Closing the Book on Lake Superior – Welcome to the Soo (July 31st-August 2nd)

With the remote portion of Lake Superior behind us it was time to head for Sault Ste Marie and the St. Mary’s River. We made a couple of overnight stops at Batchawana Bay (46°55.2’N, 84°36.0’W) and Goulais Bay (46°43.8’N,84°30.4’W) to break the trip into reasonable distances. Both of these bays were shallow and warm and had numerous homes and cabins around them. The water was warmer but had lost much of its clarity. It was, however, a great breeding ground for insects. It was mayflies at Batchawana and caddis at Goulais. I have to say I preferred the mayflies as they were easier to get rid of.

From Goulais Bay it was off toward Sault Ste Marie (the Soo) and the shipping lanes. This was our first up close experience with the 1000 foot freighters that ply the Great Lakes. All went well and fortunately we only passed them going in the opposite direction. It would have been a little unsettling to be overtaken by one of these giants in the narrow channel.

We passed under the international bridge connecting Sault Ste Marie Michigan and Sault Ste Marie Ontario as we made our way into the smaller Canadian Locks that would lower us into the St. Mary’s River.

This was our first experience going through locks and thankfully it was just us and one other boat going through. The other boat locking through with us was a tour boat. Nothing like having a large audience watching your first trip through the locks. The locks lowered us 21 feet to the river below and we were off to the Roberta Bondar Marina on the Ontario side of the river. We spent a few nights at the Bondar Marina re-provisioning and doing miscellaneous chores as well as enjoying Sault Ste Marie.