The Big Lake Calls...

Wednesday, July 21

For the first time since January of 1996, we went on vacation. Vacation! Ah, that magical word that conjures up images of fun, relaxation, and (most importantly) NO JOB. For our first vacation in over three years, we planned to spend some time sailing on Lake Superior. That's right - the Sweetwater Sea. The same body of water that has claimed over six hundred vessels since modern man began sailing her waters. Most famously, the Lake swallowed the Edmund Fitzgerald whole back in the mid-70's, only one in a long line of ships that has surrendered to Superior.

So why the hell do we want to sail on Lake Superior on a 19-foot boat? Necessity would not even make a good appetizer to whet Superior's appetite. That's okay - we're sailing the protected waters of Wisconsin's Apostle Islands. The Apostles are a group of 22 islands on Lake Superior's south shore. The area is the most popular sailing spot on the lake, with several large marinas and complete facilities. A fine place to spend a week.

The plan was to leave in the morning, rig and launch from Bayfield, WI - just two miles from Madeline Island. We would spend two nights in a condo on the island, sailing and sightseeing, then one night aboard in the marina before sailing for Michigan and Stockton Islands. One night on the hook, then back to Bayfield, spending a night ashore before returning home.

We left only half-an-hour later than planned, stopped in Duluth for lunch at Grandma's Saloon and Grill, and arrived in Bayfield around 5pm. I helped a couple drop the mast on their boat; they returned the favor by taking the docklines as we launched. We motored out of the ramp area and set course for Madeline Island, in full view to the east. The Madeline Island Yacht Club is on the western shore of the island. We though we had the marina entrance in sight, but something didn't look right. The chart says there's a red daymark to the right, and green to the left. This had white and red. Ah, this is the ferry landing and breakwater. We motored past the ferry landing and the marina entrance loomed ahead, flanked on the left by a building and big white and red tent. We pulled into a visitor's slip and I walked to the office to check in.

On the way across, I had been hailing the marina on VHF, with no reply. Upon reaching the office, I could see why. Closing time was 6:15, and it was rapidly approaching 7:30. Foo. When I made my slip reservation in May, they had put me down for slip A-1. A nice little Com-Pac was in A-1, but A-2 was empty. I hate to take a slip not knowing if I am displacing someone, but another transcient on A-dock thought it was vacant and we were tired and wanted to get to the condo. We took it. Then we began unloading gear.

Entrance to the Madeline Island Marina on the chart. Follow the link to see how different it really looks.

Each of us had one 30" soft duffel. The kids had sleeping bags, pillows and stuffed animals. I had a box with the handheld electronics, and a bag with chart and nav tools. There were a couple of canvas shopping bags with toys for the kids. The check-in building for the condo was just outside the marina gates, but it would take two trips to get everything off the boat. In the check-in building, we inquired about restaurants, being somewhat famished after our long day. We learned that the red and white tent we saw coming in marked the remains of the nearest restaurant, consumed by fire earlier in the year. The other restaurants on the island were in the town of LaPointe, half a mile up the road. Ah, well.

Our building was right next to the tent, so we got our gear moved over and walked to town for dinner. Before we left, we opened up every window and door in the place, since we had arrived in the midst of a heat wave, and the place had no air conditioning. Come to find out, hardly any place in the area had air conditioning. Normal high temperatures are 68-72, but that day had hit 92. It was looking to be a hot vacation.

We found a sandwich place and at outside on a picnic table - it was too hot to eat inside. Closing time on Madeline Island is 9pm, and we had just made it. On the way back, Julie was harassed by a monstrous black fly that, coupled with the uncomfortable temperature, served to put her in an unpleasant mood. We took cool showers before bed, improving everyone's outlook. I set the alarm so I could get over to the marina first thing and get Necessity checked-in.

Thursday, July 22

I got to the marina just as they were opening. They wanted me in slip A-5, so I moved her over next to a nice-looking Precision 23. As I was locking up, a voice from the Precision said, "It's a West Wight Potter!" I laughed and chatted with the owners (whose names I never did get, though they were our neighbors the whole time. Duh.) for a moment before going back to the office to check the weather. Hot and sunny, with winds to 10mph. Looked like we were in for some sailing. I stopped back at the condo to see if the others were up. They weren't, so I walked to town and found the bakery. The prospect of rolls and muffins got everyone out of bed, but it was almost noon before we finally backed out of the slip.

We motored out of the harbor and headed south-west. A few hundred yards out, I raised the sails and we killed the engine. And we drifted. Now where did that wind go? We could see plenty of ripples on the water as we ate breakfast, but there wasn't even a breath. We started the motor and motor-sailed a little farther out. There was some wind there, but not much, and it was getting really hot again. We motored over to a new spot where we could see a sailboat with sails drawing well. Oops - they were motorsailing, too. Fudge. It was too hot for that, so we turned back and put plan-B into effect. Time for a dip in the swimming pool.

We had a blast in the pool, splashing around for about two hours. The wind had come up again around 1:30 or 2, but we didn't try our luck again that day. Instead, we motored over to the Harbor restaurant near the ferry landing and tied up to the restaurant's dock. We had a nice dinner there, then walked across the street for ice cream. When we returned to the marina, our neighbors in the Precision were there. They had been out sailing all day, and confirmed that the wind had indeed died around noon, but returned later. Ah, well - another go tomorrow. The cabin carpet had gotten rather wet, so I took it back and layed it on the deck, weighted down by a wrought-iron chair.

One of the attractions of our accommodation was a fireplace. Julie had looked forward to a cozy evening fire, but it was too damned hot. Not to be deterred, she built a small one anyway. We got all packed before bed, since we had to check-out by 10am. Before turning in, we played a game of four-handed cribbage - Julie and Dan won. We had to douse the fire so the kids didn't get too hot. Later, I got up to check on it and it was still glowing. I threw some water on it and went back to bed, only to be awakened by rain. Not just any rain - this was a genuine gale. It was blowing into the main room, so I had to shut the windows. We had left our pool towels drying on the deck railing, but it was blowing so hard I couldn't tell if they were still there. I could see that the glass-topped table and the wrought-iron chairs had been overturned. That's quite a wind! With everything secure, I went back to bed.

Friday, July 23

All night long, we could hear the surf pounding on the beach after being driven by gale-force winds. After surveying things in the morning, there didn't appear to be much damage. The towels and boat carpet were soaked, but still on the deck. The glass table top was intact. I wrung out the towels and hung them on the rail in direct sunlight. We had a couple hours until check out so the towels should dry some. The carpet I layed in the sun also.

After breakfast we went to the marina to get the boat. The plan was to motor over to the condo's dock and load our gear, then sail to Big Bay on Madeline Island's southeast side. We talked to our neighbors on the Precision who had spent the stormy night aboard. The wind had heeled them over in their slip to the point they thought their deck would catch under the dock. But there was no obvious damage or debris in the marina. Julie and Dan motored to the condo dock while Mandy and I checked the weather in the marina office before running to meet the boat. The weather did not look promising - temperatures in the 90s and winds of 5-10mph.

The day before, I had bought a spare 3-gallon gas can. I was concerned that we might not have the motoring range necessary with these light winds if we were to make Michigan and Stockton Islands on Saturday. After checking-out of the room, we had to turn back to the marina for fuel. Instead of heading for Big Bay seven miles up the coast, we set a more modest goal of Chebomnicon Bay - only half that distance. Winds were light, so we motored south to clear the shoal buoy off Grant's Point.

Red 4 marks the Grant's Point shoal. Follow the link to see how Red 4 looks on the chart, as well as the position we plotted just after noon.

Grant's Point is the southwestern tip of Madeline Island. A shoal extends almost a mile further to the southwest with depths of 2-5 feet the whole way. The end of the shoal is marked by Red 4, a lighted buoy that I wanted to clear before hoisting sails. We spotted the buoy in the distance and set a course. On the way, we applied some SPF-25 that Julie had bought at the marina. Talk about greasy - this was some of the worst stuff we ever used. The label said it was non-greasy, so we had hopes it would dry up or something, but it stayed greasy. Yuk.

We made the turn around Red 4, setting an easterly course. I hoisted the sails to see how much wind we could catch. We killed the motor and...
... were descended upon by a swarm of large gnats. We were about a mile offshore, and these gnats must have been tired - all they wanted to do was land somewhere and rest. They landed allright - right on our greasy sunscreened bodies, the deck, the sails - everything. We were all somewhat grossed out, but there was no way we were going to add bug spray to the stuff already covering our skin.

We didn't seem to be making much headway, so I checked the GPS - 2.4mph was the average reading. Too slow in this heat and with the swarm of bugs. The iron spinnaker was again pressed into service. We could see Long Island and the LaPointe lighthouse to the south and Grant's Point to the northwest, so I decided to practice my navigation skills and shoot some bearings to the known objects and plot our position on the map. Mandy and I both took bearings, which disagreed too widely. I retook them, and discovered the card in my handheld compass had jammed. A couple of whacks freed it, but we had moved too far from the first set of questionable bearings, and I had written nothing down. I plotted what I remembered on the chart and got a position that the GPS roughly agreed with. Back in my time with the army, I was quite good at terrain recognition and navigation using many of the same skills needed on a boat. I'm trying to teach Mandy these skills so she can take bearings and plot positions while I relax with a cool drink.

Chebomnicon Bay loomed ahead. We rolled in the jib, then I released the main halyard's clutch. Bad move! Every gnat that had been hitching a ride on the mainsail now had to find a new perch, and they looked first into the cockpit. Double yuk! Ah, well - all we can do is find a little stretch of beach and make the best of it. There were houses along the beach, but we found a long section between houses that looked suitable. We secured the boat and Julie blew up the beach ball. The kids and I played in the water. Julie needed to get away from the gnats, so she took a walk along the beach with the umbrella over her shoulder.

Chebomnicon Bay	Our lunch spot on the bay

Fierce pirates attacking out of the water

Now, I just said that we were playing in the water. This is Lake Superior - known far and wide for its cold water. A heatwave does wonders for surface temeratures, not to mention makes cold water feel damn good. The water also got the last of the gnats off us. We tossed the beach ball and splashed around. When Julie returned from her walk, I got the grill mounted on the pulpit and put the boat umbrella up there to give the cook some shade. Dan took a short walk with Julie and they returned with two treestumps we used to mark our spot on the beach. Julie started to cook the bratwurst and I sat in the boat and made a few phone calls.

When it became apparent that the heat and windless conditions were persisting, we became concerned that the boat would be a very uncomfortable place to sleep. We have no opening ports - just the forward hatch and companionway. We have no fans to keep us comfortable, just the Nicro Day/Night deck fan that moves enough air to keep things fresh in the boat, but not enough to keep us cool. So I dug out the Bayfield tourist guide and the cell phone and found us a room - the only available one - in Madeline Island's only air conditioned motel. Cheers greeted the news of my success, and we sat on beach towels under the umbrella for some lunch.

After lunch the kids swam some more, I took some pictures and Julie played in the sand making sculptures. We took another walk up the beach, but eventually it was time to go. I stowed all the cooking gear and we pushed-off from the beach, heading back once again under motor. The gnats didn't swarm us as badly this time, thankfully. We rounded Red 4 again and headed for the ferry dock, which was just a block from the motel. I dropped Julie and the kids off with our duffels and took the boat back to the marina. At the dock, I layed the wet towels on the cockpit seats to hopefully dry, collected an armful of stuff and locked the boat up.

This is how Julie looked when she considered the prospect of a night on a hot boat	Julie's artwork as an umbrella stand

Necessity decked-out for cruising and fun

As I was leaving the dock I looked back and saw that Necessity's running lights were on. Something must have bumped the switch as we unloaded at the ferry dock. I opened the boat back up to turn off the lights, and the switch broke off. At least the lights were off. I walked the half-mile to town and found the motel. Julie had already taken a shower, and the room was refreshingly cool. I got my shower after the kids were done, and it was time to find dinner.

We decided on a nice place just around the corner. An ambulance pulled in ahead of us to treat an employee who had passed out in the kitchen from the heat. Bummer. We were seated as they put her on the gurney, passed out cold. The dining room was actually cool, though, with a number of ceiling fans to move the air. We had a nice dinner, and everyone else in the building remained conscious. Upon returning to the hotel, we started calling around trying to find a room in Bayfield. The forecast was still for more of the same, and we decided that we'd go home early if we couldn't find a place to stay. We were more convinced than ever that we'd swelter on the boat in these conditions.

We had no luck finding a room, so we cancelled our reservation for Sunday night and readied ourselves to leave in the morning. The proprietor gave us all a ride to the marina after breakfast. We paid our marina bill and headed for Bayfield. Of course, the wind was fantastic that morning. Sails were everywhere with the wind blowing 10-15mph. Julie asked if I wanted to sail a bit before leaving - she was feeling sorry for me, I think. I had planned this great vacation, but the weather had not cooperated. No matter - I knew this could happen, and it didn't bother me too much. What can you do about the weather? I was in "Go Home" mode and decided we should just continue under motor and get on the road.

Once at the ramp, Mandy and I got the rig and we got the boat on the trailer. Julie pulled the van ahead, but the trailer guide snagged a big tree limb that was beside the dock in the water. I yelled for her to stop and jumped down to free the branch. It was too slippery and heavy for me to handle. A couple guys waiting to launch their boats jumped down to give me a hand and we had it free in a moment. We drove to a nearby lot to get ready for the road and were driving out of town less than an hour later.

We stopped in Superior for gas and had lunch at an A&W. Then it was back on the road for the long leg home. We had to stop one more time for gas. We made it home before 6pm and crashed. It was good to be home, as it always is, but we regretted the need to leave early as much as we understood that we'd made the right choice. That's okay - Julie agreed to do a bareboat charter with me in the Virgin Islands in the winter of 2001. Bwahahahahahaha!

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