Rendezvous’ final grade was ‘Superior’
By Bill Rohde, retired GLCC Director and Deputy Port Captain
All GLCC Rendezvous are exciting, fun-filled, events, but every few years one is truly special. This July, the Lake Superior contingent hosted the Club’s Rendezvous in Duluth-Superior at the head of Lake Superior. By all measures it was a truly “Superior” event.
Leading up to this year’s event were several preliminary meet-ups and rallies. Ultimately converging on this year’s Rendezvous, these activities were intended to encourage Rendezvous attendance by those on the lower lakes. Further analysis will determine if this idea will be carried forward, but it was a compelling concept.
Starting at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Ontario, most attendees by boat from the lower lakes chose to first follow the scenic south shore of the lake, enjoying magnificent areas like the Painted Rocks near Munising, MI, the Keweenaw waterway at Houghton-Hancock, the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin, and other south-shore attractions.
Several boats took advantage of the Rendezvous to traverse the “best of the best,” cruising at Isle Royale and the Canadian north and east shores on their return trips. It was truly a Superior experience for all.
The Rendezvous kicked off at Superior, WI’s Barkers Island Marina with its over-400 slips, outstanding service facilities, and adjoining hotel and conference center. The marina made one of its huge indoor storage buildings available to the Club as the central point for meetings, presentations, and social gatherings, while Monday evening’s Commodore’s Banquet was at the adjacent Conference Hotel.
The entire Rendezvous was a whirlwind of activity starting on Friday and continuing through the banquet Monday evening. Selecting just a few high points, Friday was seminar day, kicked off by an ample pancake breakfast served by the bridge and other volunteers. Immediately after the breakfast was a Safety at Sea seminar presented by Beth Mansfield. After Beth’s seminar, Dave Steffens presented a seminar focused on dealing with common issues associated with diesel engines. Following that was the sharing of information about cruising Lake Superior, particularly Isle Royale and the Canadian north and east shores), facilitated by Rendezvous Chair Niels Jensen.
After the first-timer’s reception, the marina hosted a barbeque with live music for all GLCC members and Barkers slipholders. It was an excellent opportunity for GLCC members to meet some of the local Barkers boaters.
Sunday was Duluth Day, with buses taking people across the bridges between cities to explore Duluth’s Canal Park after a continental breakfast. Canal Park is the bustling tourist center of Duluth / Superior, with numerous shops, restaurants, an opportunity to see the iconic Duluth Bridge in action, a compelling self-tour museum adjacent to the lift bridge, the Duluth Aquarium, and more.
After an on-your-own lunch at one of the many Canal Park eateries, buses took everyone to the restored Duluth train depot where they boarded a vistadome car for a scenic train ride up a bit of the North Shore and back. And if that wasn’t enough for this jam-packed day, it wrapped up with a catered dinner on board one of Duluth’s tour boats, although because of an unforeseen engine problem, the evening banquet boat remained dockside for the dinner. The buses brought everyone back to Barkers Island after a full, Superior day exploring the Twin Ports.
Monday was dedicated to exploring the attractions at Barkers island after breakfast and, later, a meal “on the go” available from a food truck arranged for Rendezvous participants. The afternoon featured the popular Bilge Auction fundraiser, with proceeds helping fund the Great Lakes Foundation’s philanthropic activities. It was another success – and a lot of fun!
Monday night was the Commodore’s reception and dinner at the Barkers Island Inn. True to the rest of the Rendezvous, this last event closed with a compelling presentation about two Atlantic crossings by Lake Superior’s Paul Hesse. Paul and crew sailed a replica Viking long boat to Norway a few years ago, later returning to Lake Superior aboard Lake Superior GLCC member Dean Rau’s sailboat by way of Iceland, Greenland and Canada’s Atlantic Provinces. Needless to say the audience was spellbound with this telling of those epic trips.
As people departed Tuesday, by boat, car or RV, the general sense was that this Superior Rendezvous had truly lived up to its Superior name. If you weren’t able to attend, you missed a good one.
Hopefully this article will encourage you to attend next year’s event. We’ll be looking forward to seeing you there!