June 2024; photo above is of the Lillyanna undersail East of Chambers Island sailing West, with Chambers Island on the horizon.
Even a small day trip can be an exploration of something new and somewhere new! Chase your dreams large and small! Here is a short photo journal of a day trip made by myself and my brother , Justin, motoring and sailing from Fish Creek around Chambers Island, in Green Bay Lake Michigan , Wisconsin.
Here is my fine ship the Lillyanna, anchored on the north shore of Chambers Island on the day of our trip, June 2024.
Here is a 1864 map of Green Bay, showing Chambers Island which is the large island in the middle of Green Bay.
Chambers Island is in the middle of Green Bay, between Door County Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is about 7.5miles as the crow flies, from Fish Creek WI to the Northern tip of Chambers Island. The island is named after Col. Talbot Chambers who was an early and somewhat controversial military expedition leader during the "Manifest Destiny" spread of US power in Wisconsin. A lighthouse, which we visited and which is pictured below, was built in 1868. The island has some seasonal homes and a grass airstrip, and two lakes, one of which is Mackaysee Lake, which itself has two island in it which are rare "third order recursive islands": islands in a lake in an island in a lake.
Here is our course, which we achieved in 9 hrs. 10-20 kt winds and 1-3ft waves. DO NOT use the maps or information or pictures on this page to chart out or execute a boating trip in these waters. These are chilly waters and there are shoals and submerged rocks in the area, so get a proper nautical chart and use it to plan your trip. Notably there are shoals/rocks at or near the waters surface in the waters between Fish Creek and Chambers Island that must be avoided, and there are shallows and shoals around the island and the others islands in the area and along the shore of the Door County Peninsula.
Photos of our sail around Chambers Island!
Here is my 1981 Compac 16 with custom pilothouse and tanbark sails. Outfitted with a Yamaha outboard. At the launch in Fish Creek WI. There is an overnight trailer parking lot about 1/2" walk from the launch.
9am, mist burning off the lake, pretty view looking north of the bluffs along the Door County Peninsula.
Crossing the channel between Fish Creek and Chambers Island. Looking north, with Little Strawberry Island on the left, Adventure Island on the right, and a mainland bluff on the far right of the photo.
An important thing to be aware of is that the wind often rotates around over the course of a day in Northern Lake Michigan. Rarely does the wind continue consistently from the same direction all day. As we got to the mid channel the waves subsided a bit and we had a fair wind at our back and we hoisted sail. I must admit, I am a bit less adventurous than I was even a couple years ago, when I would have scoffed at using the motor at all on a day like today. On this day, I was all about enjoying myself and having fun and not beating into the wind.... We made a lovely downwind run to the north point of Chambers Island.
We reached the bay at the northern shore of Chambers Island and anchored near shore. We waded ashore and took a hike to the Chambers Island Lighthouse.
Nothing like a lovely day at a beach covered with thousands of dead and rotting fish.....such was the scene at the pretty little beach on the north shore of the island. These are Alewives that had died off. In a way I am happy to see these litte guys back in numbers, as it could bode well for the King Salmon population in Lake Michigan. For the purposes of our day, we had no use of the beach, other than to walk quickly over it on our way to a hike on the island.
Here is the airstrip on Chambers Island.
There are some roads shown on the map of Chambers Island, and we used those as our hiking trail. They are dirt roads and the island is nicely forested.
Nice little meadow with everygreens on the island.
Chambers Island Lighthouse
The Chambers Island Light was operated from 1868 to 1961, when it was replaced by the modern lattice-tower navigation light seen in the picture taken from the water further down this page.
Approaching the Chambers Island Light along the road.
Interior room of the Chambers Island Lighthouse.
View from the top of the Chambers Island Lighthouse, with the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the far distance.
Chambers Island Lighthouse from the water.
South shore of Chambers Island on our return to Fish Creek.
My brother, Justin, on the return leg, on a beautiful day on the water in Door County.
Extending from left to right in this photo is the Hanover Shoal (you can see a thin strip of sand) which is a long, slender, shallow, submerged shoal hazard in the channel between Chambers Island and the Door County peninsula.
Returning to Fish Creek under the jib.
As always, the best part of the trip was the time spent laughing and telling tales with my brother.