Bayfield to Mackinaw City delivery, part 3

Keweenaw Peninsula to Whitefish Point

We ate a hot dinner of lasagna donated by Chef Joseph of Racheli’s Deli in Washburn, WI before entering the open water of Lake Superior.  Instead of firing up the oven, I heated the lasagna by steaming it on the stove.  The remaining flavorful liquid would be put to good use the following day reappearing as a cream sauce over penne pasta.  Tom complained that we had no garlic bread, so I passed him the bag of crostini that Joseph had included in our provisions, and after one bite, Tom stopped complaining.  We settled back into our watch routine, at first motor-sailing in light wind on the nose, then finally turning the engine off as the evening breeze filled in from the south after we passed the Huron Islands just after sunset.  Lauren told Tom about the green flash that occurs as the sun sets over the horizon on open water.  Lauren and I had seen it for the first time last November while crewing on Cambio with the Caribbean 1500 rally.  But alas, there was no green flash for the crew of Shanti that night as the Keweenaw Peninsula was still visible on the horizon about 18 miles to the west.

The sailing was fantastic, close reaching on starboard tack in 14 knots with waves 2-3 feet, and the night was clear as a high pressure system settled over Lake Superior.  Daytime temperatures were in the 70s, and at night it was still in the high 50s.  The water temperature at the eastern Lake Superior weather buoy was 56 degrees, which helped moderate the air temperature.  The Milky Way was a dominant feature of the night sky, and the crescent moon rose about 0430.  I haven’t seen the Northern Lights all summer, and I was disappointed when they failed to appear on this passage either.  We saw no ships until we were within 15 miles of Whitefish Point where the shipping lanes converge as they round the corner into Whitefish Bay.  The south wind was building and moving more east as we neared Whitefish Point, so we reefed the main and rolled up some genoa.  We were pounding into the waves that were now on the nose, slowing as the bow became buried in the troughs.  We tacked over to port tack to get closer to shore where there was less fetch and the waves would be smaller.  It did give us a much more comfortable ride, but soon we were being headed as the wind shifted again, and in order to avoid too much westing, we tacked again.  Now we were able to lay a course to clear Whitefish Point, and had a much better angle on the waves.  The sun was getting low in the sky as we rounded the point, the lighthouse providing a welcoming beacon on the shore.  We discussed our options:  continue down Whitefish Bay close-hauled with 2-4 foot waves, or stop for the night at Whitefish Point.  Chrystal, our captive passenger, was ready to get off the boat, so we turned to starboard and headed toward the harbor.

I had gone aground in the entrance to Whitefish Point harbor of refuge the previous summer on my way to Sault Ste. Marie for the start of the Trans-Superior race.  Conditions this time were similar:  southeast wind 15-20 knots with 2-4 foot waves.  While anchored in the Apostle Islands in mid-August I met a couple who were also members of the Great Lakes Cruising Club.  They saw my fleet surgeon burgee and came over in their dinghy to say hello.  They were waiting for a wind shift to start their journey east to Georgian Bay.  I told them of my plan to take Shanti to Mackinaw City for the winter.  They called me a couple of weeks later to let me know that the southern Lake Superior harbors had been dredged this summer to a depth of 11 feet, including Whitefish Point.  I held my breath and kept a close watch on the depth sounder as we entered the harbor, but never saw less than 10.5 feet.  Shanti’s 6’8” keel was well above the sandy bottom.  I had read in the GLCC website before leaving Bayfield that the visitor’s dock had been replaced earlier this summer, and sure enough, there was fresh green wood on the surface of the finger pier.  We tied off as daylight was fading and explored the limited shoreside amenities of this harbor:  parking lot, walking trails, launch ramp and pit toilet.  There was one 110V receptacle that reached the first slip, where a local fishing boat was tied up, but there was no electrical power available for Shanti.   I made a note in the logbook of the 263 miles logged so far, turned off the instruments and we settled in for a good night’s sleep with the sound of waves crashing against the breakwall.