Charting Our Course

We've traveled about 260 miles across Lake Superior over the last 10 days. We have another 540 to get to Chicago, our first major step in this journey. It feels like it's slow going, however we thought it might be interesting to show our progress on charts. It looks much more impressive this way; at least to us, it does! 

Knife River, MN to Marquette, MI Sept. 4 - 12, 2016

It's a little easier to look at the charts on a smaller scale. Here are the "legs" we have covered:

Knife River to Red Cliff  55 Miles

Our first day, leaving Knife River for Red Cliff, was relatively easy and warm. It was a downwind ride until we turned into the Bayfield Channel. The last three miles were in a very strong headwind. We stayed two nights in Red Cliff.

Red Cliff to Stockton Island 7 Miles
Stockton to Ontonagon 63 Miles (Time Zone Change)

We had to wait out two nights of stormy weather on Stockton Island. We left with a tailwind. The wind and waves grew steadily throughout the day. This was our roughest day with rolling eight foot seas. By the time we made it to Ontonagon we were ready for a break. It took several hours to pass the Porcupine Mountains. The view of the ski resort against the mountainside is dramatic from the water.

Ontonagon to Houghton 50 Miles

We finally got a break on this leg. We sailed for most of the day in warm weather and light wind. The Keewanaw is beautiful. We spent two days in Houghton enjoying this welcoming Yooper town.

Houghton to Big Bay 52 Miles
Big Bay to Marquette 32 Miles

Houghton to Big Bay was another nice day with good winds and good weather. After leaving the Lower Keewanaw Entry we raised the foresail and made our way past the Huron Mountains. We reached Big Bay late afternoon and had a quiet evening. The smell of pine filled the air.

The trip to Marquette was under a strong SSW headwind. We motor-sailed for a while but got pounded by waves so we furled the sail and motored. The entry to the Cinder Pond Marina in Marquette was dicey with the wind blowing at 25-35 knots! It was so nice to land at the fuel dock and settle in for a couple days of rest.

We are using nautical charts of Lake Superior to navigate at this time. We also use a handheld Garmin GPS and a chart plotter called Open CPN on our laptop computer. We refer to Bonnie Dahl's Superior Way; a great book, full of local and cruising information. In addition, we have the Great Lakes Waterway Guide, also packed with valuable tips.

We spend a lot of the day keeping an eye out for obstacles and markers. The most common obstacle is fishing nets that often block us from our course. You don't want to take a chance crossing a fishing net and getting the line caught in your rudder. That would be a bad day! Sailing is very physical. We are always ready for the quiet of an anchorage or the luxury of a stop at a marina.