7-13-18 – 7-15-18 Soo Locks, Lake Superior and Whitefish Bay
We had planned to stay another night and see more of the town, but we felt like we pretty much hit the highlights and it was going to be a dreary wet day, so instead of slogging around in the wet, we took off in our boat headed toward White Fish Point. First stop was the Soo Locks. We were both excited but afterwards realized it was no different than the 115 other locks we had been through. We used the Canadian side which is smaller and designated for pleasure craft. We did not have to pay anything nor did not have to check in with customs as long as we were just locking through. We pulled into the lock and easily picked up the lock cables. The lock master complimented us on how well we did that. Scott said “We’ve done 115 lock, I guess we should have it down pretty well” He also teased that we will probably crash and burn on our next one. There is a lot of room for error in a lock. We have seen many people struggle terribly to grab the cables or come off the wall etc. Not pretty.
Off we went on our first transit of Lake Superior, yes on Friday the 13th. Good thing we are not superstitious. It was calm, warm but half way there we ran into fog. Luckily, we were in the middle of Whitefish Bay which is huge. We had the radar, AIS and fog horn on to make sure nothing snuck up on us. As we approached White Point, the fog lifted. Phew. Never like entering a port when you can’t see.
We had one near tragedy on the trip over. I like to do a cleaning project on the long travel days. After being in the lock, I decided all the fenders were in need of a good cleaning. I loaded all 8 of them on the cockpit floor, got the hose, the soap, the UV protectant and the…….wait where is the Magic Eraser? I started rifling through all the spots where they could be stored. I was in near hysteria with no Magic Eraser. (Ok I might be exaggerating 😉) I found one used one. All was well with the world. That is the first item on my next shopping list. We cannot live on a white boat and not have Magic Erasers.
We pulled into Whitefish Point. We didn’t hug close enough to the wall and stirred up some mud but didn’t go a ground. There is a large shoal right in the middle of the entrance. Good thing we read a lot about every harbor before we enter.
Shortly after tying up, Kelso the Canadian Coast Guard boat docked next to us. Yes, I said Canadian. We thought it was odd too, but they are a research vessel. There was a rather chatty guy who talked to us while . He saw my GRFD emblem on my sweatshirt. He trades shirts and sweatshirts with others. Scott went down and found a clean and fairly new GRFD shirt and in return “I” got a new Canadian Coast Guard Sweatshirt (it was too small for Scott.) What a cool thing to do. Wish we had more GRFD wear on board.
The next day we walked the mile or so along the beach all the way to the tip of White Fish Point.
We were on the hunt for agates. We googled what they looked like and weren’t sure we were actually finding any. My sister, Sharon said that is impossible, they are everywhere on that point. We apparently don’t know what we are looking for. The beach was mounded with small stones. We were pretty loaded down with pretty stones by the end of the day. Now I just need to finds someone to polish them for me. Scott thought it was bad when I collected shells. Hee hee he didn’t even think about rocks.
We continued around the point to the White Fish Bay complex where the light house and many buildings have been restored and turned into historical exhibits. The light house that was originally there couldn’t stand up to the Lake Superior wind and weather and blew down. During the Civil War a new steel light house was erected. They apparently did it right because it is still there today and looks great.
The Edmund Fitzgerald sank off the coast of Whitefish Bay. In the Shipwreck Museum, they had the original bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald. They made an exact replica with all the mens names who died, inscribed on it. It was placed back down on the ship.
The most surprising fact we learned was that most shipwrecks happened because of collisions with other ships. We understand how this could happen after spending two days here. The fog rolls in quickly and is very thick. Ships didn’t have radar back in the day. It rolled in and out several times in our short stay.
We got back to the boat and were relaxing while contemplating what to have for dinner, when a fishing boat came in. I am out of my chair like a rocket while Scott is rolling his eyes at me. I went to ask if they had a fish I could buy. These guys are a bit “salty” (even though it’s fresh water.) The owner said “Naw I only have three dayers.” Huh? What the heck does that mean? Of course, I had to ask. He told me for fresh eating you want “one dayers.” They are fish that are caught and harvested the same day. Three dayers means they were in the nets for 3 days and they are mushy for eating. I wish I would have asked what they do with them, but I didn’t feel it was the right thing to do. We went back to our discussion on what to do with the chicken until…..another boat came in. I was so happy they had ”one dayers!” We ate a wonderful Whitefish dinner on Whitefish Point. Great way to end the day.
Thanks for reading,
Karen and Scott
m/v Last Call
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