My good buddy Chad and I were planning to launch the boat from the McQuade Access just north of Duluth, MN. The plan was to work our way a mere 8 miles (as the crow flies) north to the Knife River Marina were we would spend the night and sail back to McQuade on Sunday. Chad was up for some adventure and wanted to get out into the open water far enough that we couldn't see land in any direction, so that was on the check list for the day as well.
I pick Chad up at 6:15 and we headed north. Chad complained of bad heart burn the night before, owing to some greasy pizza. So we stopped at a gas station/Burger King to stock up on Rolaids, diet coke, and beef jerky for the trip. Chad also grabbed a couple breakfast burritos and a carton of orange juice. "What about your heart burn man?" "That's what the Rolaids are for!" Fair enough.
We got to Duluth and the heart burn had mysteriously reappeared, even after a full roll of Rolaids, so we looked for a pharmacy. We found a local one that had an open sign on, but the lights didn't look on. Chad hesitantly pulled the door, which opened, but the pharmacy was dark. "Hello?" No answer. Strange. Leaving his finger prints behind, he jumped back into the Jeep and we found a grocery store and got some Pepcid.
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| From Superior Sail - June-10 |
The boat launch was exceptional. It opened in July 2008 at a cost of $11 million dollars, providing 3 launch ramps and a separate kayak launch, shore fishing locations, a 3 acre harbor of refuge, and 54 parking spots for vehicles with trailers. We got there around 9am on a Saturday, prime time for fishing, and the parking lot was only about 1/2 to 2/3 full and there was no wait to launch. The only downside for sailboats is that the ramps are separated from the parking area by an underpass with a clearance of 14.5 feet. So we had to step the mast down at the ramp, but there was enough space to do it without getting in the way of two others launching and one retrieving.
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| From Superior Sail - June-10 |
While we were preparing to launch we could see a freighter downbound for Duluth harbor. The wind was NE 5-10 knots, and we could see a couple sailboats headed for Duluth under spinnakers as well.
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| From Superior Sail - June-10 |
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| From Superior Sail - June-10 |
We got the boat prepared, launched, and out onto the lake. It's amazing how much stuff accumulates in the cabin just for 2 days on the water. The working jib (110%) and the full main were raised and we were making about 3.5 mph close hauled. It had been sunny while preparing the boat, but as soon as we got on the water it clouded up and fog started to build.
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| From Superior Sail - June-10 |
We were working our way upwind, but making any northerly progress was slow. We found ourselves about 4 miles offshore and visibility had dropped to about 2 miles due to the fog, so Chad was able to check off his "can't see shore" goal for the day. Then we heard a very deep fog horn, and kept our eyes peeled, but couldn't see a thing. Just for fun, Chad jumped on his laptop with cellular access to the internet and checked a live AIS feed for the area. By the time he was able to see the plotted course on his screen, I was able to see this from the cockpit.
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| From Superior Sail - June-10 |
A few minutes later, it came into better view.
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| From Superior Sail - June-10 |
We were well clear of it and watched as it passed. AIS said it was downbound for Duluth and was currently making 9.6 knots. The VHF crackled with a request for the Duluth lift bridge to open, but the ship requesting it said they were upbound. Huh. Then a second downbound freighter appeared from the fog, again well clear of us. A few minutes later the upbound freighter that we heard on VHF appeared. We were still on a port tack, pushing further into the shipping lane.
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| From Superior Sail - June-10 |
A friendly appeared to windward of us, running downwind wing and wing, though he was luffing the jib a bit, we think to slow his speed and let the freighter and us pass.
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| From Superior Sail - June-10 |
After that, it was fairly uneventful. We put up the 155% genoa to try and gain a little speed. The wind would come and go (along with the white caps), but we were making anywhere from 2 to 5 mph, tacking back and forth. After five hours we had made 18 miles under sail, but we were still 5.5 miles from Knife River. The swells were getting larger, the sky was getting darker, and the weather radio was assuring us of overnight thunderstorms and was predicting a 180 degree wind shift overnight, which would put the wind on our nose for our return trip on Sunday. I was feeling pretty sick from the waves, Chad's heartburn was kicking up, and the prospect of spending the night on the boat and a predicted hard fight to windward for a second day all argued for giving up. I had already given into nature a couple of times for the day, and figured there was no sense in standing my ground this time either. So we turned to run downwind the 3.5 miles back to McQuade. My homemade whisker pole got it's first use, and it worked perfectly.
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| From Superior Sail - June-10 |
But the wind died down, so we dropped sail and fired up the motor.
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| From Superior Sail - June-10 |
We did 18 miles under sail, but only made 3.5 miles good toward our destination, leaving us about 5 miles short. The GPS plot shows the boat (and/or the skipper) wasn't able to point very high, which isn't much of a surprise given the boat design (and the skipper). Overall it was a fun trip. We got some good sailing in, McQuade Access was better than expected, and Chad accomplished his goal. We'll be back to McQuade and Minnesota's North Shore in the future.
