Duluth, Minnesota four Catholic schools with coverage up to grades 6 or 8, two Protestant schools, two Montessori schools, and six other charter and private schools. Due to its proximity to the Great Lakes, Duluth is the location for the Large Lakes Observatory. The Large Lakes Observatory operates the largest university-owned research vessel in the Great Lakes, the R/V Blue Heron. Built in 1985 for fishing on the Grand Banks, the Blue Heron was purchased by the University of Minnesota in 1997, sailed from Portland, Maine, up the St. Lawrence Seaway to Duluth, and converted into a limnological research vessel during the
Duluth, Minnesota race runs the length of Lake Superior, from Sault Ste. Marie to Duluth. When the season is right, Duluth offers waves "that can compare to some of the best surfing in Hawaii or California". In Duluth the right season for surfing is winter, especially during one of Lake Superior's infamous gales of November. Wearing a thick neoprene wetsuit, or perhaps two, surfers gather at Stoney Point, a rocky bay about 15 miles north of Duluth, where waves as high as 15 feet can be expected. In a 2013 broadcast, Minnesota Public Radio featured a segment on Duluth/Lake Superior surfing, and