Apostle Islands

I’ve been intrigued by the Apostle Islands ever since my arrival in Minnesota in 2014.  Within weeks after moving to my new state, I had met Larry, aka “True North,” a fellow Pocketship builder, who said that his inspiration to start this crazy build adventure was dreaming of sailing the Apostle Islands on such a boat.  Five years later, having sailed on many of the other (much smaller) area lakes, I finally began to think of taking Larry’s dream and making it a reality for me.  In the spring while awaiting summer, I bought and read a sailing guide to Lake Superior and geared up for a potential trip.  Then summer came and, as it usually does, was passing much too quickly.  I was motivated by the encroaching cold to finally make a trip to the Apostle Islands.

When heading out in a small boat, a nice weather forecast is key to a good time.  With the food and gear having been ready to go for months, it was not until late on a Friday night that I made the final decision to go.  After making an early start on the four-hour drive, I got out on the water at Red Cliff marina by noon.  Light winds made it a longer sail than I would have liked, but it also never felt sketchy, with neither high winds nor swells.

The Apostle Islands are famous for the caves cut into their north-facing shores.  I didn’t pass any of the more exposed caves, but I did find some cool sculpted-rock islands.

It was slow going for much of the time, but I did have some periods of really nice sailing in the more exposed channels.  I took the approximate route of the light blue line below (minus all the tacking!) against a northern breeze. This is a regular sailing struggle for me: I’d looked forward to silently cutting across the waves, yet there I was barely making progress cutting into a light breeze.  Do I keep sailing or swallow my pride and put out the outboard?  I finally gave in close to Stockton Island and motored into Presque Isle Bay.

I’d finally made it to the promised land!

With sunset coming on, I took the chance to go ashore and explore some of the hiking paths.  I found such an awesome trail, with beautiful shores and meadows. I felt so alive speeding along the trail.

I pushed off to anchor in shallow water, with some protection from the wind.  Aside from an hour of unpleasant breezes, I enjoyed a quiet and uneventful night.

I woke in the morning to a dead calm, with crystal clear waters. Out the cabin starboard window, I could clearly see the slack anchor line—a first for me.

While I waited for the wind to pick up, I had plenty of time to relax, read and make breakfast.

I spent my second day in a similar mix of sailing when there was any breeze, and motoring when the air was still.  Taking the route north of Hermit Island offered a few new views.  One memorable view that a camera doesn’t really capture is looking north off Hermit island—where you can see so many ridge lines of island after island.

On the ride back, my only real concern was an oil leak: it really upped the ante on the “is this enough wind to sail with?” question.  If I felt any wind at all, I gave it a shot.  And when motoring, I kept the speed down to keep the engine as cool as possible. I’m not sure how low the oil got, but I made it back, motoring into the marina like nothing was the matter.  The four-hour drive home made for an exhausting weekend, but I’m so glad I did it.  A parting photo that is now my iPhone wallpaper: