On the Big Lake...

One of the Apostle Island cruisers.

 ... they call gitche gumme (big sea water), I was looking forward to a boat ride around several of the Apostle Islands and capturing a couple lighthouses.

 

It seemed like a perfect day for a ride, the water was calm and the sun was shining.

 

After boarding the boat and finding a spot at the back on the outside deck, the captain told us that he wasn't sure we could see both the Devil's and Raspberry Island lighthouses because a strong wind was making the water too rough.

 

We left the dock, heading for the first island as the captain shared the history of Hermit Island which was named for a man beaten so bad in a bar fight he didn't leave his refuge surrounded by water.

 

The Apostle Island name isn't related to the number of islands (22) or the apostles (12); the name stuck anyway.  None of the islands are named for an apostles either.

It was a wonderful ride with lots of great photo opportunities.  My favorite was passing near an island where two bald eagles were perched on the same branch as the sun shined on them.  It was a magical moment as I held the shutter down.

So, you might ask, where are those shots?  Well, after the ride, back at the hotel, as I went through the pictures and transferred them to the computer, I had a brain malfunction and inadvertently deleted more than 100 pictures from the ride.

The Raspberry Island lighthouse. dwm photo

 Fortunately, I had downloaded a couple dozen shots of the Raspberry Island lighthouse.  

 

 The boat ride getting to Raspberry Island was very bumpy as we sailed into the wind bouncing on waves with our catamaran hull.  The person sitting next to me lost their hat when the wind whipped it off her head and into the drink.

 

 As much as I wanted to see the Devil's Island light, I agreed with the captain's decision to avoid it.  

 

The motion sickness pill I took before the trip kept me from feeling sick but it didn't help the anxiety and unpleasantness.  

 

As we turned back to Bayfield and found shelter on the lee-side of the islands the water calmed and the captain took us past a couple very old ship wrecks still visible in the clear shallows near land.  

 

The free Bayfield Maritime Museum. dwm photo

The ride was fun. I recommend it.  You might want to get the forecast for Lake Superior outside the protection of the islands before you buy a ticket.

Before the boat ride I was walking around Bayfield and looked in the window of the Maritime Museum to see when it opened.

A gentleman who serves as a volunteer told me it opened at 10, I mentioned the cruise, and he said, "well, come back in the afternoon and we'll tell you what really happened on the lake."

 

There is still commercial fishing in Lake Superior.  I saw at least three fish shops in Bayfield and we enjoyed fresh whitefish for lunch.  The museum tells the story of commercial fishing and the dangers of moving cargo and navigating the largest fresh water lake in the world.

 

Replica of an early Norwegian Fishing Boat

  The museum has replicas and remnants of sunken ships on display.  Boats and their history are Bayfield's history, especially in terms of European settlers because their first contact was by boat.

 Boats moved fur, lumber, and iron ore to more developed parts of the country.  As people settled to serve the growing businesses, more boats were needed to feed them, launching commercial fishing.

 The museum captures the old days and more recent history of how men and women carved out a living on the water or work with it to get the most out of life.

It's worth an hour to immerse yourself in the stories and the actual boats that plied the water once upon a time and help you appreciate the history and people of Bayfield.

All photos by David Mossner, September 21, 2022