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Lake Superior Circle Tour Club  Member
Comments Join today. Send comments and trip details to: Circle Tour Club P.O. Box 16417 Duluth, MN 55816-0417 or E-Mail: CircleTourClub@lakesuperior.com |
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Lake Superior Circle Tour Club Member
Comments Join today. Send comments and trip details to: Circle Tour Club P.O. Box 16417 Duluth, MN 55816-0417 or E-Mail: CircleTourClub@lakesuperior.com |
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June 30-August 9, 2007 We sailed our 34-foot sailboat, "Summer Wind," from Sandusky, Ohio, to Sault Ste Marie to start our circumnavigation of Lake Superior. We met up with fellow Sandusky sailors along the way. We left SSM on June 30 and had a 13-hour sail to Grand Marais, Michigan. It was very cold with wind on the nose. To warm the cabin, for dinner I baked pizza while underway. We arrived at 8:00 p.m. and anchored out. July 1: We left Grand Marais and sailed to Munising. We sailed by the Grand Sable Dunes, the Pictured Rocks and the Miners Castle. Beautiful! July 2: Had a great sail from Munising to Marquette. Stayed in Marquette through the 4th to enjoy the Independence Day activities. There was a food fair featuring local restaurants and a parade. July 5: Marquette to Hancock. A beautiful day, ending with a very scenic sail up the Keweenaw Waterway. July 6: Hancock to Copper Harbor. Visited the Fort and Lighthouse. This area was famous for fur trading and copper mining. July 7: Copper Harbor to Lilly Pond. We went back to the Keweenaw Waterway to tie up for the night along a wall in an area called the Lilly Pond. Met other boaters heading for Superior, Wisconsin, to the Great Lakes Cruising Club Rendezvous, as were we. July 8: Lilly Pond to Black River. After a heavy thunderstorm, we left at 6:30 p.m. Had a few drops of rain, some strong winds and waves, otherwise quite a reasonable day. Passed the beautiful Porcupine Mountains. Visited the waterfalls. July 9: Black River to Bayfield. Spent one night at the marina. They had no dock for us the next day, so we went over to Madeline Island. July 10: Left Bayfield for Madeline Island in a.m. Found a place to do laundry. By the time the laundry was finished, the wind increased to 60 knots peaking at 70 knots for a short time. The ferry to the mainland no longer operated, stranding many visitors. Boats on moorings dragged and a small sailboat sank. We were safe at the dock, but very uncomfortable. July 11: Madeline Island back to Bayfield. The marina had a dock for us so we went back to Bayfield to replenish our groceries. Bayfield is a very pretty little town. July 12: Bayfield to Cornucopia. Had a good sail. Cornucopia is a cute little town, with a fish store, farm market and a general store. July 13: Cornucopia to Superior. A chilly morning requiring winter gear to stay warm. Wind was on the nose, so motoring all the way. July 14 through July 18: Great Lakes Cruising Club Rendezvous in Superior, Wisconsin. Took a tour boat to Duluth for shopping, visiting Maritime Museum and the Great Lakes Aquarium. Had a planning session for those cruising the North Shore. July 19: Superior to Silver Bay. A beautiful day except for a lack of wind. A lovely marina. July 20: Silver Bay to Washington Harbor at Isle Royale. This was our longest day underway, 103 nm. We left at 4:15 a.m. The only other potential port would be Grand Marais, Minnesota, reportedly too shallow to enter and with an uninviting tie-up along a break wall. It was a clear day, starting with 39 degrees air temperature. At the end of a long day, we enjoyed a beautiful ride entering the 5-mile-long fjord after successfully passing the famous Rock of Ages Lighthouse. Washington Harbor is the place where we needed to check in to visit Isle Royale and to acknowledge the many instructions particular to this area. Isle Royale is famous for its lush forests, rich with birch and balsam. July 21: Washington Harbor to Chippewa Harbor. We were supposed to see moose last night, but no luck, probably because we went to sleep too early. We made a daring crossing between Isle Royale and Grace Island to enter Grace Harbor. We ended the day entering Chippewa Harbor, carefully following the S-shaped course between rocks, all the way back to the second basin. Saw lots of loons, but still no moose or wolves. July 22: Chippewa Harbor to Moskey Basin. We hiked to Mason Lake and visited an abandoned schoolhouse with lots of artifacts from the time when there was an active mining community in that area. We also found apple trees that were a sign of previous residential activities. Isle Royale appears to be a paradise for hikers, as the trails and camping area are very well marked. July 23: Moskey Basin to McCargoe Cove. First we went to Rock Harbor to get diesel. We then cruised around the eastern end of Isle Royale, along the picturesque northern section to McCargoe Cove. McCargoe Cove is famous for a British warship that a Captain McCargoe sheltered during the War of 1812. The S-shaped entrance to the cove is challenging but well marked. July 24: McCargoe Cove to Thunder Bay. A foggy morning required our using radar. This is the port of entry into Canada. We were requested to tie up at the fuel dock and await customs. We were one of four sailboats tied up. We were not allowed to fuel up until customs had cleared us. It took 1-1/2 hours for them to clear all of us. In the meantime, many boats were turned away from fueling because we tied up the fuel dock. The city of Thunder Bay is not happy about this situation. July 25: With Ernst and Margaret, we rented a car for the day. We visited the beautiful Kakabeka Falls and Fort William Historical Park. This Fort is very interesting, organized introduction to the life of the days of voyagers and fur traders. The presentations were made by art students from the local college, who presented everything so lively that we felt transcended back to those days. July 26: We postponed the normal 6:00 a.m. departure, as the weather was questionable. At 2:00 p.m., the storm hit, so we stayed. July 27: Thunder Bay to Loon Harbour. A beautiful day, clear, no fog. This is a beautiful, pristine harbor so we decided to stay another day. We took an extensive dinghy ride to explore and to see the site of the famous sauna that local sailors built for anyone to use. July 29: Loon Harbour to Woodbine Harbour. Not an easy entry to the harbor but we made it and enjoyed another beautiful anchorage. July 30: Woodbine Harbour to Rossport. Rossport is an important stop because it is the last port to get fuel easily. No water here, though. While fueling at the dock, who should we meet but Bonnie Dahl, the author of "Superior Way," and her husband, Ron. They were so friendly and helpful, giving us tips to help in our cruise. Since there is no grocery store in Rossport, the dockmaster drove us 20 miles to the next town so we could stock up. July 31: Rossport to Patterson Cove at Slate Islands. This is another Ontario Wilderness Park, which used to be a center for logging and pulpwood production. Another beautiful anchorage. August 1: Patterson Cove to Marathon, to Pulpwood Harbour. As we sailed to Marathon to get fuel, a bat decided to join us. I screamed, and it flew below into our cabin. Roger went below to chase it out. We tied up at the pulpwood manufacturing plant and called a cab to take us into town to get fuel in our 5-gallon jerry cans. This is a must stop, because there is no place to get fuel again until we get back to Sault Ste Marie. We then went on to Pulpwood Harbour, another nice anchorage. August 2: Pulpwood Harbour to White River. We had fog in the a.m., so we waited to leave until around 11:00 a.m. The entrance to the White River is scary, hard to see until you're right on it, then there's no turning back. It's very narrow with rocks on both sides. We made it, but as I was at the wheel, I was much traumatized. We took the dinghy up the river to the falls. We hiked up to the famous suspension bridge over the falls. Aug 3: The adventures of yesterday exhausted our strength. We saw large waves crashing through the entrance that separates the river from Lake Superior; there is no way to get out under these conditions. August 4: White River to Quebec Harbour on Michipicoten Island. Leaving White River was scary, but not as bad as entering. We had a long sail to Michipicoten Island with big waves. Quebec Harbour is very pretty with lots of room to anchor. August 5: We slept in today and enjoyed this beautiful spot. We took a dinghy ride and visited the old Parish fishing station and the old jailhouse from the mining days. We also visited three shipwrecks. We walked along the shore and saw moose tracks. August 6: Quebec Harbour to Sinclair Cove. Again, rolling waves all the way to Sinclair Cove. This cove is not easy to find, and once inside, the space is small. August 7: Sinclair Cove to Batchawana Bay. Big rollers again today. This is a large anchorage and several other boats from GLCC are here. We stayed two days, waiting for other boats to catch up. August 9: Left Batchawana Bay for Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to complete our Circle Tour. A wonderful trip. Joyce Rogers & Roger Hankle, Columbus, Ohio |
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