Return from Houghton and Trip Home

Day 27, August 26

We left Houghton fairly early and headed back for Sault Ste. Marie.  The trip was quite uneventful and we arrived around 1:00.  We returned the car and headed for the marina.  We began taking down sails and preparing the boat for dropping the mast.  The launch ramp that we could use to pull the boat out of the water is about a mile down the St. Mary’s River from the marina so I took the boat down while Janine took the truck.

Freighter in Sault Ste Marie

Pulling Boat from the Water

The set up at the ramp went fairly smoothly until we tried to move the boat all the way up on the trailer.  I realized that I had lost the pin that we use to attach the cable to the bow of the boat and I had to use a screw driver as a substitute pin.  We were having a really difficult time getting the boat all the way up on the trailer and finally the 3/16 steel winch cable broke.  I used vice grips to hold the cable so that I could get the boat far enough on the trailer to attach the safety chain.  When I finally got it up and got the chain attached, I released the pressure on the winch and the hook at the end of the safety chain straightened out and let go of the boat.  We decided that we could at least get the boat packaged for the trip the way it was.  We pulled the boat up into the lot and started taking down the mast.  At the same time, it decided it needed to rain and for the next three hours, we worked in the rain.  In the ole days when we were young, we could do that job in a bit over 2 hours. However, this time it took us about 5 hours and we weren’t done.  We still had to replace the winch cable and fix the safety chain.  We changed out of our drenched clothing in the truck and began trying to find a Lowe’s or Menards to get the cable.   Neither of these are in Sault Ste. Marie.  We tried Wall-Mart and ran across a former employee of TSC farm supply store who told us that, although they are closed  tonight, they have what we need.  

Entering Canadian Soo Locks

We decided we were in no shape to spend the night in the boat on the trailer so we sought out a Comfort Inn, with a Applebee’s next door and called it a night.  Another long day.

Day 28, August 27

I didn’t sleep well.  So many things didn’t go as planned in our extraction of the boat from the water, that I spent a significant portion of the night rolling the individual problems through my mind.  When the morning finally arrive, I made a trip to the Tractor Supply Company store in the lot next to our motel and they had everything I needed to repair my broken winch cable and safety chain.  I increased the size of the cable to ¼ inch and I bought stainless steel cable that would not rust.  Back at the boat, In 20 minutes I had the winch fixed and the safety chain ready to reattach the boat but first, we still needed to move the boat further up onto the trailer.  

Boat Packaged and Ready for Ohio

We returned to the launch ramp and backed the trailer back into the water. Prior to backing up, I noticed that the centerboard was sitting hard on the roller of the trailer.  It dawned on me that I had probably not raised the board completely up thus making it really hard to drag the boat all the way up on the trailer.  Once the board was raised up, I was able to move the boat the final 6 inches needed to hook the safety chain and head for home. 

I put the truck in 4 wheel drive and pulled out off of the ramp and we headed for I-75 and Ohio.    At about 10 miles out of Sault Ste Marie traveling about 70 mph, I noticed that I had left the truck in 4 wheel drive.  I turned it off and headed south.  Twenty miles or so on down the road, we began to get a bit nervous about our fuel level.  The gauge was nearing the empty stripe and fuel stops were few and far between.  At one point I pulled off on an exit ramp hoping to see a station but none was available.  At the same time, a large tanker truck pulled out in front of us and we were amazed by the odor of old gasoline that he was giving off.  Finally about 6 miles further down the road, we pulled off at the St. Ignace exit and into a BP station.  As we stopped, I realized that that odor of old gasoline was still with us.  I raised the hood and the driver’s side of the engine and inner fender were covered with what I assumed was gasoline. 

To make a long story short, I took it to a garage in St Ignace and we found that my driving at highway speed had overheated the front differential and had blown a significant amount of oil out through the vent and all over the engine.  The mechanic added a quart of differential oil, charged us $50.00 and sent us on our way. 

We had spent about 2 ½ hours in the repair process and it appeared that Ann Arbor, Michigan would be a logical stopping point for the night.  Our good friends, Judy and Dwight Saunders are there and we met them for an enjoyable dinner at a local steak house.  After dinner, we found a Comfort Inn and again, crashed for the night.

Day 29, August 28

We were back on the road heading for Somerset at around 8:00 and for once, had a totally uneventful trip all the way.  We got home at about 1:30 and found 2 totally ecstatic dogs providing a very warm welcome.

I need to add a brief story of a happening that occurred as we drove from Sault Ste Marie to Houghton.  A bit of History:  In the late 1940s, my Uncle Jim Holekamp, a forester, took a job near the town of Champion Michigan.  He moved his wife and two young children, my cousins Jay and Fran, to a small primitive cabin on the shores of Lake Michigamme. 

  According to my Aunt Phyllis, who recently celebrated her 92^nd birthday, it was quite a grueling existence and, in fact, when my grandfather went to visit them, he insisted that my Uncle Jim take his young family out of that environment and back to Marquette and civilization. 

Prior to their move, our family, who lived in Missouri at that time, drove to visit them.  I was a pre-schooler but have vague memories of the neat north woods and the wonderful lake on which we camped while there.  A few years later, probably when I was 8 or 9, or family again returned to Champion and Lake Michigamme along with our next door neighbors and dear friends, the Williams.  We took two cars, our family of 4 in one car and the Williams family of 6 in the other.  I have more memories of that trip.  One memory involved a walk to Champion along a dirt road that ran from the lake to town.  Young Paul Williams, 2 years younger than I were dispatched to walk to town to get something important like a pack of chewing gum.  (To this day, Paul and I insist that the trip was designed to get us of our parent’s hair for a significant amount of time.)  I remember the walk and vividly remember that when we arrived in the town, the sidewalks were imprinted with “Don’t Spit On The Sidewalk.” Paul doesn’t remember that impressive fact!  I told him that I remembered that we spit on every imprint that we saw!

Sidewalk in Champion

Now, as we heading for Houghton on our trip to get our truck, we passed through the town of Champion and we pulled off into the nicely developed state park that now encompasses the camp grounds in which we stayed years ago.  I clearly remember the sights of the area where we camped.

 

While in the park, I called my dear neighbor, Mrs. Roach (whom I call “Mom Williams”) who recently turned 90 years old and told her that I was sitting in the campground on Lake Michigamme and for the next 20 minutes we shared fond memories of the trips that we took so many years ago.  As you can imagine, it was quite an emotional experience for the both of us.  She insisted that I call her son, Paul, and carry forward the conversation.  I did indeed call Paul and we laughed and compared notes, mainly about the walk to town.

I later went back to the ranger station and asked if the back road to Champion still existed and she said yes and it is still gravel.  Janine and I drove the road, measured the distance (1.6 miles one way) and searched the old sidewalks of the town for the imprinted signs.  We didn’t see any, but I stopped and asked a young fellow if he had seen any of the signs and he said, “No, not on the street sidewalks, however, there was one on the sidewalk that leads to the old high school.  We stopped in front of the old building and, sure enough, about ½ way up the walk we found one.

We had a really great trip and have hundreds of pictures that I which I could have shared on this blog.  We would love to show them to you sometime in the future.  Let us know

Whitefishe Point Harbor to Sault Ste Marie

Days 26, August 25

A lot has happened since my last posting.  We began negotiating for a rental car to carry us from Sault Ste Marie to Houlton on the 25^th of August and it appeared that we were going to have to make a heroic trip across Whitefish Bay to arrive on time.  At first, the lady told us that we needed to be at her establishment by 3:00PM to get the car.  If that were the case, we would have to get under way by around 6:00 in the morning and have an uneventful trip for the 42 mile crossing.  The last time we talked to her she told us that we would have to be there by 11:00.  That meant that we would need to leave by 4:00 and to complicate the situation, as we went to bed, the area of the Upper Peninsula where we were was being painted with thunderstorms and fairly high waves.   

  I went to bed at about 8:00 and was awake at 12:45 and couldn’t go back to sleep.  Finally, at 1:45, I got up and started the coffee.  We headed out to the big waters at 2:15. The storms were gone but the lake was still quite rough, however, the waves were coming directly into our face so the boat ride, although wet was not particularly uncomfortable.  Navigation at night is no different than in the daylight in the open water.  The one difference is that ships find small boats hard to see and if the pilot of the big craft is not paying attention to his RADAR it is not unheard of that they run over small boats.  Since I was moving in the main shipping channel for Sault Ste Marie and there were ships about, it was a bit of concern.  We do have a sophisticated radio that warns us when big ships area near and if they are on a collision course. 

At one point around 4:00, I saw the lights of a ship probably 8 miles behind us and when I checked him out on our GPS/Radio, His course was directly for us and he was traveling at twice our speed.  When he was 4 miles behind us, I called him and asked if had seen us on RADAR and he said that he had.  As he got closer, I became confused by his lighting.  One end of the ship had  bright lights all over it and the other had on 1 light showing.  I interpreted that to mean that the bright lights were his bow and the single was his stern.  As he got very close, I decided to put more distance between our courses and turned away from him, however, I misinterpreted his lights and actually turned in front of him.  As he continued to bear down on us, I realized my mistake, spun the boat around and after he had safely passed, about 40 yards from us, I called him on the radio and apologized for my mistake.  He replied, “No Problem.” But I could tell that he had drastically changed course trying to avoid me.  I had known the lighting scheme of ships but the middle of the night and fatigue I’m sure played into my serious mistake. 

We arrived at the Canadian Soo lock at about 9:30 and were passed through quite quickly. These locks are significantly smaller and are the ones that the cooperating lockmasters want small pleasure boats to use.  The two people operating the lock, a middle age man and a very young (probably early 20’s) lady were very helpful and friendly. 

On the other side of the lock, we had a short trip to the marina where we planned to leave the boat.  Upon arrival, we explained our time dilemma to the dock employee and he said that we could do the settling up stuff after we pick up the car.  We called a cab and he finally arrived at 10:50.  We told him of our dilemma and he said, “no problem.”  He called the rental company and told them that we were on our way and all turned out well.

We were both quite tired when we finally began our 264 mile trek back to Houghton.  We switched drivers several times and finally arrived at Mike Sullivan’s home to pick up the truck at about 7:00.  Unfortunately, Mike had to be away when we got there so we were unable to again express in person our appreciation for all that he did for us.  We headed for Houghton and found a motel and got the last room that they had.  (And I truly believe that to be a fact!)  The young lady quoted the fare at $125.00.  I said that I thought that was a bit high and she said that she could make it  $115.00.  I hesitated and said, “Uh, no.” Then she asked what I was expecting and I said, “between $90.00 and $100.00” and she replied, “I can do $90.00.”  So we had a luxurious room with a real bed for to rest our worn bodies.  We found a nice restaurant, had dinner, and went back for 10 hours of sleep.

Another Day in Whitefish Point Harbor

Day 25, August 24 

Whitefish Point Harbor Breakwater

Well, best laid plans of mice and men!  We planned to get up at 4 this morning and sail away at around 5:00 but at about 2:30, I was awakened with the wind rattling and whistling in the rigging and the boat bumping the dock in an uncomfortable strange way.  I got up and found that the wind was blowing quite strongly and the boat had moved a fender off of a post on the dock and the boat was bumping the piling.  Back in bed, before I got back to sleep, the thunder began and so did the rain.  I dozed off and on until about 3:30 and conditions only got worse.  I finally got up and turned off the alarm.  Back in bed, I slept until about 6:00.  I got up and turned on the marine weather radio and the day did not look promising.  The winds were to be blowing up to 17 mph with gusts to 24 mph.  Not pretty.  They were calling for waves from 1 to 4 feet.  I went out onto the breakwater and was impressed that the waves were slamming into it with real gusto.  SO, we debated whether or not we should try it and finally decided that it would not be a good idea to head out onto such a long passage with such variable weather.

As the day went on, it rained and stormed all day and by mid morning, they were predicting winds over 25 mph in Sault Ste Marie.  Trying to pass through a lock in such winds would not be fun and probably quite difficult.  We made a good decision.

I spent the morning going through all of my trip photos deleting duplicates and labeling the remainder.  We also compiled all of our expenses and if we were to leave out two high ticket items, our daily cost was just under $78.00.  That is the best we have done on any trip, however, it is a bit off because we will add in the costs of gas and expenses to get back home and with the rental fee for the car, that number will climb significantly.



M.M. Drake Rudder and Tiller



After lunch and long naps, we again walked back to the lighthouse and ship wreck museum.  This time, we wandered around the well manicured grounds and read plaques and took a few more pictures.  The rudder and tiller on display is off of a wooden freighter that, in 1901, was towing another ship when the second one began to take on water.  The M.M. Drake cut the tow, the Michigan, free and went back to rescue the Michigan crew.  The storm was fierce and the two ships collided sending both to the bottom.  Two nearby vessels saw the warning signals and rescued the crew just moments before the Drake sank.

Whitefish Point Watchtower

There is also a well preserved steam foghorn building, and a Coast Guard crew quarters that have been modernized and available to rent as a motel.  It even has internet service which is somewhat rare in this area. 

From the light station, we again entered into the bird sanctuary where there were a number of signs indicating that there is a number of nesting piping plovers which are extremely rare.  We walked to the edge of the lake and talked to a couple of birders who had not seen anything of interest this afternoon.  We then walked back to toward the marina via the beach and about ½ way back, we saw 8 small wading shore birds which on checking out our bird book turned out to be the piping plovers.  Neat little birds.  Also along our walk we picked up a fairly large number of agates that glow in the surf amongst other rocks. 

When we got back to the boat, the air was fairly warm and we decided that we could use a bath so I talked Janine into joining me for a dip in the icy Lake Superior.  She was a bit of a chicken but I did get her to sit down for about a half of a second before she stood and began backing for shore.  From the bath to the boat and dry clothes, we began preparing the boat and Dink for an early morning departure for Sault Ste Marie.

A Day at Whitefish Point

Day 24, August 23

We slept in this morning since we planned to stay put in Whitefish Harbor for the day.  Whitefish Point has a really nice ship wreck museum and lighthouse and if we were to take the time to visit these two facilities, we wouldn’t have time to make the 42 mile trip to the Sault. 

Light Keeper's Duplex and Light

We walked the mile trek to the museum area where we were amazed at this wonderful historic site.  They have spent a lot of time collecting ship wreck artifacts and have displayed them very nicely.  They also have a great display and presentation of the United States Life-Saving Service (later to become the US Coast Guard.) The light keeper’s cottage appears to be a new facility with oak woodwork that appears to be very modern.  That building is also filled with period antiques and displays depicting the lives of the keep and his family.  The light is reputed to be the longest continuously illuminating marker on Lake Superior.  We were impressed by the number of folks who were visiting this extremely remote site. 

Second Order Furnell Lens



Whitefish Point is historically a very dangerous place for the lake shipping industry.  There have been 500 or so ship wrecks in the vicinity, the most recent of which is the Edmund Fitzgerald.  As you would imagine, Gordon Lightfoot is a popular song writer in this park.  The point is where Lake Superior begins to narrow down for the entrance to Sault Ste Marie.  In the old days, there were many more ships plying these waters and the communication and safety equipment was either lacking or very weak at best.  Many of the early wrecks were caused by devastating collisions.  Add to that the fact that the prevailing fall and winter winds are from the northwest and there are absolutely no parts of call from Munising to the Sault, many of those ships would begin the passage only to be greeted by a violent storm that would drive their boats onto the lee shore.



Life-Saving Service Building

As the death toll climbed, the need for some sort of organized life saving service became evident.  Horace Greeley sailed in the area about the time of the shipping boom and realized the hazards involved and he applied his needle sharp pin to editorials that goaded the US Congress into setting up the service.   Working in the life saving service was as harsh if not more so than work in the shipping industry.  These guys were mandated to go out to a wreck but were not guaranteed that they would return.  The stations were located 10 miles apart down the coast and every night, at 5:00 a man started down the beach in each direction from each of the sites.  They walked until they met the man from the next station.  They exchanged tokens to prove that they had made the trip then walked the 5 miles back.  Many of those guys died of exposure and other misfortunes.  As you can imagine, the men on the rescue boats faced tremendous dangers as they put forth heroic efforts to save the lives of the wreck victims.

Mist Nets used to catch birds for banding (Rolled Up)

Also on the site has a Federal Bird Sanctuary nearby.  They offer daily programs, one of which that is playing this evening is the trapping and banding of owls.  I really  wanted to take part in that one, however, the reality of our situation is that we need to be at a car rental place in Sault Ste Marie by 4:30 tomorrow afternoon which means we need to be on the move by as close to 6:00 as possible.  The banding program begins at 9:30 and is a mile hike from here to where it starts.  Reality!  Janine and I followed one of the paths out behind the Sanctuary visitors center and it lead us to a number of net sites that they string up to capture their birds.  It was a really interesting walk and I hope to be able to participate in something like it in the future.

Back at the boat, we messed around talking to various people who came out onto the breakwater in front of our dock.  We contacted a car rental place to get a car reservation for tomorrow so that we could head for Houghton and our truck.  Our plan is to arise at 4:00 in the morning, leave for Sault Ste Marie at 5:00 and arrive sometime around noon.  We need to pass through the Sault lock, get to a marina, and then to the rental car by 4:30.  Depending on the speed of the boat, wind, and wave conditions, it could take us between 7 and 8 hours to make the 42 mile trip. 

David Boyd Research Vessel

Around 6:00 a 60 research vessel, the “David Boyd” pulled into the slip next to us.  It turns out that this is owned by the shipwreck museum and does research on ship wrecks.  It has sonar equipment on it and it carries an unmanned underwater exploration vessel used to explore the deeper wrecks.  It was used in developing the film dealing with the removal of the bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald which is in the museum as a memorial to the 29 crew members lost.  I spent some time talking to the crew, the head of which is also the head of the museum.  Another staff member is a young man who grew up in Bellefontaine Ohio and a grad of OSU. 

After dinner, we watched the video of the book “Freakonomics.”  We had both read the book but ran across this in the library and found it to be well done and an interesting recap of the book.  Bed came around 9:00.

Grand Marias to Whitefish Point

Day 23, August 22



Miners Castle Pictures Rocks



Well, we got off to a little bit of a late start, leaving the Grand Marias at about 9:30 heading for a little protected inland lake called Little Lake.  The distance is only about 32 miles so we were not concerned about getting away early.  The marine forecast called for southwest winds blowing 5 to 15 knots with gusts up to 20 knots.  The 20 knots were wind strengths that we are not comfortable dealing with, however, since we would be traveling east along a south shore, we could hug the shore and stay out of the big waves that 20 knots can build. 

Abandoned Lighthous Grand Island

Natural Bridge Pictured Rocks

When we got out into the main lake, we were greeted with leftover rollers from the night before.  They were rolling in from the west so we were gently rolling/surfing down in a not too uncomfortable of a ride.  Since I mentioned the night before, it was not a completely nice night.  We had dropped anchor in a spot that was deep and the light breeze swung the boat out over even deeper water, however, were there to be a wind shift to a southerly breeze, we would be blown over quite shallow water.  When we crawled into bed, the water was completely flat and no breezes were blowing.  At about 12:30,  I was awakened by wind whistling through the rigging and the various halyards and lines were slapping against the mast.  The boat was rocking in an almost imperceptibly way, enough so, that I thought I should take a look.  I had left the GPS on so that I could track the movement through the night and was surprised to find that the boat had not moved much.  The tracing on the GPS usually shows the boat wandering around as it swings on the anchor.  I wondered if the GPS was actually working.  It then dawned on me that we had swung onto the shallow water and were sitting on the bottom.  I cranked up the centerboard and the boat immediately began to swing as I had expected.  The wind continued to blow quite strongly and now sleeping was hard to come by as we lay wondering if the wind was going to drag our anchor and allow us to end up on the shore behind us. It turned out that the anchor held as designed and we got through the night safely.





Pictured Rocks

I like this morning picture - Grand Island Lighthouse

Back out on the water, we put out the jib and motor sailed at about 6.5 mph basically all of the way to Little Lake Harbor.  The boating guides told of shallow shoaling just inside of the entrance to the breakwaters and advised us to stay very close to the starboard wall.  The rollers were pushing us around as we finally turned into the calm water behind breakwater.  Not far in, as we were slowly traveling along, we began to drag bottom.  We had pulled our centerboard up anticipating shallow waters, but this was less water than I expected so we cranked the board up as far as it would go.  The boat moved forward a bit and then the rudder began to drag.  I increased the motor power and shoved us toward what I assumed was deeper water only to find that we were jamming ourselves further on to a sand shoal.  With the rudder in the sand, steering became impossible.  We tried various techniques to free us, but to no avail.  Meantime, a couple of kids, who had been fishing off of the breakwater, came over and offered to help.  One boy started walking out into the water toward us and we asked him to walk into the deepest part, which was up to his knees, and we realized that there was nowhere in the entire passageway that was deep enough for us to continue.  I decided to pull Dink alongside and use her to take the anchor back to the deeper water near where we had entered, and we could then use the boat winch along with the pushing with the motor to pull us out.  I got into Dink but realized that it would be unwieldy working with the anchor so I stepped out into about 3 feet of water and carried the anchor out into the deepest water I could find.  I never got into water that went over my belt.  Back on the boat, we started the motor and slowly using the winch, we were able to move to the deeper water.  When we got up to the anchor, the front of the boat was in deep enough water to be free, but the rudder was still stuck and we could not steer.   We were about 15 feet from and heading for the huge boulders of the breakwater when I finally got the anchor free.  The boat was continuing to slowly move forward under the power of the motor but Janine could yet not steer the boat.  When it finally broke free of the sand, the boat shot forward into the boulders before Janine could cut the power on the motor and steer away from the rocks.  The boat hit one big rock hard, bounced off heading out of the  channel and Janine then steered the boat back out into the main lake.  Hanging over the bow, I could see no damage other some cosmetic stuff on the front of the boat so we decided to continue on our journey.



The next safe harbor that we could reach was White Fish Point Harbor approximately 18 miles on down the lake.  The time was about 3:00pm so traveling at around 6 mph, we could reach the harbor by around 6:00 with three hours to spare before dark.  So on we traveled.  The wind died down and indeed, we arrived at White Fish Harbor at about 6:15.  The tour books also advised that this one could shoal up so we entered very cautiously, however, we had no problem.  There were some open slips so we tied up alongside of Brian on “No Problem,” the gentleman that we had met yesterday. 

Once secure, we headed for a walk to relax our somewhat abraided nerves.  We walked about a mile up the road to the White Fish Point lighthouse and museum.  We will visit there tomorrow.  Back on the boat, we invited Brian to join us for a piece of apple caramel cake that Janine had baked after the grounding incident.  We spent an enjoyable visiting with Brian who lives in Sault Ste Marie.  As usual, when sailors get together, we spent an inordinate amount of time discussing characteristics and modifications that we had each made to our boats. 

And finally to bed!



 

Pictured Rocks - Munising to Grand Marias

Day 22, August 21

Pictured Rocks!  WoW!  But I get ahead of myself.  Our destination today is Grand Marais which is about 40 miles from Murray Bay near Munising.  We got underway at 7:00 and as we were pulling out of the cove, another sailboat, about the same size as ours, was leaving as well.  Our route took us east northeast the entire way passing the Pictured Rocks National Shoreline. 





I could write a book about all of the sites we marveled at but I am just going to include a number of pictures and say that if you want to see more and hear more, you will just have to come and see us back in Ohio.  People had told me how beautiful this area is but their words and mine cannot do it justice.  It is really neat.  If you haven’t been there, I think that it is definitely a “Bucket List” place to visit.  And, if you do come, you need to see it by water.  There are a number of tour boats I haven’t counted but I would imagine I took a hundred pictures of the various formations.



Chapel Rock



At a place called Chapel Beach, we decided to pull in and take a look at a water fall that was dropping into the lake.  We motored in and dropped anchor at about 100 yards offshore.  The water was about 9 feet deep and absolutely crystal clear.  We took Dink in and beached her on the sand/gravel shore.  We walked down to where the boat that left at the same time was backing up to the beach.  He has a shoal draft boat which will allow him into very shallow water.  He is from Sault Ste Marie and is heading home along the same route and itinerary as are we.  As we walked the beach, he showed us agates  and discussed the various marinas that we will be visiting.  One of the outstanding sights from this beach is Chapel Rock.  An amazing natural phenomenon.  The water was so clear and I hadn’t bathed in a couple of days so I donned my bathing suit and took a cold water bath.  It was really refreshing.  We walked a ways along the trail that parallels the beach and ran into a number of serious day hikers.  The trail that they were taking to get to where we were is about 10 miles long.    

Big Hole

Back out on the water, we watched a tour boat filled with passengers pull into what appeared to be a cave, completely disappearing.  We had to try it.  It turned out to be a eroded huge hole in a rock that was open at the top so we could pull all the way in and take pictures.

We continued our journey along this beautiful area and at Au Sable Point where a lighthouse had been erected, the landscape changed to a huge sand dune that extended for about 10 miles.  At the end of the dune we came to our destination, Grand Marias.  It is a well protected bay that provides save refuge from all directions.  We pulled up to the fuel dock and took on 4 gallons of fuel.  This will be the last fuel available for over 50 miles and we don’t want to be on the lake without a maximum amount of fuel.

Grand Sable Dune

As we were finishing fueling, the research vessel, Lake Char, pulled up to the dock.  We had first encountered her all the way back in Ontonagon then again in Copper Harbor, Lac La Belle, Marquette, and now in Grand Marias.  I talked to them and  their range is about where we saw her and she is studying lake trout. 

We had a little trouble finding a place to drop our anchor.  This is a deep harbor and the only shallow water where we can drop our hook is very close to shore.  There are a number of mooring balls but they are all taken by the local folks.  We finally found one place but were a bit uncomfortable about swinging into shallow water should the wind change direction.

We took Dink into the village and bought Ice and a cup of ice cream and then headed for bed.

Still Smiling after 21 days





Marquette to Minising MI

Day 21, August 20

Marquette Waterfront

We got underway from Marquette at 7:00 this morning because we had another 40 mile day ahead of us to reach Munising.  The wind was from the west and we started our trip with a nice breeze at our back and few waves.  They were calling for winds of 5 to 15 knots from the west and the waves to be from 1 to 3 feet.  It appeared that it would be a great ride down wind.  It turned out to be quite rolly as we moved offshore.  Our track took us about 5 or 6 miles off of the coast for the first 18 miles.  We started with the motor then added the Genoa jib.  We moved along at about 6 mph.

Somewhere around the 15 mile mark, the wind shifted to a more southerly direction which allowed us to raise the mainsail and cruise along on a broad reach.  We began the sailing portion of the trip traveling at between 4 and 5 mph.  With the sails up and the lower speed, the boat calmed down somewhat but still frequently pitched from side to side and large left over waves from yesterday bit us in the port quarter. 

By about noon time, the wind began to die and our speed continually dropped until we were traveling about 2mph and our eta went from around 2:00 to around 5.  So, I started the motor and we motored the remaining miles.  With the falling wind, the waves also calmed down to the point that we rocked very little- a much more pleasant way to travel.

Bayshore Marina, Munising MI

As we approached the town of Munising, we called the Bayshore Marina but got no response.  This is a busy place with 4 or 5 tour boats hauling tourists out to view Pictured Rock National Sea Shore or take them in glass bottom boats to see sunken vessels.  As we pulled up to the dock, the wind began to blow hard, making the landing quite difficult.  Luckily, there were no spectators sitting at the bar evaluating the landing.  The dock mistress told us that we could stay there for 2 hours free and it would be $5.00 after that. 

We battened down the boat and strolled into the town.  It is obvious that the main attraction is the tour business.  There were a number of souvenir shops and kayak outfitters.  We saw about 6 or 7 restaurants and several bars.  We found a flower shop that sold frozen yogurt so we both had a cup full.  It was a really neat place. 

Back at the boat, we untied from the dock and motored to the back corner near where the dock juts out from the shore to get a few gallons of gasoline.  Again, with the wind, my landing wasn’t stellar, but no one was hurt and there was no damage.  These docks at this place are really high.  We have seen this phenomenon at marinas all along the way.  All of the small boat owners complain bitterly and have done so through official channels but to no avail.  It is hard to protect your boat from the pilings that they use to build these things and in several places, our boat could slip under the dock between the pilings.

Dink ready for sleep in Murray Bay

Munising is an extremely well protected harbor.  It is tucked deep in a narrow bay, South Bay, the mouth of which is blocked by a huge island, Grand Island.  At the lower end of Grand Island, Murray Bay provides a very well protected anchorage  where we chose to spend the night.  This is a really beautiful area.  We were all but by ourselves as we dropped anchor in the east end not far from a sunken ship.  The forecast is for west winds shifting to southerly after midnight so we should have a very peaceful night.  We grilled out and enjoyed a glass of wine.  A truly pleasant way to end our day.

Sunset over Murray Bay of Grand Island