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While we were pulling away from the dock at 0845, the 1000 footer Edwin H. Gott exited the locks and crossed in front of us. We fell in behind her and trailed her for the next 20 miles. It was a cool day of heavy overcast and light N winds but no rain. We followed the Gott down the West Neebish Channel and enjoyed a favorable current of up to one knot as we motored south. After we entered Munuscong Lake, the Gott picked up speed and gradually pulled away from us. We arrived at DeTour at 1430, off-loaded the bikes and rode over to town in order for Bill to buy a cap. He neglected to bring one with him. After our blue cheese meatloaf dinner, a rock group began a concert in the marina’s parking lot not more than 300 yards from the boat. It was very loud and we were happy when the cacophony ended just after 2300. Then we only had to listen to the wind which over the course of the afternoon and evening had started to blow at 20+ knots. The forecast is that it will drop tomorrow. We plan to cross to the south shore of Lake Huron from here and go to Rogers City.

We have had two days of rain gusty winds and cold temperatures so it has been a blessing to be here taking care of the boat, cleaning and awaiting Bill Boaz’s arrival with my new house batteries. Bill arrived at 1245 today the 21st which is my birthday and the new batteries are one of my best birthday presents. By 1415 with a little grunting and groaning we had the new batteries in place, then we made a quick trip to the grocery store to replenish our food supplies and by1445 John Robertson left for the long trip back to Vermilion. Cindy Boaz was kind enough to send up a pan of lasagna with Bill so we had that for dinner after we had polished off a batch of pina coladas. We are tired so it will be an early evening and then around 0900 tomorrow we are off down the St. Mary’s River to DeTour Village.

We were underway at 0850 on our last leg of this circumnavigation of Lake Superior with favorable winds out of the SW and we had a great sail for 2 ½ hours before the winds died and we turned on the engine. This whole trip around Lake Superior we had not seen a single freighter until today. First the Capt. Henry Jackman passed us upbound and she was followed by Canadian Prospector downbound and Indiana Harbor upbound. We got lots of pictures. At 1216 we passed the Gros Cap Light and also crossed our upbound track thus officially completing our circumnavigation. By 1400 we were in the Canadian lock accompanied by a Soo Tour Boat. Locking down was a piece of cake only requiring us to wrap a bow and stern line around a plastic covered cable on the lock wall and holding on as we gently fell some 20 feet. We were tied up in the marina at 1430. We are very happy to be here as the forecast for tonight and tomorrow is SE winds of 20-30 knots. I mixed up a batch of Pina Coladas to toast our departure from Lake Superior and then we went out to dinner. Tomorrow we will clean the boat, defrost the freezer and get ready for the house battery bank changeover when Bill Boaz arrives on Friday.

We left at 0730 for the long run to Whitefish Point with sunny skies and light SW winds on our stern. It was an easy trip for a while with the jib rolled out to stabilize the boat in the swells which were still running from the NW. The last two hours the wind moved to the W and piped up to 20 knots and then 20+ as we approached Whitefish Point. The waves had built to 5 footers by that time but as we rounded the point and headed south to the harbor the seas dropped as well as the wind since we were in the lee of the land. We found three open docks in this small harbor and made an easy landing at 1400. After lunch John and I walked the ¾ mile to the Whitefish Point Lighthouse and the Shipwreck Historical Museum that is located there. The ship’s bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald is on display as well as lots of other memorabilia dealing with shipwrecks, lighthouses, the lives of lightkeepers, life saving stations, etc. On our walk we were amazed to find and enjoy lots of large, ripe low bush blueberries alongside the road . Tomorrow we will head down Whitefish Bay to the Soo and cross our July 5th inbound track to Lake Superior. It has been a long, difficult but delightful 6+ weeks.

Over night the strong winds from the south laid down and we departed at 0815 with only light 6-8 knot winds from the SW. This was an interesting day as we motored along Pictured Rocks and then the incredible sand dunes along Grand Sable. There cannot be a prettier stretch of coast line in the world. However for some reason there was a 3-4 foot swell from the NW that had us rolling heavily most of the way to Grand Marais. I cannot figure where it was coming from since we have only seen S and SW winds for days. We arrived in Grand Marais at 1330, stopped at the fuel dock to top off our tank and the backed down the dock to our place along this wall which can only accommodate 4 to 5 boats. Only one other boat, a trawler from North Carolina was here when we arrived. While John biked over to the dunes, I kicked back and then went up into town for some provisions. We had spinach and white beans over pasta for dinner. I will be turning in early since we plan on leaving at 0730 for the 45 NM trek to the Harbor of Refuge at Whitefish Point. The temperature outside is falling so it looks like the heat has been broken and we should have a very comfortable night.

Well the wind did not lay down last night. In fact it increased and we had a bumpy night with bumpers creaking and lines groaning. So it was easy to get up early and depart at 0730 into a boisterous day with winds from the SW at 15 to 20 knots when we left the harbor which built out on the lake to a steady 20 knots with gusts above 25. Since the wind was off the land we had small seas and it was not uncomfortable.  As we approached Grand Island the wind shifted onto our nose from the south so we rolled up the jib and motored into Munising.  By this time the wind was blowing 25-30 knots and making a landing in the harbor was hairy at best. We arrived at 1245 and after lunch John was able to catch a 1400 tour boat out to Pictured Rocks. He enjoyed his day and the sights. We went to the Dogpatch restaurant for dinner  and despite the name the seafood buffet was pretty good especially the baked whitefish. Their TV was on so we were able to see the last two holes of the PGA and see Tiger blow his first lead  in a major. That was disappointing.  Tomorrow we plan to go to Grand Marais.

When we left at 0800 it was already promising to be a warm day and as soon as the morning haze burned off it did get warm even on the water. This is the fifth day in a row we have traveled without any of the cockpit enclosure up and we have the front “window” open as well. We crossed Keweenaw Bay to Point  Abbaye and then went out to the Huron Islands so John could get pictures of the lighthouse. We went north of lighthouse Island and then between Lighthouse Island and McInyre  Island in order to get close and to get the right light. The lighthouse is a massive, beautiful structure high atop the Island. The islands themselves are impressive  with towering cliffs and masses of granite. Then it was on to Big Bay where we intended to stay. Luckily, we called the marina as we were entering the bay and inquired about space. As it turned out there wasn’t any room for us.  It was only noon so we reversed course, headed back out to the Lake and set course for Marquette.  We arrived in a hot Marquette at 1645, tied up at the “coal dock” and immediately turned on the AC. This is described as a “rocky” dock in south or southwest winds and it was until the winds dropped after 1800. Let’s hope it stays down. Tomorrow we plan an early start for Munising. We will go to a dock so that John can catch a tour boat out to Picture Rocks National Seashore. Marcy and I have done that trip and the scenery is beyond belief. I am sure John will get some great pictures!

I now look a lot more human with my hair cut and the beard trimmed. After topping off with fuel we left Houghton  at 1300and went south down to the Lower Entry. We plan to leave from there tomorrow morning and go to Big Bay. When Lew Myers and I did this trip in 2005 we anchored in the old river bed. This time at 1500 we tied up to a wall at the Harbor of Refuge which is used by freighters to get off the lake in big storms.We made that choice so John could do some walking and running. The positive thing about the choice was the Bald Eagle we spotted right after our arrival in the top of a tree next to the dock. The negative was the motion from the wakes of all the power boats going into and returning from Keenawau Bay. Overall it was a good choice. It was another warm sunny day so I made Marcy’s chicken salad for dinner and kept it in the refrigerator for several hours. It was a hit.  We plan to leave at 0800 tomorrow so we turned in early.

There is no doubt that summer has finally arrived on Lake Superior as we had another warm night and even had to turn on the air conditioning. We departed Ontonagon at 0800. We were actually looking forward to getting out into the lake where it would be cooler. It was another cloudless day with 13-15 knot winds from the SW and a very calm sea. With the wind only 30 degrees off our stern we could not sail but the raised main gave us some drive and stability as we motored to the Upper entry and then down the Waterway to Houghton. Arriving at 1445, we checked in at the marina, called the local public transport and 15 minutes later we were at Pat’s IGA replenishing our badly depleted supply of food. After that I did laundry; a task I do not enjoy. I had a cocktail and at 1900 we  walked across the bridge to town and ate dinner at the Ambassador Restaurant. It was very packed but we soon were able to get seats at the bar and order. The individual pizzas we had were excellent.

I have to tell you that  for at least a week we have been limping along with a house battery bank consisting of two 6 volt 400 amp hour batteries that is on its last legs. Yesterday with Marcy’s help I was able to talk with the battery supplier in Willowick who sold me these batteries and he was able to locate the exact replacement. I then talked to Bill Boaz who will be joining the boat in Sault Ste. Marie on 8/21. Bill kindly agreed to pick up the Batteries and bring them with him. Now all we have to do is get the old ones off the boat and the replacements installed. It will be a mean task as they weigh 120 pounds apiece. Oh well!! I certainly have had my share of equipment challenges on this trip.

Torrow we will leave for the Lower Entry around noon after I pay a visit to the barber for a haircut and beard trim.

Raspberry Bay was recommended to us by Stan Cory who said it was a very popular anchorage so we were surprised to find only one boat anchored when we arrived. By nightfall that had changed a lot because we had eight other boats around us. Nevertheless it was a peaceful night. When we got up our intention was to go back to the Madeline Island YC and then meet Ron and Sue Williams for dinner on the Island. Ron is an old navy shipmate. However when we heard the forecast which called for very favorable SW winds the next two days with the possibility of E winds on Friday we decided to bite the bullet and make the long passage to Ontonagon. So it was up anchor, weave our way down Oak, across the top of Hermit and finally exit the Apostles across the top of Madeline Island. We had a delightful trek across the lake to Ontonagon in light SW winds, no seas and the warmest temperatures of the trip. We were at our dock in Ontonagon at 1805. After a hurried dinner of barbequed chicken we sat back to await the Perseid Meteor showers only to discover the marina and surrounding area were to brightly lit to give us a good view and the mosquitoes were also plentiful and ravenous. We plan to leave at 0800 tomorrow for the Upper Entry and Houghton.