UnLocking: The mandated March 25 opening of the Soo Locks is expected to go off as planned at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, but the usual small crowd of dedicated boatnerds will not be able to watch from the viewing stand. The park grounds at the Soo Locks have been closed for now, including the visitor center there. (The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' visitor center in Duluth also remains closed to the public until further notice.) Great Lakes freighter crews, though, are already arriving at their vessels and following new protocols linked to protecting the health of crew members, as we've heard from those connected to the crews. Because of security issues right at the locks, there is no live webcam there, but a webcam set up at Karl's Cuisine shows the park area with the locks in the background. On that live feed, you might actually see the first freighter lock through ... if you keep an eye out for the time (we have nothing specific yet). Karl's has a strong commitment to the local community and to good food and beverages (Superior Coast Winery & Brewery is there, too). We are fans of the colorful graphics (nice truck!) on the website owners Karl and Paula have created. It's a true family affair with their three children and children-in-law – son Elliot and wife Beth (office manager); daughter Lily (winery manager) and husband Jared (head chef); plus son Charlie and wife Torie – helping with the business. They operate the business on the model "Think Local - Buy Local - Be Local."
On the Western Waterfront: With the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center closed (though the staff is still there and can be reached by phone), another tool for boatnerds in Duluth wondering about which of the six vessels that wintered here will leave first is the vessel schedule at harborlookout.com and the center's Boatwatcher Hotline (218-722-6489). Meanwhile, here's the boatwatcher gossip we picked up on the sites where our knowledgeable boat-o-philes sail: the Burns Harbor (which was the last vessel through the Soo Locks in January) had the earliest return call for its crew and was scheduled to depart at 11:30 p.m. today; the American Spirit is scheduled to load Saturday in Silver Bay and head downbound to Ohio; the Lee A. Tregurtha, Paul R. Tregurtha and Hon. James L. Oberstar are scheduled to leave Duluth on Monday. Three ships wintered at Fraser Shipyards in Superior. For boats that wintered at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Marinette, Wis., the schedule for departure from there, likely to Lake Superior, is H. Lee White, Sunday (Mar. 22); Mesabi Miner and Roger Blough, Monday (Mar. 23); James R. Barker and American Mariner, Tuesday (Mar. 24); Joseph L. Block, Wednesday (Mar. 25); Edgar B. Speer, April 5; American Integrity, April 8; and Wilfred Sykes, April 10. That Fincantieri schedule is as of today, which can (and likely will) change.
More meanwhile … Roger LeLievre, publisher of Know Your Ships, posted this note today about ice breaking activity in Thunder Bay: "Thunder Bay icebreaking by USCG delayed due to border restrictions. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alder that was expected to clear ice in the Thunder Bay harbor this week, has been held back due to border crossing restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Instead, the Canadian Coast Guard Cutter Samuel Risley will arrive early next week to free up wintering ships at Keefer Terminal and open passages for the navigation season." We're linking to a Sault Online ONNtv video (a still shot shown here from the pilothouse) from Mar. 25, 2019, as the Risely came across Lake Superior from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay.
Plans for the Future: As the Poe and MacArthur locks open for another shipping season, plans are rolling along for a new lock equalling the Poe in size to give needed flexibility and stability to commercial maritime activities from Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes. The Poe Lock, opened in 1969, handles 85% of the commercial commodities carried through the locks. This photo, posted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District earlier in the month, shows the design team for the new lock approved by Congress. The team walked the Poe Lock while it was dewatered for winter maintenance. "The team was able to gain perspective and understanding during their visit to ensure that this project remains on course in executing New Lock project milestones," the Corps posted. "The Upstream Channel Deepening contract was awarded in January 2020; advertisement of the Upstream Approach Walls contract is anticipated in Spring 2020 and Upstream Approach Walls contract award is projected in Fall 2020."
Virus News: We promise not to do a one-by-one uptick of confirmed cases of Covid19 in our region, but since the first three confirmations of the virus within the Big Lake region were this week, we wanted to mention them. There has been one confirmed case within Algoma District in Ontario, as reported by SooToday. Of the 91 people in the district tested for the virus so far, beside the 1 confirmation, 55 tests came back negative and 35 results are pending. Ashland Daily Press reports that a high school student within Bayfield County has been confirmed as having the virus and likely had it while still at school. Today, BusinessNorth reported on the first confirmed case in Douglas County, Wisconsin.
And some related news … Brian Cabell of Word on the Street in Marquette reports that within just four days, a GoFundMe site started to support Marquette’s restaurant, tavern and coffee shop workers raised more than $12,000. The money came in so quickly – good on you, Marquette – that the GoFundMe administrators cut it off for fear something was amiss. Because of that, the 200 workers who signed up for aid will only get about $60 each, according to Brian, after the site takes its $400 portion.
A Friend Indeed: Any time is a good time to look for stories of people helping out. Our longtime – long, long, longtime – photographic friend Shawn Malone of Lake Superior Photos in Marquette posted a wonderful little story about making a better spring for a couple of hatchlings a few years back. We'll let Shawn pick up the tale: "A couple of robin babies fell out of a nest in my yard after a wind storm. They were bloodied and battered lying on the ground, drenched in rain. I supported their nest with a camera tripod (worked perfectly), picked them up carefully and put them back in the nest. They survived, and here is a pic I just stumbled upon of one of the robin babies before it flew away." Shawn had time to look through all those photos because most of the art shows she usually frequents in April and May have cancelled. That leaves her in a precarious position, since those sales often carry her through to summer. In light of that, she's created what you might call a "Show Stopper" 30% off sale of the art prints she had made for the shows. Check out those prints – most of Lake Superior – and the other great works in her galleries.
Friends In Need: With closures and "social distancing" recommended even at work places, our regional shelters are scrambling to get their current charges into homes – some for adoption and some for fostering – to free up the shelters that are closing to the public. In Duluth, Animal Allies did a major adoption push this week with the idea that, since you're stuck at home anyway, it's a perfect time to adopt, train and enjoy a new furry family member. While you cannot drop by the shelter to browse for a new pet (it's closed to the general public), you can view them online (like 4-year-old pup Ariel and 2-year-old Mama Foot seen here). Call ahead and the staff will let in those serious about adoption for a meet-and-greet with your potential adoptee. Several shelters had major fundraising events in spring that need to be cancelled. There are a wealth of shelters around the greater Big Lake neighborhood. Please find the website of your local shelter and see how you might help, either by adopting, fostering or donating. This couple shown here with their newest family addition found love just this week at the Chaquamegon Humane Association in Ashland, Wis.
A Book Look: For book lovers (and we suspect many of you are), the need to stay at home and read can actually be a pleasant one. Over the next few weeks, we're going to introduce you to some new and old book potentials for your reading list. Marlin Bree is a bold storyteller – one might even say brash – who creates excitement in his sea tales whether on salt water or fresh. Several offerings in his newly released book, Bold Sea Stories, will be familiar to Lake Superior Magazine readers; versions of them have appeared in the magazine. Still, if you’ve read these before, they'll be worth rereading. This collection of 21 adventures – some unintentional on his wood-epoxy hulled sloop Persistence and some the stories from other people’s history – will keep you page-turning away those hours at home. The 21 stories, published in various periodicals, have garnered 23 awards, including two Grand Prize Awards from the Boating Writers International. (Both of those were tales from Lake Superior.) We caught up with Marlin via email this week with questions about how he decides what makes a good sea story for his non-fiction works and what his saltwater readers think about his Big Lake tales. We also asked the former Minneapolis Tribune writer if he’s ever been frightened sailing on Lake Superior, and he told us this: “Frightened on Superior? Oh, yes. I remember the advice from a school teacher who built a 10-foot plywood boat and went sailing, not on the world's biggest freshwater lake, but on the North Atlantic and the South Pacific. Gerry Spiess said that just about everyone who goes out the Duluth entryway and onto the open waters feels a certain puckering of the tail feathers. (Not exact nautical terminology). A feeling of fright was natural. It was not fear that was important; it was what you did with it.” You can read Marlin's thoughts about his writing and sailing life by linking onto our website.
Social Distancing … Madeline Island Style: That's what artist Dale Whittaker decided to call his video that tracks, via cell phone, responsible deer strolling through La Pointe in Wisconsin recently. After admiring the deer, check out Dale's Facebook page to see what great at-home work this artist is doing. On Minnesota's North Shore, photographer Christian Dalbec posted his “Social Distancing” video that involves him in a wetsuit and Lake Superior in rare form, twisting a roll of water beneath the waves (see it in the photo?). "I'll be the one who watches this spot," Christian gives us his distancing advice before he ducks beneath the waves. "You guys go to your spot, OK?" How about we just share your spot on YouTube, Christian? If you find some great links for the Lake, please send them our way at edit@lakesuperior.com or share them on our Lake Superior Magazine Facebook page so we can be social and distance at the same time. Keep well, keep creative and keep waving!
Photo & graphic credits: Karl's Cuisine; Sault Online ONNtv; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Shawn Malone/Lake Superior Photos; Animal Allies; Marlin Bree; Dale Whittaker; Christian Dalbec