[Rhodes22-list] Lake Winnebago, WI Cruise In The Summer of 2024

[Chris Geankoplis]

Thanks for a most interesting account of sailing on the lake. Lots of great
imagery. I’m sure Roger will find it helpful.
Chris Geankoplis
Xenos

On Fri, Oct 6, 2023 at 10:33 PM <jwiberg at wi.rr.com> wrote:

> Hi Roger,
>
> Sounds like a fun trip with the kiddos.
>
> I have been sailing my ’82 Rhodes 22 in Milwaukee Bay since 1990,
> but I grew up in Menasha on the north end of Lake Winnebago, boating
> on Lake Winnebago and the Fox River. I spent my high school and
> college years from the mid sixties through the mid seventies sailing
> and racing scows at both Neenah and Oshkosh. Tugs and coal barges were
> still using the lock and canal system in the fifties. When I was using
> the lock system in the seventies, it was still run by the Army Corps
> of Engineers. I haven’t used them since they were abandoned and
> reopened by a local group
>
> Lake Winnebago does not lend itself very well to spending a night on
> the hook. Nothing on the east shore at all. Anything other than a west
> wind will leaves no protected anchorages on the west shore. Asylum Bay
> or maybe tucking in behind Island Park (known locally as Garlic
> Island) are possibilities, but they’re both just north of Oshkosh,
> so probably too far from Menasha.
>
> The charted special anchorages, one in Oshkosh and two in Neenah, are
> actually mooring buoy fields managed by the two local yacht clubs,
> Oshkosh YC and Neenah-Nodaway YC. I don’t believe either club has
> transient moorings. The anchorage you're considering near the hospital
> is adjacent to a dam and spillway. When the dam gates are open, the
> current is quite strong. Much too dangerous to attempt anchoring.
>
> There is a small marina along the Government Canal in Menasha. It’s
> not far from the Menasha lock, they have transient slips, and there
> are several restaurants within walking distance.
>
> There is a reef across the entrance to the Fox River at Menasha. The
> best approach is from the south. My dad and I used to anchor our
> fishing boat at the north end of the reef to catch walleyes and it was
> always great fun to watch boats come flying in from the east and tear
> up their bottoms and lower units.
>
> One final thing. Beware the infamous Lake Winnebago cross chop. The
> lake is so shallow that winds in the 12 to15 knot range can whip up
> some pretty good waves that ricochet off the shores and come at you
> from all directions. In the 70’s, Oshkosh hosted an ILYA E Scow
> championship. One of the race days had 15 knot winds. The out of town
> PRO (small lake guy) said “We always race in 15 knots”. The local
> crews said “We’ll sit this one out”. It’s kind of awesome
> seeing what happens to a 30 foot mast when an E boat turtles in 20
> feet of water.
>
> Let me know If you have any more questions.
>
> John Wiberg
>
>         -----------------------------------------From: "ROGER PIHLAJA"
> To: "The Rhodes 22 Email List"
> Cc:
> Sent: Wednesday October 4 2023 4:21:50PM
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Lake Winnebago, WI Cruise In The Summer of
> 2024
>
>  Hi All,
>
>  Has anybody done any cruising on Lake Winnebago, WI?
>
>  Next summer, I'm planning to take my son, Gary, and two
> grandchildren, Kaley and Fred, on a cruise on Lake Winnebago, WI.
> Kaley will be 9 years and Fred will be 7 years old. This will be their
> first overnight boating experience. Lake Winnebago is in NE Wisconsin
> and at nearly 118,000 acres, is the largest inland lake in the state.
> We plan to launch and retrieve from High Cliff State Park in the NE
> corner of the lake. High Cliff State Park has several miles of easy
> hiking and biking trails along the Niagara Escarpment, the same rock
> cliff that forms Niagara Falls in NY state. Besides the cliffs with
> their stunning views of Lake Winnebago, there are ruins from lime
> quarrying and calcining operations to explore. High Cliff State Park
> has its own full service marina with reservable transient dockage and
> we plan to stay on the boat. Besides staying at the dock at High
> Cliff, I'm thinking I'd like to spend a night on the hook. There are
> special anchorages identified on the charts at Miller Bay in Oshkosh,
> WI and in the Lower Fox River on the S side of Doty Island, near the
> hospital in Neenah, WI. Does anyone have any local knowledge re either
> of these 2 anchorages? All else being equal, I would prefer anchoring
> off Doty Island because I want to take S/V Dynamic Equilibrium thru at
> least the Menasha Lock on the Lower Fox River and would really prefer
> to sail the length of Little Lake Butte Des Morts (Literally: Little
> Lake Cliff Of Death!) and lock thru Locks 1-4 in Appleton, WI. If I
> were to anchor in Miller Bay, I would have to sail several miles to
> get to the entrance to the Lower Fox River. In this scenario, there
> would probably only be time to do the Menasha Lock before turning
> around and sailing back to High Cliffs. Does anyone know of any other
> anchorages, especially near the N end of Lake Winnebago? Does anyone
> have any suggestions for kid friendly activities in Oshkosh, Neenah,
> &/or Appleton, WI? If we get to Appleton, I would especially
> appreciate a suggestion for a boat-up restaurant for lunch or dinner.
>
>  If Kaley and Fred like this cruise, in future years, we may attempt
> to cruise all 39 miles of the Lower Fox River from Lake Winnebago to
> Green Bay thru all 19 locks (a drop of ~170 ft!) and then do some
> cruising on Lower Green Bay. Just transiting the Lower Fox River with
> all the locks will require a whole day. Many of these locks are
> unusual in that they are hand operated, just like they were when
> originally installed in the 1850's. These locks are old school, no
> floating bollards like on the big US Army Corps Of Engineers locks on
> the western rivers. You have to have someone handling a line at each
> bollard as well as someone to fend off the walls and good fenders. The
> Lower Fox River lock system was actually the first public works
> project for the, then new, state of Wisconsin (admitted to the union
> in 1848). For a while, the Lower Fox River lock system greatly
> expanded economic activity in cities like Green Bay, Appleton, Neenah,
> and Oshkosh, WI. But, with the coming of trains and trucks to move
> cargo, the system fell into disuse and then disrepair. It has only
> recently been restored and reopened for recreational boating.
>
>  Roger Pihlaja
>  S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
>