Our most recent adventure in the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior, consisted of sailing with three Katies (plus me, Cindy, made four) and their partners. For those who don’t know, a “Katie” is an individual who works at St. Catherine University (St. Kate’s), or is a current for former student of the same.

Six of the eight of us boarded Chat Eau, a 2010 Lagoon 380 catamaran, Thursday night. We chartered Chat Eau from Superior Charters, Bayfield, Wisconsin. (This was the second time Michael and I had sailed Chat Eau. We sailed in September 2015 with two fabulous women.) The other two crew members were scheduled to join us the next morning.

Toward the end of our first happy hour on the boat, it was clear that more hard liquor was required. We texted Greg and Claire (the two set to join us Friday morning), asking if they could bring a big bottle of rum with them. They informed us that the liquor stores were already closed. We were therefore quite surprised when they arrived at 8:00 a.m. with a bottle of rum. Apparently it is possible to purchase rum at 7:15 a.m. in Wisconsin. Remember that.

Friday

Fully loaded with food, beverages and crew, we left the dock at about 9:00 a.m. Our crew consisted of (in couples) Mary and Terry, Claire and Greg, Kristin and Dave, and Captain Michael and me.

The forecast for the weekend wasn’t stellar. We expected a wide range of wind speed, thunderstorms and some sun.

Day One started with basically no wind, so we motored to Devil’s Island. Along the way, Terry offered to help stow the dock lines. Dave began to describe how to cinch down a coiled line. Dave had barely completed two sentences before Terry had nearly completed the process. Terry’s final product was picture perfect. That’s when he told us that he was a climber. The man knows how to stow a line.

The waves to the north of Devils Island were manageable, but made for a bouncy dinghy ride. We explored the caves – it never gets old! – then stashed the dinghy on the rocks so we could visit the lighthouse. As we neared the rocks, two waves came over the stern of the dinghy, successfully soaking the bottom half of anyone who was in the vicinity. Prior to that, those in the front of the dinghy took their own bath from the spray coming over the bow. So, six people ranging from rather wet to half soaked toured the Devil’s Island lighthouse. Seeing the Fresnel lens also never gets old, because it is beautiful. It came from Paris, so . . . . .

Although it is tempting to romanticize the life of a lighthouse keeper (our version stars Fabio, his long hair blowing in the wind, keeping the flame lit just for us), it really wasn’t all that comfortable. Thank goodness there were people willing to assume that critical role, or the number of shipwrecks would have increased a hundred fold.

The light currently used is about 1 foot in diameter and a few inches high. Technology has come a long way. Michael and I used our best Vanna White impression to point it out to our companions (see below).

We sailed for a minuscule amount of time on our way to Stockton. Our goal was to anchor in Presque Isle Bay, as it provided good protection. We motored through rain on the way, but were delighted to have a rain-free evening. Terry grilled fresh trout on the grill, which we ate with rice and a salad. As usual, Michael and I ate better on a boat on Lake Superior than we do at home.

Saturday

The same six people who visited the lighthouse took a hike on Stockton Island Saturday morning. Similar wave height, similar soaking on the dinghy ride. We hiked the trail to Julian Bay (it rained on along the way, but the trees protected us), walked under bright sunlight on Julian Bay’s Singing Sands beach (no singing that day), then took the shorter Julian Bay trail back to the dinghy. Another dinghy soaking ensued.

Our next destination was Sand Island (we never made it, but we made it to Raspberry Bay). There was no wind to speak of as we started out, so we motored past the end of Stockton. We hoisted the sails and set an amazing low speed record. We were literally going zero knots with full sails at one point. So, we dropped the sails and motored.

Mother Nature came through in mid-afternoon. The winds picked up and we sailed to the wind. Our path was comical if you thought our intention was to get somewhere. It wasn’t. Our intention was simply to sail. Then Mother Nature decided we were too dry and visibility was too good. Helmsman Dave, Greg and I were in the cockpit when Dave noticed that Raspberry Bay (where we intended to anchor) was shrouded in fog. It had also started to rain. Buckets of rain. We sailed towards the bay, thinking about how soaked we were going to get when we dropped the anchor. And then . . . Mother Nature came through again. She’s tricky and unpredictable. The rain stopped, the fog cleared slightly, and dropping the anchor was a dry experience.

Food? Pork tenderloin on the grill. Leftover rice with artichokes. Salad. Yum.

That night, we hung out on the trampoline (bow netting) and tried to identify stars using Dave’s phone app. We also imagined what the Three Wise Men really said as they were trying to follow the star (“star” was the segue) to Bethlehem. Our version would never have made it into the Bible.

Sunday

We woke up to fog. Determined to get to Tom’s Burned Down Cafe by 11ish with enough time to sail along the way, we got up at 7:00 a.m. and started motoring (wind wasn’t quite right). The winds became stronger than predicted, for which we were grateful. We hoisted the sails (two reefs in the main and a partial jib) at the southern end of Basswood Island. We  enjoyed about three glorious hours of perfect sailing. By the end, both sails were full, Greg and Claire had taken turns at the helm (first time for Claire, maybe the third for Greg), and Greg had helped trim the sails.

I should mention that we had people of all sailing abilities and interests on the boat. Michael and I love that! Greg took interest right away, and he proved to be an able sailor. Claire took the helm as we were coming into rush hour, and kept her cool. Terry, Mary and Kristin are wonderful companions who observe what’s going on while soaking up the experience. Terry was also our grill master. Dave is an experienced sailor. I enjoyed being at his side managing the sails while he took the helm. (He is also a kickass cook and super funny.)

We docked at the Beach Club Restaurant dock in La Pointe on the western shore of Madeline Island. We had a beverage at Tom’s Burned Down Cafe, purchased some food at the Beach Club Restaurant, and headed to the boat. Mother Nature was still in a good mood, so we sailed to the Marina.

Epilogue

The rice.

As you’ve read, we ate rice Friday night. We put the leftovers in a container. On Saturday, we added some artichokes to the leftover rice¸ and eight of us ate rice. When we put the rice in the leftover container, there was the same amount of rice as there was before. The only logical conclusion is that the rice is self-propagating. As Greg put it, “this is a groundbreaking scientific discovery.”

If only we knew what to do with this knowledge.