SW-INC-0063SeaWise Incidents

31 footer - Grounded on the rocks crossing Keweenaw Bay, Lake Superior

A 31 ft sailboat with a family of five aboard went onto rocks midway across Keweenaw Bay; they called 911 at once and Michigan DNR conservation officers had them ashore within the hour, unhurt.

likely · 3 sourcesN3
Vessel
31 footer31 ft · Sailboat (31 ft)
When
2026Great Lakes
Crew
5 aboardAll survived
Outcome
Returned safely
Position
Keweenaw Bay, Lake Superior — ~6 mi NE of Sand Point Lighthouse, near L'Anse, Michigan (USA)
Sea area
Keweenaw Bay · Lake Superior
Coordinates
46.80°N, -88.42°WApproximate position
Summary

What happened.

A family of five from L'Anse, Michigan ran their 31-foot sailboat onto rocks about halfway across Keweenaw Bay while crossing Lake Superior from the Portage Canal to L'Anse Marina on 2 June 2026. They called 911 immediately, and within 30 minutes Michigan DNR conservation officers launched a patrol boat and brought all five ashore in good condition. The boat, stuck but undamaged, was left for a salvage company.

On the evening of Tuesday 2 June 2026, a family of five from L'Anse, Michigan was sailing their 31-foot sailboat across Keweenaw Bay on Lake Superior — a roughly 15-mile passage from the Portage Canal in Houghton County to the L'Anse Marina in Baraga County. About halfway across, the boat ran onto rocks and stuck fast. The family called 911 immediately, and Negaunee Regional Dispatch relayed the call to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Within 30 minutes, DNR conservation officers Brian Lasanen and Cody Smith launched an 18-foot Lund patrol boat from the Baraga County Marina and located the family about six miles out, northeast of the Sand Point Lighthouse. All five were in good condition and were brought safely back to the marina. The sailboat itself was stuck but undamaged and posed no environmental risk; a salvage company was to remove it.

ConditionsTuesday evening; routine ~15-mile crossing, grounded about halfway. Boat stuck but undamaged; left for salvage.
SeaWise noteA short, familiar crossing is exactly the kind of trip where guards come down — and Keweenaw Bay has rocks that don't care how many times you've made the run. Two things kept this from getting worse: a family that called for help the instant they were stuck rather than trying to power off and make it worse, and a boat that stayed in one piece as a stable platform until the patrol boat arrived.
Lessons learned

What it teaches.

  • 1
    Call early — being stuck is not being embarrassed. The family dialled 911 the moment they grounded, and DNR officers had a patrol boat underway within 30 minutes and the family ashore soon after. An early call, before wind or dark makes things worse, gives rescuers options and daylight.
    running aground communications
  • 2
    Even a short, familiar crossing has teeth. They grounded about halfway across a routine 15-mile hop, near a charted landmark. Local rock shoals catch local boats too — keep to charted water and know where the rocks lie before you shave a corner to save time.
    running aground prep to sail
  • 3
    If she's hard aground but sound, stay with the boat. All five stayed aboard the stuck-but-undamaged sailboat and were taken off together in good condition. A grounded hull that isn't breaking up is almost always a safer, more visible platform than the water around it.
    running aground on watch
Sources

Where this comes from.

News· Google NewsFamily of 5 rescued by DNR after sailboat gets stuck on rocks in Keweenaw BayVisit ↗News· Upper Michigan's SourceFamily of 5 rescued by DNR after sailboat gets stuck on rocks in Keweenaw BayVisit ↗News· MLive.comFamily of 5 rescued after sailboat gets stuck on rocks in Lake SuperiorVisit ↗

SeaWise indexes and links to primary sources; it does not host their reports or media. Crew are referred to by role unless documented consent is on file.

From SeaWise

Procedures involved.

Procedure

Grounding

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Record IDSW-INC-0063
Curated bySeaWise editorial
Confidencelikely · 3 sources
Record typeIncident

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