Thursday August 30, 2012

Can you say Gale force winds!!!  Today began as a very lovely day with little to no wind and calm seas at Saulte St Marie.  As we departed the marina a freighter was driving by and we soon followed him down the river.  He was moving very slow so we had to problem keeping up with him, and at one point I was tempted to pass him.  At the Neebish channel he was going only about 2 knots because the channel was very narrow, less than a quarter mile across.  We tried to put up the jib and assist our power with it but the winds became unmanageable.  The winds increased to 25 to 30 knots with gusts.  The wind was out of the south of course because that is the way we were going.  The stress of the ride was such that we decided to stay in Detour after 6 hours of sailing.  We only saw two freighters on the river and one sailboat.   

Tuesday, Wednesday August 28 and 29, 2012

The last two days we have spent sightseeing at Sault St Marie.  Believe it or not there is enough to do for two days here at the Soo.  Yesterday we did a tour of some historic homes and listened to a short concert in one of these homes.  The performers were two former teachers who now write and perform songs about the area and history of the area.  The main character of these performances is John Johnston and his wife Susan who is a Native American and he is an Irishman.  He started a fur trading business here in the late 1700s.  Liesl became enthralled with him and his wife after listening to the  cd  we bought.   We also toured the Valley Camp which is a freighter restored as a museum.  It was loaded with great lakes artifacts from several freighters and included history of the great lakes and the freighters which pass through the region.  Our next stop was the Tower of history which gives us a wonderful overlook of the locks and the city.  The river of history museum was also on our agenda and we found that to be a very well thought out and presented museum of the area.  We walked through the park along the Soo locks and enjoyed the garden and fountain in that park.   We have eaten at several good restaurants in the area including Franks where we had the buffet and also bought frozen pasties for later consumption.  We also ate two meals at the captain’s lounge in the Ramada Ojibway hotel.  This evening we took a ghost walk through Sault St Marie which included local history and a few ghost stories along the way.  We set sail tomorrow for Mackinaw. 

Friday August 24, 2012

Today was a wonderful day.  The weather was cooperating so we were able to play a little.  We took a dinghy ride just after breakfast to explore all the crevasses in the rock and get a closer look at the rock formations.  Then we went ashore for our well deserved excursion.  We hike into the wilderness to see the chapel falls which were about 1.5 miles in so it was a 3 mile hike (at least)  No one wore their pedometer so we can't say for sure.  It was the longest 3 miles I have ever done.  The trail was quite busy with hikers coming in from a nearby (3 mile) parking lot. We did some picture taking both there and chapel rock.  The flys were awful so we were glad to get back on the boat and take off. Barb did some kayaking along the shore and was quite far before Bob and I caught up with her after pulling the anchor and lunch. Today was the first day we actually got to sail.  Bob hoisted the spinnaker and the 13 knot winds soon turned to 25 and we were cruising at about 8.5 knots.  Barb's kayak which we towed for about 80 miles was loving jumping the waves doing tricks and turning upside down.  Of course the attempts at righting it and eventually bringing it on board are better told by the excited participants giving their exciting renditions of it.  Wish we had a video for funniest home videos.  Of course we were too busy to worry about that.  We decided  it was probably better to put a smaller sail up after some scary heeling (35 degrees).  We arrived in Grand Marais at about 6 and pulled up to the dock with need for gas, diesel, water and a pump out.  Barb and I left the parking lot to come home about 8:30 and arrived home 3:30AM.  Bob sailed on on Sunday and Monday, going first to Whitefish Point and then the Soo.  I will be meeting him there, Tuesday.

Thursday August 23, 2012
Today we spent the morning riding our bikes to Miner's Castle, about 22 miles total.  The ride was hilly and challenging at times but well worth the ride.  It was nice to stretch our legs and see the scenery from land.  In a short while we will be casting off and going back to Grand portal point and anchor off near the beach.  We will try some kayaking and Bob will attempt to go fishing again.  Maybe we will have fish tonight.  I have no pictures yet as we did not take a camera with us.  Last night we listened to a local group of musicians who were jamming in the local book store.  I will write more as we do more today.  We may even have pictures. We arrived at Chapel Beach late in the afternoon.  We would love to have played on our kayaks and such but the rain came down fast and furious.  Also... our engine was screeching at us the entire drive back to Chapel Beach,  something to do with the alternator but it was charging just fine according to Bob.  I think he has yanked the wiring.

Wednesday August 22, 2012

Today was an extraordinary day in terms of scenery.  The wind was dead on the nose again so we motored all day.  The first half of the day was a little rough and we had about 1- 2 footers with and occasional 3 footer.   The first thing we passed was the grand sable dunes, which we had seen yesterday from shore.  At 10:30 we passed the Au Sable lighthouse which is 150 feet high..  We turned at  the point and soon were following the 12 mile beach for 12 miles obviously.  Approaching the grand portal point the waves relented a little bit and we decided to have lunch at spray falls near the point.  We had the leftovers from last night’s dinner It was very lovely to view the scenery and falls while having our lunch.  Soon we came upon a lovely beach and rock formation which warrant a closer look.  We would like to go back and anchor off the beach and do some kayaking and swimming near the beach.  The river also runs down to the lake at this beach.  Tomorrow we hope to get back there and do some exploring.  The rock formations from here on are amazing and we took many pictures.  Near Mosquito Beach we saw a gaggle of kayakers who were exploring the very same cliffs and formations we want to explore.  Our next sight to find was Bridal Veil Falls but it was nonexistent because of the lack of water recently.  Then of course we saw Miner’s beach and Miners Castle.  Docking at Munising was smooth but alarms went off on our motor and it turns out that our battery is dry.  Bob will put some water in and hopefully that will take care of the problem.

Tuesday August 21, 2012

Today was a very relaxing day in port.  We started the day with breakfast at the Sportsman Bar.  Then Barb and I did a bit of browsing through the sporting good and hardware stores.  This afternoon we went to Sable Falls and did a short hike to view the falls from several levels and eventually came down to the beach where we looked for some stones.  Barb and I went to the beach to look for stones while Bob worked on his motor.  We also went to an overlook of the dunes and the Au sable lighthouse.  It was a magnificent view and we should be passing that all in the sailboat tomorrow.   Later we relaxed with Bob fishing and me reading and Barb sleeping.  Now we are getting ready to go to dinner at the Lake Superior Brewing company.