Setting Sail: As we've mentioned earlier this month, many Lake Superior cruises and tours have re-opened for modified business, including Pictured Rocks Cruises in Munising, Mich., Apostle Islands Cruises in Bayfield, Wis., and Vista Fleet in Duluth. But that also applies to many sailboat tours, a true adventure especially for sailing newbies. Here, in a lovely recent photo by Roxanne Distad, the red-sailed Hjørdis, owned and operated by North House Folk School in Grand Marais, heads into the Lake, though it isn't booking trips quite yet. Tours may start in July, we hear. We know that onsite classes at the Folk House start July 6. Fun fact, Hjørdis, the Gazelle design, 42-foot junk-rigged schooner was named for the mother of its builder, Kenneth Woodward, a General Motors machinist and general foreman in Detroit who spent 6,000 hours and seven years in the making of it. (His mom must have been Norwegian, because if she was Swedish it would be Hjördis.) For other sails, check out SailSuperior.com in Thunder Bay. It offers 90-minute harbour tours and short of full-day private excursions on its Jonmeri 40 Frodo or the Down Easter 38 Ketch Journeyer plus Kaministiquia River Tours or half-day trips on its Zodiac Hurricane Superior Rocket. Lake Superior Tall Ships in Bayfield offers private charters on its Vagabond 52 Staysail Schooner Abbey Road (seen here with its own red sail). Also in Bayfield, Dreamcatcher Sailing with four sailboats, Superior Charters with captained and "bareboat" options and Animaashi Sailing Company, owned and operated by a former Coast Guardsman with the 34-foot yacht Sarah’s Joy. Sadly, trips with Grand Portage Isle Royale Transportation Lines out of Grand Portage, Minn., and the Isle Royale Line ferry service out of Copper Harbor, Mich., have been cancelled completely by the National Park Service for 2020, though NPS is allowing seaplane service to the island.
Angling for a Change?: Cottage Life, a magazine out of Toronto, did a story about the frustrations of seasonal homeowners in Northwest Angle, that little oddly located section of land along the Lake of the Woods, surrounded by Manitoba and Ontario, but that is actually part of Minnesota. At the time Andrew Cruickshank wrote the story in late May, there was concern because the border closure – which since then has been extended to July 21– blocked U.S. residents from visiting, affecting as many as 600 people. Some resorts in the area also are owned by U.S. citizens and with the continued border block, the area, which usually doubles in population in summer, may have a hard time economically this year, Diane Schwartz-Williams, executive director of the Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association, told Andrew. In a Lake Superior Magazine story, Francis M. Carroll touched on that section as well as other border zig-zags in his story "Drawing a Line in the Water."
Even Keel: Mark W. Barker ... that's the official name of the newest freighter being built for Interlake Steamship Company. That also happens to be the name of the current company president, the second generation of the family company. Announcement of the laying of the keel and the name came Tuesday at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., along with a video of the keel coming together. “It’s truly amazing to have a ship built here in Wisconsin, made with steel from Indiana that was made from iron ore mined in Minnesota with U.S. crews, U.S. workers, U.S. miners all doing this for our great country. … It’s something I’m absolutely privileged and so proud to be a part of as we continue the long tradition in this country of building and operating and running the U.S. fleet,” Mark said during the ceremony. The 639-foot vessel is the the first U.S.-flagged Great Lakes bulk carrier built in more than 35 years. The company also has vessels named for Chairman James R. Barker (Mark's father) and Vice President Paul R. Tregurtha.
Golden Opportunity: Dubreuilville, Ont., a Francophone community about 83 highway kilometres (or about 50 miles) northeast of Michipicoten and Lake Superior, is having a bit of a gold rush, according to a story by Ian Ross for Northern Ontario Business. Ian interviewed Pat Dubreuil, whose grandfather and uncles helped found the town in the 1960s with creation of a sawmill there. He is vice president of community and First Nation engagement with Manitou Gold. The town boasts a population of about 615, of which 92% speak French or French and English. (Granted, it looks bigger on this map from the town's website.) There a video history of the township in French (a photo from it here is of the Dubreuil brothers, we think). Ian writes about gold mining in the broad region around the small town and points to "One of Canada's top performing mines, Alamos' Island Gold, is 10 kilometres southeast of town" that employs 500 people. He also mentions the 150,400 ounces of gold extracted last year from nearby Island Gold Mine, which, if we're figuring right, equals about $264 million (U.S.) in gold. The town has a lot more to pitch than gold, though, notes Mayor Beverly Nantel on the town's website. "We are in the heart of the Magpie Forest that has renowned fishing, hunting, snow machining and a very active ATV Club; the beauty is above anything which will appeal to all that love nature. Our small Francophone community offers the comforts of home and the security of raising your children here. I personally raised my children here and have had the joy of seeing my grandchildren being raised here as well. Our community is supported by gold mines and the forestry sector. We welcome you to come experience what we have with the security of solid careers and a quality of life that is comparable to no other place." A small town with a big sense of community pride ... who doesn't appreciate that?
Move Over, Jimmy Buffett: Madeline Island has its own musical "Barefoot Legend," singer/guitarist Ric Gillman. Ric will be "popping up" for a concert Saturday 1-4 p.m. at Bell Street Gallery in La Pointe on Madeline. The gallery's Artbar (yes, it serves drinks) is hosting Ric as part of its summer pop-up concerts series. Check out a video of Ric's guitar pickin'. Can you guess who is Ric this photo despite all four feet being bare? The fiddler is the late T Bruce Bowers, a Washburn hometowner who passed on in March. His daughter Yazmin Bowers posted an amazing tribute song, "Going Home," to him this week. Bell Street Gallery is now open, Monday-Saturday from noon-5 p.m. and showcases some amazing works by regional artists. The gallery also has started live trunk shows of artistic works, this week with islander Kathy Dawdy who crafted these lovely earrings.
Photo & graphic credits: Roxanne Distad; Lake Superior Tall Ships; Lake of the Woods Chamber of Commerce; Interlake Steamship Company; Dubreuilville; Don Greenwood; Bell Street Gallery