Port Wing to Frog Bay

Wednesday, August 1

Panache "Wung Out"

After breakfast, I jumped in the ‘Dink” and headed for the marina to get some ice finding that their hours are from 10:00 to 2:00 so back to the boat and some cleanup in preparation to heading for the Apostle Islands.  We got away at about 8:00 and headed out into a nice westerly breeze.  Our destination was again east north east so we were able to put the sails up with the main out to port and the jib out to starboard in a configuration called “wing and wing” or “wung out.”  We had an exhilarating ride with the boat averaging about 6mph.  The weather forecast was for possible thunderstorms in the late afternoon so our 30 plus mile ride to the Apostle Islands would be completed by around 1 or 2 in the afternoon.  At around 10:00 I noticed a large thunder cloud building behind us so I checked the radar app on my phone, found a storm building along the lake boarder with Canada and heading southeast.  I again checked the weather radio and nothing was mentioned of this storm.  Luckily, it moved between us and Duluth and gave us nothing but continual nice winds. 



At about noon, we passed the last safe harbor prior to reaching the Apostles and were making the run in grand style.  Shortly thereafter, the sky behind us began to darken and the radar app showed a line of strong storms passing Duluth and heading east southeast.  This one, the radio said, had the potential of putting out strong winds up to 40 knots and hail.  They were advising all boaters to seek immediate shelter!  I began looking for an island or some point of land to hide behind as the storm passed, however, there were none until we got to Sand Island, the first of the Apostle group.  By now the winds had increased to probably slightly above 20 mph which caused the waves to build 2 to 4 feet and our boat speed to top out at 8mph on numerous occasions.  If and when the storm got to us, we needed to get the sails down and the motor running so as to be able to keep the bow of the boat pointing into the high waves that would accompany it.  We were in somewhat of a dilemma, however, because of the position of the sails.  In order to turn into the wind, one must turn the boat in the opposite direct of the side of the boat that the sails are out.  In the case like ours, where we were running down wind with sails out on both sides of the boat, there was no way to get rid of the sails.  We were able to solve the problem by performing a gibe maneuver in which I physically pulled the main sail around from the starboard side of the boat to the port side.  This then allowed us to take down the spinnaker pole that we were using to hold the jib out and would to douse the sails when the wind got to be too high.  And then, by chance, the storm passed just behind us giving us nothing but strong sailable winds and significant waves. 

Sand Island Lighthouse

We were is desperate need of ice so we sailed around Sand Island and headed for a marina located on the mainland.  The Buffalo Bay Marina, located on the mainland advertised ice so we pulled into their docking facilities.  They were willing for us to be there, however, it turns out that they have no marina office and their main interest is gambling.  It is an Indian owned casino resort with docking facilities to accommodate their gambling patrons.  As for ice, well, they don’t have facilities for that either but the girl at the resort registration desk gave us two large bags and told us to go to each of the three floors of the hotel and get as much as we wanted, but to be careful not empty any one machine or she would have unhappy guests.  And so, we got ice.

Moonlight over Frob Bay Anchorage

We headed back north to a cove that we had seen on our way to Buffalo Bay.  Frog Bay is a beautiful cove that would protect us from the westerly winds that were blowing.  We enjoyed the delightful scenery as we grilled some hamburgers and polished off a bottle of wine.  We headed for a much need rest after a somewhat stress filled day.

Duluth to Port Wing

Tuesday, July 31

I asked Janine if she wanted me to fix one of my famous “Sailing Trip Breakfasts” for our first official Lake Superior trip meal and she politely suggested that it would be good to go and have one last commercial meal as a salute to our departure so we headed back for Perkins Pancake House.  Back at the boat, we settled up our overnight dockage fee, tidied up a bit and headed for open water.  We were underway at about 9:00.  The marina where we launched is on a small narrow island that is inside of the much larger breakwater island that runs from east of Superior all the way to Duluth.  The water behind the ship channel is dredged to a depth of at least 27 feet to accommodate the lake shipping that has been the life blood of these two cities.  We decided to cruise west toward Duluth to view the city from the water side.  The water and wind were calm and the air temperature was probably in the middle 60s.  The water front of Duluth and Superior are both lined with grain elevators and warehouses of various flavor but most appear to be vintage of times past. 

As we neared the Duluth end of the channel, we noticed a large lake freighter turning around in a widened “turn basin.”  As the "American Republic" straightened around we passed him taking a number of pictures.  The main breakwater is attached to the main land by an aerial bridge that rises up when opening.  We were just getting ready to call the bridge for passage when the freighter called the bridge and requested passage.  We also called and asked for permission to pass and were advised to follow the freighter out.  We followed their advice and were amazed at the amount of turbulence that the big boat put out.  Out in the main lake, we followed the shore line and found the restaurant at which we had dined last evening. 

The wind was blowing from the east when we raised the sails.  Our destination , Port Wing, was also due east so we began our sail following a northeast course of 68 degrees.  This took us out into the main lake and it was my intention to sail out into the lake for about 10 miles then tack back southeast heading in the direction of the port.  However, as the morning progressed, the wind slowly veered around to the south allowing us to follow the wind to a 90 degree heading which eventually lead us right into the entrance to Port Wing.  The winds were light but steady and we had a wonderfully relaxing sail through the entire day.  We averaged about 3mph for the entire day.  At times we were up to 4.5 mph and at others were becalmed moving at about 1mph.  That’s sailing!  We were happy.

We pulled into Port Wing and dropped anchor in about 6 feet of water just outside of the main entrance channel next to the wall.  Port Wing has a population of about 400 folks and their run down marina has about 15 boats, mainly of the fishing variety.  We crawled in “Damn  Dink” for a cruise around the harbor and ran across the only sailboat and sailing skipper in the place.  Dan Smith has a 30 foot boat that is quite attractive and could be more so with a little TLC.  Except for the time spent with Skipper Dan, the entire trip around the Port Wing bay took about 7 minutes.  We were pleasantly tired and again went to bed at about 9:00.

We Are On Our Way

Saturday, July 28, 2012

We’ve had a change in plans.  Our original departure date was to be on Monday, July 30, however, after I sent out my last email announcing that we were set up to leave on this trip, my cousin, Fran Boardman and her husband Bob contacted us and told of a gathering that they were having in Chicago in celebration of my Aunt Phyllis Holekamp’s 93^rd birthday.  We decided to leave two days early to join four other cousins.  We had a great time digging up old memories of our childhood adventures.  We spent the night with the Boardman’s and after a great dim sum breakfast hosted by my cousin, Jay Holekamp and his family in the Chinatown section of Chicago, we were again underway toward Superior WI and our jumping off point on Lake Superior. 

Sunday, July 29

We got on the road at about 11:00 and traveled north through northern Illinois and Wisconsin to town of Superior where we hunted down a Wal-Mart and joined about 8 or 9 motor home campers and spent the night.  I am amazed at the urban campgrounds.  As we pulled in, we were greeted by folks at one camper who were sitting on the asphalt in their lawn chairs enjoying the sunset.  We had eaten our evening meal on the road so there was nothing to do but get out our ladder, crawl up into the boat and go to sleep.  The first night in the triangular bed in the bow of the boat is never really restful; however, we were really tired and sleep came quickly.

Monday, July 30



Janine attaching the Antenna



We awoke early eager to get the boat rigged and in the water.  We needed a few last minute items from our local Wal-Mart and decided to wait for their opening in a Perkins Pancake House in Duluth.  Duluth MI is the neighboring big sister city to Superior.  You cross a river that separates the two via an interesting large high bridge that has winding and diverging ramps on either side.  We finally got to the Barker’s Island Marina in Superior at about 9:30 and after some negotiations with the friendly staff, commenced setting up the boat.  The sun was already quite hot and the job which usually took about 2 ½ hours ended up taking about 5 ½.  It seemed that everything that we normally do took twice as long and was twice as hard.  The final blow came when we were just finishing up and reviewing the project when I noticed the antenna, which attaches to the top of the 32 foot mast was laying under the table inside of the cabin.  We had two options; we could disassemble the entire mast and sail rigging and drop the mast again or I could winch Janine to the top of the mast in the boson’s chair.  We were both really tired and hot and didn’t want to go through the whole teardown and resetup process again.  So, truly without any persuasion, Janine volunteered to ride the chair up the mast.  That process actually went off without a hitch and with the antenna firmly attached.  Janine is amazing!  She is a super willing capable first mate.  We dropped the boat and Damn Dink, our faithful dinghy, in the water at around 5:00, got it moored and headed off to Duluth and the Pickwick Restaurant and Pub for a walleye sandwich as recommended by my childhood friend Paul Williams.  We were treated to a window seat that looked over the harbor and out into Lake Superior.  It was a fine way to cap a frustrating launch day!  Back in the boat, we crashed at about 9:00.   

Lake Superior, Here We Come!

So, my shoulder is healed and my last therapy is scheduled for tomorrow.  The ortho doc says that I should have no problem with the repair but that my strength is significantly less in that arm as compared to what it was prior to my accident.  Therefore, We Are Going to Lake Superior.  We are in our final week of preparation and plan to be on the road early next Monday.  Our current plan is to drive to Duluth MN and then sail east toward Sualt Ste. Marie.  Beyond that, we have no definite itinerary.  We hope to be on the water for about a month and basically travel the south shore of the lake.  I am toying with the thought of traveling out to Isle Royale, however, that is a bit out of the way and a fairly long open water passage.  The conditions must be just right to make that trip possible. 

My initial goal for the trip is to travel to Madison WI area on July 30 and then on to Duluth the next day.  We will leave the truck and trailer in Duluth for the duration of the trip.  We have done a bit of research and have located car rental establishments at several locations from which we can rent a car to return to retrieve our truck.

This is our first trip to this Great Lake that we have heard is a most beautiful destination.  If you know of any special places that we should be sure to visit, we would appreciate hearing from you.

The Future Looks Bright!

This cool morning in June finds me excited!  I have been diligently following the therapy protocol and my healing and recovery has been progressing very well.  I feel that my shoulder is now completely healed and my strength is coming back satisfactorily.  I have achieved the same range of motion in my shoulder that I had prior to my surgery and all that remains is the building back of my strength.

We have yet to sail at all but have been plotting our next adventure that we are planning for the month of August.  We are tentatively planning on hauling the boat to Duluth MN and heading east along the southern shore of Lake Superior.  We have blocked out about a month on our calendars for the trip. We are thinking about traveling about as far east as we can in a month.  It appears that we could traverse the entire length of the lake in that period of time depending on how much time we spend dallying around at the various points of interest along the way.  We plan to rent a car and travel back to Duluth to pick up our truck and trailer at the end of the trip.

Our friend, Dwight Saunders and at least part of his family plan to meet up with us during part of the trip possibly around the Keweenaw Peninsula or the Apostle Islands.  We understand that these are a couple of truly outstanding cruising destinations and look forward to sharing the enjoyment with them.

Panache is still sitting in the back of the house tightly wrapped in a tarp.  She is still about 60% packed and ready to head out. It is my plan to pull her out of her "moth ball" state around the middle of July. 

More to come!

The Florida Trip in Jeopardy?

 February 26, 2012

The boat is packed, "Damn Dink" is loaded on the back of the pickup and our spirits are high as we prepare to leave tomorrow morning for our long awaited Florida trip.  But, yesterday, after a freak accident, a trip to the emergency room produced a diagnosis of damaged rotator cuff!  I can't raise my right arm. 

It happened while I was up on the boat, rinsing it off.  The ladder that I use to get onto the boat fell so I started to crawl down the side of the boat so as to step onto the spare tire then onto the ground.  As I began lowering myself down, I felt this excruciating pain in my right shoulder.  I will be setting up an appointment with an orthopedist later today to access the extent of the damage. 

We are not using the word "cancel" but we are going to have to delay the departure for a while.  Our uneducated goal is to leave in a week.  Our hopes are high. 

 

March 1, 2012

 

Well, I made my visit to the orthopedist yesterday and we have an appointment with the MRI mochine on Monday, March 5, and then a consult with the guy on Wednesday the 7th.  He pulled, pushed, and bent my arms around and began describing the processes involved in arthroscopic surgery and discussing extended recovery times.  He would not give us a diagnosis as such, however, his discussion lead us to believe that some downtime is definitely in our future. 

Much to our chagrin, we have placed the Florida trip on the shelf and assume that we will be able to head out for another adventure sometime in the summer.  We have been looking as charts of Lake Superior and are thinking that a month in the cool north country in the heat of the summer would be appropriate.  The boat is still packed with non perishable food and supplies and we have wrapped it in a tarp for the rest of the winter.  

We'll keep you updated on our happenings.

March 7, 2012

My orthopedist greeted me with "What do you want first, the bad news or the bad news!"  I boils down to a tear in my rotator cuff.  For those interested, the actual diagnosis is a separation in the supraspinatus ligament that runs from the greater tubercle of the humerus (a bump beside the ball on the upper arm bone) to the supraspinatus muscle which attaches to the scapula (shoulder blade).  We have a tentative surgery date of March 20 with a potential rehab period that could last from 8 to 12 months.  We have done a bit of research and feel good about my surgeon and after a visit with a cardiologist (a former student of mine) we will head for the out patient procedure.  

I want to express my sincere appreciation for the multitude of encouraging comments that we have received from you.  It's actually really neat to realize that so many of you actually read my emails.  The doc with whom we consulted this morning pointed out that sailing would be out of the question for quite a long time so it appears that fate and old age has set our plans for at least a while. 

Since so many of you have expressed interest in the outcome of this surgical adventure, I will plan to give you a periodic brief update on my progress.

Again, we thank you for your interest and concerns.

Steve and Janine

Our First 2012 Destination - Florida

It's the last day of January and we are actively planning our next adventure.  We have decided to head for warmer weather that we hope to find on the west coast of Florida.  Our tentative plans are to drive to Fort Myers, leave our truck and trailer there, and sail for the Keys via the 10,000 Islands region and the Everglades.  I am considering trying to get out to the Dry Tortugas, a fairly long open water trip.  From there we will try to head north on the Inter-coastal Waterway (ICW) past Miami to the point where the ICW crosses Florida heading back toward Fort Myers.  We have blocked out the month of March for the trip.  There are many interesting sites to visit as well as a number of friends with whom we would like to spend some time. 

Panache has been spending the winter months in our warm shop where I have tinkering with various projects in preparation for our trip.  I hung her from the steel beams while I repainted her bottom side with anti-fouling paint designed to keep marine growth from accumulating.  I also installed a new water tank.  The old tank developed a crack across the top and partway down the front side prior to our trip last year.  I was able to partially seal the leak with silicone sealer, but I felt that it was a  temporary fix.  I replaced the tank with a triangular shaped bladder tank that fits nicely into the bow underneath our v-berth.  The old tank was a 22 gallon tank and the new one is 30.5 so we will gain added range before we need to take on more water. 

Panache getting ready for new bottom paint

I also added a new 12 gallon fuel tank.  Our old tank was working fine, however, in an attempt to gain more usable space, I had placed the old tank under the floor of the cockpit.  That worked fine except I could not read the fuel gauge and adding fuel to the tank was quit a chore.  This new tank is made out of nylon. I have plumbed a filler pipe from port deck and mounted an electric fuel gauge into the radio panel in the main cabin. 

We have begun compiling a library of reference books, guide books and navigational charts for the trip.  It is fun to browse these tools and gather  potential sites to visit along the way.