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The Trans Superior Race: Sailing from the Sault to Duluth

by Ann Klefstad

June 1, 2009

Wally McMinn / Great Lakes Singlehanded Society

Trans Superior Race

It’s all about the wind in your sails – and other good luck – for the Trans Superior racers. This photo, taken by Wally McMinn of the Great Lakes Singlehanded Society, represents a boat in the “singlehanded” class, sailboats crewed by a single person. This year will be only the third race that such a class has been entered.

In the end …

It was 2 a.m., just off of Two Harbors in a black night of heavy overcast, and Eric Thomas was alone on his 30-foot sailboat, Polar Bear , headed down Minnesota’s North Shore on the home stretch of the Trans Superior Race.

He’d spent the last couple of days with no more than 20 minutes of sleep at a time, and he was several hours from any real shut-eye.

Lightning began to flash from cloud to cloud above the hills. The sky got lighter and soon it was pink with lightning, bright as daylight.

A big storm was coming over those hills, Eric knew it. It was calm where he was, for the moment, and he had all his sail out. If he wanted to win this race, he needed to keep sails up until the last minute. He waited to see how fast the storm moved in.

Then his radio crackled; another sailor, John Ayres, farther offshore and a little behind, was calling. John had a lot of sophisticated weather equipment and the radio was talking about big winds and rain at a place called “Floodwood.” John wanted to know where that was.

Eric told him where to find the Minnesota town on his charts, and John told Eric about the storm and how it was traveling. Lightning slammed behind the hills.

Such was the scene in 2005 near the end of the Trans Superior Race , run every odd year across Lake Superior and at nearly 390 miles one of the longest freshwater races.

Duluthian Eric Thomas knows the subtleties of long-distance racing. In 2008, he took second place in the Singlehanded TransPacific Yacht Race from San Francisco to Kauai, Hawaii – his first time in that race.

His family has raced since the 1970s. Eric remembers that as a 2-year-old, he would roll around on the cabin sole during races. This family crew has a distinctive style that serves Eric well on solo runs, too. “Our family, we’re not the best racers by any means, but we’re good at change. The more times things change, the more times you roll the dice, the better we do.”

Solo racing is like stepping backwards from the finish, step by step, Eric says. The fewer mistakes you make, the more likely you are to win. How you handle dubious gifts, like a storm, matters.

So Eric knew what to do that night in 2005 on his home surf of Lake Superior in his familiar Olson 30 sailboat.

“I said to Ayres, I’m going off the air. I’m going to disconnect electronics so they don’t get ruined. … I put on my survival suit, as much for insulation from a lightning strike as well as cold.”

Minutes before the 40-knot (46 mph) winds hit ahead of the storm, Eric took down his headsail and “double-reefed” the mainsail, folding it down smaller.

“Luckily I could steer 20 degrees off course. All the time, the boat planed (skimmed the water).”

In 45 minutes, Eric sailed 15 miles … mostly in the right direction. The storm “plastered John pretty good, but it propelled me up ahead. I ended up beating him by about an hour.”

Eric had been racing for 66 hours, 39 minutes nonstop.

The Trans Superior Race starts in Sault Ste. Marie with the boats going under the International Bridge after being lowered 22 feet at the Soo Locks.

In the beginning …

Jack Soetebier lives on Park Point in Duluth, where out his windows he can see the great expanse of water that his boats, Blitzen and Hussar , traversed so many times. Jack is a founder of the Trans Superior Race along with John Pierpont, who docked his boat, Snark , at the Apostle Islands Marina in Wisconsin. John Pierpont died in March.

“It was really Dr. Pierpont’s brainchild,” says Jack, on a spring day when it seems possible that open water will return. We’re watching movies he made of the first race in 1969 – one of the family voyage to Sault Ste. Marie to start the race, one of the race itself, back to Duluth. There’s an indescribable Sixties charm in the films. Many heading to the Sault watched that year’s historic moon launch on TV at Whitefish Point, and there’s something of that explorers’ optimism in this little fleet of 22 boats, bobbing brightly on the screen in 8 mm film.

Jack recounts how it all began: John Pierpont wanted to sail in The Mac – a famous long-distance race from Chicago to Mackinac. But he needed yacht club backing to enter. So he and some friends started the Apostle Islands Yacht Club around 1960.

Then John thought it would be great to have a Sault-to-Duluth race, the longest freshwater race in the world at the time. He was tireless on the subject.

“He kept bringing it up at club meetings, and everyone just looked at him,” Jack says. “No one wanted to do it. It would be a big job, to get all the way to the Sault and then back against the prevailing winds.”

In the winter of 1968, Jack was in the front row at a yacht club meeting. “I owed him a favor. He had loaned me his 42-foot Siskiwit to sail for a couple of weeks up in Canada. I was out of a boat that year, and that’s, you know, like someone loaning you his wife . . . so I really owed him one.

“He was talking about the race again, and he saw me, and he said, ‘Jackson’ – he always called me Jackson – ‘let’s you and I race, and the rest can come along if they want. I want do it before I get too old to run it!’ And I felt like I had to do it then. He was about 56 and I was 42, so what do I say? I say, ‘Yes,’ and then the others fell in, too.”

Manley “Monnie” Goldfine, who died in April, began organizing the race. It was hosted that year and ever after by the Duluth Yacht Club, then called the Keel Club. Algoma Sailing Club in the Sault and the Thunder Bay Yacht Club also help now.

Bill Dunlop, fleet captain of the Thunder Bay club, has been in the race since 1989 and teaches sailing. He gives students four reasons to race: they’ll be better sailors; they’ll be able to handle a wide variety of conditions (races ignore most weather); they’ll learn attention to details; it’s fun. “When you finish your race, particularly a long race like the Trans Superior, there’s an amazing sense of accomplishment, regardless of how well you’ve done in the race.”

Keith Stauber

Papa Gaucho, skippered by Keith Stauber, heads toward a sunset and a victory.

Permanent trophies for the overall winners and various class winners are housed at Sir Benedict’s Pub in Duluth, sitting on top of the beer cooler. Jack Arnold, former owner of the pub, has been a mainstay of sail racing in Duluth.

The boats are diverse, from as small as 24 feet to 40-plus feet, now mostly fiberglass, racing and cruising sailboats. They come from all the Great Lakes and the saltwater coasts.

The Trans Superior’s singlehanded or solo entries are a fast-growing division. In 2007, of 35 boats racing, 23 had solo sailors. But solo racing is new to the Trans. This year’s race is only the third time a solo division was part of the race. The crewed division is the heart of the tradition. They race hard all day and all night, shifting crews so that people get sleep.

This year, as always, the race starts off of Gros Cap in the mouth of the St. Marys River. Depending on conditions, boats should arrive in Duluth 40 hours to several days later. This year you can track the race from home, in real time. Every boat has a satellite transponder and the race website will follow progress.

There will likely be continued growth in the solo division and in a new category: boats with a crew of two. Time demands work against full crews – four to nine crew members; it takes up to a week just to get to the starting line in the Sault … and then the weeklong race begins. Finding half a dozen people who can all take off more than two weeks to sail is pretty hard nowadays. (Dr. Pierpont had a full crew of sons, but families that size are rare now.)

There remains a general dearth of women in the race, but boats have been crewed exclusively by women. Skipper Gail Bowdish in Shanti was the first solo female racer. Duluth skipper Keith Stauber’s winning Papa Gaucho has always had women on its crew, as do other boats. Keith says women are adept sailors, but spending days in close quarters means that the boat owner has to plan well for mixed crews.

Racers note that sail competition preserves traditional skills. Eric Thomas says that in the days when sailing ships had to get from Point A to Point B on a schedule, sailors handled whatever came up. Racing does much the same; you sail in all conditions, on a set course. Racing, these sailors say, teaches you what you and your boat can do. They love it for its challenges.

In the end, again …

Ted Harwood

The race ends in Duluth, where Polar Bear is about to take the singlehanded win.

Skipper strategy can win the Trans Superior, something that Duluth skipper Keith Stauber, sailing Papa Gaucho , understood when he took home top honors in the crewed division of the race in 2007.

Since 1977, Keith has raced the Trans Superior every time except two: one when a shoulder injury kept him out and one when he was racing in Russia.

“Sailboat racing has given me a lot of opportunities,” says Keith. “In 1985, I raced for two months in Florida with the America’s Cup helmsman Ed Baird.”

Keith used strategy and a bit of weather luck to win in 2007. His strategy involved using the Performance Handicap Rating Formula, or PHRF, to his advantage. What’s PHRF? Each type of boat has a record of racing performance used to assign it a handicap. Boats considered to have greater speed must “give time” – through handicaps – to inherently slower boats. As in horse racing, the goal is to make the race as close as possible. Thus, the first boat across the finish line may not win, depending on its “corrected time,” or the actual run time minus the handicap.

Papa Gaucho has a low handicap in the Duluth fleet, but in the “Trans,” where boats come from far away, many inherently faster boats have even lower handicaps and had to “give time” to Papa Gaucho .

So Keith’s strategy in 2007 was to sail a conservative race. “We knew they had to give us time, and the longer we stayed with them, the harder it would be for them to beat us on corrected time. So we stayed right with the pack; whatever they did, we did.”

The weather was nice in the beginning of the race, but during the second night the wind began to blow heavily out of the northwest. They were beating hard into it and had to change sails to reduce sail area.

Hours passed slowly; this isn’t pleasant sailing – ­heavy chop, night black as pitch, cold.

“We got tossed out of some waves. Then the boat almost stops, everything shakes and shudders, you can’t cook or eat. You just try to keep warm food in your crew,” says Keith. “It’s hard to be below without getting sick, but if you don’t eat and keep warm, you will get sick. You won’t have the body energy to fend it off.”

The wind had been pushing the fleet to the Ontario shore, but that was slowly changing. Everyone listened intently to weather reports. It was important not to tack – to change direction – too soon, but the boat that first caught the moment to head west would have the advantage.

“We put our best helmsman on. … Usually, even at night, there’s enough light to see the waves, but it was black, so dark you couldn’t see the waves at all. It was hard to steer over them. Finally I went below for a nap. Our strategy was to stick with the pack. I said, when I left the deck, that as soon as the first boat went west, to follow them.”

Being a true competitor, Jack Soetebier bought the Blitzen (pictured) for that first race … and came in near last place. “After that first year, we decided to buy a bigger boat,” says Jack. The new Hussar, a 35-foot Ericson sailboat, won him bragging rights, and the Trans Superior’s Class C in 1971.

When Keith got back on deck, he saw two lights instead of the five or six once there. The deck crew thought a couple of boats had headed west. So Papa Gaucho immediately tacked, but the delay put them behind.

Things seemed bleak, but then, says Keith, “the wind gods brought the race home for us.” The wind picked up to about 25 knots (29 mph). The boat had been making 3 or 4 knots (3.5 to 4.5 mph), but with the new wind, it moved at 12 knots (about 13 mph) – very fast for a sailboat. Now all the boats were spread across the lake, and Papa Gaucho was pointed west, right at Duluth.

The lead boats had nearly reached port making 3 or 4 knots; Papa Gaucho skated the last 20 miles or so at 12 knots, closing the gap.

In the end, Keith and his crew spent 57 hours, 27 minutes sailing down the lake, but time gained by PHRF “corrected” that to 50 hours and 58 minutes.

Good strategy, good luck and a good wind gave them the overall prize.

Places to See Races

You can see sailboat races by the local yacht clubs. Check websites for details.

Thunder Bay Yacht Club : 6 p.m. Mondays and Fridays at the waterfront. www.tbyc.on.ca

Duluth Yacht Club : 5:15 p.m. Wednesdays at Canal Park. www.duluthkeelclub.com

Algoma Sailing Club (Sault Ste. Marie): 7 p.m Wednesdays on St. Marys River. www.algomasailingclub.org

Apostle Islands Yacht Club (Bayfield, Wisconsin): Special racing events. www.aiyc.net

The Trans Superior: Just the Facts

Race date 2017 : 1 p.m. EDT, August 5

Race route : Sault Ste. Marie to Duluth (338 nautical miles or about 388 standard miles)

Fastest singlehanded time : 66 hours, 39 minutes, 14 seconds Polar Bear in 2007, Skipper Eric Thomas

Fastest overall crewed time ever : 28 hours, 38 minutes, Earth Voyager trimaran in 2001, Skipper Ray Howe

Website : www.transsuperior.com

Ann Klefstad is a sculptor, writer, and aspiring sailor who lives across the street from Lake Superior in Duluth.

©2020 Lake Superior Publishing LLC. All rights reserved. • 109 W. Superior St. #200 • Duluth, MN 55802 • 218-722-5002 • [email protected]

StarTribune

Lake superior as race course: first yachts sail into duluth to finish trans superior.

DULUTH — Talisman was the first yacht to cross an imaginary finish line between a temporary buoy and the lighthouse on the north pier in Canal Park — giving skip Bruce Aikens and the his crew bragging rights, if not the outright win, in the Trans Superior Yacht Race.

It was a mostly quiet first finish on Monday afternoon. A race official honked a horn from the pier in front of a handful of onlookers. Back at race headquarters, behind the Garden, the celebratory sparkling wine was on ice.

The biennial race started Saturday in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with three dozen yachts from a mix of classes competing. Each vessel has a handicap rating — like in golf — that plays into its final standings. In preliminary scoring, Amante 2, with Saginaw, Mich., skip Greg Velez, was listed as fastest finisher, followed by mc2, led by Dan Lewis, out of North Oaks.

Regardless of where it falls in final standings, Talisman's finish is its own victory.

"We do make a big deal about the first one to finish," said Stacy McKenzie, president of the Duluth Yacht Club, holding the title of commodore. "We've got a big plaque for them and we bring Champagne to the boat."

As of Tuesday morning, just five boats had finished. More were expected in the afternoon and into the night, according to McKenzie. Some would likely miss the awards ceremony.

"It's real slow," McKenzie said.

On Monday afternoon, Talisman, a 58-foot slate-grey yacht, circled near the shore while it waited for the Aerial Lift Bridge to rise. Then it passed through the canal to park in the bay behind the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.

"What a race," Aikens said from aboard, sails down, as the crew of 10 others tended to the yacht.

Aikens, of West Bloomfield, Mich., has competed on this course five times, but this is his first time earning first-to-finish honors. Stories from along the route would take two days to tell, Aikens said, but the short version is that the winds were fickle. As is the standard, the crew members were on watch for four hours, then off for four hours to maintain clear focus. It's hard work, Aikens said, and if you're tired, you're stupid.

"I cannot stress enough how great a racecourse Lake Superior is," Aikens said. "There are so many dimensions that are hard to figure out."

And, he added, it's gorgeous.

Aikens and company were still dealing with the complexities of this course in the final 5 miles, where Talisman could get caught in a lull — then off it would go as the water turned scaly and rippled.

"That was a sweet little puff," said Dave Johnson, watching the final miles of the race from the yacht club's boat.

McKenzie said optimal conditions are a consistent 10-20 knot breeze out of the northeast, but yachters were facing lighter conditions for this race. A few were stuck bobbing while they waited for shifts in winds.

"I think some of the boats are getting a little bit of cabin fever out there," she said.

Christa Lawler covers Duluth and surrounding areas for the Star Tribune. Sign up to receive the new North Report newsletter.

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2023 Trans Superior Yacht Race

August 3, 2023 - august 5, 2023.

The competition portion of the race will begin Saturday, August 5th at 1 p.m. near the Gros Cap Light in Whitefish Point  and will see  upwards of 40 boats sail to the Duluth Shipping Canal in Minnesota. In total 350 statute miles will be covered with sailboats (yachts) ranging in size from 24 ft. in length to 68 ft.

The Yachts will be in the George Kemp Downtown Marina, Thursday and Friday before departing Saturday morning, Locking through the American lock at 8 am.

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28th Bi-Annual Trans Superior International Yacht Race set to sail

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The 28th Bi-Annual Trans Superior International Yacht Race starts at Gros Cap Light on the  southeast end of Whitefish Bay on Saturday at 1 p.m.  

The racers will leave the George Kemp Marina in Sault Ste. Marie at 8 a.m. Saturday, make their way through the Soo Locks on their way to Gros Cap Light.

Nearly three dozen sailboats of different sizes and shapes and their crew members will battle a Lake Superior that sometimes can be dangerous.

"This race has a little bit more challenging conditions. The storms are a little bit bigger.  Changes in the wind conditions happen a lot faster and are a lot more extreme," said Tighe Case, who arrived in the Soo with his crew a couple days ago on the MC^2.

While it is a very competitive race covering 326 nautical miles from Sault Ste. Marie to Duluth, Minnesota, it's more about the camaraderie. 

"Sailing is a sport...a Corinthian sport. It's never anything more about bragging rights...and drinking some beer after the race is done," Case chuckled.

Crew members are spending a lot of time getting their vessels ready for the Saturday start.  Checking and double checking supplies and equipment is crucial before Saturday morning's departure to Gros Cap Light.

But that doesn't mean they don't make time to explore Sault Ste. Marie.

Tim Buck and his crew arrived late Wednesday night to the marina on the Narwhal. 

Thursday morning, they knew where to go for breakfast.

"We went to Frank's and were over-served food! I heard that was their reputation and it's true," said Buck, who is from Duluth.

Many of these same teams recently raced in the Port Huron to Mackinac Island race (204 nautical miles) or the Chicago to Mackinac Island race (289 nautical miles).

But this particular race across Lake Superior is special because it's longer and more challenging, but it's also the final race of the season for most of them.

You can follow the race LIVE online at this link:  https://www.transsuperior.com/home

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Superior Crossing: Sailing across the biggest, deepest and coldest Great Lake

By Sandra Svoboda

Editor’s note: this post is part of a series taking a look back at 2019.

Hundreds of miles of undeveloped Lake Superior coastline were finally interrupted to reveal our destination: Duluth’s downtown and the iconic Lift Bridge that freighters and other vessels pass under to dock in the westernmost harbor of the Great Lakes system.

Eighteen of us had been aboard the 70-foot sailboat “Arctos” for some 48 hours sailing across the lake in search of competitive success — and cold beer, if I’m being honest. We saw the skyline pop through an overcast August sky. 

Mike Hoey sits on the rail of Arctos nearing the finish of the 2019 Trans Superior Race. Photo by Sandra Svoboda.

And now, being that close to civilization meant cell signals got through, which meant weather information was readily available as we sat on deck and looked at our phones.

A nasty storm front was coming. People at home in Detroit were texting me about it.

The line of red, orange and yellow on our weather apps meant unpredictable winds that could blow us off course. Predicted gusts of up to 60 mph meant safety concerns, so we donned rain gear and tethered ourselves to the boat. 

We thought less about how the boats “Talisman” and “Stripes” – our fierce competitors but also good friends from Detroit – were in striking distance of taking away our lead and more about how we would keep each other and the boat safe in what could be some dangerous conditions.

We waited for the storm front and watched Duluth disappear in its clouds and rains as it headed towards us.

THREE SUMMER RACES, THREE LAKE CROSSINGS

A GoPro image aboard Arctos during the 2019 Trans Superior Race.

The Trans Superior race is held every two years, and this year’s completed a trifecta of Great Lakes long-distance sailboat races for Arctos and me. Many on the crew also competed on different boats in the three races that traverse lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior.

First there was the 333-mile Chicago Mackinac Race, which started off in the Windy City on July 13 and saw a fleet of some 265 boats reaching the iconic Mackinac Island around two days later.

Chuck Bayer, Jr., owns the sailboat Arctos. Photo by Sandra Svoboda.

Arctos docked at Chicago Yacht Club before the start of the 2019 Chicago to Mackinac Race. Photo by Sandra Svoboda.

That was a relatively painful race for the 17 men and me aboard Arctos, including owner Chuck Bayer, Jr. Light winds and inaccurate weather predictions  made navigating for advantage a challenge. A few crew personalities didn’t always mix well. But it’s hard to complain about any time on the Great Lakes, especially with a group of accomplished sailors who forgive each other’s differences of opinion, personality and ability.

I wouldn’t compare sailing a yacht up Lake Michigan to true noble pursuits that better society, but yacht racing is an opportunity for a team to work together, rely on each other’s strengths, and overcome weaknesses to keep everyone safe and reach the finish line. 

Aboard Arctos during the 2019 Chicago Mackinac race. Photo by Sandra Svoboda.

This year it was fresh in our minds how that doesn’t always happen. Just a year ago we were one of the boats that dropped out of the Chicago Mackinac race soon after starting to help search for a crew member on another boat who had fallen overboard in relatively rough conditions. After several hours of unsuccessful searching, Arctos returned to the docks for a grim dinner. 

A few days later the sailor’s body was found, and the boating community became a little less about competition and more about reflection. A U.S. Coast Guard inquiry revealed his life vest failed to inflate, and sailors around the Great Lakes doubled down on safety going into this summer’s distance races. 

Owners that I race with, like Bayer and Cynthia Best, required crews to take the U.S. Sailing Safety and Sea course before this year’s distance races, and all of us seemed to check on each other just a little more closely. 

 “There’s a lot more concern about the inflatable life jackets, their maintenance, re-arming them (with air cartridges) to give them a probability of actually working,” said another Arctos crew member, Todd Jones, who owns Thomas Hardware, a marine supply store in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan.

His customers didn’t usually explicitly mention last year’s tragedy in the Chicago race, “But you know that was the source of it,” Jones said. “Even my wife and kids were like ‘Is all your gear going to work?’ and people have never brought that up before in my 37 years of Mackinac racing.”

The Chicago Mackinac Race this year was calm. Arctos didn’t have a stellar finish, but the three days on the water was a good warm up for me for the Lake Huron contest, which started July 20.

RACE NUMBER TWO

The Port Huron-to-Mackinac Race, unlike the Chicago one, has two courses. The shorter route takes more cruising-style sailboats along the mitten’s eastern shoreline to Mackinac Island, while the longer route has boats sailing a northeasterly route toward Georgian Bay before turning left and charging across the top of Lake Huron toward the finish.

Check out Detroit Public TV’s documentary “Mackinac: Our Famous Island” here .

Arctos had a great race, winning her class and giving Bayer another sailing accomplishment to brag about: it was his 50 th time competing in the race. But I wasn’t with them. Instead, I joined the all-female crew of Phantom, a J-105 owned by Cynthia and Jim Best of Brighton, Michigan.

Owner Cynthia Best aboard Phantom approaching Mackinac Island in the 2019 Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race. Photo by Sandra Svoboda.

Seven of us were on board, with a collective 60-plus Mackinac races between six of us. It was the first race for Justine Buda, a 25-year-old nursing student who learned to sail after taking a class in Detroit two years ago. She was the newcomer but fit right in with the rest of us who have known each other, sailed together and been friends off the water for, in some cases, decades.

Phantom was the only boat with an all-female crew in this year’s race, but certainly not the first in the race’s history. In 1983 a team sailed a 33-foot boat in one of the roughest races in recent memory. But being a women-only team meant some media attention for us anyway. One of us appeared on a local TV morning program, I talked to a commercial radio station in Detroit and a national sports talk network, and the Mackinac Island Town Crier published a feature about us, complete with a dockside photo snapped just after we finished.

The crew of Phantom after the finish at Mackinac Island. Front row, left to right: Justine Buda, Cynthia Best, Jennifer Lech, Tricia Smotherman, Sandra Svoboda. Back row, left to right: Lauren Wake, Laurie Bunn. Photo by Brent Ross.

I have mixed feelings about the media attention. We really weren’t that different than any other team – a group of friends sharing a bit of an adventure and a competitive challenge. 

But look around any harbor or race course and you will see mostly men on the boats. If our team inspires any women or girls to learn to sail or sail more, then we’ve made some kind of impact.

The race itself didn’t disappoint. Saturday’s gorgeous afternoon turned into a stormy evening. We dropped sails to make the boat easier to control and harness in. After maybe 20 minutes of fierce weather, the front blew through and the sky produced one of the most gorgeous sunsets we’d ever seen. 

After a storm, the first sunset during the 2019 Port Huron-to-Mackinac race was vivid. Photo by Sandra Svoboda.

We continued up the lake and took a battering crossing the top. The boat slammed into waves, especially in the dark when the helmsperson can’t see to steer, and everything down below was wet and cold. We lived on cookies, pizza, chocolate-covered espresso beans and some kind of breakfast muffins. 

“We do this for fun?” we all joked.

But reaching the island on a warm, sunny day with spouses and boyfriends there to meet us was worth it – it always is.

Two weeks later, I headed back up north and crossed the Straits by car for the Trans Superior adventure on Arctos.

FREIGHTERS AND FINISHES

We had climbed onto the boat in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, Saturday morning, traversed the Soo Locks, and traveled along with freighter traffic to reach the starting line in Whitefish Bay. Thirty-eight boats started the 375-mile race, which is organized by the Duluth Yacht Club.

Before the start of the 2019 Trans Superior Race, sailboats go through the Soo Locks. Photo by Sandra Svoboda.

O n Saturday afternoon, we sailed in strong enough winds at first to be on course for a Sunday-night finish. But then we bobbed and drifted on the glassy waters off the Keweenaw Peninsula for most of Sunday with little and sometimes no breeze. Lake Superior was not living up to its reputation as a feisty, cold, rough lake – not that we wished for those conditions. 

Late Sunday and into early Monday the breeze filled in, and by mid-morning we were leading the fleet of across Lake Superior in steady breeze that had us on a fast clip toward Duluth. 

Arctos was not winning, based on the race’s handicapping system that calculates and adjusts positions based on a variety of factors like the size and design of boats. But we were excited to be out in front and hoping for “line honors:” first to finish status, which would be the first time for many of us on board to earn in a long-distance sailing race.

Closing in on Duluth, with a few of our closest competitors in sight, we weren’t secure in that position. 

With the storm approaching, we became more concerned about safety than the race standings. My watch was on deck as it approached and took the time for a briefing. Even though we’d all been through big weather and were familiar with changing sails, Mike Hoey talked us all through all the steps and who would do what when the big winds hit.

Mike Hoey (blue hat) leads a crew discussion aboard Arctos during the 2019 Trans Superior race. Photo by Sandra Svoboda.

It all went as planned. The front came. We changed sails. We lost sight of other boats and shore for a bit. Nothing broke. No one got hurt.

And the sun came out for the last couple hours of the race.

As the first boat to finish, we were accompanied in by a photo boat, and spectators along the harbor entrance cheered. 

The bow of Arctos approaching Duluth after the 2019 Trans Superior Race. Photo by Sandra Svoboda.

The next day, our photo was on the front page of the Duluth News Tribune .

Arctos made the front page of the Duluth News Tribune after claiming “line honors” in the 2019 Trans Superior Race. Photo by Sandra Svoboda.

“That’s one of the reasons I bought this boat: winning line honors,” Bayer will tell you. “That and so I can go sailing with so many of my friends.”

Here’s to next season!

Most of the crew of Arctos after the 2019 Trans Superior Race.

Featured image: Aboard Arctos during the 2019 Trans Superior sailing race. Photo by Sandra Svoboda.

Great Lakes Now: Our 2019 look back and our 2020 look ahead

The Great Lakes in 2019: Senior Correspondent Gary Wilson’s look back at the headlines

4 out of 5: I’ll get you next time, Lake Ontario

An Open Letter: I have been seeing lake sturgeon and plan to keep it up in 2020

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Trans Superior International Yacht Race

Weather forecasting resources.

Yacht racing and weather forecasting are intrinsically linked. Experienced Trans Superior sailors understand that developing a pre-race weather forecast and monitoring its evolution on the racecourse is an important strategic and safety aspect of participating in the race. Misjudging the wind forecast can quickly send you to the back of your fleet, while failing to properly assess the risk for severe weather can unnecessarily jeopardize the safety of the crew.

This article introduces several resources for developing your pre-race forecast, as well as, the more challenging task of monitoring development weather conditions after the starting gun.

A Quick Look At Climatology

The average direction and speed of the wind at a specific location is predominantly influenced by the large-scale weather patterns across Lake Superior, but it is also subject to geography and other local effects. These localized effects can produce remarkably different wind and wave patterns even when the observation stations are relatively close to one another. Understanding the average wind patterns of Lake Superior can be advantageous, particularly for those participating in the time Trans Superior race for the first time.

The wind roses and wind class frequency distribution charts for NDBC station 45006 (located 30 nm northeast of Outer Island, WI), NDBC station 45001 (60 nm north northeast of Hancock, MI), NDBC station 45004 (70 nm northeast of Marquette, MI) and NDBC station STDM4 (Stannard Rock) appear below. In order to present a climatological analysis of the wind conditions associated with the Trans Superior Race, the wind roses and wind class frequency distribution charts present the data from July 28 to August 3 from 1995 to 2014.

The average wind speed at the three offshore buoys are quite similar -- 9.2 knots at 45001, 8.79 knots at buoy, and 9.04 knots at 45006. Consistent with these averages, winds of 10 knots or less occur 61.6% of the time at 45001, 65.6% at 45004, and 63.0% of 45006. Although the wind roses indicate differences between the buoys, the prevailing wind direction near the time of the Trans Superior is southwesterly. Surprisingly, the average wind speed at Stannard Rock (STDM4) in Lake Superior's eastern basin is 15.02 knots -- nearly 50% higher than the buoys.

NDBC Station 45006

NDBC Station 45001

NDBC Station 45004

NDBC Station STDM4

While an understanding of the long-term average conditions during the race are important, it is the short-term weather patterns that will dictate the conditions and your strategy on the course.

Forecast The Big Picture First

Large-Scale Dynamics Your Trans Superior forecast should begin with an understanding of the large-scale weather features. Is a low pressure system expected to transit Lake Superior during the race? If so, when is the warm and/or cold front and accompanying wind shift expected to arrive? Is the system expected to produce strong winds, large waves, or thunderstorms? Or, will the race be dominated by the fluky, thermally-driven lake and land breezes associated with a high pressure system?

NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) (click here ) produces a variety of products that focus on predicting the development and evolution of large-scale weather features. The WPC’s surface forecasts are divided into short-term and long-term periods with the short-term period covering the first 2 ½ days of the forecast period (in 12-hour intervals) and the long-term period covering days three through seven in 24-hour intervals. By carefully reviewing the forecasts in chronological order, you can determine how large-scale weather features will affect the racecourse, and then use the data to chart the fastest course to the finish line.

Graphics published by the WPC contain a variety of unique symbols and meteorological shorthand to show the anticipated position of high pressure systems, low pressure systems and their accompanying frontal boundaries, and additional features such as ridges, troughs and squall lines.  Sailors who are unfamiliar with this meteorological shorthand are encouraged to review the legend published by the WPC (click here ).

WPC products, along with the majority of weather forecasting materials available on the Internet, are based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) sometimes called Zulu Time (Z) or Universal Time Coordinate (UTC). Converting from GMT to Central Time during the summer is straightforward – simply subtract five hours from GMT. Below is the legend for a 24-hour surface forecast which provides an opportunity to review the GMT conversion process and other nomenclature used to describe the graphics.

The first line contains the acronyms for the various NOAA entities that contributed to the preparation of the forecast. The second and third lines describe the parameters that are included in the forecast product. The term Issued in the fourth line provides the time and date the graphic was published. In this example, the graphic was published at 1605Z or 11:05 am Central (1605Z minus 5 hours) on May 13, 2013. The fifth line indicates when the forecast is Valid, which is the date and time for which the forecast was prepared. The surface forecast shown above displays the surface weather features as they were expected to be at 1200Z / 7:00 am Central time on Tuesday, May 14, 2013.

Precipitation The WPC also issues Quantitative Precipitation Forecast Graphics (QPF) (click here ) which show the amount of liquid precipitation anticipated across the country. This product covers the first three days of the forecast period in 24-hour increments, and combines days four through five and six through seven into two separate 48-hour forecasts.

Thunderstorms

Storm Prediction Center Thunderstorms, and the associated hazards of downburst winds, lightning, and locally higher wave heights, are a relatively common occurrence across the Great Lakes during the summer. Forecasting the location, timing and type of severe weather that is expected to develop across the United States is one of meteorology’s most challenging tasks – a task assigned to the staff of NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Oklahoma.

Note: It is important to understand that the NWS defines a severe thunderstorm as one that produces 1” diameter hail, a wind gust of at least 58 mph, or a tornado. Although frequent lightning is an obvious hazard to sailors, it is not a factor in meeting the threshold of a severe thunderstorm.

SPC Convective Outlooks Each day, the SPC issues Convective Outlooks for days 1, 2, and 3, and a combined Outlook for days 4 through 8 (click here ). The Outlooks contain a graphic that identifies the areas of the country where organized storm development is expected, along with a narrative describing the details of the risk.

The Convective Outlooks present the risk by category – Marginal, Slight , Moderate and High – based upon the statistical probability of severe weather occurring within 25 miles of any given point in the highlighted area. A description of the risk categories used by the SPC can be found on its FAQ page (click here ).

Because the risk of severe weather affecting a specific location on any given day is very small, even a Slight risk deserves a sailor’s respect, as it represents a significant increase in the potential for severe weather. It should be noted that even thunderstorms that fail to meet the NWS’s severe threshold often present a significant risk to mariners in the form of strong winds and frequent lightning.

In addition to the traditional Convective Outlooks, the SPC also publishes Thunderstorm Outlooks (click here ) which identify the regions at risk for any strength of thunderstorms and the probability of development. In contrast to the one-day period covered by Convective Outlooks, each Thunderstorm Outlook covers only a 4-hour period and they are not issued beyond the current day.

In addition to the traditional Convective Outlooks, the SPC also publishes Thunderstorm Outlooks (click here ) which identify the regions at risk for any strength of thunderstorms and the probability of development. In contrast to the one-day period covered by Convective Outlooks, each Thunderstorm Outlook only cover a 4-hour period.  

Hazardous Weather Outlooks In contrast to the Convective and Thunderstorm Outlooks from the SPC, Hazardous Weather Outlooks (HWO) are issued in text form by each local office of the National Weather Service (NWS) and describe the risk of severe weather for the general public. HWOs are issued each day and address the overall probability, geographic coverage, storm type (single cell storms, squall line, etc.), and timing of severe weather for the current day along with a combined summary of days 2 through 7.

While SPC Convective and Thunderstorm Outlooks cover the entire United States, Hazardous Weather Outlooks focus exclusively on the County Warning Area (CWA) assigned to each NWS office. There are two NWS offices with CWAs that cover a portion of Lake Superior -- Marquette, MI and Duluth, MN. In order to assess the risk of severe weather where you intend to sail, you must consult the HWO of the NWS office which has responsibility for that area of the lake. Click here for a map showing NWS responsibilities for Lake Superior. 

• NWS Marquette, WI Hazardous Weather Outlook (click here )
• NWS Duluth, MN Hazardous Weather Outlook (click here )

MARINE FORECASTS

Text Forecasts The Marquette, MI NWS office is responsible for issuing off-shore (beyond 5 nautical miles) marine forecasts for all of Lake Superior. Several times each day, NWS Marquette publishes a text version of the marine forecast which begins with a synopsis of the current weather pattern and a forecast covering the next several days. This synopsis is followed by a forecast of wind and wave conditions covering a five-day period. Because conditions often vary dramatically across the expanse of Lake Superior, the text wind and wave forecast focuses on pre-determined regions that allow mariners to quickly obtain the forecast for their area. A chart showing these regions may be found here .

• NWS Marquette, MI Offshore Marine Forecast (click here )
• NWS Marquette, MI Nearshore Marine Forecast (click here )
• NWS Duluth, MN Nearshore Marine Forecast (click here )

Graphic Forecast Products from the NWS The NWS offices surrounding the Great Lakes cooperatively maintain an excellent website devoted to marine weather forecasting (click here ). While the home page provides forecasts for the entire Great Lakes basin, the data for an individual lake can be accessed by clicking the appropriate hyperlink along the left-hand column of the home page. The graphics, which are designed for the recreational marine community, are easy to interpret and don’t require a conversion from GMT to local time.

The forecasts extend for 4 ½ days in three-hour increments for the following meteorological parameters:

• Wave Height : in feet and shown using color-shading and values at selected locations.
• Wave Period : the time interval between each wave presented in seconds using color-shading and numerical values at selected locations.
• Wind Speed & Direction : in knots, using standard wind barbs, color-shading and numerical values at selected locations.
• Wind Gust : in knots, using color-shading and values at selected locations.
• Weather : color-shading is used to indicate if precipitation is expected during the three-hour period covered by the graphic. In addition, a short text code is provided at selected locations to describe the type of weather that is expected. For example, the appearance of a “T” in the code indicates that thunderstorms are forecast for the 3-hour period.
• Surface Water Temperature : in degrees Fahrenheit, presented using color-shading and values at selected locations.

A Plan For The Trans Superior The next several weeks are a perfect time to investigate and get comfortable with the resources presented in this article and on the Lake Superior Marine Weather Dashboard (click here ). There is no better way to learn a new skill than practicing. Over the next few Wednesdays, I encourage you to prepare a trial forecast for the upcoming weekend. In addition to analyzing the graphics and making the necessary GMT conversions, these practice forecasts will allow you to witness how high and low pressure systems evolve and how the speed and direction of the wind changes in response.

The accuracy of weather forecasts diminishes as the forecast period increases. For example, a forecast valid in 48 hours is typically more accurate than one valid in 7 days. For this reason, beginning the preparation of your final Trans Superior forecast more than a week before the start isn’t recommended.

I typically start a daily review of the WPC surface forecasts and SPC Convective Outlooks a week before an event and will often save the graphics in a folder to compare to later forecasts. This allows me to track the movement of the large scale weather systems across the country and gauge the changes in the forecast from day to day. I typically begin a daily analysis of the wind and wave forecasts on Monday or Tuesday for a weekend event.

The final forecast should be based upon the most current forecast data available and is usually prepared the morning of the event. If you have been analyzing the forecast for the preceding week and using the data to steadily hone in on your strategy, the creation of your final forecast shouldn’t be too time-consuming. And hopefully it won’t reveal any surprises.

Managing Weather Conditions After The Start

Managing the forecast and keeping tabs on rapidly deteriorating conditions becomes far more difficult once you are offshore. Monitoring the evolution of weather patterns and reviewing updated forecast data after the race has started can help you adjust your strategy based upon whether an off-shore or in-shore route holds the best chance for a steady breeze. In addition to aiding your strategic goals, checking the weather regularly and remaining apprised of National Weather Service watches and warnings will spare you from being surprised by thunderstorms, a relatively common occurrence across the Great Lakes during late July and early August.

ACCESS TO DATA

Introduction There is no shortage of weather data on the Internet. The sheer volume of data, combined with the ease of access, may contribute to a case of ‘data overload’ in the days preceding the race. However, once you are on the racecourse and your trusty Wi-Fi connection is no longer available, you will likely find yourself quickly transitioning from ‘data overload’ to ‘data deprivation’. There are technological solutions to address your data deprivation, but each possesses its own set of problems.

VHF Radios VHF radios are a reliable and relatively inexpensive method of obtaining basic weather information. Modern marine VHF radios contain a “WX” button used to select the seven channels (WX1 to WX7) dedicated to receiving weather observations and forecasts.

Through its NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) program, the National Weather Service (NWS) continuously transmits NWS general and marine forecasts, regional weather observations, and severe weather watches and warnings in the VHF range. The NWR transmissions are automatically rendered from typed text to audio and, unless interrupted by warnings of severe weather, cycle repeatedly through information of interest to mariners and non-mariners, these include:

• Synoptic Overview – a description of the large-scale weather pattern affecting the region where the NWR transmitter is located.
• General Forecast – a non-marine forecast for the next four days divided into 12-hour periods.
• General Observations – local and regional meteorological observations such as barometric pressure, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, etc.
• Near Shore Marine Forecast – a forecast for waters within five nautical miles from shore.
• Extended Forecast – a general forecast for the next five to seven days.
• Marine Observations – wind and wave observations from nearby buoys and waterfront stations.
• Climate Summary – a review of the local and regional climate data, such as high and low temperatures, total precipitation, etc.

Because this information is presented in a continuous loop, you may have to listen to the broadcast for several minutes or more until it returns to the marine-related portion of the program. I find that it is helpful to take notes as you listen to the forecast.

Several NWR transmitters, each operating on an assigned frequency so as not to interfere with nearby stations, serve the waters of Lake Superior. The range of each transmitter is approximately 25 miles, however, this range may be diminished by the height or placement of the antennae, operational integrity of the station’s equipment, or weather conditions. The distance at which you are able to receive a NWR broadcast is also dependent upon the equipment onboard your vessel. The height and quality of your antenna and condition of the coaxial cable and ancillary fittings connecting it to your fixed VHF radio all influence the quality of your reception. Handheld VHF radios have a much shorter effective range than fixed units.

There are two NWS offices with County Warning Areas (CWA) covering a portion of Lake Superior -- Marquette, MI and Duluth, MN. Each NWS office is responsible for preparing the weather information that is broadcast by the NWRs located in their CWA. The marine observations and forecasts you hear on your VHF radio are specifically prepared for the portion of Lake Superior falling within the NWS’s warning area.

Since the NWR system broadcasts weather information for a specific portion of the Lake, and the operational limit of the transmission is approximately 25 miles, you will need to select the WX channel associated with the NWR transmitter closest to your location. This is particularly important if a severe thunderstorm prompts the issuance of a watch or warning for a portion of the Lake. A map showing the location and associated WX channel of the NWR transmitters serving Lake Superior can be found here , while a map showing the marine zones for each NWS office is located here .

Cellular Internet Although your VHF radio is a reliable source of weather information, it does not provide the ability to access Doppler radar or the wide array of weather forecast graphics discussed above. Accessing the Internet or creating a Wi-Fi hotspot using a cellular connection, provides access to the weather resources and Doppler radar, but cellular access more than 10 miles offshore is typically unreliable. It is possible to improve cellular reception by installing an external antennae and signal booster; however this technology only improves an existing signal and therefore provides limited value in areas where shore-based cellular access is spotty.

Cellular Internet should not be your primary source of weather information. However, when it is available, Internet access provides the ability to view Doppler radar imagery – a particularly useful resource if severe thunderstorms are expected to impact the racecourse.

Satellite Weather Data Accessing weather information via XM satellite offers many advantages over VHF and cellular, but at a relatively high cost. A typical XM setup requires a satellite antennae, receiver, a display device (such as laptop or chartplotter), and a monthly subscription from a provider of meteorological data. The cost of the antennae, receiver and software typically exceeds $1,000, and data subscriptions can reach $50 per month.

If cost isn’t a barrier, satellite technology avoids the broadcast range limitations of both VHF and cellular Internet and assures reliable, consistent access to weather data – including Doppler radar -- regardless of your location on Lake Superior. You’ll be limited to the products and resources offered by your data provider, but this limitation is more than outweighed by reliable access.

MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS

Barometers An accurate barometer, particularly a digital version, is a relatively-inexpensive, low-tech method of monitoring large-scale weather patterns and the potential for severe weather. Typically, falling barometric pressure, particularly rapidly-falling barometric pressure, announces the approach of a squall line or cluster of thunderstorms. Your on-board barometer may provide your first clue that the atmosphere is brewing some excitement. (Check out my article Feeling The Pressure: The Value of A Barometer by clicking here .)

National Weather Service Terminology The National Weather Service uses a variety of terms to simplify the forecast process and warn the public about the potential for hazardous weather. Misunderstanding this terminology may lead to poor decision-making that places you and your crew at increased risk during inclement weather. Several terms of interest to the marine community are presented below:

• Near Shore Marine Forecast : Issued for the Great Lakes from the shoreline out to five nautical miles.
• Offshore Marine Forecast : A marine forecast for waters beyond five nautical miles from shore.
• Small Craft Advisory: There is no precise definition of a small craft.   Thresholds governing the issuance of small craft advisories are specific to geographic areas. Any vessel that may be adversely affected by Small Craft Advisory criteria should be considered a small craft. Sustained winds or frequent gusts (on the Great Lakes) between 22 and 33 knots inclusive, and/or seas or waves greater than 4 feet may prompt the issuance of a Small Craft Advisory
• Watch : A watch is used when the risk of a hazardous weather event has increased significantly, but its occurrence, location, and/or timing is still uncertain. It is intended to provide enough lead time so that those who need to set their plans in motion can do so.
• Warning : A warning is issued when a hazardous weather or other event is occurring, is imminent, or has a very high probability of occurring. A warning is used for conditions posing a threat to life or property.
• Marine Weather Statement : A National Weather Service product that provides mariners with details on significant or potentially hazardous conditions not otherwise covered in existing marine warnings and forecasts. Marine weather statements are also used to supplement special marine warnings.
• Special Marine Warning : A warning product issued for potentially hazardous weather conditions usually of short duration (up to 2 hours) producing sustained marine thunderstorm winds or associated gusts of 34 knots or greater; and/or hail 3/4 inch or more in diameter; and/or waterspouts. Also used for short duration small-scale events such as a strong cold front, gravity wave, squall line, etc., lasting less than 2 hours and producing winds or gusts of 34 knots or greater.
• Severe Thunderstorm : A thunderstorm that produces a tornado, winds of at least 58 mph (50 knots), and/or hail at least 1" in diameter. A thunderstorm wind equal to or greater than 40 mph (35 knots) and/or hail of at least 1" is defined as approaching severe status.
• High Wind Warning : Issued when high winds may pose a hazard or are life threatening. The criteria vary from state to state. In the Great Lakes, the criteria is sustained non-convective (not related to thunderstorms) winds greater than or equal to 40 mph lasting for one hour or longer, or winds greater than or equal to 58 mph for any duration.
• Gale Warning : A warning of sustained surface winds, or frequent gusts, in the range of 34 knots (39 mph) to 47 knots (54 mph) inclusive, either predicted or occurring, and not directly associated with a tropical cyclone.
• Storm Warning : A warning of sustained surface winds, or frequent gusts, in the range of 48 knots (55 mph) to 63 knots (73 mph) inclusive, either predicted or occurring, and not directly associated with a tropical cyclone.

Doppler Weather Radar There is no better tool for tracking the development and movement of thunderstorms than Doppler radar from the NWS. The NWS maintains the only nationwide network of radar stations and freely shares its raw data and imagery with the public. The stations are strategically located to ensure that all areas are served and to allow overlap in the event that a station fails. There are two NWS stations collecting data over Lake Superior: Marquette, MI and Duluth, MN. A map of these stations may be found here .

A few important facts about radar imagery:

• You will need a reliable cellular or satellite connection to view NWS radar data.
• Radar imagery can be viewed on each NWS office’s web page, or through a third-party application purchased for your laptop, smartphone, or tablet.
• Radar imagery is NOT live. The process of scanning the atmosphere, processing the data, and preparing the imagery takes time -- anywhere from 3 to 6 minutes depending upon the scanning strategy being used at the station. A fast-moving thunderstorm or squall line can easily cover ten miles or more between image updates. In addition, a rapidly developing thunderstorm may strengthen dramatically between image updates. Most radar applications will display the time of the image to allow you to determine how ‘stale’ the data is. If you are using radar to monitor the approach of threatening thunderstorms, keep in mind it may be much closer and much stronger than it appears on the outdated image.
• The quality of a radar signal degrades as distance from the site increases. When you are monitoring approaching storms, it is advisable to select the radar site closest to the storms in question rather than the site closest to your location.

Have A Safe And Speedy Trip To Duluth!

Disclaimer: The user assumes all risk related to the use of this data. The crew of each participating yacht must determine their ability and willingness to accommodate weather-related challenges. Please consult the current National Weather Service forecast before and during the race.

Thunder Bay Yacht Club

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TBYC runs a PHRF-handicapped annual multi-series racing program on Lake Superior with 20 to 25 keelboats participating. Our mission is to engage new and existing keelboat owners in a variety of racing formats to encourage both extended use of their yachts and ehanced boat and sail handling skills development. We welcome sailors of all skill levels, and work to ensure racing is simultaneously competitive and fun.

Wednesday Night Series

The Wednesday Night Series begins mid-May and runs through the end of September. Races are typically windward-leeward courses held outside the harbour breakwall near Prince Arthur's Landing Marina.

Offshore Series

Several short and medium distance offshore races are scheduled annually for both crewed and solo/double-handed boats.

Pursuit Racing

“For fun” pursuit races occur every Monday and Friday evening. These races are open to all sailboats and no fees apply.

The SUNORA, or Superior North-shore Regatta, is an annual 1 week race-cruise through the islands of Lake Superior's rugged coastline between Thunder Bay and Nipigon Bay (specific route is subject to change), with both power and sailboats participating. Further details

TBYC runs a weekend New Crew program early in the season for anyone interested in experiencing keelboat racing. For further information please click here.

Dinghy Racing

Dinghy racing and other exciting dinghy related sailing interests in Thunder Bay are the focus of the Temple Reef Sailing Club (TRSC), which works closely with TBYC. Races are held Thursday evenings at the end of Pier 1 at the Thunder Bay Marina.  All are welcome. 'Sail Thunder Bay' http://www.sailthunderbay.com/ , a dinghy learn-to-sail program for youth and adults, is operated throughout the summer from Pier 1.  For more information on dinghy sailing and instructional programs visit the Temple Reef Sailing Club website.

Upcoming Events

• May 22, 2024 Race 1
• May 22, 2024 Wed: Race #1
• May 25, 2024 Burke Shoal Race
• May 28, 2024 Trowbridge Beer Launch
• June 2, 2024 Silver Islet Race

Thunder Bay Yacht Club Box 29136 Thunder Bay ON, Canada P7B 6P9

(807) 622-0256 [email protected]

• Mission Island
• Prince Arthur's Landing

Things to Do in Elektrostal, Russia - Elektrostal Attractions

Things to do in elektrostal.

• 5.0 of 5 bubbles
• 4.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• Good for a Rainy Day
• Good for Kids
• Good for Big Groups
• Adventurous
• Budget-friendly
• Hidden Gems
• Good for Couples
• Honeymoon spot
• Good for Adrenaline Seekers
• Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, photos, and popularity.

1. Electrostal History and Art Museum

2. Statue of Lenin

3. Park of Culture and Leisure

4. museum and exhibition center.

5. Museum of Labor Glory

7. Galereya Kino

8. viki cinema, 9. smokygrove.

10. Gandikap

11. papa lounge bar, 12. karaoke bar.

Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast, Russia

Anniversary pond.