Raspberry Bay Harbor to Knife River ~ HOME

Saturday, July 6, 2013 ~ 

We rose early today, excited to make the 50 mile crossing to our new home at Knife River.  This is our last day on our first journey aboard Mystic. The weather radio made it sound like the day would be much like yesterday, windy and wet. It's wet alright; we keep moving in and out of fog but there is no wind even though the wind never let up last night. We expected waves but the big lake is calm as glass. T-storms are possible today. We hope to make the crossing without encountering severe weather.

On our way out of the bay, we swung past the Raspberry Island Lighthouse for some photos.  We can't wait to get back to the Apostles and stay awhile. It's such a great place to explore. We headed north west toward York Island. The Minnesota shoreline is straight ahead, looming in and out of sight through the haze. It appears that York Island has an anchorage, safe from a southern wind. There are several boats anchored there this morning.

Raspberry Island Light ~ Apostle Islands

After passing York Island we begin looking for Sand Island Shoal. Once we clear it, we will head 263 degrees west (just off of southwest), toward Knife Island. The cruise around Sand Island is a bit dicey. We could see two red markers and identified them as the Shoal marker #1 and the Sand spit marker #2. I have excellent distance vision but I had to use the binoculars to see them. We aimed between the two markers. Luckily, I kept taking peeks through the lens and realized that the marker closer to shore was NOT Marker #1. It was a shipwreck marker. We should have been aiming outside of Marker #2 which we had mistaken for marker #1. A quick adjustment and we were back on track. Later, Dave checked the charts and confirmed that we were in plenty of water had we stayed on our original course.  I was relieved to hear this but glad that we went around Marker #2.  Better safe than sorry.

Sand Island Light ~ Apostle Islands

We are using Dave's paper Nautical charts now. Open CPN http://opencpn.org/ocpn/ has been a wonderful, cheap and accurate way to chart our course. It's shareware; we appreciate those who created it for sailors to use for free. My Acer laptop did not prove to be reliable but we learned to take readings on Open CPN before heading out each day and it worked really well for us.. 

We had to come up with all sorts of methods of avoiding the elements. Dave has been wearing a hat on much of the trip. Yesterday I had to cover my ears, which are very sensitive from sunburn. I put on my Bondi Band buff which says, Eat, Sleep, Run, Rinse, Repeat. I wore it in our Ragnar Relay races. It applies to cruising as well only the runs are over water and waves instead of land.

Today is anticlimactic final day. We can't really see much, can't sail, and the flies are back. And, we are tired! Our journey has taken us 13 days, 650 miles, and 3 Great Lakes. It has been an amazing adventure.

When we finally got to the Minnesota shoreline, the fog hit us in the face and we lost all definition. Fog lifted and settled on us over an over as we approached our mark on the chart. This was disconcerting because we have never seen this coast from the water. We were able to find a few landmarks, checked the Garmin way points and moved very slowly. Suddenly we could see Knife Island, just off of Knife River Marina.

First view of Knife River

Pelicans off of Knife Island

The fog created some dramatic photos on our way into the channel. We had been assigned a slip but when we got to the harbor we found that the slip was filled with a huge power boat. We tied up to the fuel dock and Dave walked to the office to figure things out. It turned out that we were one slip over, next to the big power boat. As we maneuvered into our slip a friendly face appeared from two boats north of us and offered to catch our dock line. Once we were settled, we collapsed onto the cockpit bench, looked into each others eyes and simply grinned. We savored the moment, each running the days we spent out on the lakes through our heads, each enjoying the wonder of our accomplishments!  We made it!!!  WE ARE HOME!

Knife Island ~ We are home!

It didn't take long for us to remember that we had champagne on ice.  Dave popped the cork and we toasted (the whole bottle) to our wonderful journey. We sat there, savoring our joy and talking about new adventures aboard Mystic.

Celebration at Knife River ~ July 6, 2013

Ontonagon to Raspberry Harbor Bay in the Apostle Islands

Friday, July 5, 2013 

Today we will make the crossing to the Apostle Islands. We will leave Michigan behind and enter Wisconsin.  If the weather cooperates, we'll be at Knife River Marina, Mystic's new home, on Saturday. We are travelling at 5-10 mph; the wind is gusting at times.  This may prove to be our roughest ride yet.

Dave messing with the halyards

Windblown day on Lake Superior

We move along the shoreline after leaving Ontonagon and pass the Porcupine Mountains. The ski slope is unmistakable. It took us almost 2 hours to round the point. We could see the mountains the entire time.

Porcupine Mountains

Today's conditions were hard on us.  It was a very long day of rocking and rolling in wind and waves. We both put our seaband motion sickness bands on to help us tolerate the motion. We did not get sick but we were both just a little green.

We were headed for Stockton Island, Presque Isle Bay to anchor for the evening. The wind did not lighten as we entered the island waters so we decided to keep moving westward through the Apostles and closer to MN. The first lighthouse we could see was the Michigan Island Light. I sat on the bow of the boat, wedged between the dinghy and the mast with my harness clipped to the jack line and took photos.  It was interesting trying to time the shots between wind and rolling waves and holding on for dear life.

Michigan Island Light ~ Apostle Islands

As we moved between the Islands, we kept getting weird temperature gusts from hot to cold to hot with what felt like a 20 degree change in temperature. Raspberry Harbor was busy with 26 boats anchored in the bay. The biting flies have lessened but they are not gone. By far, we encountered the most flies ever, on this portion of the trip. This has been the worst thing we have had to deal with! We've had four long days with wind and waves but we always knew it would end once we were at anchor. Not so, the bugs! We become easy targets in the evening. We pulled into Raspberry Harbor Bay to anchor around 6:30.  The wind was out of the south which made this harbor the best choice.

Raspberry Harbor Anchorage ~ Apostle Islands

The Raspberry Island Lighthouse is just off our stern. It flashes every 2.5 seconds. I wonder if I can get a photo of it at night. It is warm and breezy here so we will be on deck until the sun sets. We settle into the cockpit with a bottle of Cabernet relishing the quiet evening sunset. We are so excited to be so close to Knife River! Like so many other special moments in my life, I stop, take a deep breath, and I note to myself...THIS is a special moment. Enjoy it!

Sunsets and Cabernet ~ This is the life!

Musings:

• Traveled 74 miles today over 11.5 hours per Garmin
• Engine hours read 394.8
• Lost one of the boom shade posts overboard during the windy night
• VHF calls for possible t-storms tonight. 
• Awoke in the middle of the night to look at the sky.  We could see the Raspberry Island light flashing off our stern.  Lovely evening, no photos, but we breathed in the vast sky, bedazzled in white and counted our lucky stars!  

Houghton to Ontonagon

Thursday, July 4, 2013 

We are awakened by the sound of spray hitting the boat. I mumbled, "What is that?" Dave answered, "Sprinkler system." We are being blasted in a rhythmic pattern which is a very strange sound to wake up to.  

We decide to take a walk to look for breakfast before leaving but quickly realize that nothing is open in this town.  It's the July 4th holiday. It is our 26th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary to us!!!
 

Happy Anniversary ~ July 4, 2013

It was a beautiful, clear blue sky kind of morning. We prepare Mystic for our departure and call ahead to the bridge tender to request passage under the Lift Bridge. This bridge is just like the one back home in Stillwater. Another sailboat, Sara Belle, made the passage under the bridge just in front of us. I took some great photos of it.


Approaching the Houghton Lift bridge along with Sara Belle



Houghton Lift Bridge

After clearing the bridge, we continued west on the Keweenaw Waterway enjoying the views of beautiful homes and farms that we pass. Many have American flags on display in celebration of Independence day. It is hot tucked in the waterway so we have shed a few layers of clothing. It feels good to be warm finally. Approximately three miles west of the Houghton bridge we found a beautiful anchorage with a campground and playground. We make not that if we pass this way again, it would be a safe harbor option.

Cute little place along the Western Keweenaw Waterway

Round House

Tranquility ~ Peace

As we leave the Keweenaw and enter Lake Superior, we are met by a chilly 10 mph southwest breeze. The lake is dotted with little white cresting waves. We'll be passing two little towns on the way to Ontonagon today; Red Ridge then Freda. Often the only sign of a town is the cell tower rising above the horizon. It should take us about 7 hours to cover the 50 mile distance. 

Western Entrance Light Keweenaw Waterway

As we approached the Ontonagon River entry we could see a defined delineation between beautiful blue/green water and caramel brown water.  I wasn't sure what I was looking at but Dave explained it was silt from the river.  It was a strange and fascinating sight.


Entrance to the Ontonagon River

 
We worked our way up the river noticing young men swimming across the channel in front of us. They climbed the rock retaining wall and one of the boys yelled to me, "Hey, take our picture." It brought a smile to our faces. 


As soon as we approached the Ontonagon Village Marina Harbor our depth finder began beeping wildly. The channel into the marina harbor was shallow and only about 12 feet wide. Dave carefully made his way between the red and green markers. We felt the tiniest bump as we slid along the bottom of the river but we made it through. As we approached the fuel dock the depth finder dropped to 5 feet. I was sure that it was too shallow for our 5'3" draft but we were still floating. We tied off at the end of the dock and Dave went to the office to seek assistance. Like many docks we have visited, this one had a contact number to request the Harbor Master, but no one is on site. Dave left a message and we moved Mystic to the closest slip, which happened to be right next to a huge steel boat. Ontonagon was a sleepy little stop for us. We were able to get off the boat and explore but there was little to do on this mid summer holiday visit. Tomorrow we make the run to the Apostles. We are getting close to home. Bittersweet excitement is growing.

Steel Vessel ~ Ontonagon, MI

Greig's Taxidermy & Tackle ~ Ontonagon, MI

Huron Bay to Houghton

Wednesday, July 3, 2013 

It's my birthday and Dave wrote "Happy Birthday" at the top of our ships log. I feel so lucky to be experiencing this life with him. He wakes me with a cup of hot coffee along with peanut butter smeared wafer cookies drizzled with honey. It's my birthday breakfast. I remembered that we had packed evaporated milk so we had milk for our coffee too. Dave wants to get on our way early to get to Houghton were we can get showers (another birthday gift for me). We've been to Houghton before with the kids on a snowboarding trip. It will be very different for us to explore Houghton on a sailboat.

Weather conditions on the Great Lakes are often extreme. The cold water keeps the temperatures low even in the summer. We can't believe it's July and still so chilly in the morning. Luckily it warms up soon after the sun rises. Our days are long; we're working toward our next destination from sunrise to sunset. It doesn't get dark until about 10:30 pm which makes it difficult to get to sleep before 11:00.  We get only about six hours of sleep, so we are very tired. 

Bundled up on July 3, 2013

Dave started our second pot of coffee as we prepared to depart. Right away, it smelled different but we couldn't figure out why. We went about preparing to leave the anchorage. Dave commented that the coffee hadn't started to perk yet, which seemed odd.  I stood in the cockpit, ready to put the motor in gear as Dave raised the anchor and glanced at that pot one more time. Suddenly, it hit me. I yelled to Dave, "Did you put water in the pot?" His reaction told me all I needed to know. I jumped below, grabbed the pot and ran it under the faucet. Once it was cool, I added water before placing it on the burner to perk. Back on deck, I looked in Dave's direction and smiled. Disaster averted, no harm done and we'll finally got another cup of coffee.


Abandoned Light
Eastern Entrance to the Keweenaw Waterway

We entered the Keweenaw canal and the temperature rose a lot. It is very sheltered with beautiful homes, some very big and some very tiny. We enjoyed the view as we made our way along the canal.  Our first stop in Houghton was the gas dock at the local marina. Two power boats cut the line in front of us. The dock master was very friendly and helpful but we decided to stay at the free city pier on the other side of the waterway. We had to call the local police to report our arrival and intent to stay overnight. It was that easy. The Houghton city pier is free.


Eastern Shore of the Keweenaw Peninsular

Quaint Cottage

Barn nestled on the Portage River

Festive Holiday Dock

Crossing the Keweenaw Waterway

It was a beautiful, sunny day. We went for a 6 mile run along the waterfront path. It felt so good to move. This was our first run in 11 days. We took our second shower of the entire trip at the park nearby. It cost a quarter for four minutes. I paid $1.25 for a 20 minute shower which was worth every penny. Dave paid 25 cents; that's a four minute shower! We went to the Librewlery Brewpub to celebrate my birthday. The food, Ahi tuna and a veggie burger with sweet potato fries, was fabulous. Their Brown ale, IPA, and Stout were all excellent. 

The Librewlry Pub, Houghton, MI

We walked through town looking for supplies and were surprised to see most of the stores were closed for the 4th of July holiday.  Later, in the evening, we visited the Keweenaw Brewing Company for a final toast choosing the Widow Maker Black IPA and the Lift Bridge Brown. Back at the boat we settled in at the dock as the sounds of town filled the air and the sun set on my birthday. There was no cake today, so Dave owes me cake!

Keweenaw Brewing Company ~ $2.50 per glass

Waterfront mural ~ Houghton, MI

Artistic fence ~ Houghton, MI

We plan to keep an eye on the weather for tomorrow's run to Ontonagon. It may be too rough to leave. We will spend an extra day in Houghton if we have to; or, we can make our way 15 miles through the Keweenaw and anchor at the mouth of the canal until the weather clears.

Mystic tied up along city dock, Houghton, MI

Musings:

• Engine hours 374.8
• Garmin reads:  38.6 miles traveled today, 5 hours and 34 minutes
• My first experience showering in a park
• Discovered that I have sunburned lips - adding SPF to chapstick, apply liberally
• Changed tomorrows course to Ontonagon, MI.  Hoping for fireworks!

Grand Island - Munising to Huron Bay

Tuesday, July 2, 2013 

There is no milk so we'll be having black coffee on this chilly 40 degree, foggy morning. Dave got up at 5:00 am hoping to be ready to leave at sunrise. He brings me coffee in bed and encourages me to stir. Light wind is forecast for the next two days. It will be sunny but cold. On Thursday, the wind should spin around to the South and warm things up. Unfortunately, that means the possibility of thunderstorms. We'll have to see if we can continue to travel or have to wait things out. Safety first!


Rounding Grand Island, Munising, MI



We spent a physically difficult day, yesterday, taking turns fighting the tiller. We are stiff and sore and would like to stay curled up in our bunks. Dave noticed that all of our open rolls of toilet paper are wet and moldy. It appears that the head gets wet underway. We'll have to keep the portholes closed while underway. The cushions on the bunk we sleep on are wet underneath in the morning. Our body heat creates condensation. We'll have to figure something out to avoid this. We are learning something new about Mystic every day. Last night the stove was blown out by the wind funneling down the open hatch. When I tried to relight it I heard a funny sucking sound and it would not light. I waited a moment then tried again relieved to be successful. Our galley stove has an auto shutoff so it's not going to leak propane but it makes me uncomfortable. We are very careful whenever the stove is being used. Someone needs to be on watch.

Granite Light

Granite Light

It turned into a perfect day, warm and sunny with mild seas. This allowed us to make our longest day of 12.5 hours and to move the farthest distance of 87.4 miles to Huron Bay. We were tired when we reached the Harbor at Witz Marina. A fishing boat followed us in and anchored next to us. A third boat was already sitting on anchor in the bay. We watched the sun set with a glass of wine. At bedtime we set about hunting mosquitos inside our cabin. Dave made little screens for all openings yesterday including the Dorades and the aft vents but we had a swarm of hungry blood suckers waiting for a meal. We're not sure how they are getting in.  



Foggy sunrise off  Huron Bay, Skanee, MI

The Harbor is very pretty and well sheltered. We can hear children laughing and playing at the campground nearby. Young boys are setting off firecrackers along the shore. Our daughter, Brie, called after work today. It was so nice to hear her voice. We are both quite sunburned even though we have diligently applied sunscreen. There is no way to fully protect us from the constant exposure and reflection of the sun off the water. We'll be in Houghton tomorrow for my birthday!

Dave leads us out of Huron Bay

Grand Marais to Grand Island Munising

Monday, July 1, 2013 

We left Grand Marais behind and headed for Presque Isle Marina in Marquette, about 65 miles away. Our cruising guide describes it as one of the prettiest marinas on Lake Superior.  It will be worth the work to get there and we'll be able to get showers once we do!

Departing from Grand Marais Marina

We passed Au Sable Point and raised the main, then added the jib soon after. Without warning, all hell broke loose! We were on a downwind run and the main jibed unexpectedly. I was harnessed in and tethered to a stanchion near the cockpit door but had moved to the stern of the boat to work the main sheet. My safety line was pulled tight. When the boom flipped from port to starboard it crossed over my safety line and took me with it. I was pinned under the main sheet and being pulled from the other direction by my safety line. I was also on top of Dave which made it impossible to move. Somehow, he was able to release me. After making sure we were both ok, we sheeted the main, and furled the jib then took stock. The first thing we did was look at each other and ask ourselves, "So, what did we just learn?"  This boat is not Keewatin, our 23 foot sailboat. Mystic is bigger and more powerful, with heavier hardware. We have to learn how this boat moves and safety has to be our main concern.  I learned that I cannot be tethered in front of the main sheet. Not only is it dangerous, I'm in the way of whomever is at the helm. Unlike Keewatin, which has the main sheet workings in front of the tiller, Mystic has it behind the tiller. I should have been harnessed in at the stern of the boat to keep my safety line free. Dave had talked about putting the boom preventer on before this happened. He did just that, immediately after. The boom preventer stops the boom from accidentally jibing like it did.  It holds the boom until the wind corrects itself and fills the sail. Today is our first time taking Mystic downwind. The autopilot cannot hold a waypoint in the down wind roll. We humbly continued on, steering manually.

As we passed the Au Sable dunes I took photos of this wonder of nature.  The dunes cover an amazing five miles along the southern shore of Lake Superior and rise up to heights of 300 feet above the lake. They are unbelievable steep at a 35 degree angle from the shore.  You can still see the section called 'the shoot' which looks like a ski hill half pipe and was used to roll the logs to Lake Superior for transport to other places.  We had hoped to hike the dunes however time was not on our side.  Instead we viewed them from the water.

View of Au Sable Dunes from Lake Superior

The Shoot ~ Au Sable Dunes

The next amazing sight we passed was Picture Rocks. The cliffs are shaped by wind, ice and waves and are stained by minerals which colors them in streaks of brown, tan and green. The sculptured rocks and colored face give the illusion of a painting. The shoreline is beautiful. We didn't get as close as we'd have liked but the internet is full of fantastic photos of this dramatic lakeshore. Check out the link below.

http://www.exploringthenorth.com/pictrocks/pr.html

Picture Rocks ~ National Lakeshore ~ Michigan

The wind and waves off our stern were a bit much all day. Dave double reefed the main but we still had to fight the swells. We took 15 minute shifts at the tiller.  Our arms and shoulders were burning. We tucked into Murray bay, behind Grand Island but the further up the bay we motored, the stronger the wind. It appeared to be funneling across the island, causing it to increase. We battled our way into 8 feet of water and I made an attempt at lowering the main. I had no idea what I was doing but I was determined that this would be the moment I learned. With trial and error I managed to drop the sail; it probably took three times as long as it should have. Each day, we live, and sail, and learn.

East Channel Light, Munising, MI

We anchored off of Grand Island, which is a nature preserve owned by the State of Michigan. We could hear the sound of crows squawking at each other loudly. It sounded like a child was mimicking a crow. I'm not sure what all the ruckus was about but I've read that it has something to do with stealing each other's food.  At first it was amusing but it became annoying. We were hoping they'd leave before bedtime.



Anchorage off of Grand Island, Munising, MI

Around 6:00 pm the wind quieted down. We took a nap in the sunny cockpit, tucked down out of the cool air. It is hard to believe we were in such intense conditions only a few short hours earlier.

Sunset off Grand Island, Munising, MI

Musings:

• 40 degrees overnight - BRRR!!!
• A cold beer, after a long day, makes everything better
• I'm glad I am not a crow

Whitefish Point to Grand Marais

Sunday, June 30, 2013

We left the dock at Whitefish Point at 7:15 am. Throughout the night, we listened as the wind slowly settled down and the waves breaking off Whitefish Point eased. We didn't know what to expect as we left the harbor of refuge and made our way out into the big lake. It was calmer than expected so we tried to sail. The winds were too light which left us crawling at 3-4 knots. We need to move at 6-7 knots to make the 50 miles we planned to cover so we chose to motor sail under just the mainsail. The shoreline is very pretty.

Whitefish Point Lighthouse view as we head North

We rounded Crisp Point Lighthouse two hours after passing the Whitefish Point Light. Without enough wind, we continued to tack in and out from the shoreline, looking for a calmer ride under sail and engine power. It's a beautiful morning with a sky filled with sunshine. Even though a good amount of spray is giving us a chill in the cockpit, we hope to be able to shed a layer or two. 

Crisp Point Light

We arrived at the Grand Marais breakwater at 4:00 and approached the long narrow entrance channel. It took a while to see the dock in the far corner of the harbor. We noticed a lot of activity on land and boats rafted up everywhere. We had to maneuver carefully into a tiny spot at the fuel dock behind two fishing boats. Someone from shore helped us tie off. The smell of a fish fry overwhelmed us with hunger. We learned that we had arrived at the local annual fishing tournament with a Grand Prize of $4,000.  

Dave called the Harbor Master to help provision us. Josh arrived very quickly, on a bike. We began fueling Mystic. It's tricky due to the curve of the fill tube and speed of the diesel pump. The tank burps and spits the smelly pink diesel out onto the gunnel. Mystic can hold 48 gallons but took only 16. We pumped out the head then flushed it with clean water. 

Josh was very helpful. It was his first week working this summer job. As we chatted, Josh told us about going to Ireland with his Grandmother. She offered him an inheritance when she dids or a shared trip while she is alive. This smart young man chose the experience with Grandma.  Dave offered him a beer and we sat and chatted about our mutual adventures in Ireland.



Grand Marais, MI

The fish fry was wrapping up so we walked into town for ice and had dinner at the Lake Superior Brewing Company. The WIFI was not very consistent but we were able to check mail and post our progress. We were pretty tired after our 8 hour run. We have two more long days ahead of us if we want to make it to the Keweenaw by July 3rd.


Sign on the Wall - Lake Superior Brewing Co, Grand Marais

Before retiring for the night, we went for a walk along the beach facing the Au Sable dunes. Apparently, the dunes are prone to sand slides. We took photos then walked back to the boat to rest. When we are at the dock we have shore power so I made sure both computers were charging and I downloaded all of our photos.  I'm still having problems with the camera CF cards and the card reader. It's bad timing for camera issues!



Shore view of Au Sable Sand Dunes, Grand Marais, MI

Good Morning Grand Marais, MI

Boat anchored at Grand Marais Harbor

Musings:

• Diesel $4.93/gallon at the marina, $4.30 at the gas station
  
• Facilities - poor, include a port-a-potty and pay showers at the nearby campground.  We did NOT shower!
• 348.6 Engine Hours
• Had to wear jeans on our walk tonight. It's too cold for late JUNE!!!  
• Grand Marais has a great anchorage