"We are leaving for another world," remarked Captain Gary Lange as we slid away from the marina dock and headed down the mighty Nipigon River for Lake Superior.

Four of us were aboard the 47-foot trawler, Anica Lee—Lange, his friends Karlo Kaustinen and Chesley Imhoff, and myself. Lange described Karlo as "the only person other than my daughters who can operate my boats." Imhoff, known as "Ches," has roamed the island-studded waters of Lake Superior’s Canadian North Shore since the 1950s.