WhimSea's Log

After a good night's sleep we off loaded the rest of Debi's stuff from the boat and said goodbye and made coffee. We were off the dock by 7:15 and on our way to Isle Royale. We were hoping for good wind and a quick run to Windigo.

It's 30 miles from Thunder Bay to Windigo and 120 miles from Windigo to Knife River. Since we have to clear custom's, we'll need to make a quick stop at Windigo at a minimum. The plan was to touch and then keep going towards home, if the wind cooperated.

We were only at Windigo for about 15 minutes, then we headed back up the Washington Channel. There was some wind coming down the channel making it seem like there was more wind on the lake then there actually was. On the lake, we really just had lumps.

The overnight passage was spectacular. There were very few clouds over the lake, affording us a marvelous view of the stars and the milky way. With no moon in sight, there were a number of falling stars as well.

Along the shoreline, thunderstorms were building and provided us a light show with every flash of light. Luckily though we didn't get wet on the way home.

We made it back to the marina by around noon or so on Saturday. Troy and I had a nice long shower, followed by Beacon Berry Burgers at the Lighthouse and a long nap through the heat of the day.

The day started warm and bright in loon harbor. I got some pictures of the lumbering equipment that was left over in the bay where we anchored overnight.

We're heading back to Thunder Bay today and since there wasn't a lot of wind to start with, we motored through the loon harbor area, getting some pictures of the bays and islands.

As well as a lighthouse whose name escapes me right now.

It's sad to be homeward bound. But we've had a very good time and seen a lot of the lake and the area along the way. The boys keep calling the hills around us 'boobies'. It stared earlier in the trip when they looked at the hills and said they look like boobies, then the next day, talking to some locals and getting directions, the locals actually told us to head towards the boobies for a certain period of time. I think maybe they have an obsession!

As we left the Loon Harbor area, the wind really started to come up. It was (of course), on our nose and we had to steer 10 degrees off so as not to slam through the waves that were growing. Eventually Troy decided there was too much wind and the seas were too rough, so we raised the sails and headed towards Isle Royale for about a half hour until we could turn towards Thunder Bay again.

Before we turned though, we took a huge wave over the bow. I think about six gallons on water went into the hatch above the table below. Oops, Debi was sitting there reading a magazine and she got a bit of a surprise.

We tied up at the Thunder Bay marina (where they now have power), had a great dinner at The Keg and off loaded a bunch of Debi's stuff from the boat. Dave would be traveling back to the marina with us.

We awoke to a very heavy fog in the morning. We had some coffee and Troy and I took a walk around the town while we drank it hoping the fog would lift as the sun got brighter. Eventually it did and the bay opened up, so we left. We passed through a large series of islands and the fog seemed to keep coming and going around them. We just hoped it would lift enough to allow us to take pictures of the Battle Island Lighthouse.

Luckily it did and we got some pretty good pictures of the light.

The wind came and went througout the day, eventually ending with went. So we rolled the jenny in and out a couple of times, but ended up motoring. Here's Debi at the helm during one of the motoring times.

On the plus side, the rock formations in Loon Harbor were pretty amazing.

The path to our anchorage was absolutely beautiful. Islands, bays, some low areas that could be beaches combined with cliffs and hills. Beautiful.

Eventually we dropped the anchor between Spain Island and one other island. The harbor made it look like we were on a small inland lake, it was so protected. We anchored near the site of an old lumbering site. The remnants still lay on the beach at the edge of the water. The boys rowed over and took a look at it. They also picked up some rocks for me too paint.

Later in the evening we had one last dinner on the grill and a game of hearts before heading to bed.

We awoke to sun and glassy water. The plan was to head to Rossport for the night. We would gas up, pump out, water up and get good long showers in. Bonnie's book says Rossport is the place to stop along the north shore and the Richardsons map said they offer showers and laundry facilities.

Motored out of the Slates we saw some great rock formations as well as some excellent photos of wildlife.

Once we existed the slates, the fog came in. That damned fog stayed with us the whole way across and into the entrance of the islands. Since we had to motor anyway, we had breakfast along the way, Troy's famous orange crusted french toast. It tasted awesome!

After we passed Breadrock, though we didn't actually see it with the fog, it began to lift and revealed beautiful islands. Greens bluffs and high hills. The only things marring the beauty were antennas and towers.

Rossport was a pretty small town. They no longer offered laundry or shower facilities and the bathrooms had become biffys. Oh well, we could still get a shower in on WhimSea (and of course, we all did) with the awning up, the cockpit was pretty cool with the wind coming off the lake, though the sun was pretty darn bright and powerful.

We had dinner on the dock's picnic table with a linen table cloth, napkins and a lantern in the middle. Buffalo steak, potatoes and salad made it a wonderful feast.

We awoke to a fog that burned off with the sun and revealed a gorgeous bay. Here's some pictures. Dave dighy'd around a little bit and picked up some rocks and took some pictures of caribou bones as well as WhimSea. Dave spotted a caribou swimming across the entry to the bay. That was really cool.

After some breakfast pizza, we gathered up rock hunting supplies, water and Dave's shower gear and went ashore.

The rocks were absolutely amazing, broken shards of slate, greenstone and all sorts of rocks with minerals and material melted into them.

When we returned, we needed to try and pull up the anchor. Troy and Dave thought it was caught on something based on our location and the anchor's. Eventually, Troy drove over it, freeing it from the mud below. It was absolutely caked with it.

We motored out of the harbor and into a fog that had been rolling in. After existing the Slates and heading south, Troy and Dave got the lines out while I steered and Debi got her shower in.

The fog hung all the way around the Slates so we couldn't even get a picture of the light. With the fog and the warm weather, no fish either. So we decided to head back to our anchorage at Pike's Bay.

The fog followed us in and it was kind of difficult to maneuver in the islands. Its so easy to get turned around in the fog. Luckily the fog cleared as we came up to the burnt out barge and we could see we were headed in the wrong direction. We turned and headed to the anchorage. It took a little longer to drop the anchorage this time. There were some dead heads sticking just under the water surface we either hadn't seen before, or we disturbed pulling up the anchor. But eventually we were anchored and settled for the night.

We stayed the night off the cabin on McColl Island. The next day, after breakfast, we were preparing to head ashore when Troy grew concerned about some of the logs that came near the surface, our scope and swinging radius and the wind. He and Dave surveyed the situation (with Dave in the dinghy) to determine whether or not we could go ashore when the wind pushed WhimSea around and we hit one of the logs. Though it wasn't a hard hit, it was enough that Troy decided we should up anchor and head to the next anchorage instead of going ashore here.

We motored around and stuck our nose into a couple of little bays and inlets, surprised by the deep water so close to shore.

We did spot a caribou on shore grazing in the open grass near the burnt down barge. Here's a picture of the caribou and the barge.

Both were pretty darn cool to see. The caribou couldn't care less about us, or the campers that were nearby. The barge was a great hulk at the edge of the water. Pretty awesome.

Eventually, Troy agreed to try the anchorage called Pike's Bay. It's known for its shallow depths (unlike lots of other anchorages on the Slates), at 17-20 feet, but with slash on the bottom, folks recommended buoying the anchor. It looked like it would provide all around protection once we entered the narrow passage and it sure did.

On the way into the bay, we passed by this rock. Check out the scraping alongside. Clearly there were rocks in the glaciers as they went scraping by how many thousands of years ago. Pretty cool.

We arrived in time for me, Dave and Troy to get in a shower before it started pouring rain. Seemed like a good day for lounging around, playing games and cards and it sure was. Later in the evening the fog rolled into our anchorage and closed us in.

The alarm went off at 6:00am, but I didn't think we would be going anywhere. It sounded like there was quite a bit of wind out there. Troy was thinking maybe we wouldn't go, maybe we would, maybe head up to Red Rock instead.... regardless we wouldn't go anywhere soon. So, I went back to bed.

Dave and Troy stayed up though and had a bunch of coffee and talked about options. We decided we could either stay put, go to Red Rock or press on for the Slates. We decided we would head out to open water and see what the lake was like then. Given we would have to go up to Red Rock and back again and it would take a lot of time, we pressed on for the Slates instead.

The seas were lumpier then expected and with the autohelm out, we would have to steer. Troy took a watch and then Dave. The motion was pretty bad though and there were lots of naps taken to pass the time. It seemed like it would take forever.

Troy and Dave were napping when the islands materialized out of the mist. They were a dark blue in the whitish grey mist. Ominous looking since they were so high and we didn't see them until we were ten miles out.

Troy came topside about a hour later. The swells were getting worse. Probably because of the storms that seemed to be circling around the lake. There was definitely some unsettled weather out there.

We finally arrived at the islands and they are magnificent. The rock looked wild and uninviting. Hardscrabble trees determinidly growing out of them, splitting them with their roots. Caves appeared here and there. Islands, islets and rocks jutted out of the water in unexpected places despite the 200 foot depths.

After we entered the main channel, we expected the wind to die down since we should have had some protection, but it didn't. There were some storms converging on us at the Slates. I took as many pictures as I could, though its awfully hard to get the force of it in a picture. To illustrate, the wind went from one direction at 20 knots to the entirely opposite direction at 30 within a minute.

Troy put WhimSea's nose into the wind and we waited it out. It was moving very fast so it didn't take long. Then we turned back on course.

Here are just some of the pictures we took showing the storms.

After they passed, we continued into the Slates, looking for a dock that is called the Come and Rest Dock on McColl Island. Bonnie talks about it being somewhere we might be able to nose up to. We thought we might as well try anyway.

We did find the dock, but it's pretty small (seen in the picture below) and front a little cabin on McColl island. Luckily the ground nearby looked great for anchoring and had decent depths as well. Though we buoyed the anchor, we dropped the hook and settled in for the night.

After dinner Troy and I went topside to look at the stars. They were just peeking out. It was a beautiful night with the islands all around us we felt very protected. A friend told me when she visited the islands she found them a little spooky. When I looked around, I didn't find them spooky so much as abandoned perhaps. Forgotten even. They felt as though very few people visited there.

Friday morning and we were up early for showers and the last bit of offloading before sending the boys off to find an Ontario fishing license for Troy and I. It took them a surprisingly long time, but they did eventually come back with a license.

Looking out towards Thunder Bay, it looked like we would have very little wind or waves to contend with and the dinghy races going on inside the break wall seemed to confirm our thoughts. We decided to shove off thinking we would have breakfast along the way.

Boy were we surprised when we got outside the protection of the break wall. There was quite a bit of wind and good sized waves as well. We pulled out only 100% of the jeny and made our way to towards the Giant. We would need to round a buoy marking a shoal, clear the giant and a couple of other islands before we could turn to port and take the waves more off of our quarter. Unfortunately, Bob (our autohelm) decided to quit on the way across the bay so the boys took turns steering. The wind and waves were pretty taxing so we pulled out the charts and tried to decide if we would continue on to the Slates, or find a place to anchor for the night. With this much wind and no autohelm, we decided to anchor.

Moss Island looked like our best bet. Troy had scoped it out on the charts as a pretty decent halfway point to the Slates. It looked like a snug anchorage with protection from most directions. We headed in and found out that Bonnie's book was right on, though having Dave on the bow on the way past the shoal into the anchorage was good too.

The anchorage was pretty amazing, fully protected from all wind and very secluded.

There's a fishing station on Moss Island that was being used by a couple or three guys, who were enjoying the day. After we anchored and got settled, they motored over to say hello and gave us some other places we might try anchoring in the area.

We had dinner and enjoyed the evening, heading up on deck before bed to enjoy the stars. Where we found a seagull sitting on the gunnel of the dinghy! Mike must have followed us!

No moon yet, so the stars were all out. We all head to bed, planning to make an early start of it the next day.

We're leaving the island and on our way to Thunder Bay. It's always hard to say goodbye to Isle Royale. There are so many areas not yet explored. The anchorage at Five Finger Bay was pretty awesome. There were little islands and islets everywhere it seemed. The island has some pretty awesome rock formations.

Today we'll pick up Dave and Debi in Thunder Bay, re-provision and then tomorrow make our way to the Slate's. There's some trepidation about anchorages on the Slate's. Troy has found a couple that might work. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I've only been to Thunder Bay once, by car. Of course Troy and boys were up last year with the TransSuperior and they got an opportunity to see the city from the water. The entry into the harbor was pretty amazing. The Sleeping Giant looks over the harbor and there are lighthouses on the islands on the entry. It was pretty amazing.

There's even a building on the base of the Sleeping Giant, check it out:

We arrived at Thunder Bay Marina to find it under construction, which meant no power on the docks. Oh well, I guess we'll be staying off the grid for a while longer.

We fueled up and watered up and got a pump out, then went to our slip to tie up for the evening. I called Dave & Debi and found out where they were on the drive. It appears we had a little time before they would arrive, so we decided to walk up for some lunch.

We walked up to a little Italian restaurant a few blocks away and had a quick bite. Then we returned to the marina and off loaded garbage and watched the world go by.

We were taking a walk up to the Yacht club building to watch the small boat race in progress when I spotted Dave and Debi walking down to the boat. so we came back and met up with them, said a quick hello and got to work unloading their car and loading up WhimSea. Before we put everything away, we walked up to the steakhouse, the Prospector. The boys had visited this place last year during the TransSuperior race and enjoyed the food and the service. We had a good dinner and finished up in time to get back to the boat and begin unloading before the fireworks started. It was Canada Day after all.

The first boom hit, Troy was watching out from the cockpit and Dave was up the companionway like a shot. I joined them and all three of us hollered for Debi. We were perfectly situated for the fireworks since we were facing the park and they were being blown off there.

The fireworks were pretty awesome. Not quite as good as last year's Fourth of July on Rain or Shine, but still pretty darn good.

We finished unpacking/packing WhimSea and brought the last load to the car before heading to bed.

We're off to the next anchorage having left the idyllic Hay Bay behind us. The wind, what little there is, is on our nose. Once we get into the open water, we'll both get in a shower and we'll feel much better, I'm sure.

We traveled the bay and both did get in a shower. I was right, I felt great. We made our way around the tip of the island with very little help from the sails since the wind was contrary, vague and undecided.

After rounding Blake Point, we went past a number of small islands and islets to enter into Five Finger Bay where we elected to stay for the evening. We had decided to anchor in an unnamed bay closer inland then Stockly Bay. It was certainly narrower then we typically anchor in, but the anchor was well set in a bed of mud (based on Troy's sounding lead) and eventually we became comfortable with the narrowness.

The anchorage was beautiful. Little islands and islets all around, loons, mergansers, all sorts of waterfowl. Not another boat in sight.

I pulled out my drawing supplies and spent some time with charcoal and paper. Troy couldn't resist the desire and he picked it up as well.

While I was doing the dishes, Troy was up in the cockpit when a seagull landed on the dinghy's gunnel. I named him Mike and he spent quite a bit of time out there.

Afterwards, we played some 500 Rummy and then we were off to bed.

We awoke on Tuesday to some pretty healthy wind and no urge to go anywhere. Though we haven't been able to tune in weather radio specifically for the island, the Rock of Ages light was reporting winds of 18 mph gusting to 22. We were snug in Hay Bay with really no reason to move if we didn't want to. Troy mapped out some potential routes for Thunder Bay that skipped Rock Harbor and went to an anchorage for Wednesday night that would allow us to run to Thunder Bay. Not sure yet which we would pick, I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

So, we decided on a rather lazy day. Troy laid down for a nap and I pulled out my painting supplies and painted some rocks that I had brought along with us. Afterward, some relaxing reading.

When Troy got up we sat on the fore deck in chairs and enjoyed a beer (or two) and watched some eagles play.

We left Windigo around noon, after some breakfast. In leaving Washington Harbor, we saw a fox walking along the shore and a bald eagle in the trees along the harbor. Beautiful. We slipped through the gap at Grace Harbor and headed towards Siskiwit Bay where we intended to spend the night and maybe do a little fising. We weren't sure if we would stay on Wright Island or Hay Bay, it sort of depended on the wind and if others were around. We were looking forward to a secluded anchorage and no people in sight.

We headed out a bit and did the dishes and each had a shower. It feels so good to take a shower under way. Luxurious. The sun came out and it turned into a really great day.

We motored into Sisiwit and Troy proceeded to set down lines. I picked out a lot of the lures and stick bait, but Troy determined depth and what to use, Dipsy, Deeper Diver, Yellowbird, etc. I did insist we leave one line on top, with all the little annoying bugs around, it just made sense to me... and boy was I right!

We caught a Coho! Troy reeled it in which meant I was on net duty, which I've never done before. Troy was thinking I'd go down to the swim platform but I was worried about falling overboard, so I didn't. Course, then I was worried I'd drop the damn net in the lake. In the end, I grasped the net with both hands and plunged it in the water and scooped up the fish. This would be Troy's first filleting job, so some meat was left on the bones for the gulls and other fish. There was plenty left over though so we could both eat our fill.

While Troy was washing the ick off the deck, I went below and cleaned off the knife and board and got a plank soaking. We grilled the fish on a cedar plank and it was absolutely amazing. Fresh salmon.

After dinner, we played some cards and Troy kicked my but in scrabble before heading to bed. An awesome day.

We arrived at the Windigo Ranger Station by 2:45 on Sunday afternoon. We docked and got checked in, and while checking in, a moose walked by the window of the office. How cool is that! One of the rangers told me one of the females has two calves this year. This is obviously not here since she's by herself, but she stopped on the trail and called out in that low throated way they have... maybe she was saying hello!

By 4:00 central, we were in the cockpit enjoying a martini with fishing lines over the side. Life is good.

We got up early and finish off the vacation preparation tasks (added a couple of pole holders, watered up, fueled up, pumped out) and were away from the fuel dock by 3:15. We got a great send off from the marina with well wishes from Marina Mates.

The lake was a bit lumpy and surprisingly foggy given there wasn't a lot of fog at the marina when we left. We have 120.7 nautical miles to go to reach our destination in Washington Harbor on Isle Royale. The wind we have is from the Northeast (direction we're heading, of course) at about 10-12 knots. If it were favorable, we'd be sailing a bit at least, but its not.

After leaving the marina, we threaded the nets and then set Bob (our auto helm) for our way point. Troy and I took turns at the helm, four hours on and four hours off throughout the night.

At 5:00pm the fog lifted enough that I could see quite a distance. The Minnesota shoreline (which we were paralleling) was a dark blue shape on the port side with fog hanging tenaciously at the line where water meets the land.

The bumpiness of the lake had settled down a bit and the sun feels warm on my back. Since I can see so much more, being under the dodger isn't an issue. I don't need the radar anymore, but we'll leave it on since we're travelling through the night and it makes sense to have it on.

8:00pm I went below to put on more layers and when I came back topside, the fog had lifted. It hadn't so much as lifted as went higher in the sky. When I looked up, I could see the tendrils and the underside of the fog above us. Minnesota is still a dark blue mass barely visible and still shrouded in fog. I can see patches of blue sky above us and hope the clearing holds. If it does, we'll have a full moon tonight.

We're likely to arrive sometime tomorrow, probably around lunch time and it would be nice to see the stars.

At 9:15 we were abreast Silver Bay with a cruise ship a one and a half miles off our starboard beam. It's kind of wild to see. When it came from astern of us (from Duluth), it was hard to guess what it was for sure.

I should also mention that the sun came out just long enough to send great splashes or orange and red behind the fog still on shore. Magnificent

A couple of times in the night, rain fell. It was like the fog let go its moisture. The kind of rain where the lake looks like its reaching up towards the sky.

At 6:00pm the world starts to close in again. The fog is returning and with it the damp air. Minnesota is a darker grey spot beneath the white. The sun a glowing orb in the mist. There's nothing on the radar, not even land anymore. Visibility is about a 1/2 a mile. We could be heading into absolutely nothingness for all I could tell. We're alone on the planet, or the lake at any rate.

We arrived at the marina late on Friday night, after completing last minute preparations at home. There are so many things to do to get ready for vacation and time just slips away.

Another weekend of getting things ready on the boat for our trip. It seems there are always more tasks to do then a person thinks. We took off some things that would make room for two weeks worth of stuff and finalized our vacation meals with Dave & Debi. I can't wait until next weekend when we sail away!

Wow, what a busy week and it all lead up to this weekends Yacht Club festivities. Troy and I arrived at the marina late on Friday (around midnight) after completing last minute tasks for Saturday's Pirate Day. Saturday morning we were up bright and early and ran out to the Mocha Moose for a jolt of caffeine and sugar (their cinnamon rolls are amazing!). Afterward we met up with a bunch of folks at the clubhouse and starting laying out the days plans, completing left over tasks and setting up for the event.

With all the help we had (thank you everyone!) we were able to get everything set up, head back to the boat for a quick sandwich and change in time for the festivities.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary kicked off the days events with a talk about boating safety geared towards the kids. He did a great job explaining safety tips, teaching the kids knots and talking about water safety.

Afterward, the kids all signed up to be pirates for the day. We held gunnery practice where we tried to hit the dinghy (with Billy Bones propped up in the back) with potatoes, then the group leaders went in search of the Sea Witch. The Sea Witch sent the kids in search of articles that would buy the treasure map. Eventually, the treasure was found and divided among the crew. Which they promptly spent to buy treasures and treats.

The pirate festivities ended in time for us to change into slightly warmer clothes (this being the coldest pirate day we've had), whip together our broccoli salad and join the Yacht Club's social hour already in progress. We had an excellent potluck dinner, a great time visiting with friends and more cannon fire as candy was shot all over the parking lot.

On Sunday, we got a chance to sleep in a little bit, then it was back to work as more tasks came off our to do list in preparation for our vacation.

We decided to head up on Saturday morning, instead of Friday, since we had a lot to do at home and this weekend was to be a working weekend anyway. We arrived at the marina sometime around lunch time and got to work on our projects: Replace the bilge pump, interior lighting, cleaning.... there was a pretty long list and we knew we wouldn't get to everything, but would get done what we could.

A pretty productive weekend, though unfortunately one without any sailing getting done. Oh well, since it's getting us ready for our vacation, that's OK.

Follow the link if you'd like to see the associated content article on the 2010 Tall Ships.

After breakfast and coffee we pulled up the anchor and began our return trip to the marina. It is always a bit sad to go home again, especially after such a relaxing weekend. But go home we must. We raised sail and motorsailed towards Minnesota, intending to reach Two Harbors before lowering sail, reducing speed and fishing our way back home. As we reached Two Harbors, the wind began to die and then sun shone beautifully as we put out dipsies and deeper divers and hoped for a hit.

Unfortunately, no bite was to be had. I keep telling Troy we must put in our time like all others and eventually we'll get a hit, but it is a bit discouraging.

We returned to the marina to find a party piping up on Rain or Shine. Dave had caught some fish and a boil was in process! We quickly tied up and changed out of some layers of clothes, cut up some cheese and meat and joined the crew. We had a great time, filling Rain or Shine with so many people that we were overflowing onto the dock alongside the boat. Eventually we had to pack up and head home and regrettably said our goodbyes, until next weekend.

We awoke well rested and in a wonderful anchorage on Marina Shoal off Raspberry island. The wind was fair for us to continue here for a bit longer, so we enjoyed our coffee and breakfast and talked of dropping a couple of lines in the water. Why not try and catch something while we sat and enjoyed the morning.

We prepared the poles for dropping lines and as we did so, one of the lines went overboard without being attached to the pole! Luckily the bobber was attached, so Troy dropped in the dinghy and set about its retrieval. There was considerable wind as well as current to help the bobber and line head out to see much quicker then we thought and Troy had to go quite far to retrieve it, but he eventually returned successful.

Afterwards we sat and watched the bobbers travel about the boat, with nary a bite.

The wind began to come up from a contrary direction and we considered other areas to anchor, but most were receiving swell yet from the northeast (despite the contrary wind) and eventually we returned to the same shoal to spend another evening on that blessedly wonderful anchorage.

That night we enjoyed an excellent dinner and a good O'Brien story on the radio before heading to a good nights sleep.

The first official event of the KRYC with donuts and coffee in the morning at the clubhouse and pizza in the evening. Troy and I decided to stay for the donuts and coffee, leaving shortly afterwards for the islands. We hoped to get a slightly earlier start, but it is difficult to leave a marina full of returning friends.

We did eventually head out, sailing across for Wisconsin. Of course, the wind was from the Northeast, so we pulled the traveler across, pointed as closely into the wind as we could and set all sails flying. This is our first long weekend of the season and we were pretty determined to have an adventure of it.

The wind off the lake was cool, despite the sun, and we were both fairly heavily layered with clothing while crossing the middle of the lake. Within five miles of shore, the wind died and the sun warmed the air enough to allow for a more comfortable trip. We lowered sail and started up the motor figuring on getting closer to Eagles before fishing the rest of the way to our island anchorage.

Troy laid down for a bit of a nap and shortly afterward, the wind piped up once again causing WhimSea to charge through the large swells that quickly followed the wind increase. We raised sails once again and began our beat to windward. The beating took longer then expected and we decided against fishing when we reached Eagle and Sand and instead sailed right to Raspberry where we would drop our sails and anchor off Marina Shoal.

Returning to the Apostle's is like a homecoming every year. The Islands change only slightly from year to year, caves are bigger, trees reach taller into the sky, and it is wonderful to see the transitions and also the sameness of the islands that have become so familiar to us.

We had an excellent dinner and enjoyed the sunset and subsequent moon-rise and array of stars from the cockpit. What a wonderful return.

A very quiet day indeed. We had planned to go fishing, but a cold fog came in and we decided against it. Projects around the boat therefore got our attention. Troy rearranged the pole holders and we had plenty of visitors from returning marina mates to keep us busy. The drive home was pretty amazing with a raucous lightning storm entertaining us the entire way.

A quiet weekend planned at the marina. Not everyone at float yet, but more and more boats appear every week. Troy and I went fishing (and had a miss!!!) and enjoyed dinner with Bruce and Kathy at Dixie's. A nice day.

Troy woke with a bad headache, so I left him in his bunk and went about helping Bruce launch K.C. II for the season. We had hoped to run to Duluth for more fishing line and some tackle, but Troy's headache kept him in bed for much of the day. I'm not complaining though since that means I had a day of reading and relaxing. Not a bad thing either. Guess we'll have to hold off on the fishing secrets for the next weekend.

We slept in far later then we had intended, and therefore got a fairly late start on the day. No matter, the sun was shining and the day was looking pretty darn gorgeous.

We flushed WhimSea's tank's and in the process discovered we appeared to be pumping out as much water as we were putting on. There was clearly a leak somewhere on the boat. Process of elimination ruled out the tanks themselves, the entry points, and exits and eventually we discovered that the hot water heater's valve was left open so whenever we charged the tank, it put water into the hot water heater and leaked out again. Troy fixed that and we were back to filling up with water and working on spring commissioning projects.

Troy put a couple more rod holders on the boat as well as worked on making sure she was ready for fishing.

There's lots of folks at the marina now, which is excellent to see and also means lots of time spent catching up. Bruce was there getting KC II ready for splashing and Blueberry stepped their mast and put in as well. Scott came by to check on Dolce and make sure she was ready for splashing by Memorial Day.

We eventually got out on the water for a little fishing. We tested out the Yellow Birds, put out a Deeper Diver and a Dipsy. The sun was very warm on our faces, especially on the run towards Two Harbors, but when we turned around for the return trip, it got a mite cold with the wind picking up off the lake.

We headed into the marina to a good dinner and more visiting with friends. And Troy pumped Don for fishing secrets and decided on the next days strategy to get some fish. (Don took pity on us as well as shared some Salmon! Thank you Don!)

Since it was the night before fishing opener and there was already traffic due to construction season, we decided to leave the house a little later then normal on Friday night. It's clear we're going to have to find an alternate route through Duluth this season. Because of the late hour, we didn't get a chance to visit with folks on Friday, but were happy to see some familiar cars in the parking lot.

Sunday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and folks were around the marina getting their boats ready for the water. Dave and Deb came by to wax Rain or Shine and Troy and Joey gave them a hand while I cleaned WhimSea. After a bit, WhimSea went out for a sail and I kept cleaning while Troy and Joey got to experience the North wind off the lake (I think I may have gotten the better job).

They got a little cold, but did actually enjoy themselves. There was pretty good air out there after all. Hopefully next weekend its a little warmer at least.

On April 10th when we headed north to wax the boat, we marveled at the progression of the spring in the trees, the grass, everything.

On April 16th when we made the same trip for our first sail of the season, we again saw those signs of spring progressing in the trees. The spring green against the deeper green of the evergreen trees. It's pretty awesome.

Today as we made the journey, we marveled at the patches of snow in the shadows of those same trees, now fully crowned with leaves. Near home there was a hard frost and clear signs of snow, but up in Duluth..... closer to 1.5 to 2 inches of snow was still on the ground when we rolled into town. I can't believe that the boat's been in the water for a month and NOW we get snow!

At least it gave us a really good reason to take a nice long nap on Saturday.

Afterward we met Dave and Deb, Michael and Kathy and Dave's family for Dave's birthday celebration at the Buffalo.

A great day.

We headed up to the marina on Friday after work. We weren't planning anything special for the weekend, which is probably good since the weather was supposed to be kind of rainy.

Friday night we stopped for drinks at the Lighthouse.

Saturday and Sunday we hung out at the marina for much of the day, visiting with friends and just being on the boat. A nice weekend all the way around.

Its Sunday and we have a date with Dave to go out sailing. We started the day with a baked omelet at the Vanilla Bean (there is nothing like a Green Eggs and Ham), then returned to the marina to raise the mainsail.

Afterward, we headed out to the lake and a sail. It was significantly colder on Sunday then Saturday so we were all pretty bundled up. Not winter coats, but definitely fleece under the windbreaker.

We had good wind for our sail and spent enough time out there to get thoroughly chilled. We headed back into the marina and planned a hook up with Deb and the Buffalo House for dinner. Another tradition started up again. I can't wait until Rain or Shine is in the water too!

It was the first sail of the season and we were taking Joey and a friend of his. Troy and I ran up to Mocha Moose for a quick pick me up before heading out.

They arrived a little after 10:00 and helped Troy to raise the genny. Because of the wind and its direction, we decided against raising the mainsail, figuring if we wanted to, we could raise it out on the water.

We headed out from the marina and were pleasantly surprised to find out it wasn't freezing cold out on the water, despite the early date. There was a nice breeze blowing off the land that warmed up the air very nicely.

We sailed out towards Wisconsin, and about halfway there turned around and headed back to the marina. Unfortunately, Joey's friend got sick on the ride back, but all in all we had a good time.

After the sail we walked about the marina and visited with other folks getting their boats ready for the season. Then Troy, Joey, his friend Jesse, and Karen and Jerry Ruona went to Two Harbors and some Due North pizza.

We followed up some excellent pizza with more drinks and good conversation into the wee hours of the night.

It's the first Friday night at the marina for the 2010 season so of course we had to stop at the Lighthouse on the drive up for our traditional Plymouth Martini. Walking into the Lighthouse was like coming home for us. The martini's tasted excellent and the owners and bartender remembered us from the '09 season. We had an excellent homecoming.

Arriving at the marina, we found we were one of very few boats at the marina and the place was pretty darn quiet. It was nice to see WhimSea in her slip and we looked forward to our first sail the next day.

Received word from the marina today that WhimSea is in the water! Splashdown 2010.

Troy and I took a quick trip up to Knife to get WhimSea all waxed and ready to go in the water. We believe she'll be dropped in sometime this week. It was an absolutely beautiful day for a drive up to the North Shore and clearly we were not alone in our thinking. A number of folks were there getting their boats ready for the coming season. There were three boats in the water as of Saturday, but I'm guessing by next week there will be more.