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I spent the morning updating the blog and sending pictures of CPR slip for Will to post. We then filled our tank with 20 gallons of diesel and left at 1100 for the very short trip south to the town of Red Rock. It was our fourth sunny day in a row although cloud cover is moving in from the west. Once at Red Rock we pulled into the gas dock to register and the wind built up and pinned us on the dock. Several hours later the wind moderated and with the help of several people we got off the dock and went to our slip. We were told by a number of people that the walk into town at Red Rock is shorter than at Nipigon but it is not. I was lucky to catch a ride up to the grocery store to finish my provisioning for the arrival of Will and my four grandsons Brian, Adam Connor and Aidan who will arrive on Saturday at Isle Royale. Kevin and I went to dinner at the Red Rock Inn and it was nice to dine once again on a white table cloth. The ambiance of this old Inn and the food were very good. Tomorrow we are off to Loon Harbour where we will anchor and the make the crossing to Isle Royale on Thursday. Right now the weather forecast is good for both days.

It was another cool night, but we awoke to our third day of sun in a row. Maybe things are changing for the better. We were underway a little after 0900 and motored east through the shoals and across the top of Agate Island. After that we were able to turn SW down Williard Strait and hoist sails in a light breeze from the SE. We sailed for about an hour and a half until we turned N up Nipigon Strait and wre blanketed by the steep cliffs to the east. It was an easy trip for the rest of the day until we came to the narrow channel up the river to Nipigon. The channel is well buoyed so we had no real difficulty until the end when we only had 2 feet of water under the keel. We spent the afternoon doing laundry and then went to dinner at the Nipigon Cafe.  We plan to refuel tomorrow morning and head south all of 5 miles to Red Rock.

It is evident in a  very sad way that all the communities on the Canadian shore of Lake Superior are hurting. Virtually the only construction is public works. We are told all of the paper, plywood and lumber mills are closed and most of the non-essential shops in the towns are also closed. Many of the men haved moved west where there is work providing lumber to the Far East. Let’s hope the economy improves soon!

We had another wonderful, warm sunny day here. Several boats left late last night and early this morning but they were replaced by two power boats and another sailboat from Thunder Bay.  We had a lazy day enjoying not having to move the boat.  After another sauna, we grilled hamburgers and sat back to listen to the loons calling around us.  Those of us who stayed up late spotted three more satellites and realized the satellite we spotted last night must have been the Space Station because of its size and brightness.  Most of us do not have the chance to enjoy the night skies and spot  these  interesting things because of the light pollution we all live with.  Tomorrow we are off to Nipigon which is 30 miles further north and we will cross the 49th parallel getting there. It is the northern most part of the Great Lakes.

I was in CPR Slip in 2005 and I have been looking forward to returning since then.  We weighed anchor at 0830 and ventured out into a mostly sunny  but cold day with NW wind blowing 15-20 knots . This was off the land so the seas were fairly flat.  You have to snake your way around several islands and shoals to get into  tiny CPR Slip and things were going well until a 25 knot gust hit me as I was making the last turn into the harbor and pushed me on to a gravel and sand shoal at the entrance.  However, there  were  already about six boats  here and two of them took there dinghies and came out to pull me off. This was the first of many courtesies  extended by these friendly people. We were able to pull alongside the same dock I used in 2005 and although I am sticking out 15 feet we have a line off the port bow to a tree which gives us a secure tie up.  Things have not changed much at CPR Slip. There are still 3 small docks on the south side of the cove in front of the Bunk House and Sauna and one on the north side The one dock which used to be on the east side is temporarily out but they plan to replace it.

As it turns out  the Northern Lake Superior Power Squadron is having their Rendezvous here this weekend and as the day progressed  four more boats arrived.  After lunch, Kevin and I made  the 2 mile, 600 foot climb to the lookout above CPR.  At two places on the well marked trail there are ropes secured to trees which you need to  use to climb some steep terrain. The view from the top is magnificent. We signed the logbook  which is maintained at the top and were surprised to learn we were only the 10th and 11th people to climb up there this year. I also was able to photograph two different varieties of wild terrestrial  orchids we saw alongside the trail.

The rest of the day was just plain FUN. We had our sauna which was as good as I remembered, we were invited to join the group’s cookout and stuffed ourselves with a variety of delicious offerings, we sat around the campfire telling stories and drinking wine until midnight, we enjoyed great music played from a setup which was powered by a generator from one of the boats, and we enjoyed a clear sky filled with stars and one very bright satellite which passed overhead at about 2300. It was a great day and I am looking forward to being here tomorrow as well.  By the  it looks like it will not be as cold tonight and the prospect is for a mild day tomorrow.

It was cold and rainy yesterday and last night so it was a pleasant surprise to have the sun shining when we got up this morning. We delayed our departure until 1300 and during that time I was able to get on line in the marina office and post some blogs and pictures. We had north winds and mostly sunny skies and we were able to sail 10 of the 14 miles to Woodbine Harbour where we anchored near a 35 foot sailboat called Audacity with three men on board. The north winds continued to blow all night but we were comfortable in this well protected little nook. Once again it was cold. The spinach and white beans over pasta I cooked inside helped warm things up a little bit.

It started raining and blowing last night at about 2300 and continued all night, but the wind only occasionally got above 10 knots in our protected anchorage. The forecast for the next few days sounded bad so we elected to leave and go to Rossport today versus sit here in the rain and cold. We were out of the protection of the Slates at 1000 and had a rough two hours heading NW to the Schreiber Channel. The winds were up to 25 knots, the seas were 6-8 feet with an occasional 10 footer and the visibility was less than 1/2 mile in rain and mist. But everything was on our stern so it was only modestly uncomfortable. As we entered Schreiber Chaqnnel the visibilty dropped to 100 yards and I turned on the radar. For the next hour we navigated through the islands strictly using GPS and radar. Most of the islands we never even saw. By 1300 we finally pulled up to the dock at the marina and the people were surprised to see us come out of the fog. The rest of the day we dodged raindrops while we walked around the area enjoying the abundant gardens containing impressive stands of lupines in all colors. We investigated the Rossport Inn and rhe serendipity Gardens Cafe for dinner and chose the latter. We both enjoyed our meal and expect to go back again tonight. It is great  to be back in civilization. Though truth be told other than the two restaurants, several B&B’s and one gift shop there is nothing else here.

We have arranged to stay in Rossport tomorrow and have the Harbourmaster take us to Schreiber (13 miles) where we can do laundry and I will start provisioning for next week when Will and the four grandsons  arrive. I will not do another post until the 7/17.

Aeron and we left at 0800 after another clear cold night. They headed south and we headed NW to the Slate Islands. It was a beautiful day on the lake the wind was behind us at 6-8 knots and the seas were calm with only a 1-2 foot swell from the south. We made great progress and even got some drive out of the mainsail. We were off the Slates at 1530 and began winding our way through the islands and shoals to Pikes Bay, an all weather anchorage. There is one hairy passage through a narrow 40 foot gap between an island and the shore in 8-9 feet of water, but we made it without hitting anything. Not more 30 minutes after we had anchored a caribou came out of the woods, ran 200 yards down the shore and back into the woods. That made our day as the caribou are what brought us here. It was a long day. We are both tired. We will listen to the forecast tomorrow morning and decide if we are staying or pushing on to Rossport. Right now they are calling for 20-25 knots from the southeast and south.

Once again a clear calm night with the coldest temperatures of the trip. It was 46 degrees in the cabin when we got up. We delayed our departure until 1000 in order to let the outside temperatures rise. And once again we had NW winds on the nose, but this time they were only 12 knots. We made it into Otter Head Cove at 1330, anchored, had lunch and then put the dinghy down to fish. In 2005 Bob Sanderson and I had great success here especially Bob with his 20-25 pound pike, but today I only had one strike and Kevin had a good sized fish on that broke his line. I guess this cold weather has adversely effected the fishing. On the way back to the boat we stopped by Aeron who had been with us in Brule and Ganley and preceeded us into Otter Head. The folks on board, David and Anna Armstrong, were also complaining about the cold and were trying to decide whether to continue heading north or to turn back and head for their warmer home waters of Georgian Bay. The forecast for tomorrow is good and then it turns ugly for several days. We have decided to make a 50+ NM trip to the Slate Islands tomorrow and either hunker down in Pike Bay or make the short trip to Rossport the next day depending on the actual weather.

It was another clear calm night last night, and it was even colder than the night before. We stayed over for the day in order to go fishing in Pike Lake which you get to by taking the dinghy down the coast about 1.5 miles, going into Red Sucker Cove and then up a small stream and marsh into the Lake. We left the boat at 1000 after the temperatures had warmed up thanks to the sunny day, but it was still in the 50’s. Thanks to Kevin getting out of the dinghy and towing us we made it into Pike Lake. Kevin reminded me of Humphrey Bogart in The African Queen. We fished for three hours and caught one small yellow perch and three small pike. None were keepers. We did however lose one fishing pole in a unique circumstance. Kevin had his pole in the boat with the lure near the surface of the water when a fish grabbed the lure and pulled it and the pole overboard. That was one hungry fish. The trip back to the boat was a cold one as the wind and seas were in our face and even going slowly we were taking spray. I am glad we came back when we did because the wind and seas built as the afternoon wore on, and we would have had a really tough trip back to the Harbour. I made a salmon loaf for dinner and we were content to sit back and enjoy the heat of the sun in the cockpit. The cockpit enclosure has been a major asset this trip as it has been possible to put all the panels up and bask in warm conditions while it may be in the 50’s outside. On the same note the Alladin Lamp has been a major asset in keeping us comfortable below before we turn in for the night. Tomorrow we plan to make it to Otter Head and the cove there.

Last night was calm, clear and cold. When we went over to talk to Brad at 0830 it was 49 degrees at the marina office. Brad indicated he would lead us down the river at 1000 so Kevin and I went back to the boat, hoisted the dinghy and got ready to leave. Going down the river, we were not as fortunate as coming up as we ran aground. The river bottom is only sand so 10 minutes of working the boat back and forth along with wakes that Brad created with his boat and we were afloat once again. Once out into the lake we had light W wins and seas and a fog bank about 3 miles down the shore in the direction we were headed. Sure enough 20 minutes later we were in the fog. I t was not the pea soup variety, and the visibility never dropped below 100 yards. Thirty minutes later we were out of the fog and that’s when things started to get bad. The forecast had been for 15 knot winds from the west but the wind started at 15 and kept building. At one time for about an hour it was blowing 25-28 knots. Soon we had big 6-8 foot seas and I had to motor tack 30 degrees to either side of our course to keep the pounding down to an acceptable level. At 1730 we pulled into Ganley Harbour and finally relaxed. This day was one of the worst I have ever spent on the water. West winds on this Lake with the huge fetch to the west can be a real demon. We were glad to turn in early and get some rest.