Black River Harbor to Ontonagon

Day 9 August 8

It was a chilly night and we awoke to a cloudy gloomy morning and a gloomy forecast for the day. We decided to get underway as soon as possible owing to the fact that our destination, Ontonagon, Michigan, is a long 37 miles from Black River Harbor and the weather tomorrow will be such that we will not want to be traveling.  They are calling for 10 to 20 mph winds from the Northeast which on this lake and location pushes up really big waves. 



Black River Suspension Bridge



One of the main attractions of this beautiful little harbor is a water fall, Rainbow Falls, which lies about ¾ mile upstream from the marina.  We decided that we needed the exercise and the falls sounded interesting so we set out.  The very first encounter we faced was a suspension footbridge that was constructed back in the 30s by the CCC.  It is a really neat structure.  On the other side of the river, we climbed 90 crude steps that lead to the top of the cliff and a beautiful stand of virgin hemlocks.  The guide book says that this is one of the few areas that escaped the logging in the late 1800s.  This area is quite a bit dryer than what we hiked in on Stockton Island.  The vegetation is similar but much less lush and more sparse. 

Rainbow Falls

The falls were amazing.  The river was not real wide but quite a bit of water fell over the rock outcropping and it was evident that the erosion process was quite active.  Although the climb was physically taxing, we both agreed that these beautiful falls were well worth the effort. 

Back at the boat, the gentleman who had greeted us upon our arrival, brought out his charts and advised us of the various routes and destinations that we would be encountering all of the way to Sualt Ste Marie.  Unlike other trips we have taken, the various stopping points are truly few and far between and we need to watch the weather to make sure that we can get to our destination prior to a weather encounter.  There are no holes indicated on the charts into which we can duck in the event of a weather crisis. 

First Mate Janine Finishing Swabbing

We headed out around 9:00 and basically spent the next six and a half hours motoring on relatively smooth windless water.  At about half way to Ontonagon, a light breeze came up so I unfurled the jib and it kicked our speed up from about 6 mph to about 6.6.  As we traveled, I was busy navigating and handling the boat (with aid of the auto pilot) while first mate Janine swabbed the decks. 

Ontonagon is an old mining/logging town where a few years back someone tried to set up a ship building facility that evidently failed.  We took Damn Dink from the marina, across the Ontonagon River, to a town park and walked into the business district.  The town appears to have pride as illustrated by neat streets with old fashion street lights.  There are what appears to me to be an inordinate number of bars for a town of this size.  We had dinner as Syl’s.  This is a small mom and pop restaurant that is obviously a favorite of the locals.  We had been told that we needed to eat a pasty which is an old local staple.  It is basically stew baked in bread dough.  Janine opted to try it while I had their whitefish.  When I told my friend, Dwight Saunders that Janine had eaten a pasty, he commented that she was now an official “UPer” (pronounced “you-per”).  A UPer is a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

We were out of bread and running low on coffee so we headed for the opposite end of town to a carryout.  On the way, we noted what appeared to be an old grocery store that had been turned into a museum that alleged to depict local logging and mining operations.  Since the weather forecast for tomorrow looks quit bad, the museum might be just the type of entertainment we need to pass the time. 

Back at the boat, we watched a video of Winton Marcellus and Willy Nelson playing entertaining jazz, played scrabble, ate apple caramel cake and went to bed.

                                                                                                                                                            

Madeline Island to Black River Harbor

Day 8, August 7, 2012

I am beginning this posting as we are motoring along.  I usually wait until the morning following a trip to write the blog but this trip is different from any we have had so far.  But I get ahead of myself.

Again last night, it stormed quite hard,  but again, we were tied to a dock and had little affect except for the noise of the rain pounding on the roof of the boat and the gentle rocking caused by the few waves that sneaked through the breakwater.  The boat is finally, after a number of years of attempting to chase down leaks, quite water tight as far as rain is concerned.  It is so tight, in fact,  that on cool mornings like this one the moisture of our breaths condenses on the portions of the ceiling that don’t have carpet glued to it .  It works out, that where we sleep, there is a band of such naked ceiling just above our heads and so on those special mornings we need not worry about our skin drying out.



Butane Stove in Kitchenette





Two Burner Electric Stove



Breakfast was a bit different this morning, we normally cook our breakfast on a small butane fueled one burner stove but since we are tied to a dock that has shore power, we are able to use the little 2 burner electric stove that I installed a number of years ago.  We had never used it before and were pleasantly surprised to find that it works very well.  It smoked a bit when we first turned it on due to some unseen organic stuff on the burner but the coffee perked, the bakepacker boiled the blueberry muffins, the bacon fried and the eggs turned out nicely over easy!

We awoke to a boat that looked as though it had been through a hurricane.   When we returned from the laundry last evening, we had tossed our piles of clean clothes in the boat and hurried of to the “Pub” for dinner and when we returned, we were too tired to put them all away so we went straight to bed.  It took a good part of the morning stowing the clothes and getting all of the little things that we had put off doing while we were away from civilization. 

So, we didn’t get on our way until about 11:00 and when we got onto the open water, we found calm seas and only an extremely light wind blowing from the east.  Our destination was to be one of two locations: Saxton Harbor, a distance of about 22 miles east southeast or Black River Marina, a distance of about 35 miles due east.  I put up the mainsail and swung to the east and realized that we would not arrive at either destination before tomorrow morning if we tried to sail in this light air.  So we started off using the motor and,  when it became evident that there was going to be no wind today, we took down the main and resigned ourselves to having a motoring day.  This also helped us decide which of the two destinations we would head for and it appears from the travel literature that we have that the Black River Marina would be a more interesting place to go and if we were going to motor, it would be easy to make before dark.



NO WIND!

SO, as I type this message, we are approximately 10 miles out from shore and about ½ toward our destination on a truly glassy Lake Superior.  The boat is rocking a bit as we travel along at 5.1mph due to the left over waves from the wind and storms of the last several days.  Janine is reading a book, as I have been, while the motor pushed us along steered by our auto-pilot.  



I was bored!  While Janine stood watch, I baked an apple caramel cake in the bake packer.  It is really easy.  We had premeasured the ingredients at home and sealed them in vacuum bags and all we had to do was add a couple of eggs, some water, and a bit of oil.  In 45 minutes of steam cooking we had an amorphous form of a cake.  It looks bad but tastes really good when smeared with cream cheese icing. 



Black River Harbor

We pulled into Black River Harbor at about 7:00 and were greeted by three of the boaters who had preceded us at the transient slips.  We were impressed by this tiny anchorage that is nestled up a narrow gorge.  After dinner, we watched a DVD on the computer which has seemed to have turned over a new leaf and hold a charge during any process I am doing.

Bed time









Presque Isle Bay to Madeline Marina

Day 7, August 6

Beating Down North C

We arose at our usual time, around 6:00 and after breakfast, straightening up the boat, saying our goodbyes, we headed out for Michigan Island where we planned to visit a lighthouse at which you could climb the light tower and see the inner workings of a navigational light.  The wind was blowing from the southwest at 10 to 12 mph and the waves were 1 to 2 feet.  We had a nice ride away from Stockton Island heading basically east.  We were sailing in the wave shadow of Madeline Island and when we moved out of that protected area, we ran into waves 2 to 5 feet and wind blowing 15 to 20 mph.  We reduced sail area in the jib but still the boat was driving hard with the rail always close to the water.  With so much wind, there was no way to reef the main sail to give it less surface area so we drove on to Michigan Island.  When we arrived at the point where the lighthouse stands, the southern end of the island, the wind and waves were driving directly into the dock. We could not safely land so we turned around and backtracked to the wind shadow of Madeline Island and then beat all the way down through the North Channel to near Bayfield , then turned east to Madeline Yacht Club where we spent the night.  The part of the North Channel trip that took the Fighter Pilot and me in his Boston Whaler about 30 minutes took us about 5 hours.  We had to beat up wind all the way with reduced sails so we traveled well over twice as far as we would have had the wind been at our back.  Because we were running a reduced main sail, we were unable to put up our Bimini so we both took on a huge dose of sun.



Bayfield and "Damn Dink"

 

Madeline Island Yacht Club



We pulled into the Yacht Club harbor and moored at our assigned slip, gathered our dirty duds for a trip to the Laundromat.  We walked about ¾ mile to the town of LaPointe and found a neat little washing establishment.  Right next to it was a place that rented Vespa motor scooters and bicycles.  Across the street was an eclectic place that, at first appearance, seemed to be a junk yard.  However, there were folks (mostly young and of the beat generation) wandering in as music played (probably by young unprofessional folk singers).  Janine and I walked over to it and we saw a number of signs that were hand painted professing various philosophical thoughts.  The yard of the place was filled with junk art and junk!  Those entering the place were climbing up onto a large platform, probably 6 feet off of the ground, and disappearing back under the huge tarp/tent that covered the place.  Back at the scooter shop, I asked the girl in charge what that place was and she said, “Oh, that Tom’s Burned Down Bar.”  She said that there had been at least two occasions when the joint burned down so that’s why it is so named and why it looks as it does.  On our way back, we discussed the folks around the center of town and I concluded that this was a “hippy and yuppy enclave!” 

"The Pub"

Back at the boat, we deposited our clean clothes and headed across the street to “The Pub” where we dined in elegance on whitefish and linguini and chicken with a nice white wine for enhancement. We were joined by one of our new boating friends from Stockton Island. It was a fine evening.     

Back to the boat and to bed!

Another Day on Stockton Island

Day 6, August 5

I begin this posting saying that my computer is dying.  The battery will not hold a charge and the charger can only supply enough power for about 15 minutes of typing so I may have to stop sending out postings. 

However, we again spent the day on Stockton Island sitting out winds of around 20 mph and 4 to 5 foot seas.  Our boat is up to that but it is not as much fun and a lot of work so we opted to enjoy this beautiful place for another day.  Again today we hiked to Julian Bay and read and basically took it really easy.  The folks that we have met here are super.  One couple pulled in with a beautiful 44 foot power cruiser and immediately joined the camaraderie of the group.  There are boats of all sizes, many of which have folks who have come to the island to camp.   We have enjoyed visiting with the various people most of whom are from the local area. 

In the evenings, the rangers offer various programs and this evening’s program was dealing with the bear population.  I wondered how a ranger could spend an hour talking about the bears of Stockton Island, but this guy is a great teacher and indeed filled the time with a history lesson on these particular bears and then quite a bit of time dealing with camper/hiker safety in bear country. 

I have added, for our friends Dick and Judy Doyle,  a picture of a mushroom perched on top of a mound of moss.  We were also awed by variety of lichens that we saw through our walks.

 

Hole Up on Stockton Island

Day 5, August 4

We had a really bad storm during the night.  It had been predicted and the weather guys didn’t let us down.  It was nice being tied to a concrete pier with a breakwater protecting us from the bashing waves.  They were calling for up to 40 mph winds and I would not have been surprised if we had gotten there.  There were 5 or 6 boats anchored in Presque Isle Bay outside of our docking area and they had to have taken a bashing.  We got up in the middle of the storm and watched out the window as the anchor lights on those boats rocked violently in the wave action.  I was a bit surprised that there were no boats washed up on the beach. 

After breakfast and bodily and boat clean up, we spent the majority of the morning catching up on our reading and correspondence.  The waves and wind had let up but they were calling for high winds for this evening and also overnight, so we elected to stay put in our secure little nook for another day or two. 

Lichens



Later in the afternoon, we decided that we needed to exercise our sedated muscles so we took a ½ mile walk down a nature trail that led us to Julian Bay.  There was a guide that the Park Service has developed that describes the various species and environmental phenomenon that one passes along the way.  This is a truly beautiful ecosystem.  Interestingly, the little plant that I mentioned that looks like a dogwood is actually of the same genus as the Flowering Dogwood that we see in Ohio but a different species.  They call it a Canadian Dogwood.  Another plant is called the Blue Bead Lily.  The ground is covered with a number of ferns and mosses as well as wintergreen.  We picked the wintergreen leaves and, sure enough, the flavor of  wintergreen lifesavers was in evidence.  Along the trail were massive white birch, northern white cedar, eastern hemlock, red maple, mountain maple and sugar maples.  The soils here are quite shallow with a sand subsoil so the entire area is littered with deadfall trees which are covered with lichens.  The guide points out that the lichens are extremely intolerant of air pollutants so their abundance is indicative of a clean atmosphere.  Also on our walk, we ran across three piles of bear scat.  Black bears are in residence and, according to the ranger there is a population of approximately 13 on Stockton Island.  They are quite retiring and are seldom seen. 



Julian Bay



The bay on the east side of the peninsula that creates Presque Isle Bay is Julian Bay.  It is a beautiful large cove the shore of which is made of fine white sand and behind the beaches are dunes that form what is known as a “tombolo.”  The geologists tell us that Stockton Island was once separated from a very small island called Presque Isle.  Over a significant period of time, the wind and waves eroded the sandstone from the lower side of Stockton Island and the sand formed a land bridge called a tombobo that joined the two islands.  The trail that follows the shore around the old Presque Isle is called the Anderson Trail and travels through the lush vegetation of the forest and the rocky shore of the lake.  We made that 1.3 mile walk in the heat of the afternoon and were rewarded with a pleasantly cool stroll through a special sort of paradise. 

Back at the boat, I decided that a bath was in order so I got my bar of soap and waded into the cold Lake Superior water to get cleansed.  It was truly refreshing.

After dinner, we read for a while and I went to hear a presentation on the origin of the earth and its relationship to the environment that we were enjoying here in the Apostle Islands.  The ranger is quite knowledgeable and a talented teacher.  It made for an enjoyable presentation.

Quarry Bay to Presque Isle Bay - Stockton Island

Day 4, August 3

We awoke to an angry bay that caused the boat to continue to rock.  We performed our typical breakfast straightening ritual before setting out on a trip around the bay in Dink.  As we were heading for shore, we met a group of young kids who were in some sort of a camping program and were traveling to their various destinations in kayaks.  The kid were all quite young, I would say in their mid teens and were accompanied by two female and one male counselor (who by the way were also quite young.)   I asked where they were heading and they said that they were going to Bayfield today – a distance of 15 plus miles.  I asked how long it would take, and they said that they should be there by noon.  They had been traveling all around the Apostles over the past several weeks.  I had been amazed when we would see kayakers in what we considered really rough water sometimes miles from shore. 

We motored over to the beach, pulled Dink up onto the sand and spent about a half hour walking around checking out the facilities offered by the National Park Service.  This is truly a primitive camping area.  There are no trash cans and the signs in the area tell you to carry out everything that you bring in.  We saw absolutely no trash lying around throughout the entire area.  The wild blackberries were ripe and a troop of boy scouts was feasting on them.  We also saw a tiny flowering plant with beautiful white flowers, brilliant red berries and leaves with veins that reminded us of a dogwood tree.  These plants grew close to the ground probably no taller than 6 inches.  We also saw a lot of a species of what I expect is princess pine; a primitive plant that produces spores that were used in the old days by photographers as their flash powder.  The main tree species are birch and firs.

Back in Dink, we toured the perimeter of our cove looking at the various rock features and taking pictures.  The wave action cuts interesting shapes in the sandstone rocks.  In this area, in the late 1800s, there was a quarrying industry that produced brown sandstone building materials that were shipped as far away as Cincinnati OH. 

Docking in Presque Isle Bay - Stockton Island

Our next stop was on around the corner to the main dock on Stockton Island in the bay called Presque Isle Bay.  There is a ranger station located there and a fine enclosed dock behind a concrete and stone breakwater that provides outstanding protection during all types of weather.  Although the docking area is quite small and there is limited space for boats, we found a hole into which Panache fit nicely.  We were aided in landing by a gentleman and his wife, John and Susie.  We had decided that since we had been through two nights with limited sleep and significant discomfort, we would treat ourselves to a night in a tightly enclosed area. 

The island is crisscrossed with hiking trails that are dotted with campsites.  We stopped at the ranger station and were greeted with an interested and friendly ranger.  He and I talked about the various forms of vegetation that we had seen and he told us that he was not a botanist, but was interested in the carnivorous plants that grow in the huge bog located on the island.  I inquired as to their location and he said that they were not far and that he would take us there.  We had an interesting walk for about .2 mile which ended in a bog that I would estimate would between 5 and 10 acres in size.  We walked out on the soggy bog to a patch of pitcher plants.  On our way back to the station, he pointed out the root mound of a blown down tree that had been excavated by a bear and confirmed as a hibernation den.

We spent the afternoon catching up on our much needed sleep, reading, and completing my correspondence.  During the lunch preparation time, we realized that our water tank was dry so I started carrying a gallon jug from the ranger station to the boat to supply enough water to last until we can get to a marina with water.  During my 5^th trip to the water tap, another boater enquired as to what I was doing and offered that he had a 5 gallon water jug that I could use.  That made the process much more efficient.



John, the Fighter Pilot, and wife Susie



Later in the afternoon, John and I were talking when the question of our professions came up and he said that he had retired as a fighter pilot.  I ask him what he flew and he said, “I flew 101s, F-4s ...” at which time in interrupted him and told him that I had been a maintenance officer on those two aircraft.  From there the conversation turned into an hour long session of tales and lies.  It turns out that his operation and mission were almost parallel to what I had done.  It was really neat to reminisce.  Later, I mentioned that we had to leave tomorrow because we were very low on ice and he said that he would take me in his Boston Whaler back to Bayfield.  I took him up on his offer and we headed out in to a roughening sea.  By the time we started back, the wind had kicked up and was building waves in a short chop that were running up to 4 feet.  It turned out to be a long (15 miles) bumpy ride.  We were most appreciative because the new weather forecast called for severe storms tonight and rough weather for the next several days and we could now stay in our precious secure mooring for as long as necessary.

Frog Bay to Quarry Bay

Day 3, August 2

So when we picked Frog Bay for our mooring spot, we didn’t consider the fact that as we looked out of the cove, we could see open lake directly north which meant that we were not protected from happenings that came from that way. And, we were not aware that there had been significant wind action up north that produced a significant wave action that came driving south so that the boat rocked quite violently all night long.  The wind would hold the boat in a position that allowed to boat to lay broadside to the waves causing the boat to rock. 

Panache Beating South in West Channel

However, this was a beautiful spot the type of which we had come accustomed to in the Apostle Islands.  We finished breakfast and headed south toward Bayfield , the main village in the area.  It was about a 15 mile trip via the West Channel that passes between the mainland (Bayfield Peninsula) and the beautiful uninhabited islands including Oak Island and Basswood Island.  The Apostle islands are made up of 21 islands and the shoreline of the Bayfield Peninsula which in 1970 were designated the Apostle Island National Lakeshore.  The wind was blowing north requiring us to tack back and forth the entire distance in relatively light air. 

We contacted the Bayfield Marina requesting transient dockage and were directed to a starboard tie up amongst a number of huge beautiful sailboats.  The dock master was there to meet us and offered that we could stay in that spot for several hours for free.  We asked for advice for lunch and he suggested a local restaurant called Maggie’s.  A fascinating place of local color, we were met at the entrance by a lady who looked at us and truly in an upset manner said,“They are out of whitefish livers!”   After being seated, the waitress came to us and said, “I’m sorry, but we don’t have whitefish livers today!”  Now, I don’t know about you, but whitefish livers are not at the top of my culinary wish-lists!  I will say, however, that their seared whitefish sandwich is really good.  Their main theme dealt with flamingos of every size, shape and activity.  If you are ever in Bayfield WI, I highly recommend Maggies.

We were in desperate need of fly spray.  The flies here have a love for small chunks of human flesh and they swarm by the millions.  We found the spray at the local hardware store and we were entertained by the store manager who was quite funny and willing to talk about the winters there.  She said winter comes in October and the warm season doesn’t start until sometime in June.  Her town has a resident population of 700 and is steeped in rich history of the fishing and longing industries.

From the hardware store, we visited the local Bayfield Maritime Museum.  It has compiled a rich assortment of the fishing and logging industry in the Apostle Islands area and  we were guided by a friendly, knowledgeable volunteer who described himself as a reverse “snow bird” from Houston Texas.  The town also has number stately mansions of early industrial magnates who piloted the industries of the area.

Back at the boat, we detected a strong smell of gasoline in the cabin of the boat.  Explosions on watercraft are really scary so we drug all of the stuff stored in our port locker and found that the auxillary fuel tank lid was a bit loose and fuel leaked onto the locker floor.  Luckily a relatively small amount had drained out and it had not reached the bilge before we detected it.

Back on the water we headed for Stockton Island that was reputed to be one of the most popular and beautiful islands with super areas for mooring as well as a limited amount of dock space to be rented for $10.00 per night.  The wind was light and the hour was late and with 15 miles to travel before we dropped anchor, we decided to motor and arrived at about 7:00.  As we arrived  the wind had completely disappeared and the water was a mirror.  We pulled into Quarry Bay on Stockton and easily found a place to drop our anchor onto the beautiful sandy bottom.  After supper, we were sitting enjoying the sunset in the distant company of about 10 other boats when the wind began to blow quite strongly from the south.  The Bay was not protected from southerly winds and the chop began to build rapidly.  I felt that we had a good anchor set and was not to worry, however, a few boats began to move on to possibly more secure areas.  Around dark, we decided to move to the area on the opposite side of the bay close to the shore where we would be somewhat protected by the trees.  We reset our anchor and went to bed.  The rolling swell kept the boat gyrating uncomfortably and the mast made a lot of noise as it banged from side to side. 

Panache after a wild night in Quarr Bay

About an hour after we went to bed, both Janine and I were awakened by a sudden jerking motion and noises that were uncommon to what we had been hearing.  We went outside and realized that the boat was sitting 90 degrees to the anchor rode and the centerboard was banging on the bottom.  The anchor had drug and we were in peril of ending on the beach which was about 150 feet behind us.  We pulled the dinghy up alongside to keep its tow rope from getting tangled in the prop and started the motor.  I went forward and was able to muscle the boat into alignment with the anchor rode.  Janine then put the motor in gear as I pulled but to no avail.  I snubbed off the anchor and went down and began raising the centerboard with the winch.  Finally the boat began to move forward and I ran back to the bow and retrieved the anchor.  Then for the next hour or so, we groped about trying to find a suitable place to again anchor without interfering with other boats.  We finally returned to our original spot, dropped the anchor and then dropped our backup anchor.  We closely watched our GPS so see if we were dragging again and finally after about 45 minutes, I sent Janine to bed and promised to wake her for anchor watch in two hours.  After about another hour, I decided that we were now secure and crawled into bed.  The boat gyrated and banged for the rest of the night providing little restful sleep for either of us.