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After I made blueberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast, Will and I drove to Walmart in his car and we picked up a new group 24 deep cycle starting battery. As we removed the old one , we noticed it I had  installed it in April  2002 so I have nothing to complain about except for neglecting to replace it before we left on this long trip. We are now back in the engine starting business. After lunch, Will and the boys toured the Quincy Copper Mine and I took the car and made a major stop at the grocery to provision for the next leg of the trip. In the afternoon Will and the boys went to the beach while I spent time in the marina’s laundromat . The boys wanted spaghetti once more and after dinner Will took us all out for ice cream. By the way it was a warm sunny day and it was nice to wear shorts again.

I was up at 0700 to check the forecast and the choice was to cross today in favorable, moderate winds or tomorrow with stronger winds on the nose.  We left  at 0745 and navigated the narrow channel through the reefs out of Siskiwit Bay into the Lake . We had put up the main and jib soon after leaving the dock and were able to sail for most of the crossing. The day was partly cloudy and cool and we had only the very briefest of showers.  The wind was amazingly steady at 12-14 knots from the W for the first 5+ hours and the seas were light except for a swell from the SW . As we approached the south shore, the wind backed into the SW and started to increase  so we furled the jib and carried on with the main and engine until we entered the Upper Entry at 1435 and dropped the main.  At 1600 we caught the lift bridge that connects the Houghton and Hancock sides of the river and tied up at the fuel dock of the Houghton County Marina. We only needed 11 gallons of diesel and then moved to our slip.  We had hamburgers and potatoes and onions all done on the grill for dinner. Then things got interesting. I noticed the meters on my DC panel going crazy. I will not bore you with the details but we eventually determined that my starting battery was dead and somehow draining the system. I  lifted the cables from it and we were able to power the boat from the house bank with no further problem. I retrospect I cannot believe how lucky we were to have the starting battery crash when it did. It would have been much worse to have starting problems at Hay Bay or coming into the Upper Entry or even leaving the fuel dock.

We left the dock at 0900 and followed another sailboat through the tricky entrance back out into the Lake. We were able to sail for about an hour before the wind backed into the W and headed us. We arrived at Hay Bay at 1300 and once again we found the two boat dock wide open. We have been fortunate. After lunch, we went on a hike to the other side of the peninsula which forms Hay Bay. Then Will, Adam and Connor took the dinghy and went fishing while Aidan and Brian went swimming and I cooked Mac and Cheese to go with our hot dogs for dinner. While the guys were fishing, I spotted a Bald Eagle and watched it make several dives into the bay for fish. It was eagle 0 and fish 2 as he did not connect. It was a hungry group that devoured 16 hot dogs for dinner. The boys were about to do another polar plunge when we saw a boat approaching and an ancient Chris Craft pulled up to the other side of the dock and spent the night. Our plans were to cross the Lake to Houghton on Friday but the current forecast is bad so we may be forced to cross tomorrow. We will check the forecast tomorrow morning and make the decision.

We left Daisy Farm at 0900 in order to leave the dock open for Voyageur II which delivers hikers and campers to various locations. We went east back to Snug harbor to offload trash and fill up with water. The good news about going east was we were able to sail the 5 miles to Snug Harbor in front of a 10 to 18 knot W wind. After our quick stop we motored SW down Rock Harbor and then out into the open Lake. It was a rough 4 miles out to Saginaw Point and then SW to Chippewa Harbor as the 15-25 knot winds on the lake had built up 5-7 foot seas. We were all glad to pull into the relative calm of Chippewa Harbor at 1300. We were also glad to find only one boat at the dock and we squeezed in behind him. With the four grandchildren on board It really is a major benefit to be at a dock instead of at anchor. Will took the kids on a 1.2 mile hike to Lake Mason to fish while I stayed behind to clean the boat and start the sauce for tonight’s spaghetti dinner. Will hooked one fish but they did not return with any to cook. The boys are doing another polar plunge tonight assuming the rain, which started before dinner , stops. I think this makes the 7th day in the row for rain although it really has not stopped us from doing anything.

We had a great camp fire last night. We were joined by seven canoers, two campers and four people from the power boat who pulled in front of us at the dock. No rain and a clear sky. In the morning we left at 1000 and since we could not see a boat at Daisy Farm we decided to check it out and sure enough it was open . In 2005 we were not able to tie up at either West Caribou or Daisy Farm, but the boat traffic is significantly down this year. I guess that is one benefit of the generally lousy weather. The main reason for going to Daisy Farm was to hike the Daisy Farm Trail up to the Greenstone Trail and then along that trail to the Ojibiway Lookout Tower and then back down to Daisy Farm. We all made the 5.1 mile hike which included going up to the nearly 1200 foot elevation at the Tower. It was a tough hike but we did it in bright sunshine and nice temperatures. To make it even better, we found lots of ripe blueberries along the Greenstone Ridge. We ate lots of them and still managed to pick and bring three cups back to the boat. It was starting to cloud up as we approached Daisy Farm and a few minutes after we returned it started to rain. I used the blueberries to make a pie which we had for dessert after our spinach and white beans over pasta. After dinner the rain stopped and the boys and Will did a polar plunge into the lake to wash off the grime from the hike. I took a shower! I think Aidan is the king of the polar plunges. He is the first in and the last out. He must have lots of antifreeze in his veins because the water is in the 50′s. After the day’s efforts we were all happy to turn in early.

By the time we` got the sleepy heads up, feed then breakfast, filled our water tanks, and topped off our diesel it was 1100. Once again it was overcast with drizzle but no fog. We headed west on Rock Harbor and sailed all the way to the small island of West Caribou where we spotted an open dock. We tied up and believe it or not the sun came out and shined the rest of the day. It turned out to be the warmest day I have seen in Lake Superior. We lowered the dinghy and Will took the boys fishing and then over to see the abandoned lighthouse at Edisen Fishery. It was fortunate we docked here as there is a metal fire ring here, and we have gathered wood for a fire we will share with the Boy Scouts who came in on canoes after we arrived. The sky is clouding up as I type. Hopefully , rain will not spoil the camp fire. Tomorrow we will most likely go to Chipewa Harbor.

For the third day in a row we had overcast skies, drizzle and fog when we awoke and it was not looking good for seaplane landings. Kevin and I went to breakfast at the Rock Harbor Lodge and I helped him carry his things over to the seaplane dock. The visibility was coming and going and in the end the seaplane did not come. So Kevin left at 1445 on the ferry that Will and the boys arrived on at 1130 from Copper Harbor. The rest of the day was nasty with lots of rain so we made the decision to stay here versus subjecting the kids to a day of rain at anchor. I took everyone to lunch at the Snack Bar and then Will took everyone on a short hike to Suzy’s Cave. When they got back they were really wet but their spirits were high. After dinner everyone was ready to turn in early.

For the third day in a row we had overcast skies, drizzle and fog when we awoke and it was not looking good for seaplane landings. Kevin and I went to breakfast at the Rock Harbor Lodge and I helped him carry his things over to the seaplane dock. The visibility was coming and going and in the end the seaplane did not come. So Kevin left at 1445 on the ferry that Will and the boys arrived on at 1130 from Copper Harbor. The rest of the day was nasty with lots of rain so we made the decision to stay here versus subjecting the kids to a day of rain at anchor. I took everyone to lunch at the Snack Bar and then Will took everyone on a short hike to Suzy’s Cave. When they got back they were really wet but their spirits were high. After dinner everyone was ready to turn in early.

We were up early and ready to leave at 0800 but the weather did not get the message as we had pea soup, 50 foot visibility, fog. By 0930 the visibility had improved to 100 feet and we could at least make out the other two boats in the anchorage. We decided to leave but we had to choose between going out the tricky eastern entrance using our inbound track on the chart plotter or go out the relatively open western entrance using our radar and chart plotter. We chose the latter option. Kevin stayed down below on the chart plotter while I was up in the cockpit using the radar to mark islands and keeping an alert lookout for any other boats. The teamwork paid off as an hour later we had successfully negotiated our way through the islands and shoals out into the open waters of the Lake. The fog persisted with visibility below ¼ mile all the way across to Blake Point on Isle Royale’s eastern tip. Then we got lucky. Just as we got to Blake Point , the visibility opened up to 2 miles and we could actually see the entrance to Rock Harbor and the narrow channel down to Snug Harbor. I had not been looking forward to piloting down that stretch on radar. On the other hand after having made it into Rossport and out of Loon, I think Kevin and I are getting good at it. Though there is no doubt my blood pressure will elevate anytime we are forced to employ the tactic. We rounded the point into the harbor at 1330 and were very pleased to find plenty of open docks. As soon as we got here the visibility started to drop and an hour later we were socked in again. Yes, we were lucky. After lunch Kevin took a hike looking for moose and actually spotted a mother and calf. We ate dinner at Rock Harbor Lodge and Kevin went for another hike while I attended a lecture on loons.
We plan to stay here tomorrow, clean the boat and do laundry in preparation for Kevin’s leaving and Will and my four grandsons arriving on Saturday morning. I hope they have a smooth crossing from Copper Harbor.

At 1000 we left the marina into a cool light SE breeze and motored across Nipigon Bay and then down Nipigon Strait out into Lake Superior. There was no wind but there was a 3 foot swell from the SE as we motored around Lamb Island, across the top of Hawk Island, between Lowrey and Brodeur Islands and down the channel east of Lasher Island to the opening into Loon Harbour. Loon is considered one of the prettiest places on the Lake and I will not argue about that description. As we were negotiating the entrance , mist patches started to come in off the Lake and periodically block the sun. We anchored in 11 feet of water in the south end of Loon at 1530. There was a converted Canadian fish tug already there and soon afterward we were joined by a large power boat from Minnesota. As the afternoon progressed the mist patches became more frequent and by the time Kevin and I finished the spaghetti I had cooked we were socked in with fog. We cancelled our trip ashore, watched Out of Africa and hit the sack for an early departure tomorrow to Isle Royale