The bright light known as G.F FireFly reminds me of a story.
In 1995 I was vacationing on Isle Royal. My plan was to rent a canoe and paddle around the island and fish. I loaded my backpack with gear and headed to Copper Harbor where I hoped a fairy ferry to the Park.
I arrived and the weather turned to crap. It rained all night soaking my camp and gear. By the time it started to get light I was ready to get moving just to warm back up. I loaded my gear into the canoe and started out. By the time I got to the north end of the bay on the north end of the island I was ready to fish for some lake trout. I started fishing by 9 and was having a wonderful time casting and trolling the big boulders that stretched out into Lake Superior.
About 9:45 I hooked a decent fish (35 to 40lbs) and he started a run to the north out into the lake. Between the breeze and the fish I was a good 1000 yards off shore before bring him to hand. As I was getting him into the boat the wind really kicked in, turning my canoe sideways to the waves. As I reached for the gills to heft the fish in, the boat nearly swamped. I dropped the trout and fell towards the wave side of my canoe at the same time, saving the boat from swamping but losing the fish.
I was able to recover my paddle out of Superior and got the canoe facing back into the wind and towards the Island. I started paddling. I spent the rest of the morning and the entire afternoon fighting the wind to make shore. About 7 o’clock I made it to the safety of the north harbor and land. I pulled the canoe onto shore unlashed the backpack and unrolled my still wet sleeping bag. Too tired to set up camp I claimed a park shelter and collapsed for the night.
I spent the rest of my trip close into shore enjoying the sights and hooking an occasional pike. The day I spent paddling in the big lake had its toll. When I dropped the fish I also lost my hat. My face, neck, head and arms were severally sun burnt. They were so bad that when my face peeled a few days latter all the skin came off in one big sheet.
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