The Toddmund Fitzgerald...

Great Loop II Date: 8/11/2014

Day #12 (Monday): 42 miles (500 total miles)

Locks: 2  (2 total locks)

Port #8:  Sault Ste Marie, MI

OB’s day to touch the waters of Lake Superior had come!  Todd didn’t sleep well thinking about the short trip we’d planned.  The weather forecast made it clear our weather window was coming to a close.

Sunday night, after we returned to the boat from Don and Marilyn’s, our plan was to take OB to Whitefish Point and spend the night.  However, two problems stood in the way: the incoming weather and a problem finding an open dock.  The docks at Whitefish Bay are free and rumor told us the local fishermen usually have them tied up with fishing boats.

When I got up Monday morning, Todd decided he would put OB on plane so we could be at Whitefish Point in 2 hours (instead of the 5 hrs. it would take us at 8-9 mph).  We could walk to the Whitefish Bay Maritime Museum and have OB back at the George Kemp docks by mid to late afternoon ahead of the weather.

After further contemplation and talking to the dockmaster, Todd was concerned we’d arrive at Whitefish Point, the docks would be filled up with fishing boats, we’d have spent a lot of diesel and accomplished nothing other than taking OB farther into Superior’s waters than need be.  So the plan was hatched to take OB through the Soo Locks, travel our normal speed to Whitefish Bay, bask in the glory we’d accomplished having OB in the waters of all five Great Lakes, come back to the marina and watch the weather.

We were advised to go through the Canadian Locks.  It was a non-event with much the same procedure as going through the Erie and Oswego Locks.  I’d forgotten how dirty the cables are in the locks.  On the return trip I used our black lines!

The Canadian Lock doors are open and the green light advises us to come in.

The green light is under the green arrow.  If the light is red, we have to wait...just like a traffic light.

Todd plotted a course up the St. Mary River to Whitefish Bay.  There were many gorgeous homes all along the Canadian shoreline.  We saw a huge windmill farm that ran the full length of the ridge to the north.

Algoma Steel Corp. Depot on the Canadian side just as we left the lock into the St. Mary River.

Huge windmill farm all along the ridge on the north side of the St. Mary River in Canada.  Very hard to see here because of the overcast sky.  They have over 130 windmills in the farm.

Evidence of the Granite Shield.  This part of the US and Canada lay on a huge granite formation called the Granite Shield.

Beautiful houses along the Canadian side of the St. Mary River.  The US side was mostly woodland.

This freighter looked like a ghost coming out of the mist...adding to the anxiety of going into the unknown!

Alas, not a ghost!

A little better picture of the far west end of the windmill farm as we came to the end of the St. Mary River and the beginning of Whitefish Bay.

The day became overcast and the waters turned steely grey. The water in OB’s prop wash had a dark emerald cast.  On a sunny day, Whitefish Bay and Superior are most likely beautiful.

The last marker in the St. Mary River before entering Whitefish Bay.

Our GPS Navionics Charting Program shows us entering Whitefish Bay and meeting the waters of Lake Superior.

Charlie's impression of entering the waters of the last of five Great Lakes for us.

Of course, there HAD to be a ghost lighthouse after we left the St. Mary River and continued to venture out into Whitefish Bay.

If you didn't see it in the last picture, here it is!  Yes, we kept moving deeper and deeper into Whitefish Bay.

A commercial fisherman alone in Whitefish Bay.  I told Todd I thought he was brave.

That's Lake Superior on the horizon.  The waters were very calm and inviting...

...but they were so cold and steel grey looking.  Kind of nerve wracking.

Our prop wash had a slight emerald green cast to it.  I guessed on a sunny, warm day the water color would have been beautiful.

OB had made her goal.  She’s tasted the waters of all five Great Lakes.  From this point on, OB is headed south!

On the way back to the lock, this big girl passed us heading into Lake Superior.

More of the Coast Guard presence we've seen along the way.  He's headed into Lake Superior too.

Coming back to the lock, Todd lined up the Range Lights.  Freighters use them more often than we do to keep on course in tight quarters.

The arrows point to the Range Lights.  They should be lined up such that one looks like it is on top of the other.  We're pretty close to that.

Our Raymarine GPS Chart looks like this...

...and our Navionics GPS Chart is more detailed.  Our little green boat image toward the top left is entering the channel for the Canadian Lock.  If we didn't make that left turn, we'd be in one of the four freighter locks dead ahead of us in the center of the chart.

The lock doors are closed but it isn't easy to see when we're downbound.  The red light on the left tells us to stay put.

The red light is under the red arrow on the left.

Leaving the lock after our 21 foot descent.  We had a large group of folks watching us lock through.  As we progress down the rivers later in this trip, you'll see that a 21 foot drop isn't really very big.

By the way, the reason for the title of this blog came from Todd.  Before we even started out, he was calling OB 'The Toddmund Fitzgerald'.  It was more unnerving than the experience!