WhimSea's Log

Headed up to Washburn on Thursday night after work. We were on the road by 6:30 and made good time all the way to Moquah. There was still a detour in place due to the flooding in the area, so we had to go through Moquah to get to the marina. We had an appointment to drop off Bug and didn't want to keep John waiting long. As we turned down towards Moquah and were surprised to find traffic stopped dead. It turned out there was a fatal motorcycle accident just outside of town. We were held up for a little over a half hour while the emergency crew came in. Since they came from Ashland, we didn't see anything, not even flashers, so it was really odd. We finally made it to Washburn and dropped off Bug and hit the sack, planning to pack the boat in the morning.

Friday with northeast winds called for, we knew it would be a fight to the island, so we stayed at the marina and got a lot of work done. The water heater now works, got a new set of batteries and some gelcoat repair done to fix a gouge made in the Apostle Islands Marina.

An early dinner of fish and chips from Patsys and early to bed followed.

Saturday and we were off the dock by 5am and headed to the Island. We had a fairly uneventful crossing. There were some swells left over from Fridays winds, but we ended up motoring the whole way. Fifteen hours and we were dropping the hook in Washington Harbor.

Sunday found us in fog waiting for space at the dock. We waited for other boats to depart then pulled up the hook and headed to the dock. Both the Voyageur and the Sea Hunter came in after we were docked. The Sea Hunter was carrying a group of folks that travel about taking lighthouse tours. We hoped the fog would lift enough for them to see the lights around the island. Of course the boy went swimming and later in the day a sailboat docked with another seven year old boy giving him the boy someone to play with. Abbey Road, who was carrying a crew of Boy Scouts were also there and really good with the boy, giving him tours of their boat. They even jumped in and did some swimming with Dylan.

The next day, Monday, Abbey Road departed, but another boat slid into her spot, which is actually our favorite berth as it gives Dylan a good place to swim and play on Charlie. But he enjoyed himself just the same having learned the joys of jumping off the boat and climbing the dock ladder.

Charlie was still on deck and we weren't up for taking her down just yet, so we went for a hike looking for thimbleberries. While we did find a few, there weren't many ripe enough quite yet. It was a beautiful hike though. Not too many hills to worry about and there was even a beautiful little amphitheater on the nature trail overlooking a stream. So peaceful and serene.

More swimming followed the hike and then dinner and a movie before bed.

Tuesday and the other boats on the dock departed. So we worked WhimSea around to our favorite spot and the boy got to do even more swimming. We did a bit of entertaining. Elmer on the Wind Calm was back and we met Tim who had his 20-something foot sailboat at the finger docks.

We also got some fish as Elmer had come in with both Trout and Salmon and when he went to bring it all ashore, he dropped his fillet knife in the water. We have one on board and gave it to him. He was on the first few days of a fishing trip and not having a knife would really curtail it. While we meant to have the fish that evening, the talking went on much longer then expected. We met three guys from Detroit as well. They stopped by looking for some whiskey (which of course we don't have) but Troy broke out the scotch instead.

A little while later a hiker came up begging for some beers. It turns out it was his first trip and he was from Northeast Minneapolis, but they arrived too late to buy beer from the store. While we had no beer to offer, we were able to give him a couple of bottles of sparkling wine instead. We found out the next day it was his honeymoon, so it was pretty appropriate.

Dinner of hot dogs, the fish would have to wait, a movie and bed.

Wednesday and it was calm enough, at least in the morning, to take Charlie down and work on her. Troy redid the standing rigging with Steve's help and now she is much more taut. Unfortunately, the wind came up and we were not going to put her in the water since Dylan would just beg to go out.

Dylan put on his ranger hat and vest and was up at the Visitor Center telling everyone of the wonders of the island. It was sweet of Val to come and tell us what a good job he was doing.

And I almost forgot the swimming! Steve had put on his wet suit and dove for Elmer's knife so he and Dylan jumped in together a few times. Dinner and the fish is finally cooked, it tasted great grilling them on cedar planks.

Thursday and it is still too windy for Charlie. But Steve is still off work so he came down and offered a tour of his boat Jibou, and it is sweet. Beautiful interior, the rudder is so smooth and it looks like a great pocket cruiser.

Friday and Dylan finished his book to earn another park badge. We went up to the Visitors Center so he could go through his booklet with the ranger. He was pretty proud to earn that badge and everyone in the Center stopped to watch him repeat his oath.

Since we were at the Center, Steve brought us in the back offices and showed us all the pirate flags the rangers had made for the Island. They were pretty cool.

Afterward, the boys got the sail on Charlie and took her out for a sail.

Saturday and we headed back towards Washburn. Since we had a little time yet, we stopped at Stockton, dropping the hook in Julian Bay. It was a beautiful night and so relaxing to be able to stop and chill a bit on the way home.

Sunday we went back to the marina and picked up Bug who was very excited to see us. In talking with John, it sounded like Bug had a vacation of his own with lots of hiking and playing with John, his dad and his girlfriend. Another awesome trip in the books.

We arrived at the marina Thursday evening, loaded up and put on water determined to head out in the morning, regardless of the forecast. They were calling for a small craft advisory with 10-20 knots of wind.

The morning dawned bright, sunny and warm with the wind directly on our nose, of course. We headed to Stockton Island in the hopes that the weather report would keep other boats in the harbor.

We were in luck. We arrived to find space and with the boys begging for a swim. The thunderstorms that followed us from the mainland were building ominously, but there was enough time for the boys to get a swim in before we were chased in by the rain. After the storm passed, they were back in the water spending hours together swimming.

We spent the weekend at the dock with the boys getting hours of water time in before heading back to the marina on Monday.