The sea trial was a great success and as expected, Arkansas Traveler runs quite smoothly through the water now. The odd vibrations at low RPM are gone. The people at Thunder Bay Yacht Club were wonderful to us and very accommodating throughout our entire stay.

Bill, Steve, and Tracy at McKellar Marine Centre run an extraordinary business and go well beyond expectations in their attention to detail when working on boats. You are in good hands there if you ever need boat repair work done when in the northern part of Lake Superior. And, they are just great people, and talented in many realms. Tracy is also a potter and works in glass. Steve makes maple syrup on his homemade outdoor syrup furnace and he makes jellies from those tasty wild Canadian blueberries.

Thunder Bay Yacht Club from the river

We left Thunder Bay early last Tuesday morning, looking forward to exploring Black Bay and other nearby anchorages.   There are numerous small islands and islets to thread through after rounding Sibley Peninsula heading east. Beacons and charts mark the rocks and dangerous passages.

Light on Trowbridge Island

Small islet east of The Sleeping Giant

Squaw Bay is large with a few scattered cottages along its shore. A single-hander sailed by in the morning to to check out the foreigners in the bay.

The nights were in the upper 50’s and the days were in the lower 70s. It is a much different lake this year, with warmer air and water temperatures. We cruise wearing light windbreakers. The fish are in the deeper, cooler waters and trolling is difficult without a downrigger to get the lure to 40- to 50-foot depths where the fish are.

After anchoring for the night in Squaw Bay, we worked our way through the islands to Otter Cove at the mouth of Shesheeb Bay. This remote anchorage was a favorite last year and we stayed two nights this year as well.

There were no other boats in Otter Cove so we dropped anchor close to the stream leading to a waterfall. Here in the quiet and protected waters, sightings of beaver, eagles, loons, a happy Blackburnian Warbler, and a moose entertained us.

The still and peaceful upper arm of Otter Cove, filled with reflection.