[Rhodes22-list] Keweenaw Waterway Cruise?

Thu Feb 25 21:54:30 EST 2021

Hi Jesse,

It depends somewhat on how much you want to be on your own vs. in a marina.  Of the three trips you mentioned, the Keweenaw Peninsula will have the most marinas.  Traveling from west to east, you have Michigan Harbors of Refuge (HoR’s) at Ontonagon, Houghton, Hancock, Eagle Harbor, Copper Harbor, Lac LaBelle, Grand Traverse Bay, Baraga, L’Anse, & Big Bay.  You will also have the option of ducking into the Portage Canal from either the west end at McClain State Park or the east end at White City to escape bad weather on Lake Superior.  The HoR’s at Houghton and Hancock are actually on the Portage Canal.  But, you also have Portage Lake and Torch Lake to explore via the Portage canal.  Portage Lake & Torch Lake will offer some safe opportunities for anchoring out.  You might also consider circumnavigating the Keweenaw Peninsula clockwise, closing the loop by transiting the Portage Canal from east to west.  This circumnavigation is also known as the Keweenaw Waterway.  The north end of the Keweenaw Peninsula can be a wild place; but, the HoR’s at Eagle Harbor, Copper Harbor, & Lac LaBelle are all right there if you need to get off the big lake.

I went to school at Michigan Technological University in Houghton from 1971-1976.  With its old buildings and hilly streets, Houghton always reminded me of San Francisco, CA.  My grand parents lived at Boston Location near Calumet in the Keweenaw Peninsula.  I also have a number of uncles and cousins in Ontonagon County and I deer hunt in this area every year.  So, I’ve spent a good part of my life in this area of the state.  I recommend you get a pizza and beer at the Library Bar in downtown Houghton.  You can’t visit the copper country without having a pasty.  I recommend the pasty’s at the Suomi (Soo-Oh-Me) Bakery in Houghton.  If you are in the mood for fresh fish, try the Portage Landing Restaurant in the Ramada Inn in Hancock.  I especially recommend their whitefish, it’s a UP tradition!  As you transit the Portage Canal, you will sail under the M-41 bridge at Houghton/Hancock.  This bridge is one of the world’s largest center span lift bridges.  If you can get a ride up to the top of the bluff on the north side of the Portage Canal, visit the Quincy Mine Hoist and Mine Tour.  You will get to ride one of the original trams down into the Quincy Copper Mine and see some of the huge mining equipment and steam engines.

All of the towns are pretty small with the typical small town amenities.  If you rent a car in Ontonagon, you could drive ~25 miles to Porcupine Mountains State Park.  By car, the easiest day trip in the Porcupine Mountains State Park is the Lake of the Clouds overlook, which is quite beautiful.  The park also has over 85 miles of hiking trails, 30 waterfalls, and ~80000 acres of forested wilderness on the shore of Lake Superior.  But, these are best experienced on a backpacking trip.

Copper Harbor HoR has a restored lighthouse and light keeper’s house that you can tour.  It is only a short walk over to Fort Wilkins State Park, which has a restored 1870’s US Army post.  During the summer, there will be costumed reenactors at the fort.  If you can get a ride, drive up to Brockway Mountain overlook.  On a clear day, you can see all the way to Isle Royale ~40 miles away.  You will also see the Estivant Pines, one of the few remaining stands of old growth white pines remaining in the state.

The HoR’s at Eagle Harbor, Lac LaBelle, and Big Bay are all pretty primitive, with no towns nearby.  The HoR’s at L’Anse and Baraga have small towns.  As I recall, the Baraga Municipal Marina has more transient slips and amenities vs. L’Anse.  They all offer a safe place to spend the night or weather out a storm.

Isle Royale National Park has two HoR’s, Rock Harbor on the north end and Washington Harbor on the south end of the island.  Neither HoR has an amenities; but, the park headquarters at Rock Harbor has a guest lodge, restaurant, and laundromat.  Other than this, there are a few scattered places around the island where you might be able to anchor out; but, only in favorable conditions.  If you go here, be prepared to be off the grid.  Be especially careful around the Palisades, Blake Point, and the five finger region on the northern end of the island.  But, in good weather, it is spectacular!

I’ve never done any boating around Grand Marais, MN, so I can’t help there.

Our family Sailing/Kayaking High Adventure Trip to Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is scheduled for July 22-26, 2021.   There will be four of us.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10

From: Jesse Shumaker<mailto:jesse.laten.shumaker at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2021 6:03 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Link for R-22 locator on Goggle Maps?

Roger, thanks for the update on the situation.  I'm really sorry to hear
about the long road to recovery for your area.  It seems like slips are
often hard to come by in many places.  I wonder if there are any areas
nearby where you could store your boat lakeside with the mast up.  It's not
as convenient as a slip but it's a lot faster than having to rig each time.

I'm looking forward to hearing about your Apostle Islands adventure this
year.  In mid August, my wife and I, as well as a few sailors from
our local sailing club, are going to take a 5 day "offshore" class through
Superior Charters out of Bayfield.  The plan (pending weather conditions)
will be to go to Isle Royale, Keweenaw Peninsula, or Grand Marais.  Do you
have any suggestions on which of those destinations would be preferable?
We'll be working out more details with the captain as it gets closer.
We'll be on a 43' Jeanneau so it will be interesting to be on a boat
that big for the first time.  We plan to do some overnight sailing and get
experience standing watches.  What part of the season do you plan to do
your high adventure trip this year?  Our June trip to Apostle Islands last
year turned out to be a bit chilly.

Jesse

On Thu, Feb 25, 2021 at 11:41 AM ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
wrote:

> Jesse,
>
> ~9 months after the dam failures, the crystal ball is still very cloudy.
> Boyce Hydro has declared bankruptcy and the State of Michigan has condemned
> & seized the 4 dams under eminent domain.  The State of Michigan is trying
> weasel out of responsibility regarding the class action law suit brought by
> all the riparian property owners.  Our lawyers are fighting these motions
> and the circuit court judge has yet to rule on the State’s motion to
> dismiss.  There is a restoration plan; but, insufficient funding to
> implement it.  If the lakes are to be restored, the timeline is 4-6 years.
> But, as I write this, it’s not at all clear the 4 lakes will ever be
> restored.
>
> We have spent ~K$19 so far to remove flood debris, repair our steps and
> sea walls, and stabilize our shoreline (river bank?).  If we had assurance
> the lakes we’re going to be restored, it would cost another ~K$19 to
> restore our dock and beach to their preflood condition.  We won’t spend
> that money until we have assurance of lake restoration.  We will have
> several years of advance warning, so there is no hurry.
>
> I have been looking around for a seasonal slip to rent on Saginaw Bay.  So
> far, any of the desirable locations have a 2-3 year waiting list.  Of
> course, all the nearby inland lakes were destroyed in the same flood
> event.  So, there is nothing available on any of those lakes.  We didn’t
> put S/V Dynamic Equilibrium in the water at all in 2020.  Our planned High
> Adventure Sailing/Paddling Trip to Apostle Islands National Lakeshore may
> be the only time we use the boat in 2021.  But, the boat is all paid for
> and Deb & I don’t want sell it yet.  It may come to that; but, stay tuned.
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Feb 25, 2021, at 9:31 AM, Jesse Shumaker <
> jesse.laten.shumaker at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Roger, it looks like you had a nice spot.  Are there plans to rebuild
> the
> > dam and restore the reservoir?
> >
> > When I first added my boat, I just placed it in the general area before
> > zooming in.  After taking a look at some others, I realized you can be
> very
> > precise so I just moved my pin to the exact slip for my boat.  It is
> > interesting to see exactly where the other R22s are located.
> >
> > I know of a few other R22's in Iowa at two other lakes, but I don't know
> > the owners and I don't think they are on the email list.  I could add
> some
> > anonymous pins for those if the group would find that helpful.
> >
> >> On Wed, Feb 24, 2021 at 10:01 PM ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi Jessie,
> >>
> >> I added S/V Dynamic Equilibrium’s location in the central lower
> peninsula
> >> of Michigan.  This satellite picture must have been taken prior to the
> May
> >> 19, 2020 dam failures  because Sanford Lake is still there.  If you zoom
> >> in, you will see S/V Dynamic Equilibrium sitting on its trailer in the
> >> driveway.  I placed the marker on the boat slip where S/V Dynamic
> >> Equilibrium would normally be.
> >>
> >> Thanks for sending me the link.
> >>
> >> Roger Pihlaja
> >> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >>
> >> Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for
> >> Windows 10
> >>
> >> From: Jesse Shumaker<mailto:jesse.laten.shumaker at gmail.com>
> >> Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2021 7:50 PM
> >> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Link for R-22 locator on Goggle Maps?
> >>
> >> Hi Roger, here you go:
> >>
> >>
> https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=202374364222581305408.0004ce9c151367fed2dc8&msa=0&ll=38.659778,-79.936523&spn=2.702258,5.394287
> >>
> >> Or a shortened link that redirects:
> >> http://bit.ly/3dBM5hb
> >>
> >> On Wed, Feb 24, 2021 at 6:39 PM ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hi All,
> >>>
> >>> I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention when the posts containing the link
> >> to
> >>> Google Maps were posted.  Can someone please repost the link?
> >>>
> >>> Roger Pihlaja
> >>> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >>>
> >>> Sent from my iPhone
> >>>
> >>
> >>
>