2001 - To St. Lawrence River & Back
Ocean Explorer News - Friday, May 18, 2001 - 7:30 AM CDST
Latitude 44 06, Longitude 87 39 - Manitowoc, WI
Donna and I arrived in Manitowoc on the 16th and we've been working non-stop to get Ocean Explorer ready for this year's cruise. The talk in Manitowoc is all about Scotty Pippen being here to sea-trial his new, 85' Burger Yacht. Burger is about a mile up the Manitowoc River from the harbor and builds some of the finest yachts available. SP probably has 5 million or better invested in his vessel.
We are about to depart. We will head NE and end up wherever depending on how the winds blow today (and tonight?). Frankfort, Michigan is a common end-point for this leg, but we will see. It is sunny and a nice temperature (it has been cold and, often, foggy the past couple of days).
OE has 240 watts of solar panels that I put on this past winter. Between them and our wind generator we hope to be independent of our engine for electricity. Alternative energy zealots? No, we are sailors and we just want to avoid running the iron jib as much as possible.
Well, the wind is coming up and it is time to close.
Fair winds and calm seas,
Donna and Rich
Ocean Explorer News - Saturday, May 19, 2001 - 9:30 PM EDST
N 45 01.5, W 085 45.8 - Leland, Michigan
We left Manitowoc yesterday morning and then sailed (and eventually motored) all day, all night, and all day today. We had light and variable winds for the entire trip. Lake Michigan was like the proverbial millpond. After sailing until 9:30 this morning, we reluctantly started the engine in order to keep some kind of a schedule. Without motoring, the final section of the trip would have taken another 36 hours at the rate we were going at the time.
The trip was a rather chilly one. The water temperature in mid-lake is still only 38 deg. F. Air temperatures went down to 40 during the night. I wore a Mustang Survival Suit (which is like a snowmobile suit with flotation) and was quite comfortable. I was glad to have it.
This noon I took a cold pop out of the refrigerator. Then I replaced it with one from the storage bin next to the hull. At that point I realized that the pop in the bin is just as cold as that in the refrigerator. Bottom line? That water is cold and we would be best off not falling overboard.
This morning three Blackburnian Warblers landed on the boat. They must be migrating and inadvertently get out over the open water. They were very glad to find our boat (we have had this happen several times in the past, but only one at a time and not three). One of the females would fly off and then fly back to our moving island. Finally she failed in her attempt to land on the stern rail and fell, spread-winged, into the water. To my surprise, she was able to get herself out of the water and fly again. She then did the same thing a second time. On a third occasion she did not have the strength to get out and just lay there. I was about to turn the boat around to go back for her when one of a group of gulls following us dove down and grabbed her. This event must be repeated several hundred times a day. When I was a child I learned that not a sparrow falls that God does not know about. I hope He was aware of our warbler.
Showers felt good this evening, and so did a hot supper. Now, for a good night of sleep before moving on tomorrow. The forecast is for fair weather and fair winds.
Fair winds,
Donna & Rich
