Motor Vessel Summer School - The Clausen Family Home Page

The Summer of 2004
We do a 2400+ mile cruise, traveling across four of the Great Lakes.

For 2004 we choose to cruise the Great Lakes, we had four goals, one to get to the Great Lakes Cruising Clubs, Rendezvous in Killarney, CN. Two, to pass through the Welland Canal and to spend a full week going across Lake Erie. Three, to get across the full length of Lake Huron in just over one week. Four, to get as far across Lake Superior as time and weather allowed. This year we would be fighting the weather all Summer. It just never got HOT...

We began at Winter Harbor, and worked our way out to Lake Ontario. When we got to Oswego I tried to call our friend Colin and find out where he was boating this week. He said he and Judy would be @ Niagara on the Lake tomorrow. We were on the far East side of the lake Ontario, and Niagara on the Lake was on the far West side, If we were to get together, the boat would have to, weather permitting, make some very quick passage times indeed. Well we did, and thanks again to winter storage leaving the boat perfect from last summer, and of course large HP twin diesels. We stayed at Niagara on the Lake for two days with Colin and Judy and had a great time. Off to the Welland Canal, the Welland connects Lakes Ontario and Erie and has eight locks and takes a day to transit. Its a "Big Ship" canal.

After the Welland Canal, we spent two days at Sugerloaf Marina, at Port Colborne, CN. One day because it was it was nice and inexpensive, the second because of a incredibly dense fog. Then across Erie to Ashtabula, Ohio, and then jumping to Vermillion, Ohio. From Vermillion to Ceder Point, OH, home of Roller Coasters and more Roller Coasters, while there, I was talking to the owner of the boat next to us and mentioned we were heading north to Detroit to stay at the Detroit Yacht Club. he asked why weren't we going to stay at the Gross Point Yacht club? I explained that we did not know anyone from the Gross Point Yacht Club and our yacht club was affiliated with the Detroit Club. He said that I knew him, and we could use his slip at the Gross Point Yacht Club. To which I thanked him and we did, for two days and nights. Very nice, 6 million dollar swimming pool, great restaurant. Life is good.

From Gross Point YC we headed North into the bottom of Lake Huron, while we are always careful, and check the weather at least with two sources, we turn ever more careful as we head further North. We are the only pleasure boat we see offshore making a passage for 300 miles. We are the 11th transient boat to enter the harbor of Alpina Michigan this season. We can have our choice of 50 slips. The problem with being early, is questionable fuel quality. The problem as we go further north is water depth, and electrical power at the dock. We have taken great care to select marinas that can accommodate us, in water depth, slip size, fuel (Diesel), and power 50 amp, 220V or 2x 30 @ 110V. Sometime there is a choice, sometimes they have got you, period. Alpina is famous, you can see it on the weather channel! And in fact it is a very nice town. From Alpina we went to Drummond Island in the North Channel, we missed Drummond on the Great Loop and it was on our list of places to get to, if at all possible. The weather from Alpina to Drummond kicked up as we approached Drummond, we were coming in with a good size laker and could have, should have, called the captain and stayed in the lakers lee for an hour, letting them protect us from the seas and the wind and the waves. It would have saved a moderate beating with 44 degree water over the bow, and frankly over the bridge.

Sunken Freighter hit the reef ... Grey Day, (no, no photos of the weather coming into Drummond)

From Drummond we went up the St. Marys River to the (Soo Locks), that's Sault St. Marie, Michigan and Canada, both towns have the same name. The further North you go, the fewer people, towns, harbors and boats you find. We provisioned for Lake Superior here, Patti was told while shopping that Whitefish Bay was not part of Lake Superior, I corrected her and showed her that it was indeed. I found out differently, the weather on Whitefish Bay can be, and I fully believe is, often completely different that Lake Superior! Often its much worse! While the Edmund Fitzgerald weathered Lake Superior, as it made the turn for Whitefish Bay it turned into quartering seas and was overwhelmed. The first Lighthouse on the Great Lakes was at the tip of Whitefish Bay, and the densest collection of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes is just off Whitefish Point. And here we come, in our boat. Did I mention the year round temperature of Lake Superior is 38 degrees.

Top Row: Bouy Marker from over the Edmund Fitzgerald, which was pulled under water by a storm to 250' and imploded!

Middle Row: The Laker, Valley Camp, now a museum Ship, look close in Photo #2 and there's our boat down below with the green top.

Bottom Row, Edmund Fitzgerald's bell at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, MI.

Enter Lake Superior, in 2001 we went through the locks into Superior for one hour and came right back again. this year we would be there for nine days and go 4/5 of the way across her into Wisconsin. Grand Marias, Marquette, Hancock, and Bayfield are the towns we visited. the photos speak for themselves.

Killarney across Georgian Bay to Midland, Port Severn starts the Trent Seven Waterway, Orilla, Rosedale, Bobcaygen, Buckhorn, Petersboro, Cambellsford, and Trenton ends the Trent Severn Waterway, Pickton, and home to Brewerton.

Updated:1/22/07 Printer Version

Updated:1/22/07
Printer Version