Well actually I had one. It broke. Just like the old saying ‘if it breaks, make it stronger, if it’s not broke, try harder.’ Well I tried hard and it broke. ;-)I think we paid $20 for this at an auction about 10 yrs ago. It sat in the garde…
Port#9: A Tour of Detour…
Great Loop II Date: 8/14/2014
Day #15 (Thursday): 45 miles (545 total miles)
Locks: 0 (2 total locks)
Port #9: Detour, MI
The crew on OB was getting restless. They knew it was time to move on. The weather gods finally decided to give us a morning with less wind but certainly not wind free. Our concern with the amount of wind we had wasn’t the wind itself but the closeness of the boat next to us.
We were up before the sun prepping OB for the morning run and making ready to leave the Soo to begin heading south. No one else was up and around on the dock, or so it seemed. As the sun rose, we wanted to be on our way without taking OB into our neighboring boat. Just by chance, a neighboring sailor happened down the dock and offered his assistance. Leaving ended up being a non-event however it eased our minds to know someone was present to thwart a situation.
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| Marilyn and Don’s condo on the St. Mary River. |
Heading back down the St. Mary River, OB passed Marilyn and Don’s condo. It looked sleepy in the early morning sunlight. The river was quiet with no freighters in sight until we turned the corner to head south. A freighter was going our direction in the downbound channel at a slower speed than our 8-9 mph. Todd didn’t want to be caught in a passing situation in the narrow section of the downbound channel so chose a route in the upbound channel.
Shipping channels are developed for the freighters because of their size. Some areas are so narrow, freighters traveling in opposing directions could not pass by each other. Pleasure boats of our size have no problem getting by oncoming freighters and are free to chose either channel.
As we got closer to Munuscong Bay, we were coming out of the upbound channel and beginning to run into uncomfortable building seas in the river. The freighter we were avoiding by taking the upbound channel also appeared along side. It was time to put OB up on plane and burn some diesel for comfort and for safety.
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| The freighter we were trying to avoid ended up right next to us as we emerged from the upbound channel. |
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| The shallow water along shore and the waters coming across shallow Munuscong Bay churned mud and sand up with the winds of the preceding 3 days. |
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| Interesting to see how the freighters look when coming through the horizon with the sun shining on the choppy river. |
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| There she is. |
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| This looked like a scuttled freighter just north of Detour. |
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| A pilothouse converted to a house…smaller than the one on South Bass Island in Lake Erie. |
OB ran like a champ. We came into Detour an hour ahead of the time we would have at the slower speed. Because the winds had picked up and were much stronger, coming into Detour Harbor was a little dicey. Once well into the harbor, Todd was able to bring OB into the dock without mishap.
Todd tries to dock OB stern first if at all possible. Generally, the power tower and water are on the main dock and not the finger dock we have OB parallel to. Our electric cord and water are in the stern of the boat. The shorter distance to keep our creature comforts running makes setting up at each dock easier.
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| Detour Harbor Marina |
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| Ocean Breeze sterned into the dock. |
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| THAT’S a brisk wind! |
Detour was a cute little town. The main street (Ontario), has 4 restaurants, 2 bars, 3 churches, a grocery store, a sports and marine store and a few boutique type shops. It’s a sleepy little town and the main business is the ferry that runs between the UP and Drummond Island.
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| Ontario Street…the main street leading to downtown Detour. |
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| Sune’s IGA and a little restaurant across the street. |
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| Downtown Detour with St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and a restaurant next door. |
Pilot house and helm
Sorry, sorry, sorry! This has been a rather hectic week as I get ready to actually begin to pay for this baby girl soon to be delivered. Many, many calls with the financial planner, underwriter, KKY and other interested parties. This week …
Day 216…Pretty blossom
Welcome to day 216 of 365 photos…this pretty blossom caught my eye as we were walking down to the beach tonight. I have no idea what kind of plant it is but the blossom is pretty. I’m spending lots of time with our granddaughter while I get the chance so research is not high on… Continue Reading
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Two American Tribes
This summer i have seen America, sea to shining sea. i have ridden her highways and byways, crossed the great Rocky Mountains, the plains and the endless fields of the Midwest. From the town of Otto Wyoming, population 50 to the Big Apple, from baking …
Back in Marsh Harbour
Yes I am back, a little hot but the water is warm and beer cold, the boat was in pretty good shape, a little mold, no critters, lots of cleaning up.
Well the fridge did not work had to get someone in to charge it, and chilly willy started giving me pr…
Back in Marsh Harbour
Yes I am back, a little hot but the water is warm and beer cold, the boat was in pretty good shape, a little mold, no critters, lots of cleaning up. Well the fridge did not work had to get someone in to charge it, and chilly willy started giving me pr…
Weather or Not, Family is Always a Good Thing!
Great Loop II Date: 8/11-13/2014
Day #12-14 (Monday-Wednesday): 42 miles (500 total miles)
Locks: 2 (2 total locks)
Port #8: Sault Ste Marie, MI
After we returned from our little jaunt into Whitefish Bay and the waters of Lake Superior, we found more boats had come into the marina. Impending weather manages to rearrange plans for many water dwellers. Boats are at the mercy of Mother Nature.
Todd and I decided it was time to explore the waterfront in Sault Ste. Marie. The old downtown is typical of small town Midwest with old architecture filled with hometown restaurants, pubs, gift shops and ice cream stores.
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| Unique artwork along Portage Street in Sault Sainte Marie, MI (including the fellow riding the bike…which was part of the artwork!) |
The Soo has done a good job preserving her history and making visiting an educational experience for young and old alike. The Army Corps of Engineers has a huge facility and park built around the freighter locks. Best yet, entry is free. Todd and I went to the observation area to watch a freighter enter and lock through. Some years back, we had visited my cousin and taken the Soo Tours through these huge freighter locks. The Soo Locks didn’t seem to have the turbulence we’ve experienced in the Welland Locks. It might be because the Soo Locks only lift vessels 21 feet or so depending on water levels in Lake Superior. The Welland Locks lift much higher upbound.
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| A picture of the freighter locks at the Soo. The two locks in the middle of the picture are the longer locks that allow the bigger Laker Freighters through. The red arrow at the top is where the Canadian Lock is located…the one we went through. |
We walked through the museum and learned some interesting tidbits about the Soo Lock and the freighters they serve. The mega-freighters that are 1000 feet long are able to transit by way of the Poe Lock, the only lock long enough for them. If one those freighters were stood on end, it would be within 250 feet of the height of the Empire State building.
A beautiful park surrounds the lock area and museum. We walked through the park hoping to find a gate at the east end closest to the marina. All we found was the huge cast iron fence that surrounds the lock area and park for security. We ended up walking back to the front gates along Portage Street, the main street downtown.
The next day (Tuesday) was rainy and miserable. We pulled out our raincoats and headed next door to tour the Valley Camp, a 525 foot freighter that used to be an ore boat for the Republic Steel Company. My cousin’s husband was a marketing manager for Republic and new most all of the ore carriers old and new.
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| Rain happens…and it was raw and cold, too! The US Coast Guard station was behind the George Kemp Marina. |
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| A panoramic shot of the Valley Camp…a retired Republic Steel Corp. ore freighter. This freighter was the backdrop (or front window, depending which way you were facing) of the marina. |
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| Demonstrating the depths and drops from one Great Lake to the next beginning, of course, with Superior. The big grey area in the middle is the Welland Canal dropping from Erie into Ontario. They will be the last locks we take when we come home in the spring…and the ARE the mother of all locks. That will be our fourth and possibly last trip upbound through them. |
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| Looking from the pilothouse across the deck of the Valley Camp. |
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| That little yellow box is a life saving box. Should a worker fall from the deck between the freighter and a wall, the block is dropped down and used to save him. |
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| See the story below about the fate of this buoy and it’s mate. |
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| Can you imaging the pressure on the Edmund Fitzgerald ? |
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| One of two lifeboats on display in the Valley Camp. Can you see the concave dips in the floor (more easily seen behind the lifeboat)? That’s from the years and years of transporting iron ore pellets in the cargo holds. The weight actually warped the floor between the struts supporting the floor. |
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| This was a nice display about the Edmund Fitzgerald in the Valley Camp. They also had two theatres with a film describing the day and night leading up to the loss of the Fitzgerald. Very impressive. |
We enjoyed another great evening of food, laughter and reminiscing at my cousin’s condo that evening. It was a celebration of Don’s birthday. The weather may have been raw and wet outside, the warmth of family reigned inside.
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| The famous moving bear in my cousin’s house. He shows up just about anywhere, anytime. |
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| Notice a difference in clothing between the first night we were there and the last night? It got darn cold! |
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| Family fun with Don on his 80th birthday. |
Mother Nature continued to dominate our plans with high winds but clear skies Wednesday. I tied the boat in a little tighter and we decided to walk to the grocery store a mile away. We try to walk as much as possible to get some exercise on these journeys. I hadn’t planned to shop for a few days but with the weather keeping us land bound, it made sense to check that chore off the list. The Soo Super Value was well stocked and had the few things we needed. We have two folding crates on wheels with collapsible handles we take with us shopping and roll back to the boat with groceries in tow.
We finished up the day meeting Marilyn and Don at Zorba’s for a wonderful Greek meal topped off with baklava. It was Don’s actual birth day which added to the fun. I love seeing family when miles keep us apart for years. It’s difficult to leave, however the Loop awaits us.
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| Happy Birthday, Don! You’re amazing…. |
Lot easier than I thought
Raising the Gin Pole by myself was a lot easier than I thought it would be. An extra pair of hands to run the winch would have helped but as it turned out wasn’t really necessary.Wrapped the pole in an old shipping blanket so it wouldn’t scratch the hu…
Happy Lefthanders Day!
Did you know that today is National Lefthanders Day? I didn’t get a photo today except for a bad cell phone photo. (The banana’s that I used for the daily post were taken a few days ago). I got this photo of my favorite leftie, Mr. B, as he was cleaning the table after dinner.… Continue Reading
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