2004 - Milwaukee to Nassau on Schooner
Denis Sullivan
September 19, 2004 - Northern Lake Huron
I woke up at 0630 in time to see the sunrise. We were in the south part of the Manitou Passage at the time. Sleeping Bear Dunes were off to starboard. We had a good breeze, and I was pleased to see that the engines had been secured. I love to sail, and it is so nice when we can be without the noise of the diesels. We had an east wind and were on a starboard tack beam reach. With the wind coming off the Michigan shore combined with our proximity to the shore, the air temperature had warmed up a bit. We had a good breakfast, and it is pretty clear that we will not starve on this trip.
By 1115 we were off Ile aux Galet, passing just to the west of it, and headed to Grays Reef. It was another glorious day with a good breeze. As the breeze had earlier veered south, we had set the raffee and continued to make good speed.
The Green Bay Packers play today so, being a loyal Wisconsin ship, we are flying the Packers flag. The U.S. flag is flying at the mizzenmast spreaders, the Wisconsin flag is at the mainmast spreaders, and the Packers flag is at the foremast spreaders.
Just north of Ile aux Galet we hove to for about two hours of filming by Rolf, Eldie, and their assistant, Grant. Eldie and Grant did the filming while Rolf conducted interviews and descriptions of Sullivan activities. They tended to concentrate on the scientific work being done aboard. I guess some of this footage will be used for promotional materials for the Sullivan, but some may also be used on Public Television.
By the time the filming was over the wind had died. The engines were started and we motored through Grays Reef and into the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan to Lake Huron. I was awakened at about 2100 by the noise of traffic passing over the Mackinac Bridge, and I was able to get up on deck just in time to see the Sullivan pass under it. Though I have passed under the bridge more time than I care to count, I am always fascinated by the process. It is truly one of the engineering wonders of the world.
Sunrise in the Manitou Passage Wisconsin Flag on the Main, Packers on the Fore
Shooting Video
September 20, 2004 - Alpena, Michigan
My group had the 0300 to 0800 watch. We saw some lightning in the distance, but had no storms that passed close to us. The watch was pretty chilly. I wore a wool cap, fleece-lined jacket, and gloves. The wind came up at about 0700 and we set the fore, main and mizzen sails along with the raffee when we were off Rogers City, Michigan. We had a good sail all the way to Alpena with a force 5 wind. As we headed up into Thunder Bay, we dropped all sail and motored into the Thunder Bay River to tie up at Alpena, arriving at about 1630. We docked on the wall adjacent to the offices of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary & Underwater Preserve. I was very much looking forward to this visit as Donna and I have passed across the mouth of Thunder Bay many times in Ocean Explorer, but we have never gone up into it.
After supper I went off looking for a public telephone with which to call Donna. With such common usage of cell phones it is becoming more and more difficult to find a public telephone. Furthermore, it seems that, of those remaining, only about half of them are operating. I finally found one in a downtown bar. Halfway through my conversation with Donna we were cut off. After that I was unable to get the phone to work again.
Docked in Alpena