MYSTERY SHIP REVEALED
I am Peder (deceased) and Helen Kitti's son-in-law. That is my connection to the Kitti Camp, at Lac La Belle. My wife, Mary Alice, and I have been coming to Lac La Belle for thirty-six years. Mary Alice, of course, has been there yearly since 1955. Our daughter, Sidney Butler, now lives in Calumet, in her great-grandfather's (Kitti) house on Oak Street. She operates an art and music studio there, in the Kitti tradition.
My sailboat is a 36 foot custom manufactured two masted schooner, made of steel. With the bow sprit, she is 42 feet overall. Her construction is based on the Thomas Colvin design - "Saugeen Witch." The boat's name is "Andante" It was built in 1978. I purchase the boat in Dunkirk, N.Y., on Lake Erie, in 2005. It has a very old fashioned rig, called a Gaffe Rig, which consists of two large trapezoid sails, with booms on the top as well as the bottom of the sails. There are two more triangle sails coming off the bow sprit, and two top-sails can be hauled above the trapezoid sails.
I always intended to keep "Andante" at Lac La Belle, but I needed to restore her first. It took four years to complete the necessary work – sailing during summers and working on her during the winter. I picked a boat yard at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to do the work, so she has been there all this time. I was finally ready to move "Andante" to Lac LA Belle in 2009, but was unable to prepare for the trip until 2010. I am attaching a map of the route.
I sailed her solo from Manitowoc to Lac La Belle. It took six weeks. I had a ten day delay in Mackinac to repair a propeller shaft coupler. Otherwise, the trip was long, challenging, fun, but relatively uneventful. The hardest part was navigating all night along St. Mary's River to the Soo Locks. I stayed at some beautiful anchorages on Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and Lake Superior. My favorite was South Manitou Island on Lake Michigan. It is as idyllic as any spot on Lake Superior. It has clear water with white sandy bottom and white sand beaches, like Bete Gris Bay, but the water is very warm. After a few days of sailing in open water, I dropped anchor, and my drawers, and dove in for a refreshing swim. I stayed an extra day to repeat the itinerary. I got caught in an awful storm on the crossing from Grand Marais to Bete Gris Bay. The forecast was for the storm to stay over land, but it came out over the water, with a force only Lake Superior can conjure. I suspected it would, and prepared the boat early. So, although wet and bouncy, all went well.
Approaching Lac La Belle from a score of miles or more out on the water gives one a very unique view of that part of the Keweenaw. The three mountains crowd together to form one mountain with two bulges on the east and one the west. It is vastly different than the view from within Bete Gris Bay.
I reached Lac La Belle around midnight on a beautifully clear July evening. Coming out of the channel, I headed for the light at Red Sands, but just caught the shallows off Sand Point. I got "Andante" off the mud by dropping the anchor out in deeper water, and hauling the anchor line up the mast. "Andante" heeled over, and with an eerie sucking sound, came off the sand bar. I moved her to a spot between Wendell Carlson's home and our camp, for the rest of the summer.
I am storing "Andante" at Julio's on Dollar Bay during the winter. You can expect "Andante" to be at Lac La Belle next summer.
Cordially,
Bruce Butler
Picture of boat interior.
Photo by Audry Carlson
Photo by Wendell Carlson