We departed from our home marina (Port Superior) on Sunday, 24 July. We did a non-stop 22 1/2 hour trip and dropped the anchor in Tee Harbor at the foot of the Sleeping Giant on the Sibley Peninsula. On the overnight crossing, Judy was off watch (sleeping below). I was in the cockpit monitoring progress. A distinct red light appeared on the horizon to the east. This would mean the port side light of another vessel but I didn’t see a white light that would indicate that the vessel was motoring. Must be a sailboat. I looked carefully and went below to look on the radar. I could see nothing. The light got bigger (closer). Still nothing by eye or on radar. I watched the light get bigger and higher – and realized that I was seeing the very tip of a rising sliver of a moon!
The squall that hit shortly after we arrived at Tee Harbor
Shortly after we arrived, we were hit by a strong wind squall that nearly sent our dinghy airborne. We had carried it on the deck for the crossing and had to untie it to get to the anchor and had not retied it while we took a nap. I awoke to the dinghy flying past a porthole! We were able to tame it and it is fine.
Allegro at mooring in Tee Harbor (look carefully)
The next day, we connected with some other sailing friends on their first trip to the North Shore and introduced them to Loon Harbor, one of our favorite anchorages along the shore.
We spent two nights in Loon and raised the anchor and headed out. I checked the charging rates for our batteries and discovered alarmingly high voltages that could cook the batteries if it continued. We turned back and reanchored. A friend, also at anchor there, helped trouble shoot. We traced the problem to a failed regulator.
Zipporah on the way to Loon Harbor
After we isolated the problem, we headed directly for Rossport and tied to the dock there. When we found cell phone coverage along the way, we called our friend, Tyler, who lives in Grand Marais and was planning to join us at the Red Rock Folk Festival. He agreed to pursue a replacement regulator and bring it along to RR.
At Rosspport, we were able to plug into shore power and charge our batteries before heading out again. We spent three more nights in three different anchorages and were able to use the solar panel to keep the battery draw to a minimum. We relaxed, hiked and took some photos.
Harry Island near Old Man’s Pocket
Allegro in Old Man’s Pocket
We anchored in Old Man’s Pocket one night and took a dinghy ride around the area. While taking some photos, I took my glasses off to see the viewer better (I am nearsighted and can see close up without my glasses). I leaned on my elbow andI felt something snap. I had broken the frame on my glasses! I don’t do well without them. My spare pair was probably 10 years old. But I had to wear them until I could figure out how to get them fixed. Not much chance in Rossport, Red Rock or even Nipigon.
Flower along the shore, Morn Harbor
We came back to Rossport for a few hours. We celebrated our tenth anniversary with lunch at the Serendipity. The batteries got fully charged again. We headed for the Power Islands for one night at anchor then headed to Red Rock. We did some hiking there and got ready for a wonderful weekend of music and other festivities.
I brought a limited number of my new CDs which were available at the festival.
