Splashing Mystic...Year Two

The sound of gulls, clanking halyards and the engine of the Harbor Hoist boat lift fill the air. The marina is full of men dressed in layers of old woolen sweaters, many with holes worn at the elbow; but they stand at attention, coffee cup lifted to there lips, watching and waiting for their turn to splash their boat for the 2014 boating season on Lake Superior.

Knife Island ~ Lake Superior

We are at Knife River preparing Mystic for launching. The first thing I notice is the cawing of the gulls. Knife Island is a haven for gulls and pelicans during the warm months. It is barren over winter. Dave has set up a lawn chair for me to sit quietly, out of the way, as he sands, cleans and repaints Mystic's bottom. I'm still in the bright purple cast with a broken heel; waiting to be able to put weight on my foot. Until then, I'm relegated to taking a few photos of our day from my ground level viewpoint.

It's a nice day on Lake Superior with temps hovering around 60. The sun peaks out throughout the day but it is not hot. Dave hand sanded the red bottom paint then cleaned the dust from the hull. We were both surprised at how much paint dust fell from the light sanding. It would have to be cleaned up. As an afterthought, Dave wished he'd put a tarp down to collect the dust. Since he did not think of this beforehand, we used sponges and a bucket of very cold water. If you've never experienced cleaning a blacktop parking lot with a sponge, you are the lucky one. It was not an easy task but we were able to get the mess removed. 

We reserved a hotel in Two Harbors for the night. Dave picked a little mom and pop place called the Voyageur. This motel is the kind of place you don't "stay" at; you only sleep there. It's clean and comfortable but the rooms are small and have no frills. We are both tired so we are content with a warm room and a comfortable bed.

Before returning to the marina in the morning, we stopped at a cute little joint down on the lake called Louise's Place for a hearty breakfast. The restaurant is in the back of The Pub bar by the historic train depot in Two Harbors. Louise's Place is also a craft shop. There were a few small round tables situated within several open rooms. The restaurant is filled with handmade items for purchase like beaded jewelry and custom bags. Beautiful quilts hang from the walls and quilt racks. I sat at one of the round tables taking it all in as Dave ordered our North woods breakfast at the counter, two egg omelets with cranberry wild rice toast. The food is excellent! The place was filled with what looked to be locals. I'm sure it's really popular on the weekend. Everyone was friendly and chatted freely with each other and with us.

It's about eight miles from Two Harbors to Knife River. When we arrived at the marina, Dave got right to work preparing Mystic to be splashed. He suctioned the anti-freeze from the engine then filled it with clean water. Next he loaded supplies from the truck to the boat and finally, he polished the hull. I wasn't much help with these tasks since I couldn't maneuver a ladder or carry anything. My hands were occupied with crutches. My plan was to sit in the truck or the lawn chair and crochet while watching the happenings at the dock. Spending time at a marina is something I have always enjoyed. There is so much going on and so much to see. Today was no exception. From my vantage point I watched boats being launched all day. It appeared that the launching process was filled with glitches but the yard workers took everything in stride. There would be no launch for Mystic today. The marina manager put us on the launch list for Wednesday and we headed south to Stillwater.  Dave would return to Knife River mid week and facilitate the move from cradle to slip.

Dave left for Knife River at 5:00 am on May 28th in order to arrive at the same time as the yard workers. He got there at 7:30 and waited. It was a chilly 40 degree morning with a light breeze blowing. Everyone was wearing jackets and gloves. He talked to the yard workers and found that Mystic would be the first boat going in. The only things he had to do was put a fresh stainless cotter pin on the prop shaft nut and paint the holidays, which are the unpainted spots where the boat rested on the stands all winter. Mystic was sitting close to the launch so it only took about five minutes to pick her up and splash her into the slipway.  After a few cranks, the engine started and ran well. Dave let it idle for a good 15 minutes before he attempted to make his way to our new slip along the lakeside shoreline dock. The wind was coming off the lake which is the perfect direction for the move. He was able to gently ease into the slip all by himself. There were very few boats in the water, which helped. He tied Mystic to the dock, put out the fenders and set the spring line. The wind was picking up and was too strong to put the sails back on. He went through the boat and tightened every bolt and nut he could find. He was surprised at how many had loosened during our first year. Dave chatted with the guy a couple slips over who was planning to keep his boat in Bayfield for the summer but couldn't get there because the Apostle Islands were still iced up. We didn't know it at the time but it would be late June before the ice would leave the big lake!