We left Mackinaw City in the morning; dodged the Norwegian cruise ships on the roads off Mackinac Island; crossed northern Lake Huron towards the St. Mary's River in squally conditions; and the next day climbed up against the river's moderate current to the friendly George Kemp Marina at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. (also known as The Soo). Along the way, we also did some freighter spotting, often seeing the big lakers and salties up close. Satellite images courtesy of Google Earth.

We went back across Northern Lake Michigan after having spent a couple of weeks visiting Fayette, Escanaba, and Door County in Green Bay. Our day-long return route went to weather from the Garden Peninsula to Beaver Island, where we spent a relaxing layover day at the charming town of St. James. The following day, Freelance continued east in dreary rain and light air. We passed through the long line of reefs and shoals at Grays Reef Passage and then entered Lake Huron under the imposing Mackinac Bridge, before turning into the Straits State Harbor, Mackinaw City, for the night. Satellite images courtesy of Google Earth.

While visiting Lake Michigan's Green Bay, we sailed south to Fish Creek, Door County, Wisconsin, to meet up with some Danish friends. Door County is a vibrant tourist destination with a visible Scandinavian twist, which is often referred to as the Cape Cod of the Midwest. It's named after the Porte des Morts Passage at the top of the 80-mile (129 km) long peninsula. Porte des Morts translates from French to Death's Door, and its name is generally thought to be a centuries-old warning to mariners trying to enter Green Bay from the open Lake Michigan. After meeting up with our friends at Fish Creek, we took Freelance up through the Strawberry Channel and north of Washington Island to the Point Detour Bay anchorage. Other friends - our buddy-boats Jubilee, Annie B. Stone, and the Moku Hale - were already anchored there. The plan was for us all the leave early the next day for an open-waters crossing to St. James, Beaver Island. Satellite images courtesy of Google Earth.

We crossed to Green Bay the day before, and now turned Freelance up into the Big Bay De Noc to Fayette. It's a cruising destination that we were repeatedly told is one of Lake Michigan's must-see harbors. We definitely were not disappointed. It's a place to stay and explore for several days. Fayette is both a beautiful Michigan State Park with wonderful walking trails, as well as a well=preserved historic townsite and iron works dating from the late 1800s. The small marina, also known as Snail Shell Harbor, was delightful. It's well designed, scenic, and sheltered. For further information about the Fayette Historic State Park and Harbor, see https://www.michigan.gov/mhc/museums/fayette and https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/parksandtrails/details.aspx?id=417&type=SPRK For information about the Great Lakes Cruising Club, please visit www.GLCClub.com Satellite images by Google Earth.

In this episode, we leave the Strait of Mackinac behind us and head back into Lake Michigan, the third largest of North America's Great Lakes. Our route was to pass through Grays Reef Passage to the popular and historic harbor town of St. James, Beaver Island, before heading across the northern section of the lake to Green Bay. It was a two-day passage of about 150 nautical miles (278 km). This video shows just a small slice of a 34-day summer cruise on three of the Great Lakes, which took Freelance from Lake Superior's Apostle Islands to the Great Lakes Cruising Club's Rendezvous at Escanaba, Mich., and back. All together, about 1,000 nautical miles (1,600 km) were logged on this trip. We plan to release more episodes from this adventure in the future. Satellite images by Google Earth.

Taking a sailboat down the American Locks at Sault Ste. Marie (The Soo) is always a grand adventure. They are not only an important shipping link between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes, but also a popular tourist attraction. People come from all over to see the huge freighters and smaller vessels lock through. So, when you're taking your own boat through here, it's usually done with an audience. The sheer size of the American Locks is impressive. The recreational traffic uses the smaller MacArthur Lock, which is 800-feet (240 m) long and situated closest to the visitors' stand. However, while it certainly is BIG, Vicki and I find it quite easy to use by a two-handed crew. We have previously posted a YouTube video (Going Down the Canadian Lock at Sault Ste. Marie - SV Freelance Ep. 20) about how to go through the much smaller Canadian Lock at Sault Ste. Marie. That lock is operated as a historic site by Parks Canada, and is even easier to use for recreational boats than the bigger MacArthur Lock. Satellite images by Google Earth.

It was a pleasant day-long ride towards Grand Marais after we had spent five wonderful days at the Isle Royale National Park, Lake Superior. We were running westward with just the jib topsail and mainsail, because the winds mainly stayed below 14 knots, but we were making good speed in moderate seas. Having a following current sure helped us make a speedy passage to our destination. Grand Marais is actually one of two towns of the same name on Lake Superior. The one we were sailing to at this particular time is the one at Minnesota's Sawtooth Mountains. They got their name because of their fairly regular size, spacing, and angles, looking like the teeth of a large sawblade, especially when seen from the east. It's a rugged range with abundant wildlife, including eagles, deer, moose, bears, wolves, and cougar, and has many charming touristy towns and spectacular state parks. Like many of other Minnesota and Wisconsin communities, Grand Marais (Great Marsh) was given its name during the famous fur trade time, when the area was considered part of New France. Satellite images courtesy of Google Earth.

There was a change of plans. Instead of sailing to the charming Copper Harbor on the Keweenaw, we went to Windigo at the western end of the Isle Royale. It was the right call. The sailing conditions were ideal, and we made a fast and easy passage of 50 NM across the open waters of Lake Superior. Once we arrived, we decided to stay and enjoy Windigo for several days. It's an entry point for the 45-mile long National Park, and one of its more developed areas, where there's always something going on. Ferries and float planes bring visitors here, or they arrive in private boats. It's also a place, where we usually see plenty of moose and other wildlife. Unfortunately, there wasn't any moose this time. Satellite images courtesy of Google Earth.

This is a fairly typical overnight sailing trip out among Lake Superior's Apostle Islands, when the air happens to be light. Because of the southerly wind direction, we choose to stay at the scenic and sheltered anchorage on the north side of Oak Island, which everyone calls North Oak. As expected, it proved to be a highly popular place. There were between 20 and 25 boats already there, when we arrived. Oak Island is the tallest of the Apostle Islands, rising about 480 ft. above the lake. It's slowly reverting to boreal forest, and it's now hard to imagine the island once had several busy fishing and lumber camps before it became part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Incidentally, it's also known to have a very large population of black bears. Both days were quite hot. While sailing Lake Superior is widely known to be a cold, cold pleasure, there are times in the summer, when its South Shore's temperatures soar into the 85-95-degree range - and sometimes higher. Combined with the humidity, that can be quite uncomfortable, if there isn't any breeze. Satellite images courtesy of Google Earth.

This one is a little different. I took Freelance back by myself from Superior-Duluth to the Apostle Islands - the first four hours in heavy fog - while Vicki handled the ground transportation. And as I have said several times before in our videos, I truly dislike fog. It always takes a lot of concentration, which is especially true when sailing single-handed. Incidentally, I prefer to have friends along on this particular passage, mainly for the social aspects, but we were unavoidably delayed for a week, due to the need to first fix an unexpected engine oil leak. So, the friends we had lined up to be our delivery crew were unfortunately unable to adjust their schedules, and the easiest solution was for me to just solo Freelance to Port Superior Marina at Bayfield.

At sunrise, Freelance left Houghton-Hancock to sail offshore on Lake Superior. The conditions were ideal, giving us a comfortable and fast broad reach all the way from the Keweenaw Waterway's Upper Entry to the beautiful Chippewa Harbor in the Isle Royale National Park. Along the way, we crossed wakes with Victoria Queen, a classic wooden yawl, and spent a couple of days with our friends Bill and Mike at the charming and secluded wilderness anchorage. They went fishing, and afterwards we all four greatly enjoyed their delicious catch of laketrout and northern pike. By the way, I've updated my video editing software. The new software has more of the professional controls and features that I've worked with in the past. I am wondering if you notice any difference for this video, so please comment here if you think it's an improvement or not. Satellite images by Google Earth.

In this 22nd episode of Sailing SV Freelance we ride the current down the St. Mary's River to the DeTour Passage, where the water from Lake Superior flows into Lake Huron. After spending the night at the peaceful DeTour Marina, we turned west towards the popular Mackinac Island, which is one of our favorite Great Lakes destinations. There's so much to see and do at Mackinac Island, and it has an old time charm that's difficult to overrate. Here are many great restaurants, impressive hotels, fun shops, famous historical sites, and beautiful nature. It's also famous for banning motorized vehicles back in 1898, so people get around the island with horses and bicycles, or just by walking. Satellite images courtesy of Google Earth Rhastafarian by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/

In this 21st episode of Sailing SV Freelance, Vicki and I sail offshore on Lake Superior from the Apostle Island to the Keweenaw Peninsula. We had decent weather on the day-long downwind passage of about 80 nautical miles, making for steady progress towards our destination. After getting to the Keweenaw Waterway, also called the Keweenaw Canal, we didn't stop at the long Lily Pond Harbor of Refuge wharf. Instead, we pressed further on to the cities of Houghton-Hancock, Mich., where we tied Freelance up to Houghton's convenient City Dock. All in all, it was about 15 hours after we raised the anchor in Stockton Island's Julian Bay. The next day was a planned layover day, during which we just took it easy and visited with friends. We also ate breakfast at the Copper Range Depot Restaurant, and as usual got coffee and donuts at Roy's Pasties & Bakery, which is one of our all-time favorite bakeries. When it was time to leave early on the third day, thick fog had descended on the Keweenaw Waterway. You could hardly see the massive lift bridge, which spans the channel. That made it a no-go situation for us, so we patiently waited until fog lifted at about 9 a.m., when we pushed off for the waterway's Lower Entry and Marquette. In this video, we had longer sections without voice-over, and are curious about how you like this format. Please leave a comment below, if you think we should do more or less of this. Satellite images courtesy of Google Earth Easy Jam by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100245 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

How do you use the locks at Sault Ste. Marie (The Soo)? This episode of Sailing SV Freelance shows you how we did it, when we once again were downbound from Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes. Vicki and I have several times passed through The Soo, both in the American and Canadian locks. Generally, we prefer the smaller Canadian Lock, because it's so super easy to use by recreational crafts. The huge American Locks are better suited for the freighters, but you are free to use either. Incidentally, Sault Ste. Marie is an old community by American standards. It was established in 1668 by the French, making it one of the oldest in the United States west of the Appalachians. Of course, there were Dakota, Chippewa and other communities at this centrally located gathering place well before any Europeans arrived. Today, there are two cities - one Canadian and one American - of the same name on each side of the rapids. After exiting the Canadian Lock, we happened to meet a traditional Montreal Canoe, also known as a "canot du maître" (master's canoe). These large birch-bark canoes were used during the old Fur Trade Times to carry goods on the Voyageurs' route between Montreal and Lake Superior. You can tongue-in-cheek claim they were the first Great Lakes freighters - but because they could be portaged by four people, they didn't need any locks to get past the rapids at Sault Ste. Marie. Satellite images by Google Earth. Music: Bicycle - Reunited by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100870 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

We were there, when the US Coast Guard demonstrated an on-the-water air evacuation at the Great Lakes Cruising Club's Rendezvous at Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is where two of the Great Lakes - Lake Huron and Lake Michigan - meet. The helicopter flew up from the USCG Air Station at Traverse City, Michigan, for the Cruising Club's largest summer event. Everyone was thrilled to observe the demonstration of how a person can be lifted out of the water with the help of a rescue swimmer, as well as appreciative of this special educational opportunity.. Obviously, it is so very helpful for boaters to know what to expect, if they ever happen to be involved with such an emergency situation. However, Vicki and I have previously observed a USCG air rescue attempt in Lake Superior's Apostle Islands. That happened during a heavy northeaster, so it was in far more difficult conditions than during this demonstration. The helicopter, which has a crew of four, is a Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawk. It's capable of speeds up to 180 knots and has a range of about 800 miles. The Traverse City Air Station's coverage area includes all of Lake Michigan, and most of Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

This Sailing SV Freelance episode is from when Tim, Perry, and I took the boat (a Pearson 36 Cutter) from Superior-Duluth back to Lake Superior's Apostle Islands. The summer weather was quite hot, even out on the open lake, and there were several threatening T-storms chasing us, which we thankfully avoided. We had hoped to be able to use the sails during the passage. Unfortunately, the winds were no cooperating, so we instead relied on the diesel to get us to our destination. When we got into the Apostles by mid-afternoon, we figured there wasn't any reason to rush - and we decided to stay overnight on the hook in the pleasant Raspberry Bay, and continue on to Port Superior in the morning.

In this SV Freelance episode we enjoyed a leisurely downwind sail to Stockton Island in the Apostles, where we anchored two nights in Julian Bay before moving on to the small National Park Service's harbor at Presque Isle. During the time we were at the beautiful island, we enjoyed the beaches; went for a wet dinghy ride; complained about the biting black flies; heard a report about a close encounter with a black bear; experienced a heavy Lake Superior thunderstorm; declared a weather day due to fog; and visited with boating friends. This is longest YouTube video we have made so far, so we're curious about how you like its length. Please take a moment and let us know below. One of our visits at Stockton Island was with Larry and Judy of the Allegro, a Mason 33 sailboat. Larry's YouTube channel can be found at https://www.youtube.com/user/allegrosails.

This past summer, I helped run the Necessity, a SeaRay Fly 400 motorcruiser, from the Apostle Islands to Duluth. It was a very fast, fun, and comfortable passage in calm seas - and obviously much, much faster than Vicki and I can ever do the trip on our own boat, the SV Freelance. . We had timed our passage to beat a forecasted change in the weather. The high winds (gust to 30) did arrive as promised, but we had already made our destination with an hour to spare

This is the second part of our detailed walk-through of Freelance, our Pearson 36 Cutter (also informally known as a Pearson 367), focusing on our experiences with its below-deck features and cruising comforts. Our cutter is Hull #4. It was built in 1981, and launched on the East Coast in 1982. We bought it 1991 at Barkers Island Marina, Lake Superior, and renamed it Freelance. Since then it has serve us well as our magic carpet, which has safely taken us far and wide on the Great Lakes. We know from our experience it's a awesome cruising boat. Here are its official specifications, which were also listed with Part 1: LOA: 36'5"/11.1m LWL: 30'0" /9.1m Hull speed: 7.34 knots Beam: 11'6" /3.4m Draft: 5'6" /1.68m Height above DWL: 47'4" /14.4m Sail area: 599 sq. ft./55.7 sq. m Displacement: 17,700 lbs./8,028.6 kg Ballast: 7,300 lbs./3,377.2 kg Engine: 40-hp Westerbeke diesel Diesel tankage: 50 gal. /189.3 liters Water tankage: 150 gal./567.8 liters Water heater: 6 gal. /22.7 liters Holding tankage: 20 gal./75.7 liters Batteries: 3 Series 31 AGM For Freelance's above decks features and our recommendations for how to best sail a Pearson 36 Cutter, please see Part 1 on YouTube. And just to avoid misunderstandings, please note our boat is not for sale.

We were asked to do a walk-through of Freelance, our Pearson 36 Cutter (also informally known as a Pearson 367), so here it is the first part. It focuses on its above-deck features and our recommendations for how to best sail it. Our cutter is Hull #4. It was built in 1981, and launched on the East Coast in 1982. We bought it 1991 at Barkers Island Marina, Lake Superior, and renamed it Freelance. Since then it has serve us well as our magic carpet, which has safely taken us far and wide on the Great Lakes. We know from our experience it's a awesome cruising boat. Here are some of its official specifications: LOA: 36'5"/11.1m LWL: 30'0" /9.1m Hull speed: 7.34 knots Beam: 11'6" /3.4m Draft: 5'6" /1.68m Height above DWL: 47'4" /14.4m Sail area: 599 sq. ft./55.7 sq. m Displacement: 17,700 lbs./8,028.6 kg Ballast: 7,300 lbs./3,377.2 kg Engine: 40-hp Westerbeke diesel Diesel tankage: 50 gal. /189.3 liters Water tankage: 150 gal./567.8 liters Water heater: 6 gal. /22.7 liters Holding tankage: 20 gal./75.7 liters Batteries: 3 Series 31 AGM Incidentally, the Pearson 36 Cutter/Pearson 367 may at first glance seem to have the same hull as the popular Pearson 365, but doesn't. Its underbody is very difference. And just to avoid misunderstandings, please note our boat is not for sale.