We are off Lake Superior.
Monday, June 12th:
After a few teary goodbyes, we left Superior WI. to start our trip. We motor sailed to the Apostle Islands, approx. 50 nautical miles, taking about 9-10 hours to get there. We spent 3 nights (almost) at anchor waiting for the wind to blow from a direction other than east, as that is the general direction we are heading. The wind was forecast to switch to the south on Friday, the 16th, so we got up at 0-dark thirty, (Friday 0230) and left for the Upper Entrance to the Keweenaw waterway and the Houghton-Hancock area. During the early morning hours while crossing the lake, the boat was inundated with black flies. The biting variety, 1000’s of them. We’ve never seen anything like it! You’d think we were a garbage scow or something. Upon arrival at Houghton-Hancock there was a 3-day bridge celebration going on. The lift bridge connecting the two cities is believed to be the heaviest lift bridge in the world. We spent a free night tied to the municipal dock on the Houghton side and left the next morning to stage our next leg of the trip at the lower entrance to the waterway.
Sunday, June 18th:
Our next destination was Marquette, MI, some 50 miles to the east. Here we called some friends whom we met on a prior Canadian trip two years earlier. They met us at our boat and brought with them some very tasty bread, wine, a dip and two different varieties of ice-cream. It was good to reminisce and talk with them about their own cruising plans.
Monday, June 19th:
After a restful night in Marquette it was time once again to push on further east. Grand Marais, MI. would be our next stopover. It was here that our friends from Marquette suggested we try the fish and chips at one of the local brew pubs. We took their advice and had a decent, but not great meal and some of their pub brewed ale.
We left Grand Marais, Michigan @0530 headed for Whitefish Point approx. 55 nautical miles, about 10-12 hours. Sunny and minimal wind so motoring. Last two days we have been able to sail. Whitefish Point has the oldest light house on the lake (1849) and considered the graveyard of the Great Lakes since there had been around 500 shipwrecks. The last and most famous wreck is the Edmund Fitzgerald (November, 1975). We toured the Great Lakes Shipwreck Societies museum at the light and found it to be very nicely done and highly informative. Well worth the $10.00 per person entrance fee.
June 21st, the first day of summer:
We awoke early to depart the tricky shallow entrance at the Whitefish harbor of refuge, to get to Sault St. Marie so we could lock through. The Lake didn’t seem to want to let us go as we had to sail through 30k winds. We were the only boat to enter the MacArthur lock after waiting for a large freighter to “lock-up”, heading for an unknown destination on Lake Superior. We “locked down” a distance of 22 feet and amazingly, they empty an entire lock in less than 7 minutes. We had dinner with Bill & Cindy Ista on Johesa and caught up on things since we haven’t seen them since they left Superior, WI first week of June.
Some quick thoughts about our journey so far:
- It still amazes me how fast the days go by – and you don’t really accomplish anything but getting the boat safely to the next harbor.
- Purchased some lake trout from local commercial fisherman in Keweenaw Waterway (Upper Peninsula, MI) for $3.
- Still getting used to the boat bed.
- Amazed that we don’t miss working.
- Learning to appreciate whatever happens next that we can’t control.
- Need to slow down now that we are off Lake Superior
- Hoping that friends and family don’t forget to e-mail us.
- We can send Sailmail (SSB e-mail) out in the middle of the Lake!
- Got the motor replaced in Sault St. Marie, MI on my 60’s vintage Singer sewing machine that failed when sewing at Apostles Island anchorage.
- We are now 22 feet closer to our sea level destination.