foot power yacht with a friendly captain. The gentle south wind gave me a beam reach around the 30-footer, and I slipped right between the two boats and just kissed the dock. Te captain’s name was Anderson and he grabbed my line and complimented me on my docking skills, which really did look good. He had a large campfire ready to go in the evening. Aſter eating and getting ready for the


night, I joined Capt. Anderson and we talked near his campfire. Turned out he had taught and worked with Craig Blacklock whom I had just met on Outer Island. Devils Island was saved for last. The


winds were forecast to be up to 20 mph in the morning and lowering in the aſter- noon. First I tried going around the north end of Rocky Island but away from the lee of the land the water looked like the inside of a washing machine and a little scary. (If only I had checked my proper chart instead of the National Geographic waterproof map, the reason would have been clear—shallow water.) The waves had been happily rolling over Lake Su- perior’s 200 foot bottom and now were getting all lumpy about having only 16-20 feet to play in. Sailing straight out into Lake Superior away from all land and shallow bottoms would have given me normal rolling waves and the same wind. But in my ignorance and uncertainty, I turned around and had a quick romp clockwise around Rocky. In fact, on the sheltered east side, the wind was good with regular waves, and soon I was hiking out and up on a plane. I swear the waves exploded halfway up to the spreaders when I hit them just right. Good thing I had my dry-top on. It was crazy sailing this way on Lake Superior. My euphoria and amazement were intense. Coming around the south end of Rocky, I dropped down towards Otter Island to take a look, but rules protecting the otters living there kept me from getting too close. Te wind had dropped a little and with deep water under me the waves were quite regular. My run north to Devils Island was brisk but very controlled. Devils’ harbor is only suitable for


smaller shallow-draft cruisers; larger boats must anchor out for the day. Te entrance is guarded by a large flat wan- dering rock, which the winter ice leaves where it wants come spring. My usual practice of pulling out or anchoring


SMALL CRAFT ADVISOR


in the shallows was stopped by evenly distributed rocks along the shore. So I resorted to the harbor wall which can only hold a couple boats and does not give great protection from strong waves. A 20-footer, captained by Wayne, soon joined me, amazed at my having come in under sail. We ate supper together by the old boathouse. Saturday morning an early walk up


the mile-long abandoned tramway used by small hand push carts was rewarded by another lighthouse and guided tour. Near the lighthouse there are blow holes a hundred feet back from the cliff edge. Huge waves pressurize the caves shooting water sky high, only to suck some leaves back down. But not today. Looking over the edge I saw only Craig Blacklock kaya- king amongst the caves catching the early morning light with his camera. I had not seen him since the storm and he was too far down to talk to. Tere were no other boats in sight. Once I had walked back to the harbor,


it was time to pack up. In total calm I rowed to the north end of the island. Wayne and crew used kayaks they had brought on their sailboat, to access the shallow water surrounding the island. Tey soon passed Ält Bäd and me. Te whole west coast of Devils Island is littered with beautiful small sea caves, pools, moss, and flowers. As I rounded the north end of Devils, a dozen or more boats came into view—all out enjoying the unusual calm and the flat water which allowed people to kayak and wade in the big sea caves. Looking north eight miles out you could see large ore carriers going about their business. By 3 p.m. it was time to head home.


It was my birthday, and time to indulge myself. I was going to sail 22 miles back to Red Cliff. My course lay SE between Rocky and Otter Island and down to Manitou Island. What little wind there was died at sunset just as Oak Island came into view. Slowly, lights became visible from the boats anchored off the NW end of Oak. I just kept sailing SE at less than a knot, parallel and close to Manitou Island’s west side. I actually spotted the reef on its SW corner; it had a small marker and weak battery operated light, and my course was outside the reef anyway. I was trying to avoid using the GPS on my first night sail. I navigated with just starlight, but with big, black


islands for markers it wasn’t too hard. By 2 a.m. Sunday, I pulled up onto the beach below the Casino, dragged the sail over myself and went to sleep till sun-up. As I crawled out in the morning, there was a lovely older lady who peppered me with questions and treated me like some kind of hero. Turned out she once owned a Cape Dory Typhoon, and was now sail- ing a Laser in these waters, which takes a special toughness. Aſter retrieving the car and trailer from


the off-site parking, I packed up. Before heading home, I stopped by the National Lakeshore Service Office and paid for my unplanned camping on land. Looking back, my two weeks of sailing covered a lot of interesting places, yet leſt a lot to go back for. •SCA•


RESOURCES


Superior Way: Te Cruising Guide to Lake Superior by Bonnie Dahl


www.nps.gov/apis/index.htm www.legendarywaters.com www.cityofbayfield.com www.superiorcharters.com www.apostleislandsyachtcharters.com www.dreamcatcher-sailing.com www.saillakesuperior.com


Read my article from Small Craſt Advisor issue 81 here: www.wayfarer-Interna- tional.org/WIC/Cruise.Logs/2011Pas- sage_in_a_Storm/2011Passage.html


Weight: 372 lb Draft: 8” / 3'10" Seal Area: 125 sq ft


15


Wayfarer LOA: 15' 10” Beam 6'1”


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