WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.920 --> 00:00:04.639 Welcome to Macinaw Island Moments, hosted by lifelong islander Jason 2 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:08.480 saint Ande. Through conversations and interviews with Foe Island locals 3 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:11.119 and residents, Jason won't bring you the real stories and 4 00:00:11.240 --> 00:00:14.039 characters that to find life on the island. Whether you're 5 00:00:14.039 --> 00:00:16.760 a seasoned visitor, new to Macana Island, or even an 6 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:19.640 island or yourself, you'll be sure to learn firsthand about 7 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:22.120 the island with Jason on Macan Island Moments. 8 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:29.760 And Welcome to another edition of the mac and Island 9 00:00:29.800 --> 00:00:33.880 Moments podcast, the only podcast that originates from Macin Island 10 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:38.679 by born and raised Mackinaw Islander folks. I apologize I've 11 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:42.640 been Mia. I know it's been since early June since 12 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:45.679 our last podcast, and it's not because I didn't want 13 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:48.359 to be here talking about what's going on on Macin Island. 14 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:50.960 It's just been a busy, busy summer and to actually 15 00:00:51.039 --> 00:00:53.759 sit down and put some thoughts together, I just haven't 16 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:56.079 had a chance to do it, and I certainly haven't 17 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:58.920 had a chance to harangue anybody into an interview. But 18 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:01.079 believe you me, the those days are coming. We're going 19 00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:02.960 to start getting back on track. Here, but I did 20 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:04.760 want to reach out and at least get something down 21 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:07.640 and let you know we haven't forgotten. We've received a 22 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:09.920 little bit of emails, a little bit of text messages 23 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:12.159 asking you know, when are we getting back on track. 24 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:18.000 So that's what we're attempting to do. You know, I 25 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:20.079 do want to address that. The big thing everyone's talking 26 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:22.560 about this summer is the boat lines. And if you 27 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:27.200 follow maclaland, certainly you know that the Hoffman family of Naples, 28 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:31.239 the Hoffman family of companies, they bought the Schepler Ferry 29 00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:35.719 last year and had the Scheffler family run it for them. 30 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:39.439 And then, of course it came as little surprise, at 31 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:43.719 least to the locals when this summer they bought maclaland 32 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:47.079 Ferry Company, also known as the star Line Ferry, the 33 00:01:47.159 --> 00:01:51.239 other ferry line. Again it didn't come as a huge surprise, 34 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:56.040 but what came next was a bit surprising. The star 35 00:01:56.120 --> 00:02:00.359 Line ferry boats apparently we're in need of some pair 36 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:05.239 and the appointed president of the company from Schepler came 37 00:02:05.239 --> 00:02:08.960 to the city council and said they need so much repair, 38 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:11.680 in fact, that we're going to have to dry dock 39 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:15.759 the entire fleet and ask that only Schepler be allowed 40 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:18.599 to run. And when I say asked folks, what you 41 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:22.400 need to know is the Mcinland City Council, the City 42 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:27.639 of Macland actually regulates to high authority the ferryboats. Due 43 00:02:27.639 --> 00:02:30.520 to the island's charter, which goes back to eighteen ninety nine, 44 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:35.159 the island has complete and utter control over rates, schedule 45 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:37.599 and that sort of thing. Now, the city's done their 46 00:02:37.639 --> 00:02:40.280 best to let the boat lines be the boat lines, 47 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:45.319 but they do have regulatory authority. So the city did 48 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:49.520 grant that, and which it had a little bit of 49 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:53.120 irony because this was the same company ten years ago 50 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:56.240 that was battling, not battling for there not to be 51 00:02:56.520 --> 00:02:58.919 one boat line, and now they're asking the city to 52 00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:00.680 go ahead and grant that. So it was kind of 53 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:08.159 weird water, so to speak. But anyway, the Scheffler Ferry 54 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:10.159 kind of handled everything for the island. But I can 55 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:14.199 tell you that it was a little crowded, and no, 56 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.639 it was a lot crowded, and getting folks out and 57 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:19.360 off the dock, particularly on weekends was kind of tough. 58 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:22.840 There really was no interruption in service. Boats were coming 59 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:25.759 over every fifteen minutes and there were some lines of 60 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:28.439 course to get here, but some folks in the media 61 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:31.199 portrayed it as the island being closed down, and that 62 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:34.240 just wasn't the case. Now, many of you have reached 63 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:37.000 out to this city and to me and just on 64 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:40.319 the street, and you know, wondering about the monopoly effect 65 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:44.240 now that the Hoffman family owns both well basically all 66 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:47.080 ferry lines to mac and Island, and yes, that would 67 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:50.960 be a monopoly by the definition. But what folks need 68 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:55.599 to know is you can in fact have a monopoly 69 00:03:55.639 --> 00:03:58.039 as long as there's some sort of governmental control, whether 70 00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:00.439 it's federal, state, or local. And in this case, the 71 00:04:00.439 --> 00:04:05.199 city of mcland does have regulatory control, and I expect 72 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:10.199 the city will exercise that control. So some of these articles, 73 00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:14.960 you know, I read on various news outlets, were quite 74 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:17.360 erroneous that you know, there's going to be fifty dollars 75 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:19.720 tickets and one hundred dollars tickets and mcn Island's going 76 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:22.519 to price itself out and it's just going to become 77 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:26.600 a resort for the one percenters. That I just don't 78 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:29.519 see happening. With the city having utter control over the 79 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:36.120 prices in the schedule, I don't think that's a realistic concern. Now, 80 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:38.360 I'm sure many of you sit back and say, oh, 81 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:41.480 just you wait, and I'm going to sit back and 82 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:44.680 say no, just you wait. And I'm pretty confident in 83 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:48.439 the city's ability and ambition to that regard in holding 84 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:53.079 the line on fairy prices in schedules. So interesting enough, 85 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:58.920 what the Hoffman family did recently was they hired Veronica Dabravovsky, 86 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:03.759 who the CEO of Arnold Freight, the freight provider to Mcaniland. 87 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:06.319 They brought her in to kind of shore up star 88 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:10.079 Line and get the ship right at no pun intended. 89 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:12.439 And I think she's doing that, and I think she's 90 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:15.920 doing a pretty good job with that. And time will tell. 91 00:05:15.959 --> 00:05:18.519 But they have a lot of projects are working on. 92 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:22.040 Some of them are somewhat ambitious. But we're looking back, 93 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:25.279 we're looking ahead and hoping that everything is going to 94 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:29.720 work out. So that's the big news. So, you know, 95 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:34.480 fret not, fear not. While I know you know some 96 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:38.240 of the news articles that are somewhat driven by our 97 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:43.319 tourism competitors. I mean, I don't think it's any secret 98 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:45.759 that there's a few other towns in Michigan that compete 99 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:49.360 for tourism dollars with Mcina Island, and some of them 100 00:05:49.399 --> 00:05:53.040 have promulgated some of this bad press. Rest fear not. 101 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:56.759 I suspect by spring, when the new tourist season starts, 102 00:05:57.319 --> 00:06:01.040 everything will be fine. I hate to, you know, sprinkle 103 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:04.439 pixie dusts and everything like that and say it like that, 104 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:06.560 but I think things are gonna be fine, and I'm 105 00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:10.199 looking forward to looking forward to what Veronica we'll do 106 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:13.319 with the former starlne One other big announcement when they 107 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:17.600 hired Veronica to take over Starline, they also are basically 108 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:21.920 abandoning or retiring the star Line moniker, the star Line name, 109 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:24.920 or the mcin Island Ferry Company name, and they are 110 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:28.319 resurrecting from I think eighteen seventy eight was when it started. 111 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:32.240 They are resurrecting Arnold, transit the Arnold Line to Mackin Island, 112 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:34.959 and they're bringing back the boats are gonna be painted 113 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:37.720 green and white again. And in fact, they've already started 114 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:41.319 painting the main pier downtown. So that's kind of exciting. 115 00:06:42.360 --> 00:06:44.680 But anyway, so we're back. We're gonna try to bring him, 116 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:46.480 Like I said, more up to date news. I was 117 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:48.759 looking at the website today. We've now been listened to 118 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:52.079 in over thirty four different countries, which kind of blows 119 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:55.399 my mind. And I didn't know I had that many relatives. 120 00:06:56.519 --> 00:07:00.240 But we're gonna try to be more upbeat. I did 121 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:02.600 want to talk about, you know, summer is busy, but 122 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:04.800 the one fun thing I got to do this summer, 123 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:08.079 and it's you know, it's very applicable to the island, 124 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:10.519 of course, is you all know about the yacht races 125 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:14.439 that take place in July. There's the Chicago to Mackinaw, 126 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:18.759 then the Bayview Yacht Club Port Huron to Mackinaw. And 127 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:22.839 this year the Port Huron to Macinaw was turning one 128 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:26.199 hundred years old. The races, it was a one hundredth running, 129 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:29.560 and about a year ago I had the idea, I said, 130 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:31.279 you know what, we got to put together an all 131 00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:34.560 island crew, a group of guys from the island or 132 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:37.399 ties to the island to get in that race. And 133 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:40.040 if it's the hundredth running, this is the year to 134 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:43.199 do it. And so over a year ago this this 135 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:46.800 idea was hatched. And and you know I used to 136 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:48.959 have about he used to have a twenty two Catalina 137 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:52.079 kept it right here on the straight Stock, or some 138 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:54.800 people call it the Yoder Dock, the new monikers the 139 00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:57.120 East Dock, but I'm a big fan of call it's 140 00:07:57.120 --> 00:07:59.399 the straight Stock. And I know Tom kat is too. 141 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:03.279 But I had a twenty two Catalina and I loved 142 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:05.279 that boat, and I love ceiling around the streets. I 143 00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:07.199 wasn't very good at it, but I sure enjoyed it. 144 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:11.040 But I was fortunate enough that at an early age 145 00:08:11.079 --> 00:08:14.600 I learned you don't own boats. You have friends that 146 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:19.240 own boats, because owning a boat is it's a pain 147 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:22.000 in the butt. And as some people describe it, a 148 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:24.839 boat as a big hole in the water that you 149 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:28.720 throw thousands of dollars down. Some people said boat stands 150 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:32.600 for bring on another thousand. So anyway, I was fairly young. 151 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:34.519 I was in my twenties when I said, you know what, 152 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:37.000 I don't need to own a bout anymore. And I 153 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:40.039 was sorry to see it go, But anyway, I came 154 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:41.639 up with the idea. And you know, and I do 155 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:45.159 know a couple of great sailboat captains, Kevin Lwan from 156 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:47.759 the East Bluff and Bart Hathwaite, who's my neighbor down 157 00:08:47.799 --> 00:08:51.000 the street. They've been in many Macinaw races. That's what 158 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:53.200 they're called, the Chicago to Mac Babu Mac. They call 159 00:08:53.240 --> 00:08:55.720 them the Max. Those guys have done plenty of them. 160 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:57.759 In fact, I know Bart was on a crew that 161 00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:01.120 won one. One year. We started talking to those guys 162 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:04.159 about putting this together. They were both a little skeptical, 163 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:07.840 little hesitant at first, and unfortunately Kevin ran into some 164 00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:12.039 health issues and had to drop out. So Bart kind 165 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:16.120 of became the de facto nominated and voted in captain 166 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:18.840 without much of us say, and then he embraced the 167 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:22.720 idea and he tuned up his boaty as a thirty 168 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:25.480 four Catalina. It's beautiful, it's a lot of fun, and 169 00:09:25.720 --> 00:09:28.240 you know those aren't racing boats. Those are more cruising boats. 170 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:32.399 But we rounded out the crew with Mike Gidley who 171 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:35.519 has a condo down on the mission. And Mike is 172 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:37.840 a world class sailor. He's been in many many of 173 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:40.440 the Max and he sailed all over the world in fact, 174 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:43.799 and he has a tremendous amount of experience. Mike Haggerty 175 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:46.799 from the East Bluff one of my buddies. He's been 176 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:50.840 in many races as well, and he jumped at the idea, 177 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:56.039 and Bart decided, you know what, we got to have 178 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:59.519 my son. He's eighteen, just graduated high school, starting at 179 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:02.279 the University Michigan. Of course, you know, I'm a Michigan man, 180 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:05.279 so I'm like, hey, more Michigan men, the better, and 181 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:08.720 so Chaz Bart's son. He rounded out the crew. And 182 00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:11.279 then lastly it was going to be Dan Musser, who 183 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:14.080 was recently retired from the sale of the Grand Hotel, 184 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:18.120 and he'd signed up for the mission, so to speak, 185 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:21.240 but earlier in the summer he found out he had 186 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:24.960 some family obligations he had to attend to, and so 187 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:28.399 we tapped Andrew Dowd, the owner of Dowd's Market, who 188 00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:33.600 actually sold me my twenty two Catalina. And Dowd said 189 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:35.799 it took him half of the second to say yes, 190 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:39.039 and he said, yeah, let's do it. So we head 191 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:40.679 down to a port here on. Now. I got to 192 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:42.639 tell you, I've never been in one of the big races. 193 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:45.720 I've never been able to take three or four days 194 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:50.240 off of life in July. And I got to tell you, luckily, 195 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:52.480 my wife is my wife, and she afforded me this 196 00:10:52.600 --> 00:10:55.200 opportunity by stepping up and taking care of the family 197 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:57.960 and kind of rolling her eyes a little bit as 198 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:01.519 and she may have muttered Peter Pan syndrome under her 199 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:05.360 breath once or twice, but anyway, she made this happen 200 00:11:05.399 --> 00:11:08.519 for me, and having never been in the race before, 201 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:10.360 I was. I was kind of shocked when you get 202 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:14.000 down to Port Huron because it's it's a total different vibe. 203 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:16.080 It's called boat night down there. In fact, it's kind 204 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:18.000 of turned into boat week, but they call it boat 205 00:11:18.120 --> 00:11:22.360 night and it's very chill, and they really embrace the race. 206 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:24.360 You know, I don't think they do a pile of 207 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:27.320 tourism and port hereon it's not there, you know, Tourism 208 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:29.480 isn't there number one thing like it is around here. 209 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:32.960 But I couldn't believe it. They were people going up 210 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:35.360 and down the docks giving out bags of ice. More 211 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:39.559 on that later. They had courtesy golf carts that would, 212 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:41.879 you know, give you a ride to whatever, you know, 213 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:44.080 restaurant or bar you wanted to go to. And they 214 00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:47.600 really embraced having everyone in town. And and in fact, 215 00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:51.000 when you head down the river towards Lake Huron, they 216 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:55.120 actually had a bagpiper playing tunes as you went by 217 00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:58.960 the port hereon yacht club and that was kind of neat. 218 00:11:59.159 --> 00:12:01.279 You know, we have plenty of bagpipers here to play 219 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:03.639 on the island, but it was kind of neat, and 220 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:08.000 so we headed out. We headed out to the starting 221 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:10.960 line and all the boats were there, and since this 222 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:13.000 was the one hundredth running, they had just a pile 223 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:16.240 of boats north of four hundred. I think it was 224 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:19.039 close to five hundred. I think, I'm not sure. And 225 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:21.919 there was no wind, and I mean no wind. We're 226 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:25.240 all just sitting there. Guys were jumping off various boats 227 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:30.840 to take a dip cool off, and the race was 228 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:34.080 delayed almost two hours because there was no wind. And 229 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:38.000 finally they let us go and we got started, and 230 00:12:38.039 --> 00:12:42.320 we were making a whopping one point six knots, I believe. 231 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:48.000 And I remember just looking back and seeing the bridge, 232 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:50.840 the Blue Water Bridge, and I thought, geez, when when 233 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:54.320 we finally can't see that we're getting somewhere. And we 234 00:12:54.360 --> 00:12:56.799 saw that bridge the rest of the day and well 235 00:12:56.840 --> 00:13:00.159 into the evening, and we just we weren't. We weren't 236 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:02.679 making any way, but nobody else was, so it wasn't 237 00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:05.759 that that big of a deal. We decided to do 238 00:13:06.120 --> 00:13:08.679 four hour watches. You're on for four, you're off for four. 239 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:13.480 And now I'm not gonna lie. We were a wet boat. 240 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:15.799 There's dry boats and there's wet boats. We were a 241 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:17.919 wet boat. I don't think I need to explain the difference. 242 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:20.960 But it's not like we We were out there partying. 243 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:24.159 You know, Andrew owns the grocery store, of course, so 244 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:26.600 he provided three cases of beer, which sounds like a 245 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:28.960 lot until you divide it six ways, and then that's 246 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:32.080 only a twelve pack of beer, which still sounds like 247 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:34.919 a lot until you soon realize you're going to be 248 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:39.039 on the lake for sixty six hours. So we had 249 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:41.039 it out when we're having a grand old time, and 250 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:44.960 finally near evening, a little bit of wind came up 251 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:48.519 and we started kind of racing this non such that's 252 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:51.240 a sailboat that has the masses and the bow, and 253 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:53.120 they don't really have a head sail. It's just one 254 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.840 just a mass with one big mainsill, and we're going 255 00:13:56.879 --> 00:13:58.679 back and forth. We'd be ahead of him, then they'd 256 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:01.200 be ahead of us, and it was a little bit 257 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:04.600 of fun. Nighttime came I was on the I came 258 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:07.120 on at midnight. I was on the midnight watch, which 259 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:09.559 was kind of ironic because we were listening to Crosby 260 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:12.240 Steels and Nash and the sound system. We weren't one 261 00:14:12.279 --> 00:14:15.759 of those boats, folks. People weren't yelling and the captain wasn't, 262 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:19.879 you know, giving these orders do this and do that. Granted, 263 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:22.159 we probably weren't the most capable. I know, I'm not 264 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:24.159 one of the most capable sailors on a boat that 265 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:26.720 big and a race like that, but uh, you know, 266 00:14:26.840 --> 00:14:28.879 Bart is as fine as captain as you'll find, and 267 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:30.799 he knew he didn't need to yell at us and 268 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:33.000 didn't need to be that way, and so we decided 269 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:36.320 we're going to enjoy ourselves a little bit. And uh, 270 00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:38.840 you know, going up lake here on with the moon 271 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:40.879 it was almost a full moon, or maybe it was 272 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:43.879 a full moon. We had Gordon Lightfoot playing on the 273 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:46.559 on the sound system and it was it was it 274 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:49.840 was almost surreal coming up the lake and listening to 275 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:53.960 Gordon Lightfoot sing about sailing songs. It was. It was 276 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:57.120 a fine moment, no question. And uh, in the morning 277 00:14:57.159 --> 00:14:59.879 we picked up some wind and what I didn't know, 278 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:03.240 Bart warned us, thankfully because he'd been on this race 279 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:05.840 he said, listen, around four am, it's going to be 280 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:08.720 cold out in the middle of Lake Huron. And I 281 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:11.600 kind of blew it off because I live in the 282 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:14.519 middle of Lake Huron and in the middle of July. 283 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:17.159 I don't remember it being cold. I mean, we've had 284 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:19.399 cold days and cold nights here and there. But Bart said, 285 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:21.039 trust me, it's going to be cold cold, You're going 286 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:24.120 to need a winter hat. Pardon me, folks for getting 287 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:29.080 a run. Sorry about that. Everybody had just had a 288 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:31.600 fire run, had to take off for That's one of 289 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:34.720 the reasons this podcast has been delinquent is we've just 290 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:38.080 just been so busy. Fire runs are off the charts 291 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:40.600 this year. EMS is off the charts as well. Everybody's 292 00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:43.919 just been busy, So I apologize for that. So anyway, 293 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:48.039 you know, Bart was so right that it gets incredibly 294 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:50.159 cold around four am out in the middle of Lake Huron, 295 00:15:50.279 --> 00:15:53.720 despite it being the middle of July. And had Andrew 296 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:57.679 Dowd not brought those winter hats, I'd have been shivering. 297 00:15:57.840 --> 00:15:59.399 We had all of our gear on, and I do 298 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:02.440 want to mention and we were sponsored. The boat had sponsorships, 299 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:06.399 which was great. We all matching gear and Arnold Freight Mission, 300 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:11.000 Point Resort, Cannonball Oasis and Dowd's Market were our sponsors, 301 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:14.320 and it was great to have a sponsorship and actually 302 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:16.480 all look alike, and at least we gave the appearance 303 00:16:16.519 --> 00:16:22.240 of sailors at some point. But so Sunday morning, you know, 304 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:24.120 there was some good win and we were making our 305 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:27.039 way up the lake. We kept going back and forth 306 00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:29.840 with that non such and as the day went on, 307 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:34.320 the wind really died, and then it died died, and 308 00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:39.039 then it died died, and pretty soon we were doing nothing. 309 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:43.799 Sailing is a game of chance. And the guys said, 310 00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:47.240 some of the guys said, who are on watch, Let's 311 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:50.320 go to the east and look for some wind, because 312 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:52.600 the forecast looks like the doldrums all the way up 313 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:56.120 the lake. And so they did. I went off watch 314 00:16:56.200 --> 00:16:58.200 it at I think midnight that night. I went off 315 00:16:58.200 --> 00:17:01.399 at four am. When I came back up topside, we'd 316 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:03.440 gone looking for wind. It was a gamble, a gamble 317 00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:06.440 didn't pay. And there we sat and now we're in 318 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:09.920 the doldrums. And I've been in doldrums before, you know, 319 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:12.039 out here fishing, but I've never seen anything like this 320 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:15.400 in my life. We sat and we sat. At one 321 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:17.960 point the boat was facing the wrong direction. We couldn't. 322 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:21.240 You can't steer if there's no propulsion whatsoever. One of 323 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:24.160 the crewmen, Chaz, he got off to he jumped into 324 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:27.279 cool off. Not a lot of shade on a sailboat, folks, 325 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:31.039 And he jumped off and he started pushing the boat 326 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:33.400 and he actually pushed us enough to make it register. 327 00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:36.759 It showed us a point zero zero one knot. We 328 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:41.160 all kind of laughed. So there we sat, and around 329 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:45.119 this time we each finished off our twelfth beer, which 330 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:48.559 left us out of beer, and we checked on our stores. 331 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:51.400 We're looking okay, but it might be a lengthy race, 332 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:54.680 but we're looking like we have enough food and water. 333 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:55.480 You know. 334 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:58.240 Our water system ended up breaking down, but it was 335 00:17:58.440 --> 00:18:00.720 really not a big deal. The little lake here on 336 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:02.920 If you can't take a drink out of the one 337 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:05.079 of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, I don't 338 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:08.559 know what to tell you. But so the doldrums were hitting. 339 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:12.039 They're hitting pretty heavy, and it went, you know, through 340 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:15.880 the morning, and finally a lot of boats were dropping out. 341 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.279 A few boats that we were ahead of actually dropped out. 342 00:18:18.359 --> 00:18:22.599 So all of a sudden we're in last place, and 343 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:25.640 our goal along was not to be the pickle boat. 344 00:18:25.720 --> 00:18:27.880 The pickle boat's a boat that finishes last. Well, here 345 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:31.000 we are. We're in last place and we're not moving. 346 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:33.839 And so around you know, eight or nine am, we 347 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:36.960 said maybe we should we should drop out as well 348 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:40.720 and head north. And well, let's take a vote at 349 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:45.240 ten and then ten o'clock rolled around, ten am rolled around, 350 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:49.279 let's take a vote. Well, we still weren't moving, and 351 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:52.000 nobody wanted to take a vote at ten either. Well, 352 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:54.400 let's take a vote at eleven am. So eleven am 353 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:58.000 rolls around and okay, we'll take the vote at eleven 354 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:01.039 And it sounded like it was just a ormality. We 355 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:03.400 were in content to drop out and head north. We 356 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:06.079 did the math. If we start the engines, we should 357 00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:07.839 be able to have dinner on the island that night 358 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:11.319 around eight thirty nine o'clock that night. That'd be okay. 359 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:15.720 We're out of beer, barts, out of cigarettes, we're out 360 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:17.960 of ice, and the water is broke down. We have 361 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:19.880 a little bit more food, so we'll be all right. 362 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:24.279 So let's shut her down and let's head north. We'll 363 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:26.920 do the actual vote at noon, though let's vote at noon, 364 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:28.599 and that'll be it. We'll do the vote at noon. 365 00:19:28.680 --> 00:19:32.240 Everybody agreed, okay. Between eleven and noon, we didn't move 366 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:35.039 an inch. In fact, I took a can, an empty 367 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:37.559 beer can, and I said, you guys, I'm not a litter. 368 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:39.480 I just want to see something. I set the can 369 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:40.759 in the water and I said, let's see if we 370 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:44.640 get any separation due to current at least. And forty 371 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:47.039 minutes later that beer can was right next to us. 372 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:49.480 And if you've ever done any boating and seen a 373 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:52.079 can in the water, you know exactly just how dead 374 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:55.240 in the water we were. So noon rolls around and 375 00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:57.440 we're going to take the vote, and it's a foregone conclusion. 376 00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:01.400 We're heading home, and I said, okay, I'll take the 377 00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:05.920 roll call. And I called on Mike Haggerty to vote first, 378 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:09.079 and I figured he was going to say, you know, yes, 379 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:11.519 let's quit, and then everybody else was going to say yes. 380 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:15.240 And we head north and I said okay, Haggerty and 381 00:20:15.319 --> 00:20:20.039 he said no, and there was a pause and everybody 382 00:20:20.039 --> 00:20:23.039 looked at each other and I said, well that's that, 383 00:20:23.079 --> 00:20:25.759 and I'm going to finish taking the role. Let's finish this. 384 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:30.599 So without even really voting. Haggarty he put an end 385 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:32.920 to this talk of dropping out, and in a retrospect, 386 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:36.200 I'm so glad he did. And I do have to mention, 387 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:39.640 are our whole trip at this point we've been communicating 388 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:41.920 by quoting movies, our favorite movies. Now you have six 389 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:43.640 guys in the vote, so it's a lot of Caddyshack, 390 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:45.880 a lot of Animal House, you know that sort of stuff. 391 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:48.920 So of course Haggarty followed up his no vote with 392 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:52.319 was it over when the Germans bomb Pearl Harbor, which 393 00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:55.839 of course is a line right an animal House? So 394 00:20:55.960 --> 00:20:57.839 here we sit, we're going to finish it out. We 395 00:20:58.039 --> 00:21:00.799 finally saw a little ripple on the water and we 396 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:05.319 started catching some wind. And you know, this is late Monday. 397 00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:08.039 This is probably by the time we actually start sailing again. 398 00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:10.200 We were able to run the shoot, you know, the spinnaker. 399 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:13.799 It's probably two o'clock in the afternoon. We are in 400 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:17.640 dead Last and we're finally heading up the lake and 401 00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:21.480