loop boaters proceed south on Lake Michigan's eastern shore, moving each day between the Michigan harbors which are spaced conveniently for an easy harbor hopping tour. However, the prevailing summer westerly winds increase in frequency and strength after mid-August, when many Great Loop boats are moving down Lake Michigan, along the lee shore. An alternative is to wait for a good weather window, and cross the northern end of Lake Michigan to Green Bay. Fayette State Park and Escanaba, MI in the Upper Peninsula, or Washington Island at the tip of Door County, WI are the usual cross lake destinations. The attached summary of the "Communications and Weather Forecasts - Crossing the north end of Lake Michigan" has been prepared for the Great Lakes Cruising Club, and shared with other boaters who are considering this longer passage. I hope you will find the information helpful, to be prepared for safe boating in northern Lake Michigan. Marilyn Kinsey GLCC Port Captain, Escanaba, MI *Communications and Weather Forecasts - Crossing the north end of Lake Michigan * The prevailing summer westerly winds make an interesting challenge for sailing or motoring to/from the Straits of Mackinaw to Green Bay for many boaters. The following links are provided to assist in your planning. The weather forecasts for the *Upper Peninsula* are broadcast through the Marquette Weather Office to repeaters as shown on the map below. They have recently modified their broadcast cycle to include the 5 day Open Waters Northern Lake Michigan forecast to play at the top and bottom of the hour or at :00 and :30. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mqt/?n=nwrpg_mqt_coverage The *Gaylord* weather office has repeaters at Sault Ste. Marie, Petoskey, Traverse City, Manistee and Ludington along the northern Lake Michigan shore. Their Nearshore forecasts play at :15 and :45 past the hour and the Open Lakes forecasts play at :00 and :30. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/apx/nwr.php To get the forecast in *Green Bay* and along the northwest shore of Lake Michigan, use the *Sister Bay repeater from the Green Bay office. VHF Channel 7 *The Green Bay weather service office information is at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/marine/zone/gtlakes/grbmz.htm *Cell phone coverage*, even with an auxiliary amplifier and external antenna, is very patchy southwest of Beaver Island as shown on the maps. The new digital towers are designed to only reach and connect about 22-25 miles. So your phone may indicate a signal, but a voice conversation cannot usually connect and be maintained beyond that distance. In an emergency, a text massage might get through. A typical cellphone has enough power to reach a cell tower up to 45 miles away, showing some bars of signal strength. But, depending on the technology of the cellphone network, the maximum functional distance may be as low as 22 miles because the signal otherwise takes too long for the highly accurate timing of the cellphone protocol to work reliably. The cell phone towers across the Upper Peninsula may also be capacity limited during busy hours. You may be able to converse at 5AM but not 5PM. Try a text message if a voice connection cannot be maintained. Verizon coverage http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/consumer/4g-lte.html#/coverage The AT&T coverage map is not accurate for some of the more remote locations, due to the distance from their towers. E.g., High Island anchorage, and Fayette Harbor docks have no cell phone coverage. Limited coverage is available at Fayette on the point, or up on the cliffs in the parking lot. AT&T coverage: http://www.att.com/maps/wireless-coverage.html#fbid=WhhG350JMOl The only other option, for NWS northern Lake Michigan forecasts, if you are not within range of the towers, is to call the nearest US Coast Guard station, to politely request to them to read the forecast to you. They are very helpful, unless of course busy with an emergency. Their new Rescue21 towers give good coverage of northern Lake Michigan, with the addition of a tower near Fayette at Sac Bay on the Garden Peninsula. http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/images/marcomms/cgcomms/Rescue21/SecSteStMarie.jpg June 11, 2014 On Wed, Jun 11, 2014 at 9:51 PM, <great-loop-owner@lists.trawlering.com> wrote: > Your request to the Great-Loop mailing list > > Posting of your message titled "Communications and Weather > Forecasts - Crossing the north end of Lake Michigan" > > has been rejected by the list moderator. The moderator gave the > following reason for rejecting your request: > > "Your message was too big (734KB with a 10 KB limit); please trim it > to less than 10 KB in size. > > Thanks, > > Bill Donovan, Administrator, Great Loop List" > > Any questions or comments should be directed to the list administrator > at: > > great-loop-owner@lists.trawlering.com >