Celebrations Between Nations

It was very choppy navigating the St. Mary's River. There was a strong Southeastern wind the entire day. We left Sault St. Marie pretty late (around 11am). We both felt well rested in high spirits after a night in a nice marina including hot showers, gas grills, reggae music, shore power, and complimentary bikes. The river is a bit daunting because of the huge amount of boat traffic. There were all sorts of vessels ranging from 5' jetskis to 500' ore boats sharing the river with us. The navigational buoys are fairing simple, although it is important to note that they are set assuming the boat is traveling from Huron to Superior (the rule of thumb is red [buoys], right, return [from larger body of water into a smaller]. When we arrived at Neebish Island, the otherwise single two- way lane breaks into northbound and southbound routes. Like fools, we were enjoying the scenery and accidentally proceeded down the northbound route... as an order boat was quickly heading our way. Almost immediately, the ore boat called us on the radio warning us of our mistake. We veered quickly into the southbound lane just before the shoaling of Neebish island became too shallow to navigate. One of the most interesting spots on the river is on the Southern side of Neebish island. This passage is man-made. Their is a spot called the "rock cut"  where the passage becomes about 150' wide. Both sides are made up of exploded rock in order to prevent erosion. The narrow is about 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile long. When we entered it, we were a bit nervous. I don't think that their would have been enough room for an ore boat and us side by side. The rest of the way to Larry and Sharon's was a bumpy ride. We were headed directly into 2-5' swells from the wind. We arrived and anchored. As we were getting a bag together, Larry, Mark, and Ashlin came out on their pontoon boat to greet us. It was really great to be there. By sheer coincidence, we had come stopped in just as Mark was having a party for graduating high school. All the neighbors were invited. We spent two nights at their house enjoying great company and the hospitality that only Larry and Sharon can provide. I will never forget our time there. Whether it be Larry's manly techniques of defending against mosquitos or having a beer with the porta-potti delivery guy, their cozy retirement home in De Tour county is as good of a refuge as any.
-Corey