I had the opportunity of experiencing an exciting offshore race in early August on Lake Superior, the Tri-Superior. We were on the Key of Sea, an Erickson 32, the smallest and highest handicapped boat in the event.  She is a proudly maintained vessel by a seasoned Skipper, Larry Mariette. Since the Yacht had survived 101mph straight-line winds in a race around the Apostle Islands during a July regatta, and all the necessary safety devices were on board, I felt the yacht to be safe and seaworthy for our journey. Other crew members on board were Rob Hahn, Paul Mariette, Paul Almirall and my son Nathan. I'm the one behind the wheel (below.) It looks like I'm sleeping, but trust me, those keen eyes and sharp mind are constantly scanning and processing the data to get peak performance out of the yacht.

    The first leg was from Bayfield, WI to Grand Marais, MN. We started outside the marina wall at 10:00 am Aug 10, 2000 and it was a down wind spinnaker start as the boats crossed the line on their way to the finish.

    There were obviously many choices for a path out of the Apostle Islands and we  choose wisely! The Key of Sea was the second boat out of the Apostles, we even beat the 50 footers out of the Islands. It was a misty and rainy day so as we came out of the Islands the other boats appeared like ghosts on the horizon. The pasties hot out of the oven were a welcome meal as we dealt with the rain and cool weather. 

    The spinnaker  run continued all the way to Grand Marais, MN. Our boat was definitely in first place since we could see all the boats in our fleet. This was a 60 Nautical Mile race. Two miles out from the finish line, still in first place corrected time, the wind quit.! DAMN... 1.5 NM out, time slipping by..... It took 1 3/4 hrs to finish the last 1.5 NM. We still took 3rd... Not bad. Total time to do the race was 10 1/2 hours....

    After the wet day we had racing and then having 6 guys sleeping on the boat, it was a good thing that there was a layover day in Grand Marais. We had a chance to get the boat and other items dried out! And, we rented a motel room. Why? I'll tell you, I felt like one of the Tribe members that was voted off the island in the "Survivors." The decision was made to put those that snore in the room.........  But the rest was needed and access to a shower was worth it.

    Part of racing is the camaraderie. Seeing the other boats and meeting the people is part of the entertainment.  You get to hear the stories of what happened to other crews and, of course, their side of the story of why they finished where they did. I think that each boat has someone on board that tries to keep the other crews up as long as possible the night before the race. Good times and lots of BS (buffalo stories) filled the air...     

    Second leg was from Grand Marais, MN to Thunder Bay, ON. We were joined in this race by several boats from the Thunder Bay Yacht Club. Again, a spinnaker start. There were boats broaching and winding their sails around their spars and rigging. One boat even netted a lake trout when they were using the spinnaker as a net. (Not really, but they were dragging it in the water.) One boat had to quit due to injuries on the deck at the start. But, there we were on another spinnaker adventure along the North Shore of the Lake. Enjoying the view of about 25 spinnakers flying in their glory as our crew sang "what lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you!" 

    This ride continued  until about 7:30pm at which point we were approaching the west end of Isle Royal. The wind subsided at dark. Two of the boats in our class were in a river of wind along the shore and disappeared into the night. Other boats had gone out into open water looking for fresh air and were not to be seen. We could see the lights of a couple of other boats off in the distance. Our boat speed was 1-2 knots, it was a cold, cloudy night and it was time to eat. Our chef pulled a pot roast out of the oven, perfectly done. Needless to say, we all ate very well on the trip. 

    At daybreak we were rounding Angus Island Light turning into Thunder Bay, at a speed of about 4 knots, starting to see other boats in our fleet. Still about 10 nm from the finish, the sun starting to rise behind The Sleeping Giant, (a peninsula in Thunder Bay) we raised the spinnaker again for the final leg to the finish line. We crossed the line at 7:36am and all of the boats in our fleet finished within 9 minutes. Amazing, after 22.5 hours that all the boats finished that close. The Key of Sea took second to a Cal 25….. Yikes!!!

    We had a couple of days in Thunder Bay to rest up for the last leg of the trip. The yacht club had a tavern in the old railway station across the street from the marina. They hosted a banquet and trophy presentation. During social hour I was having a conversation with a gentleman and finally introduced myself to him. He asked if I had a brother named Bill. I looked at him and immediately denied any accusation of even knowing a Bill Melby. After further conversation with him, he said that the first time he sailed was on a Sun Fish in Lake Onalaska with Bill Melby. He was in school at UWL. Hmmm, I was thinking to myself, should I tell him that Bill is my brother? Well, after a few more minutes I felt it was safe and did tell him that we were distant cousins….

    On Wednesday night we were able to participate in a race with the Thunder Bay Yacht Club. After racing offshore, the buoys seemed very close together. It was fun sailing in Thunder Bay and the view of the Islands, boats and water were spectacular!

    The final leg was from Thunder Bay back to Bayfield. Again, a spinnaker start. We sailed though the Channel Islands on another sleigh ride. Yes, we sang some more. We exited the Islands at a point about at the lower end of Isle Royal. We had really fluky winds for about 3 miles and had to lower the Spinnaker to get through them. 

    It was now about 5:00pm and we are beating a course to Bayfield. This seemed to be an unrewarding task after all the downwind sailing we had done. At 8:00pm the wind subsided again for the evening. Still making headway of 1-2 knots for awhile, finally the wind stalled. 

    Clear skies, full moon and temperatures in the lower 60’s. It was beautiful in the middle of the Lake. What could be better. Then the moon set and the Northern lights started their dance. They appeared in 270 degrees of the horizon and lit up in pulsating fingers into the heavens. WOW! Outstanding!!! The lights were bright enough to see clearly what was happening on deck. A most spectacular show. Oh yes…. The meteor showers. Just about 1 every minute… The wind started to pick up at about 4:00am. "Hoist the shoot" was the command. The crew was following the order and the skipper said "wait, take one more look at the Zenith." This was for those who were sleeping and didn’t get to see the show. We took a few more minutes to take in the magnificent event. 

    After hoisting the spinnaker we were making about 2-3 knots. We could see that we were passing one of the boats and gaining on some others. At sunrise we were very happy with our position. We could see all but one of the boats in our fleet. Some on the horizon in front and some in on the horizon to our stern. Still, we figured we were in first place. 

    At 12:00 noon we were about 10 miles from Outer Island on a collision course with a 1,000 ft ore boat, the Mesaba Miner. After a radio conversation with the vessel our skipper decided to alter course. The maneuvers took an hour to get back on course and up to speed. Meanwhile, giving advantage to the boats we had made the time on. After raising the spinnaker, setting the stay sail and getting back in trim, we were again starting to get closer to the boats in front of us. At 4:30pm we were along Stockton Island and had passed one of the boats in front of us. We were going 5–6 knots and feeling very good about our finish. At 8:00, the finish line was 3 miles ahead and bottom the end of Madeline Island was to our port. The boats were finishing but had to give us 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs because of the 128 nautical miles we had traveled. Here we were in first place. Even the 50 footers were late arrivals and we were at this point first over all…And then, the wind quit… Yep…. No wind, rough water knocking any wind out of  our sails that may have been there. 

    At 11:56pm we crossed the finish line.  A quiet  crew readied the yacht to tie up to a pier for the night and entered  the breakwater in time for last call at the Rhumb Line in Bayfield (a local watering hole). There we toasted our successes and started reminiscing the adventures of the trip.  "One more toast" I said. "We'll get them next time."