Well, we completed our jaunt into Lake Superior and survived to tell the tale. Whew! We cruised over to Whitefish Point, where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in 1975. We planned to continue to Munising but discovered their marina has the new power pedestals that Joy Girl trips, so we turned back. (Niki – Yay! Craig – Bummer!)
To get in and out of Superior you lock through at Sault Ste Marie, or more endearingly known as “The Soo”. The enormous Great Lake freighters pass through the Soo Locks to access Chicago, Detroit/Cleveland, or the East Coast. The Great Lakes are a giant interstate waterway.
We looked up one morning and saw the BIGGEST of these beasts, the current Queen of the Lakes, the Paul Tregurtha. This ship is 1013 feet long, 300 feet longer than the Edmund Fitzgerald. The Fitz is only one of 240 ships that have shipwrecked at Whitefish Point (out of 350 total on Lake Superior). Before radar, the storms, fog, and fires caused terrible visibility and many crashed right into each other. Unfortunately we had fog on our way “downbound” and experienced that problem firsthand…yikes!
In DeTour Village, we met Marc and Jill who purchased the bow section of an old freighter (the John W Boardman) and hope to refurbish it into a B&B. We were awed by the task ahead of them but also at how cool it will be when it’s completed (and how impressive she looks now from the water).
We are now in Rogers City heading down the eastern coast of Michigan, through Detroit and into Lake Erie. We’re excited to visit my aunt and uncle who live right on the water in Marblehead, OH, near Sandusky. While Craig works on getting our annoying electrical issue fixed there, I will probably fly to Colorado for a visit.
Hope all is well with everyone!
Team Joy Girl Adventures 
I enjoy reading your updates. We watched ships go through The Soo locks a few years ago. What an amazing area!!! Our August travels are to Ohio for a wedding, then to Kentucky, then Gatlinburg, TN. Wrong direction to meet up with you two. IF we get a chance to head UP NORTH, we will be sure to see where you are and possibly meet up. Sincerely, Nola and Dave
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great to hear from you, Nola! We do plan to return to Chicago and go down the rivers in September so we hope to see you two then! Have fun on your August trips, sounds great!
LikeLike
Really great shots!! Those freighters are certainly bigger than the peneches in France!!!!!! Have fun on the rest of the trip to Marblehead.
LikeLike
Thanks, Mom! They were pretty intimidating! We’ll probably be doing long days to get to Joe’s since it’s a ways down there. Love you!!
LikeLike
Hi! Always good to get your emails and read about your adventures – sounds like you’ve had a great time and so interesting. Hope Craig gets the electrical problem fixed. Wonder where you’re going next? Take care. Regards
Anne
LikeLike
Thanks for following along with our ongoing adventure! Maybe when we get back down to Illinois later this year we’ll be able to have you and Mom join us aboard Joy Girl. In the mean time, might you consider sharing our posts with my mom, since she no longer has a computer of her own. Thanks, Anne! Take care!
LikeLike
What an adventure/cruise you are having! Great narrative and pictures ( even the “ghost” ship. Good luck on getting electrical problem fixed. As my grandson tells me when I’m stuck – “just look it up on Youtube”
R.J.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are so kind, R.J., thank you so much! Craig was able to fix a head (toilet) issue after watching a YouTube video 🙂 He misses the men’s group very much – hi to all. Hope you and Ginny are doing well!
LikeLike
Beautiful pictures! Looks like a fun place to cruise.
Yes, YouTube has been helpful in our Vacu Flush repairs too. Not as bad a job as I envisioned. We also will need to address the shore power issues at some point, our 42 spends its’ free time on a mooring so it’s not critical yet, In the marina before we left Connecticut in May we had a cross polarization light, but seemed to work OK anyway. I’ll be especially interested in hearing what your fix involves.
And, our alternator also chose this spring to quit, also remarkably close to a boat unit! It was the original alternator, 13 years. So, you are not alone!
I think our next project will be solar panels. Do you have them?
Have a wonderful cruise along Michigan’s east coast, I’ve not read any blog posts about that area.
Thanks!
Jeff
Water Witch NT 42-080
LikeLike
Nice route. I haven’t made it to the Eastern part of the state yet but all of the pics make it
look gorgeous.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you like remote, you’ll love Superior. The eastern part of Michigan isn’t nearly as lovely as the west side but it has its charms, especially if you like to fish!
LikeLike
Pingback: Beer, Cheese & Boats – Team Joy Girl Adventures