7-1-2024 Silver Islet, ON

It took only 2 hours to sail from Thunder Bay to Silver Islet and the ship is anchored offshore.  At about 5AM, our captain (from Romania) came on the loud speaker to tell us that a storm is heading our way and apparently, he doesn’t like the looks of it.  So we are going to try to outrun it, departing 3 hours earlier than planned, heading straight across the Superior Ocean to Sault Sainte Marie.  We will sail all day and all night and arrive tomorrow at noon.  We have been under weigh for 1 ½ hours already and we can still see land but soon, we will be on the open water under a blue (so far) sky.  Serene and absolutely hypnotic.

 

Anchored our near Silver Islet

Zoom in on this picture to see the
location of the Pearl Mist

A bit about the ship (Yes, it’s a ship, not a boat, since it travels up the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Atlantic.):  It is the MV Pearl Mist.  MV means, “Merchant Vessel,” as it transports goods and people for money.  We are 325 feet long with a draft of 11 ½ feet with 65 crew and 214 passengers, max.  Our top speed capability is 16.7 mph.  Our captain, on a mission to outrun the storm, is currently doing 16.2 mph.  How do I know this?  My brother Larry and wife, Linda, are seasoned sailors of the lakes and gave Rob all the particulars on how to find (on the net) our ship’s data and track our path live on maps, so we are following along.  If you would like to do this, put “AIS data on lake superior” in the search window.  Then, click on “lake superior ship traffic live map” (link).  Up comes a map.  Hover the cursor over the various dots and find the Pearl Mist and you will know where we are.  If you click on our ship, you will get even more data.  Another link is “lake superior live ships map marine traffic.”  Just sayin.’

 

Today, Rob and I boarded a zodiac power boat called the Superior Rocket (500 hp).  Captain Greg zoomed around the islands and explained the sights.  One location was the silver mine on Silver Islet.  In the 1860s, silver was discovered more than 1,160 feet under water and little by little, a mine was constructed.  It was once known as the world’s richest silver mine and by the time it was shut down in 1884, it had produced $3.25M worth of silver (over $1B, today).  Would I be willing to dig stuff out of a hole 1,160 feet below the surface of the water?  Ain’t happenin!’  The demise of the mine occurred when Lake Superior froze over making it impossible for the supply ship to deliver coal to the mine to keep the pumps running.  The mine flooded and never recovered.  It is now privately owned and no one (except the owner) can get their hands on any more silver.  The homes that were built by the miners in a village on the adjacent peninsula are now privately-owned summer cottages.

Us and the Superior Rocket 

The mine buildings c. 1884

Silver Islet General Store

Aerial view of the mine &
island, today.  The black dots
are the original mine entries
to the shafts.  Walls around the 
edges kept the water out using pumps.

Lindy and the good ship.

In 1873, after a shipwreck occurred by running into Porphyry Island, the locals decided maybe they should build a lighthouse.  The first lightkeeper got $400/year.  He didn’t have to live there year round because there was no marine traffic in the winter, so at least that was a good thing.  The light is 56 feet tall and its beam can be seen 16 miles out to sea.  It is still a functioning light but it was fully automated in 1979 and a human is not needed to keep the light anymore.  Efforts are now being made to restore the living quarters so that tourists can stay on the island.  Hey!  Anybody want to rent a lighthouse in Lake Superior?!

The Porphyry Light and lightkeeper's residence

Original fresnel lens in the Light

 

Next, the Superior Rocket sped us to see the Sea Lion, a rock formation.  It is called Sea Lion because it looks like a sea lion.  I myself don’t see it.  Rob thinks it looks more like a front-loader.  One rock at a time, the Sea Lion is deteriorating and falling apart and one day, it will collapse completely.  For now, however, it is a source of pride for the locals and they lovingly show it off;  they have constructed hiking paths on land and tour boats by sea to view it.  The head eroded and fell off, which is why I’m not seeing the resemblance to a sea lion. 

Sea Lion

 

Tonight, we had another gourmet dinner followed by a rock and roll band playing in the bar.  Yup, I had to get up and dance!  Good way to end my day!

Capt. George Ciortan, Lindy, Kristen and Krista