Ice, Ice, and More Ice!
- Lonnie Dupre
- 12 hours ago
- 2 min read
On April 19th, Nord Hus cast away from Marquette MI, where we'd been holding up for a week to allow ice to clear in Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior. We had a good weather window to get to Whitefish Point and scout out that safe harbour, then attempt the ice. Reports had been that the harbour was dredged in the fall to 6ft. With the lake well below normal water levels and our 5'6" draft, we were worried it might not be a shelter possibility for Nord Hus.
The first order of the day after an overnight sail was to crawl into the harbour with Lonnie at the bow with a depth line, checking as we inched forward. One of us was glued to the depth sounder, calling out values.
We made it! Docking was going to be possible. Now we could go down the bay to scout the ice, knowing we had this safe place to retreat to. Upon exiting the harbour, we veered slightly off our entering route and ran aground! With some rocking and thrusting, we were free in about a minute.
Towards the ice!!! After 3 hours from the safe harbour, we reached the start of the ice. Verbal reports were that it was brash ice, like mashed potatoes. We found it far more consolidated and in line with the ice charts of 5/10th coverage. The pans were 3-6ft in diameter and 2 feet thick. Nord Hus plowed through for a bit, but with the knowledge that it would only get thicker, up to 7-8/10th coverage, we decided not to push our luck.
These decisions to turn around are never easy, much like calling off a climb during a mountaineering expedition. We have learned that sometimes, it's the only way to live another day (or at least not lose the boat). We were not willing to take that chance.
Check out the video of Nord Hus in the ice...
We've been in daily contact with the US Coast Guard, the lockmaster, the US Corps of Engineers and some of the freighter captains after they have just travelled through the locks and ice. We learned that even the 1000ft ore boats are having to crawl through carefully, the icebreakers are running steadily, and the 45ft rescue boats are not yet in the water...
So, we are glued to wind forecasts, ice chart updates, NASA Worldview satellite imagery and YouTube live footage of the locks. Here's to warmer weather, rain and south-east winds to clear the blockage!
In the meantime, we wait out another windstorm and continue to improve the boat. I realize now that work will never end :)
Special thanks to PrimaLoft - High Performance Sustainable Insulation