After a resilient lifetime
filled with outdoor adventures, I had a forced slow down last year,
spending almost the entire year with knee problems and then a fractured
hip.
This year is looking better than I even dared hope it could be just a few months ago. Skipper Sam II is
in the water, and we are enthusiastically hoping to prepare for another
exploration of our lovely Lake Superior. Sharing these fun times with
you, our wonderful readers, makes it all the more worthwhile.
Last year’s time away from this fine avocation of
powerboating - thanks to a leg that quit working - did acquaint me with
the frustrations of those who have had to live with such problems for a
lifetime. It makes me even more excited about sharing our boat. We plan
to invite several folks out for a boat ride that will be, I hope, among
the nicest things that they’ve enjoyed. As you remember, our lake is a
constant learning experience … and I thrill to share it.
Should everything fall into place, this year’s trip will be
exceptional. We plan to cruise toward the very top of our lake, taking
photographs of more of the areas that we still have not explored.
(There’s always more to see!)
Exploration has a pattern that I’ve always tried to follow.
By carefully watching the waters as we voyage, we make copious notes
for our log about what the area appears to be, confirming by actual
exploration both the safety and the hazards of each new area. This
becomes our record for future voyages. Lake Superior’s clear water
makes this practice both practical and logical.
Jim, left at helm, stands beside frequent first mate Stan Salmi as he pilots Skipper Sam II on a rare outing last year to Knife River Marina in Minnesota. Permanent mate Jan Biga, Jim’s wife, observes below.
PHOTO PAUL L. HAYDEN
Summer on Lake Superior generates quite a variety of experiences
for anyone who navigates it because this lake can generate dimensions
ranging from joy to occasional sheer terror.
Safe and successful boating gives us something of a blueprint for
life in general. A bit of foresight and preparation goes a long way in
preventing those “terror” moments and makes the ride more enjoyable.
By the time you read this, we will have taken Skipper Sam II out
for its first real ride for the year. This is part of the annual “make
sure it is ready” series of tests that most of our boating friends also
schedule. As I often have reminded you in the past, dear readers, there
really is only one place where everything about this watercraft should
be thoroughly examined - its home dock! At least at the start of the
season, I know what our resources are.
After years of engaging in boating, here is a synopsis of how these “opening” days usually develop:
On this first day, we head out into the open lake with no
particular destination in mind, finding that the boat (and we) need a
thorough “getting used to each other” again. After several hours of
mainly satisfactory testing, we feel that we are well along in our goal
of verifying dependability. Skipper Sam II is really beginning to feel
good.
Looking back over the many years of not just “safe” boating, but of
accomplishing the very real success of getting back home each time, my
thoughts pause over the list of many names of those who contributed to
my lifetime of boating enjoyment. Stan Salmi, our wonderful regular
first mate, rides high on our list, as do oh so many others!
Besides enjoying the fine company over the years, we’ve also had
the priceless privilege of developing and generating a love of boating
within many fine young men and women.
I value so much the time spent on that boat … and also the time
spent with you, both our loyal and our new readers, as you have
listened to my many stories during the now more than 26 years that this
magazine has been published. You are not just valuable to us - you are
invaluable!
Stay tuned.
A selection of Jim Marshall’s columns of lake lore and his inland sea voyages
has been published as Lake Superior Journal: Views from the Bridge
by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc. Follow this link
for more information.
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