WhimSea's Log

Posted by Karen A. Brown

It's the last sail of the season and I think we're one of the last people left on the lake. Most of the boats are out of the water and in their cradles. It seemed like we had the whole lake to ourselves.

We called up to Knife River to reserve a slip and were informed we could take our pick of the slips as there were only a half a dozen boats left in the water.

We arrived with plenty of time to dock, fuel up and take a leisurely walk to Emily's, which was becoming our favorite restaurant to visit on a quick trip. Of course it helps that it's the only restaurant.

After a nice meal we took a walk around Knife River and along the beach. We climbed around the rocks and watched the late season fisherman. Since the season was nearing an end nightfall came quickly, along with a chill in the air, so we retired to the boat to read and had an early night in.

Had a great sail back from Knife River to our home port. The sun was shining brightly and there was a chill in the air. The leaves were quite turned with very few colors left, but it was still a spectacular sight.

We had great wind the whole way home for an easy run to Duluth. The wind was such that we almost kept the sails up and sailed through the entry, but we decided caution would be a better option and dropped the sails and motored in. Even the board walk was relatively empty of the regular slew of tourists.

A little sadly we docked for the last time in 2003 and shut the boat up to ready it for its cradle.

Posted by Karen A. Brown

Once again, the destination of choice was the Knife River marina. This time, we were determined to reach it. The day was overcast with hints of sunshine but the wind was strong and sure.

We lifted sail in the harbor just beyond Grassy Point. We started with the genny as we had pretty good wind and this would be the first time we start sailing this far into the channel.

We came around the point after the Blatnick Bridge with the intention of running towards the Superior entry. We were surprised to see a significant number of sailboats raising sail outside the Barker's Island Marina raising sail and heading our way. It appears there was a regatta on and boats of all sizes came hurtling passed us. There was even a coast guard boat to ensure everyone's safety.

We left the excitement behind as the open water of the big lake beckoned.

With good, consistent wind we made it to Knife River with light to spare. We pulled in to the slip assigned to us and walked down the road a piece to Emily's Diner. This is a winter picture of the bridge over Knife River heading towards Lake Superior.

At Emily's we had a nice relaxing dinner with an appetizer of mixed fish (from Lake Superior of course) and crackers, cheese, wild rice soup. Troy had the Lake Trout and I sampled their chicken pasta. We finished off the meal with malted to go and walked back to the marina.

At the marina we had a slip that was near the beach. A quick walk brought you to a spectacular view of the lake. It seems like a nice place, friendly people and a good location. A great jumping off point for the Apostle's!

Heading back home we were treated with bright and sunny skies (mostly) and an excellent view of the north shore. You can see the trees are starting to turn with some flourishes of yellow and orange popping up here and there. It was an easy and relaxing sail back to the marina.

We set sail for a three day weekend with Judy (Troy's Mom) at around 11:00 in the afternoon. Destination: Apostle Islands. We had planned to set out earlier, but were delayed while we lay in provisions and took care of some housekeeping.

We had a fairly good run the whole way with favorable winds allowing for a straight shot up the Wisconsin coast. The winds weren't exactly steady, but were at least consistent in direction. After the sun went down, the wind picked up quite a bit. There was no moon to guide us, so we had to navigate by star light and electronics alone. This is the first time we'd done that so it was a little spooky, but we made it without a problem.

We rounded the point by the lighthouse on Sand Island with the intention of tucking in at Justus Bay. With the night as black as it was the idea of anchoring somewhere familiar held great appeal.

Troy and I had been running on very little sleep and we were looking forward to turning on the anchor light and hitting the sack. You can imagine our shock and dismay to see Justice Bay fairly twinkling from the lights of anchored boats already in the Bay! We pressed on to the next bay only to find that one full as well! In all we counted eighteen boats in those two bays on Sand. We would not find refuge there this night. We headed towards Little Sand Bay and anchored there tucked in as close as we could to the mainland. We weren't totally happy about it as we would feel some chop from the lake, but it would have to do.

The wind shifted slightly overnight and fetched the waves across the lake and through the islands directly to our anchorage. We awoke with a very uncomfortable chop and an urgency to move to a new anchorage, so we hove up the anchor and headed out. A number of the beaches that were familiar to us were still quite full of boats as most people were still waking up. We eventually found safe harbor off of Oak Island. This is an island we'd always meant to visit but hadn't yet done so. It was reputed to have bears, eagles and high cliff sides.

A really need feature of Oak Island is the "hole in the wall". It's an outcropping of rocks that form to create a perfect hole and frame the water on the opposite side really well.

We anchored and had lunch, and then Troy and Judy went off to explore the island while I spent some quality time with a good book.

Troy and Judy tell me the views from the island were spectacular with the scenic overlook truly living up to its name and providing a bird's eye view across the lake and the neighboring islands. The picture below shows the dramatic drop from the top of the cliff to the lake's edge. After they returned we had a quick dinner and repaired to the cockpit with our wine to watch the sunset.

You can imagine our surprise when we saw a bear saunter out of the woods and lope down the beach! The rumors were true. The bear appeared to be a juvenile and wasn't interested in either the campers or the boats. It's pretty cool to see nature up close and personal like that. We got some pictures, but as it was pretty close to dark, they didn't come out real well.

The next day, Labor Day, we awoke early and began our trip back. Judy had to be back to work on Tuesday morning. We did get some good pictures of the Sand Island Lighthouse as we passed on the return. The winds were light and we started the diesel so we could make it on time. We arrived with very little time to spare at the Grassy Point Draw only to find the bridge was broken. We hung around for a while and they eventually completed enough of their repairs to let us through.

As Troy and I had the rest of the week off, we returned to the Apostle's on Wednesday. We had a great run. It felt like no time passed getting us to Sand Island. We even hit 9.3 knots at least once, probably more often then that. We've never gotten a boat traveling that fast. It was amazing.

We spent the rest of the week bumming around the islands. We took pictures of the wildlife, the sands on Stocktown Island and the passing commercial fishing ships. We even saw the "famous" balancing rock off of Stockton Islands. I say "famous" because Troy and I think that the fame is pretty questionable. We're not even certain we actually saw them because it didn't seem that remarkable.

We spent the final night on Rocky Island, in our favorite anchorage. We spent some time on the beach, but mostly were on the boat. We were treated with a magnificent sunset and excellent wind on the return trip.

Posted by Karen A. Brown

Our intended destination for this weekend was the Knife River Marina. The marina is located about 14 miles north of Duluth along the Minnesota side. We had called ahead and arranged for a slip to be available and were looking forward to trying the local restaurant, Emily's, for the first time.

The day was promising to be sunny and hot with variable winds out of the East. We left the marina, motoring out the Superior entrance, set the sails and shaped a course for Knife River. We were slowly sailing a broad reach almost due north relaxing yet lamenting the hotness of the day. The wind was not being cooperative as it kept swinging further South. Eventually the wind was blowing from due South when it died all together. Moments after the south wind deserted us, the North wind started blowing and blowing pretty good. Our wind instruments hadn't been set-up yet but our hand held windex was giving us readings in the 20 knot range.

So, our leisurely broad reach turned into a fierce beat to windward. Whim Sea went from a negligible heel to 20 degrees in no time. We reduced sail twice and the wind continued to build. So, we decided to call it a day, turned on our heel and made for the Superior entry. We were thinking it would be much easier to dowse the sails within the protection of the harbor than to mess around taking everything down outside the Duluth entry.

While we were sailing towards Knife River, we were watching a mini-regatta of three good sized boats headed for Duluth from the Apostle Islands. They had stopped and seemed to be just hanging out for a while. Though we were aware of them, we weren't paying much attention to them as they weren't near enough to be a concern to us. Once we turned around, however, they were again a part of our considerations. Two of the three vessels bore away from the third on a course for the Duluth Entry. On that tack they were sailing a converging course with us. We got to within a mile when they tacked and made for the Superior entry. The Race was on. We were sailing with one reef in the main and a 100% jenny. One of our unsuspecting competitors was sailing with a 140% jenny and the other just the full main. We all seemed to be in about the same size class and we were all three of us sloops.

We were a mile behind when they shaped up the same course we were sailing so we were all on the same line and we were gaining. The waves were building but the wind seemed to stay pretty constant at about 20 knots gusting to 25 or so. The waves were in the 4-6 foot neighborhood and building. It was exhilarating with the Whim Sea flying before the wind. Whim Sea is such a fast ship it made us feel like pirates running down our prey. We could imagine what it felt like to swoop down on unsuspecting ships like this. We were about two miles outside the entrance when we caught up and started passing. We passed them both by the time we were a half mile outside the entrance and had a nice easy sail the rest of the way into and down the harbor when we dropped our sails and went home.

We didn't make it Knife River but we had a pretty awesome sail. Chances are we would have lost a real race with those guys, more than likely they weren't interested in making the extra effort of adding sail. After all, who wants to race back to the dock? Never-the-less, it was awesome to 'run down on 'em.'

Posted by Karen A. Brown

On this trip we would be joined by fellow sailing aficionado from Capella, where Karen works, Dwight and his wife Kate. We had planned a weekend sailing trip with no particular destination except to see where the wind would take us.

Dwight and Kate arrived early Saturday morning and we stowed their gear quickly and headed out the channel towards the lake. Though early morning, it was already getting warm, which did not portend well for our plans. We motored out the Superior entry past a number of big ships and the Wisconsin point before entering the big lake.

We had thought about sailing for the apostle's or Knife River depending on the wind direction, however, we quickly discovered that the wind did not exist, much less hold a direction at all. Though we tried to sail for a while, we found ourselves flogging the sails more then anything else. After some time, we finally gave up and returning to dock and a good bottle of wine.

We tried again on Sunday and found a little bit more wind, though it was still quite warm. At least we got an opportunity to do a little bit of sailing and Dwight got a chance to take some great pictures.

Posted by Karen A. Brown

On this cruise we would test the ability of Whim Sea to comfortably berth six adults. We were being joined by my whole family; Mom, Dad, Theresa and Steve. As this would be their first time on the Big Lake, we planned for a short cruise on the Duluth end of the Lake rather then a specific destination.

Everyone arrived on Friday evening so we could stow all gear and be off first thing on Saturday morning. We left via the Superior entry so as to see more of the big ships along the way. My Dad has worked for Cargill for a number of years and has an interest in their port in Duluth as well as the cargo ships that carry their goods.

We had a great wind for a downwind run and were able to go quite a ways into the lake with very little to no heel. It was a busy day in port so we were accompanied by a number of large ships on our way out and the family got to take many pictures of them.

With the wind that we had, we made it about halfway to Two Harbors before we were compelled to turn around. We wanted to be back at dock in time for dark and dinner.

After coming about, the wind did pick up, providing us with a slightly less comfortable return trip and significantly more heel. When we were probably 20 miles out, the coast guard broke into channel 16 with a weather warning for all mariners telling us a storm was coming and that we should find a safe harbor. We immediately dropped all sail and employed the diesel and headed into the harbor keeping a weather eye to our stern where the darkening clouds were piling up. Here's a picture of the building clouds by the bridge.

We made it into port in time to have dinner. As we were getting ready to watch the storm come on from the cockpit, it hit. The winds were blowing at around 40 mph causing us to heel over while tied to the dock. Water was being blow at us sideways. All electricity went out and the aft berth was soaked thru by rain that was pounded at the cockpit. Needless to say we were awfully glad we made it back in time. Seeing as how we are already planning the next trip with the family, I think it's safe to say that despite the storm, they definitely enjoyed themselves.

Whim Sea accommodated all guests and crew without a problem. Though we were sometimes a little tight in navigating around the cabin (especially when the rain hit and we were stuck inside with all ports closed - it got a bit hot!), everyone had a comfortable place to lay their head at night as well as a comfortable place to sit during the sail. Mom even felt comfortable enough to walk out on the deck while under sail and have a seat on the cabin trunk!

Posted by Karen A. Brown

It was a bright and sunny Fourth of July afternoon when we finally were fully provisioned, full of water, and gassed up for our trip to Isle Royale. Though it would be our first trip on Whim Sea, it was a returning trip that we were thoroughly looking forward to, having fallen deeply in love with the island during our visit on Bucephalus in 2002.

We headed out of on our trip around 1:30 in the afternoon. The sun was warm and the wind steady and sure. We contemplated dropping the anchor in the Duluth harbor and hanging out long enough to watch the fireworks that were planned for the evening. The Duluth/Superior area is reputed to have some of the best fireworks shows on the lake and you couldn't get a better seat then one in the harbor on your own boat.

Since the wind was so good, we couldn't resist such a delightful sailing opportunity. We set the sails and a course toward the Island that would take us straight through without much taking or changing of course.

By dusk we had reached Silver Bay. We were able to see the fireworks from Silver Bay all along the Minnesota shore to Duluth/Superior and then up the Wisconsin shore to Bayfield. It was amazing. You could hear the boom of the fireworks about fifteen minutes after you saw the flash of the fireworks. If you half closed your eyes and took yourself back in time it almost looked as if we were still fighting for our independence. The colors and booms were like cannon fire exploding all over the coast. Looking around the lake, we could see no other boats. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. It's too bad no one else was there to see it with us.

Nightfall brought a near full moon and about a million stars. It was mesmerizing seeing the mast sway against the field of bright stars.

The next day's sail was almost as good. We only lost a bit of wind a little while. We arrived in Washington Harbor, on July 5 around 5:00 (6:00 Michigan time). Since the office closed at 6:00, we anchored in the harbor for the evening and planned to check in in the morning.

We slept in and woke up to a beautifully sunny day. We checked in and gave them a proposed trip itinerary and went about enjoying the day, just lazing around reading and watching the moose.Monday morning saw us trying to bring up the anchor with no success. While we were trying to lift the anchor, the wind picked up and a fog rolled in. As we were not having any luck, we decided we were destined to stay at the anchorage for another night.

Meanwhile another sailboat, the Katja, had joined us in Washington Harbor. The people aboard her had gone ashore during the day and were apparently planning to spend considerable time ashore. They were gone a number of hours when we noted the Katja had slipped her anchorage and gone further into the shoal part of the harbor. They had very little scope on their anchor and the shifting, variable winds had caused it to slip its hold on the bottom.

Not knowing when they would return and seeing by the way the boat was situated that they had gone aground, we called the ranger station and asked them to keep an eye out for the Katja's owners and let them know they'd run aground.

We watched Katja get beat up by the wind and rock in the mud bottom for probably a half an hour before the owners appeared on shore and realized her plight. They began to work on getting free. Unfortunately, the anchored appeared to have reset in the muck after they shifted and they had to free the anchor before they could do anything else.

They worked on it for hours, employing the windlass and the sails in an effort to break their keel and anchor free. What was kind of odd though they showed another anchor available, they didn't attempt to kedge off (use their anchor to pull themselves free). We could only surmise that they had only one anchor line.

After what seemed an eternity they were finally free. The woman at the helm slowly began to move them back to safe water. Unfortunately, her reluctance to move quickly re-set them into the muck. Their first efforts had to have taken a couple of hours, their second another hour before they were free again. I think she's pretty lucky that her partner didn't throw her overboard then and there. After they finally broke free, again, they heaved anchor and left the harbor. We never saw them again the whole trip.

The next morning we were determined to leave the harbor. We set the alarm and woke with the sun and were out and working on getting our anchor free. Taking a lesson from the Katja, Troy decided to run the anchor line aft to the winches to take advantage of the extra power.

Slowly and arduously he winches the line up. I watched from the bow to let him know when I could see the chain. To my surprise I didn't see the chain but instead called Troy to the bow to look at what he did pull up. The entire side of a ship! Yes, it was a somewhat small fishing vessel, estimated at about eight feet in length. We had managed to twist our anchor line around the Samson post (it's like a cleat) on the side of the boat.

Thanking Mom & Dad for the fortuitous gift, we broke out the camping axe and went about trying to chop the bulwark away without hitting our anchor line. Our second anchor didn't arrive before our vacation started so if we lost this anchor we were in trouble.

After some time chopping we finally got free and watched as the boat gracefully fell back to the depths of the harbor. It made us wonder at the story behind the boat's presence. She appeared to have been burnt out. And this area once held a fishing village.

It seems we learned two lessons in this harbor. One about the dangers of too little scope (and the possibility of running aground) and the other the dangers of too much scope (and picking up more then we can handle). We raised anchor, said goodbye to the faithful moose and headed out on the next leg of our journey.

We eventually made our way thru Rock Harbor to Snug Harbor where we paid for a night's dockage, refueled and got a pump out. They have cabins, gift shops and even a restaurant. After enjoying a shower, we indulged ourselves with a nice dinner and partook of the ranger's talk on the lighthouses of Isle Royale.

When leaving Snug Harbor we drove past a group of outbuildings that, at one time was a working fishing village. Though we didn't get a chance to set foot at the village, we plan to do so next visit.

After Snug Harbor, the next location to note is Chippewa Harbor. Nestled in among the boulders, it's a relatively well hidden inlet that opens into two bays large enough and deep enough for Whim Sea. I can't recall when I've seen a place as beautiful as this one. There were no other boats and, save the camper's at the first bay, no other people around. The only sounds were the calls of the loons as they sang to each other. Because of the high cliffs and surrounding trees those calls were amplified and echoed around us. It was hauntingly gorgeous. Unfortunately, due to the wind speed and direction, and our inability to get a radio weather report in, Chippewa Harbor was a tenuous anchorage and so we pressed on.

We ended up in Wright Island's Bay on the west side. There we discovered a long abandoned homestead, boats and outbuildings and all. It was marked with a warning that eagles were nesting nearby and that we shouldn't disturb them, so we returned to our ship, a nice dinner and a couple bottles of wine. We rocked in the boat, drank wine, and listened to the loons circle the boat. It's also the only place we were able to salvage some pictures.

The rest of the trip provided ample relaxation and rest. The wonder of Isle Royale is that you can always find solitude on the island. Frequently you'll see other boats or hikers but we could always find plenty of places with no one about. There's nothing like this island anywhere else that we've been to. We intend to come back frequently and we'll next be trying some real wilderness sailing by going to the Slate Islands in 2004.

Posted by Karen A. Brown

We decided to attempt the trip from Spirit Lake to the Apostle's and back in one weekend just to see if we could make it all the way in two days.

We were up at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and by 5:40 out of the slip and on our way. The sun was already rising and the lake was steaming from its warmth. There were a few fishermen out in the river and a number of deer on its banks having a morning drink.

The GPS told us the trip would be 58.4 miles, as the crow flies, with the Duluth entry being the best exist for a more direct route, so we made the call to ask the bridge to be raised and exited the Duluth entry.

The lake was without wind. She needed more time to warm up from the sun and build wind so we ended up motoring a great deal of the morning before we were able to raise sails. Once the wind came up, we raised sails and began our beat to windward.

The route to the islands is not without its navigational challenges. You have to remember to avoid the leeward side of Eagle and get wind shift from the land if you're to close. This morning we also had a light fog that brought with it moments of calming. All in all, however, it was an exhilarating ride with portions of the trip at a steady 15 degree heel.

After what seemed like forever, Sand island lighthouse was finally in view. We got close enough to take some excellent photos which were unfortunately eaten by a camera that didn't appreciate the cold lake air.

We decided to anchor in Frog Bay on the mainland across from Oak Island where we should be protected from both the expected and the actual wind. We were so tired that we went to bed before the moon or stars came out and missed seeing a full moon on the lake. I guess we'll have to make the trip again.

Sunday morning we were up at dawn (about) and on deck to see how the day was shaping up. We both slept like the dead on our first night on this boat on the hook. It's amazing how quickly you can be lulled to sleep by that gentle rocking and the absolute and complete silence of the lake.

Troy went below and I watched for signs of the morning movement from the shore. After a few moments, I was rewarded by a pair of deer stepping lightly out of the forest to the edge of the water. They took their time picking along the shoreline eating and drinking before disappearing once again into the underbrush. Though I got some good photos, once again the camera took exception to the cold. I guess we'll have to get a better, more durable camera.

After the deer returned to the brush we lifted the anchor and powered out of the islands. The wind was barely starting to waken and it wasn't until we past Sand and were mostly past Eagle before we could hoist the sails.

The return trip was spent sailing downwind so we hadn't any heel but we were flying, touching seven knots (according to the GPS) a number of times. There were large swells as well, making the trip that much more exciting.

We also played with the auto helm on the return trip and learned how that works. It's a wonderful addition to the crew that we named Bob, which allowed us both to enjoy the trip that much more. Troy was so comfortable he even took a nap in the cockpit!

Posted by Karen A. Brown

WhimSea is in the water!

Posted by Karen A. Brown

In March of 2003, we became the new owners of an O'Day 40 named "Sails Call". After spending a large portion of 2003 looking at boats, evaluating them and trying to determine which would be best for us, we "settled" on an O'Day 40. I say "settled" because we were originally looking at heavier boats, thinking we would need the weight in Lake Superior. What we've discovered is that accidentally bought the best boat on the lake.

Ultimately there were a number of reasons why we decided on the O'Day 40 (among them the reputation of the O'Day boats, the design of the 40 -- both the sleekness of design and the layout of the interior, and the price).

We had two to look at and were able to focus on a 1988 O'Day in Muskegon, Michigan. Named Sails Call, she was owned by a salesperson who used the boat to take out clients. She was obviously both very well cared for and extremely lightly used. After much arranging and signing of documents, we had her shipped to Minnesota.

She arrived in our home port of Duluth, Minnesota on April 18, 2003 in the morning. Though we had hoped to see her traveling on the road, we didn't get an opportunity. At the first chance we were in the car and traveling to Spirit Lake Marina, where we kept her for the first year and a half.

Spirit Lake Marina is situated about 7 miles from Lake Superior on the St. Louis River. It is a popular marina of power boaters and filled with nice, friendly folks. We initially chose the Spirit Lake Marina as our home port because of a bit of confusion as to our draft. We were under the impression we needed a deeper marina then we do. With that said, we wouldn't trade our time at Spirit Lake. We learned a lot about our boat and had many happy voyages that started there. The trip up the river is usually filled with wildlife and plenty of ore boat watching as well.

In July of 2004, we moved WhimSea to the Knife River Marina. Knife River is located 15 miles north of Duluth on the scenic north shore. The people are absolutely great, the management is responsive and we've found it to be an excellent jumping off point to great weekend get-aways like Cornicopia and the Apostle's.

We named our boat WhimSea because we sail that way, wherever the whim of the wind and wave (and our spirits) take us.

Posted by Karen A. Brown

Having sailed the big water for a season Troy and I discovered the wonders of big water sailing and the drawbacks of driving four hours with a trailer sailor to enjoy the water. Though we loved our boat, Bucephalus, we were finding that long cruises were difficult in her. We came to the conclusion that we needed a bigger boat.

In 2002, we began a fervent search for a newer, bigger, boat. We made a few excursions to look at various boats including a CT in Chicago, IL, a Bayfield in Clearwater, MI, and a Cabo Rico 38 in Superior, WI. In 2003, we made the long trek to Michigan to look at two 40' O'Days. One in Muskegan, MI and the other in Charlevoix, MI. This trip would result in a circumnavigation of Lake Michigan and would be a 28 hour round trip trek.

We loaded up the jeep and headed on our way. The boats were relatively similar, having been built only a year apart. In order to make it easier to distinguish between the boats, we began to refer to them as the red boat and the blue boat, as their dodger and sail covers were red and blue. The day was beautiful and sunny, the traffic good and the trip went quickly. We fell in love with the first boat (the red one), but wanting to keep an open mind, looked at the blue one as well. After seeing the blue boat we knew we were right to fall in love with the red boat, and it was love at first sight. Though she was on the hard, covered with snow and cold, we knew we were a perfect fit for each other. We were so excited about the boat that we decided against stopping and getting a hotel for the evening and continued our circumnavigation through the night, not stopping until we reached home.

After some negotiation and agreement was reached, our Bucephalus cleaned up and delivered to the new owners, and a search began for a marina to hold our new ship, scheduled to arrive in April. We talked to a number of the Minnesota marina's in the Duluth area before settling on the Spirit Lake Marina. Under the new management of Jim and Judy King, the Spirit Lake Marina is a thriving boating community located on the St. Louis River.

While we awaited the arrival of our new boat, we searched for the perfect name. We finally settled on Whim Sea. To us, it fit our style of approaching things. Much of what we do is done on a whim, including our first trip to Lake Superior. Coupling the Whim with Sea connected the whim with our love of the big blue water of Lake Superior.

In April of 2003, the Whim Sea arrived at the marina. We drove up to see her immediately. Since it was close to the start of the season, the marina had left her in the travel lift slings. We climbed aboard her, opened cupboards, opened doors, laid on her berths, bounced on the salon, and generally wished that she had been splashed down and the mast was up.