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 surfer Mark Anderson from St. Paul described the Duluth surfing experience as "...standing in the snow, jumping off of an ice-covered rock into Lake Superior to go catch waves that any surfer anywhere in the world, pro or beginner, would envy." Erik Wilkie, a surfer originally from California interviewed by MPR, remarked that while Lake Superior surfing may look easy, it can be dangerous. "There's the ice-cold freshwater, which is not as buoyant as saltwater. Lake waves also appear every five seconds or so, much faster than those in the ocean. If you take off on the first or second