Inland Sea Kayakers

Memorial Day 2006 - Apostle Islands

Our Memorial Day Rendezvous Draws a Mob
Our first annual Lake Superior rendezvous drew 30 ISK members to Little Sand Bay over Memorial Day weekend. We got a chance to island hop, poke in an estuary, explore sea caves, paddle on flat water and plow through more typical Lake Superior chop.

Along the way some members also had an opportunity to put their rescue skills to work. One member needed an assisted tow after becoming sick during the trip back from Sand Island. And club president Jeff Forseth discovered enroute to York Island that he had lost his rear hatch cover. Water filled his rear compartment, leaving him with an unstable boat that floundered in the waves. The solution, lacking a spare cover: he rigged a paddle float on his paddle to use as an outrigger as his paddling companion, Mike Cannon, towed him more than a mile back to shore.

Here are a few things that were great about this year's rendezvous:

The number of members who participated gave everyone paddling options each day. For example, if you didn't care to go island hopping, you could stay with others who wanted a leisurely paddle close to shore.
The potluck suppers on Saturday and Sunday night.
The newly-renovated Town of Russell campground, with plenty of available campsites. We occupied a long row of just-opened sites.
Perfect weather - warm by day and crisp at night.
And, that moment when the morning sun shone perfectly through the cleft in the sea cave off Meyer's Beach, dropping a shaft of light through the shadows.