Marquette - A Wonderful Place to Wait

Cheers to the wonderful folks of Marquette

We slid into Marquette, MI in the evening of Apr 11th after 30hrs since our departure from Grand Marais. The city lights were nice! Little did we know that we'd be spending a week here - hahaha.

The ice at the exit of Lake Superior was still showing 9/10th coverage, a no-go for us. This forced wait turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Our days in Marquette were hectic.

We found an issue with our VHF radio and thanks to a local telecommunication and radio expert, Don Salo, our range is much improved now. It did take 3 trips up the mast by Mark, Lonnie and Pascale - hahaha. Don also stocked our electrical spare parts from his incredible warehouse, forever grateful.

Photo: Thanks Eric Brossier for capturing these moments

Our AIS failed and works again with new dedicated VHF and GPS antennas. An alternator glitch was repaired, and the outboard motor mount was retrofitted and tested. The new autopilot recalibrated after doing the first leg by steering manually. Our geneker halyard installation improved, preventer and whisker pole lines fine-tuned, complete with a custom sewn stuff bag by non other than Don. The boat has been greatly improved.

Lonnie giving a presentation at the Ore Dock Bar

The folks of Marquette have been incredibly generous and interested in the journey. We had warm showers, fresh bread and treats. We had a nice pizza lunch with Don's homemade crust. We also shared a presentation at a local pub, fun group of peeps!

We had some cold snowy days and warm sunny days. A beautiful town!

Thank you Marquette!