U.P. Sailing Company

Name: U.P. Sailing Company
Address: Marquette, MI, US
Telephone: +19062021020

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U.P. Sailing Company

Lake Superior ASA school, also offering day sail, sunset & vacation charter trips
⛵️ Based in Marquette, MI

06/07/2026

AVANGA and crew are in Lock 1 of the Welland Canal! 🎉🌟

This 200 year old man-made canal, which is 27 miles long with 8 locks, allows ships to bypass Niagara Falls & traverse between Lakes Ontario & Erie.

https://www.niagarawellandcanal.com/

It'll take them about 10 hours to get through and into Lake Erie, then they're gonna try & boogie to get to Port Huron by mid-week. 🏁⛵️

06/03/2026

4206 miles! 🌊⛵️

Jeff departed for home this morning after 820 miles this leg and 2430 of the journey's miles since St. Thomas. Thank you so much for your help, pictures, good food & company! 💙

Brian left Brockville, Ontario this morning on an 8 hour motor toward the mouth of Lake Ontario. He'll cross the first Great Lake solo, then be joined by LuAnn Perkins Mark & Joel Michael for the Welland Canal (bypasses Niagara Falls). They require 3 onboard. 🫶🏼

From there, they'll work on getting AVANGA to Port Huron where Brian may race the Solo Port Huron > Mackinac as a bonus! 🏁

All is well onboard, except THE FLIES HAVE HATCHED! If you know, you know. The Caddis flies don't bite, but they are literally everywhere...making you go a tad insane. Hoping they dissipate and he has good winds to solo Ontario! ⛵️⛵️

Sail on home, my love!

05/31/2026

Big milestones!! ⬇️

🎉 4050 miles and AVANGA's first taste of fresh water! 💧

They're fully in fresh water now and out of the tides. The fun now is managing a constant 2-2.5kt current..you can see it against the buoys in the videos. With that, they can only get about 4.5-5.5kt boat speed.

A quick rest stop in Old Quebec City and playing tourist for 2 hours.

Next stop: Montreal for fuel, then to Kingston, Ontario and the first Great Lake! 🌊

💙 Thank you so much for cheering them on...it's a slog out there at times: dodging cargo ships, little rest, constant calculations & planning and of course, weather.

So proud of this boat and crew! ⛵️

05/29/2026

The gents saw a beluga whale! 🐋💙. This area is known for them, so I've been hoping!! So jealous!!

They also had a little bird ride along for a bit 🐦

The boys are bopping along the St. Lawrence, timing stops with the tide (16ft in some areas). Last stop was Ramouski, next one is St. Anne...as they get closer to Quebec City & Montreal. It's been a 2am departure time from stops for tide timing and lots of planning/calculations.

The weather has been foggy, wet and cold...but it'll improve over the weekend.

I'm calling ahead for their slips as they go...thank you, 8 years of French classes! 🇫🇷 🇨🇦

More whales, please!

(Video in comments)

05/26/2026

Welcome AVANGA + Brian + Jeff to the St. Lawrence River! ⛵️🐋

They're now in the thick of the tide/current strict schedule...6 hours of forward movement when the tide is slack/coming in and 6 hours rest when tide is going out.

You'll see them stop more frequently to wait out tides. The boat cannot make forward progress against the tide/current, so this changes the journey from open seas to time management.

320 miles since leaving Nova Scotia. Marinas & fuel stops are all French speaking until they get closer to Lake Ontario.

1 whale spout was spotted at sunset! Hoping for more to come...🐋

05/23/2026

Lobster trap frustrations paid off, and with a gift!

⛵️ Brian arrived at Port Hawkesbury around 11pm last night, after 561 solo miles & a peaceful night at anchor near Wolfes Island.

I think every time I talked to him I heard "🤬🤬 more lobster traps!"
with some "I'm loving this so much" in between. 😍

Some lobster fisherman pulled alongside with their boat & gave him 2 🦞 fresh from their trap! When I called for status, he said "ah, you know...just managing 30kt gusts, with a boiling pot of fresh lobster down below...just everyday stuff" 🤣🤣

Check out what he used to crack the shells! 🔧

So, it was po'boys for dinner & lobster & eggs for breakfast!

Jeff Stasser arrives today, after a flight into Halifax & a bus to Port Hawkesbury. They'll depart tomorrow across the Gulf of St. Lawrence past Prince Edward Island (where 12 species of whale are frolicking 🐋 🐳!), then into the Seaway. Please please visit them, beluga whales! 🙏

Once in the seaway, things get more difficult to manage...with a 12ft tide and strong currents, they'll only be able to move during 6 hour stretches when the tide is slack or coming in. Otherwise, they need to be secured at anchor or a dock. Many locks ahead, some which require at least 2 people onboard.

3386 miles so far!

Keep following AVANGA's progress by searching the boat name in the Marine Traffic app or at marinetraffic.com

Or here:
http://live.garmin.com/avanga

Fair winds across the gulf, gents... and keep your eyes peeled for whales!! 🐋 👀

05/21/2026

⛵️ On the move again! ⛵️

Brian departed Lunenburg at 6:30am this morning, with plans to go about 80 miles before anchoring in a remote bay for the night.

Now we wish we could take a few months & explore this Nova Scotia southern coast! He said that all the locals are connected to the sea in some way & their love/energy for the water was something special to see. 💙

Of course, he made friends! Two boats arrived about the same time & both (separately) are headed next to do the Northwest Passage through upper Canada to Alaska. Dinner, beer & ice creams were shared over many a banter 💙

Fixed a few things, bought some used books, explored the ship building trade there and ate lots of local lobster & scallops. Was so hot he turned the a/c on!

Back to lobster trap dodging today, then he'll be in a very remote area and out of them. 🦞

Conditions will be pretty favorable & should make for a lovely sail today! ⛵️☀️

Follow him at the below link or at marinetraffic.com

http://live.garmin.com/avanga

Sail fast & safe, my love! 💖

05/19/2026

Welcome Brian and AVANGA to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia! 🇨🇦

'Twas a dicey solo 76 hours/360 miles because of hundreds of lobster traps strewn everywhere. Everywhere!

What a cute little Canadian town. 😍

Now, get some rest my love!

Next, he'll leave Thursday & head east toward the "cut" past Halifax into the Gulf of St. Lawrence/Prince Edward Island before going into the Seaway.

2825 miles so far...

05/16/2026

UPDATE: Not stopping in Provincetown, heading straight for Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Bon solo voyage to Brian! ⛵️💙

He just departed Sandwich, MA for the 30 lobster-pot-dodging miles to Provincetown, MA (the outer tip of Cape Cod).

Underway & he's making a fresh pot of coffee & has water boiling for oatmeal. 😍

Tomorrow, he'll start the 350 mile passage to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Follow him at the below link or at marinetraffic.com

http://live.garmin.com/avanga

Please send him some love & light for this journey, which will serve as his qualifier for a future solo Newport > Bermuda race. 🏁

💙 Mightier than the waves of the sea is my love for you! 💙

05/14/2026

TSURU (soo-roo) is in the water! The rail car launch always makes for an interesting 😬 day.

Thinking about learning to sail on Superior, or sharpening your skills?
Based in Marquette, MI

We have a just a few openings left:

⛵️ASA 101
7/25 - 7/26: 3 open spots
9/8 - 9/9: 2 open spots

⛵️ASA 103
7/6 - 7/7: 3 open spots

⛵️ASA 104
8/26 - 8/28: 1 private cabin, 1 setee

⛵️ASA 101/103
8/29 - 9/1: 3 open spots

⛵️ASA 101/103/104
8/29 - 9/4: 4 open spots

If you have other dates in mind or prefer private lessons (your boat or ours), let us know. 😎

Grab yours here!
https://www.upsailingco.com/asa-school-and-lessons

Address

Marquette, MI

Telephone

+19062021020

Website

http://upsailingco.com/

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