Grand Marais, MI

Left in fog heading for Grand Marais, MI not to be confused with Grand Marais, MN also on Lake Superior.  The name was derived from the French explorers, missionaries and traders who passed through in the 1600’sI and means harbor of refuge.  It’s another sleepy little town that wakes up in the summer.  The primary industry is tourism and retired folk.  Although I have seen a few lumber trucks on the road.  It’s a well protected harbor with two long breakwaters.  The marina is very small with less than 10 slips and minimal services although the harbor master is very friendly.  We are presently at the dock with only one other boat that has a summer slip.  All the people in town were very friendly and often greeted us with `Oh, you`re the people from the sailboat’.  There are two museums in town, the old Post Office and the `Pickle Barrel’ which unfortunately do not open until July.  The Pickle Barrel House is a two-story cabin built to resemble two barrels. The house design is based on cartoon characters that were two inches tall and lived under a rose bush in a pickle barrel. It is currently located in Grand Marais, Michigan on Michigan's Upper Peninsula on the southern shore of Lake Superior.  The main part is a 16-foot (4.88 m) tall barrel and has two stories. The main floor is for the living area and the upstairs is a bedroom.  A smaller barrel serves as the kitchen and the two barrels are connected by a pantry.  There is an outdoor garden and also a seating area with a garden path between these two.  Excerpt from Wikipedia

We also spent some time at the Lake Superior Brewing Company where I could also get WiFi.  The beer is brewed onsite my husband raved about the Hematite Stout a black beer.  It seems to be a gathering place for the locals and is family friendly.  The staff and Ryan the bartender were great. 

We also met a young man, Chad, who is a walker.  He has walked the country and kept our interest with his stories of walking through Africa.  He seems a true free spirit and we wish him the best.  

Too Many Rudders

June 21

We anchored near Middle Island by Marquette, MI.  The islands through here are very rocky and some beautiful houses appear to be built right on the rock.

Today looked like an easy day but became challenging right from the start.  Left our anchorage near Middle Island with all its rugged beauty to get gas in Presque Isle Bay.

Had a little difficulty docking the boat as the wind was pushing us into the dock but successfully tied off the boat only to find the Marina was closed.  Sooo, pushed off and went next door to Marquette Bay (just a couple miles down the coast).  There we successfully gassed up and set sail for Grand Island near Munising, MI.  NOAA weather forecast was for building 1-3 foot waves and west winds clocking to the northwest.  We started out with a great sail with both mainsail and headsail up.  About halfway to our destination we noticed the waves were building to 2-4 footers and kept building to 4-6 footers with an occasional 8 footer.  When the seas became heavy we noticed the helm wasn’t responding well.  Thought maybe we had too much sail up so took down the headsail and wished we had reefed down the main.  It didn’t help as much as hoped for as matters got worse.  Bruce determined it was the rudder from our Hydrovane self steering unit (which wasn’t in use at the moment) that was fighting the boat’s rudder and hand steering it would give us some relief from the resistance at the helm.  Made it close to Grand Island with following seas and successfully navigated between two islands close together with shoals to starboard and rocks to our port. Successfully `threaded the needle' and continued uneventfully to an anchorage in Murray Bay of Grand Island.  

Back to the Keeweenaw Waterway

June 21

We left the marina and continued motoring down the Keeweenaw to within a nautical mile of the Lower Entry and anchored in a beautiful finger bay close to the Portage River / Harbor of Refuge.  We took the dingy and explored the bay.  

We spent another quiet day.  I think we are still trying to recover from the hectic pace of the last month.    

Provisioning Day

June 20

Woke up to a cool, cloudy, and wet day.  We had to rent a car in Houghton to get around (no Uber or Lyft!).  We had a good breakfast at the Kaleva Café which goes back to the 1890’s.  I loved the photo on the front of their menu, it showed a picture of the original waitresses.  Found a Walmart and were able to get most everything there, even the Scotch and beer which in Minnesota we could never do.  Finished up with a few more stops and went to the movie theater to see `Wonder Woman’, which was very good.    

The area around here is known for it's copper industry.  Copper mining boomed from around 1845 to 1887.  Although the Native Americans had been mining copper for years.

Houghton-Hancock

June 19

Pulled anchor and motored the remaining distance to Houghton MI just a few miles down the waterway.  Had the Houghton-Hancock Lift Bridge lifted.  We figured the bridge tender was bored because we asked for 50 feet of clearance and got 75.  There are very few recreational boaters on Lake Superior at this time of the year especially with the cool temperature we have been getting. 

The bridge is the world's heaviest and widest double-decked vertical-lift bridge.  Houghton is home to Michigan Technological University.

We got a slip at the Houghton County Marina.  We finally were able to do laundry.  I expected to do laundry in Bayfield but they no longer have a laundromat in town.  We also tried redistributing weight to bring some of the heavier items lower and towards the center which made a small improvement.  We met two couples heading for Octonogon.  Barb and Dave of `High Hopes’ had just purchased a 38 foot Morgan in Port Huron and were bringing it to Bayfield. 

Keeweenaw Waterway

June 18

We left Octonogon in light rain, fog and cool temperatures (no surprise.  We entered the Keeweenaw Waterway through the Upper Entry and anchored about 10 miles down.  The Keeweenaw Waterway is a partly natural and partly artificial waterway cutting across the Keeweenaw Peninsula. 

We spent a quiet night at anchor, planning to head for Houghton-Hancock in the morning.

9 inches June 17

We left Black River Harbor heading for Octonogon, MI and were able to sail in W winds arriving at the Marina at 1400.  It was rainy with light fog and cool temperatures.  Octonogon has a well dredged deep channel until you get to the Marina.  It was a challenge with the wind blowing us on the dock and very shallow water.  At one point we had 9 inches below our keel and churning up mud before we were able to dock.  The docks were very high and we got creative with the fenders.  Due to the wind conditions and the shallow depths we chose to stay at the gas dock but had to sacrifice power.  But we were able to take showers, yah!  Another plus, no flies and no mosquitoes.  Life is good.

Black River Harbor

Bayfield and the Apostle Islands June 15

Sorry my blog is so behind, this is the first WiFi connection since June 15.

In the winter Bayfield is a very quiet little town in northern Wisconsin but it really wakes up in summertime.  Many use this little town as a gate way to the Apostle National Park.  The Chamber of Commerce claims it is known for some of the best sailing in the world due to the shelter offered by the Apostle Islands.  We have spent many summer nights anchored in little bays throughout the island and exploring sea caves. 

The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin.  All the islands except for Madeline Island are part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.  Excerpt from Wikipedia. 

There are six lighthouses ringing the islands.  The first one  is the 

Sand Island Lighthouse, the second one is the Raspberry Island Lighthouse.  

We met a nice couple who summer in Bayfield and have a winter home in Alabama.  Bill and Maureen of S/V Mocha have over 40 years of sailing experience on Lake Superior. 

We left Bayfield at 0815 with mostly sunny skies, cool temperatures and calm seas.  Bill of `Mocha’ was there to wave us off.  We ended up motor sailing and tacking as the predicted SW winds were more SE and on our nose. 

We decided to alter course from Black River Harbor in MI to Stockton Island in the Apostles and stayed at the dock in Prescott Bay.  We had forgotten how bad the black flies are on Lake Superior this time of year.  Fortunately we got screens with our new bimini.  They were used!

Prisoners in Black River Harbor  June 16

We left for Black River Harbor with sails up and motor off in good SW winds which held until about 5 nautical miles from the Black River.  We stayed at the Marina as there is no room for anchoring in the harbor.  Did I mention the black flies?  The intended hike had to be abandoned as the flies were so vicious they swarmed us every time we tried to get off the boat. We were prisoners restricted to the boat!

Black River Harbor is beautiful and offers great protection from Lake Superior. There are high wooded hills on either side of the river with two spectacular water falls close to the marina.  Because of the flies I didn't take too many pictures but took these from a previous trip. 

Thunderstorm!

We are presently at the City Dock in Bayfield, WI.  Midafternoon the predicted thunderstorm rolled through.  Bayfield sits on a hill and the downtown area slopes down to the waterfront and we watched the front racing down the hill.  Had everything battened down and Bruce was studying the bumpers and how the boat was pushing against the dock.  He decided to put out the big round bumpers we purchased for the locks.  Good thing he relied on that `gut’ feeling.  Lake Superior has what is called a `seiche.  A seiche is a standing wave in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water. Seiches and seiche-related phenomena have been observed on lakes, reservoirs, swimming pools, bays, harbours and seas. The key requirement for formation of a seiche is that the body of water be at least partially bounded, allowing the formation of the standing wave (taken from `Wikipedia”).  We have observed this phenomena while in the Apostles but never as dramatically as today.  With a strong northeast wind slamming us against the dock and the level raising well over a foot we found ourselves hoping it wouldn’t meet the top of the wharf.  The water level is already high on the lake and this brought us to a dangerous level at the dock.  The wind was pushing to hard to even attempt leaving for a better spot.  We stuck it out watching the water and the bumpers and it soon began to drop.  The round bumpers saved the day. 

Ready To Go

Trying to get caught up on my posts as I haven’t had WiFi.  So hopefully there will be multiple posts today.

Looks like Monday is good to go.  We have a one day weather window to get to Bayfield,WI.  Not sure of the distance as we usually stop in at some of the islands on the way.  But figured it to be an 11-12 hour day.  It will be a long day, but thunderstorms are predicted for the following 2 days, Tuesday and Wednesday.  With strong winds predicted we want to be at the dock as protection from northeast winds in the Apostles Islands is sketchy. 
Everything is ready, in place and stowed. 
We met some old boating friends, John and Nancy from `Wild Blue Yonder’.  They are getting ready to put their boat in on Wednesday.  Had a nice chat catching up with them.  Always enjoy talking with John and Nancy. 

Shakedown Cruise         1^st Day of our Great Loop Adventure

Left Knife River Marina in Minnesota (near Duluth, MN) on Monday morning heading for Bayfield, WI.  We just got the sails up and trimmed when the capricious wind changed to the opposite direction!  Got the sails trimmed again and it was good for a while, then the winds died and what little wind blew was on the nose.  Oh well, ended up motoring the rest of the day.  Beautiful day but cold as Lake Superior usually is this time of year. 

I’ll try to get better with picturesJ

Family Day

Family Day

First, a `Shout Out’ to Hailey, our granddaughter.  She was a great helping clean the house and loading the boat, ‘Thank you, Hailey!  You’re a trooper.’

My brother, niece and family visited with us on Saturday to wish us a safe trip.  Had a nice visit and and lunch with them.  They had the twins with them.  So cute!

 Splashdown

Wednesday, June 6 the Sea Hawk was put in the water and after 5 long years was once again afloat.  Thankfully all was uneventful. We spent a busy day putting the main sail and bimini on and checking for leaks.  Another carload of supplies was stored.  Weight was a concern so it was good to be able to see the waterline.  Friday night was our first night living aboard.  The gentle motion (notice I said ‘gentle’) of the water was great for sleeping.  It’s great to be on the boat again!  (Lot of `great’s’). 
Oh, and remember the waterline?  It disappeared towards the stern when we took on gas and water.  Looks like we will be redistributing weight tomorrow.  

Countdown!

I won’t say how many days because it is all dependent on the marine forecast, but I will say it is less than a week!  We have been busy, which is really an understatement!  A lot of exclamation marks but it has been that kind of a month.  To get you up to date:

    Present for our son’s graduation from law school 

    Retired from work

    Last few items on Bruce’s To Do List for the boat

    Get Boat US insurance (including trailer)

    Load the boat

    Clean the house

    Check list for our son, he will be caring for our house and mail

    Wash the boat

    Load the mast topside

    Load the boom

It may not look like a long list but it is packed with the hidden to do’s.  I am sure it looks familiar to you who have gone before.

Left to do

            Put the boat in the water
            Push off

Much to do but with the goal in sight it has been well worth it.

We plan to leave Knife River Marina and set sail for the Apostle Islands.  First stop is Sand Island.  We have spent a lot of time there and know there are beautiful anchorages to give protection from all winds.  Our favorite is Justice Bay with the popular sea caves.  A favorite wintertime activity is to walk to the sea caves from the mainland, dependent on the ice thickness.