Adventure in the Apostle Islands Part 3

The morning came slowly, but after a horrible night of lying awake in close quarters, on a rocky boat, the crew of the Genius was ready to start the day.  We found the dawn troublesome.  The wind had continued to pick up during the night, agitating the water.  Also, the Genius was on the windward side of Oak Island, so we were getting the full brunt of the effect.  The only solace we had was that the boat hadn’t slipped her anchor, so we found ourselves in the same place that morning.

The decision was made to seek calmer waters and then feed ourselves.  Tim started the motor and steered a course towards the south side of Oak Island and back in the direction we had come the day before.  It was the shortest distance to get around the island.

It took about fifteen minutes to maneuver over to the south side of the island.  Once we were on that side we spotted a small cove.  It wasn’t much to look at, but it was a calm spot and was somewhat sheltered from the wind.  That was where we dropped anchor and fed ourselves. 

That first morning the crew of the Genius enjoyed a hardy breakfast of eggs, hash browns, and sausage patties.  With coffee of course; that just wouldn’t be civilized.  The highlight of the morning came as I finished preparing the sausage patties and announced, “I………..t’s Sausage Time!”  This was met with hysterical laughter.

“You homo,” Mike said, laughing.

“What the fuck man,” Tim said looking at me and also laughing.  “We’re on a small boat with three guys, there is no such thing as ‘sausage time’ on this boat.”

“I see your point,” I replied, realizing the gross error of my impromptu announcement.  I too was also laughing.  I would be hounded the rest of the voyage with reminders of my vocal miscarriage.  So it was on the Genius; no one was safe.

After breakfast everything was cleaned and stowed away so the genius could make way.  We had been very aware of the weather.  The wind had continued to build and the waves were increasing in size.  By the end of our meal the Genius had started to rock to and fro, the cove no longer providing much cover from the elements. 

“There’s no way we can sail against this, or even motor,” Tim said, in considering our options.  “The winds too strong, it will just carry us with it.”  Mike and I agreed with his synopsis of the situation.

“We could move over to the east side of the island and anchor there,” Mike suggested.  That was a good idea, because we certainly couldn’t stay where we were for much longer.   Mike had lived on a sailboat in Alaska and knew we had to find a more secure location.

We had pulled out the map of the Apostle Islands and were quickly running out of options.  The only other possibility was Stockton Island five miles due east of us.  The wind would blow us straight to it. 

Tim, Mike, and I deliberated on the matter and finally chose Stockton Island because it had camp sites and a sheltered marina.  The east side of Oak Island didn’t have so much as a pier and or a palace to land.  At least by what we could determine studying the map.

Wind & Waves

We weighed anchor and set out to run the channel down to Stockton Island.  If we missed it, the wind would carry us straight out into the middle of Lake Superior.  As soon as we cleared the cove the wind started to buffer us hard.  Tim was only using his storm jib and no main.  He had suffered a loss of confidence due to the mast incident and didn’t trust his boat.  However, even with just the storm jib, the genius made 8 knots according to my GPS and went as fast as 8.5 knots during the crossing. 

The waves were immense, maybe the biggest I’d seen on the lake; easily pushing ten feet.  Good thing we were going with them.  Tim was right, there was no way we could alter course, fighting these conditions would be futile.

Mike looking on

Tim had insisted on lifejackets as soon as we started out.  That was the first time he had ever given the order since I had been sailing with him.  It was a good decision, we were putting ourselves at the mercy of the elements and the conditions warranted extra caution.

It was a wild ride.  The Genius was being driven hard down the channel and many times surfed down the face of a wave.  It was a dead run, which was good.  If we had been on a reach the Genius would have healed and we would be taking water.  As it was we were getting plenty wet. 

At one point Tim said, “Wave.”  Right as it hit the side of the boat behind Mike and I, drenching us both.

“Thanks for the warning,” I remarked, looking at Tim.

“No problem, what are friends for,” Tim replied.

“You think you might be able to give a little more warning next time?!” I said to him.

“No.”

“Asshole,” I said, just stating the obvious.  We all laughed.

That was the only time before or since that I’ve experienced waves breaking over the sides of the cockpit on the Genius; she rides pretty high, so they were big. 

Tim, Mike, and I were all very aware of our situation.  However, at no time did we feel that the boat was in dire jeopardy, or else we wouldn’t have attempted the crossing in the first place.  We kept seated and stayed in the cockpit not daring to venture onto the deck to adjust anything.  Tim kept a firm grip on the tiller and was exerting himself to maintain control.  This definitely was no pleasure cruise.

About half way down the channel towards Stockton Island the jib sheets were let go due to the stain the sail was putting on the mast; or perhaps they came undone and none of us caught them in time.  Either way, Tim had been concerned that the mast wouldn’t hold after the prior day’s events, so that eased his mind.  The jib was just left to flutter in the wind; no one was going to attempt to wrestle with it, which would have required one of us to venture onto the bow to do so. 

The sheet was acting like a bull whip and was even snapping.  It eventually worked itself into a massive undoable knot which Tim still keeps as a memento of the occasion.  Even without the jib, the Genius was doing 6.5 knots.  We would find out later that the wind had been blowing at 45 to 50 miles an hour with gusts as high as 65 miles an hour.

There were other boats out on the lake that day, but not many.  And those that were, were getting hammered.  We saw another sailboat trying to make for Bayfield but they weren’t making any headway.  Perhaps, they were even loosing ground.  It was too hard to tell from our position and we had our own problems.  The Genius was doing her best to loose the crew.

Stockton Island came up fast and we started looking for a safe haven.  We could see the marina but it was windward side of the island and was taking the brunt of the gale.  It might prove difficult to navigate through the break wall in these winds, so we searched for another option.  Finally, we spotted a cove, and it was oriented in such a direction that it would provide decent cover.

Apparently, other mariners had the same opinion.  As we approached we could see other sailboats taking refuge in the cove.  The Genius motored in and made her bid for a decent anchorage.  The boat was maneuvered to the leeward side of the cove and within thirty feet of the beach.  Fortunately, with her shallow draft, the Genius was able to move much closer to the beach than bigger boats.  So, we were able to secure a good spot that otherwise would have already been claimed.  The anchor was dropped and the crew breathed a sigh of relief.

Tune in next time for high jinx on Stockton Island…………