The Pride of Baltimore II Logs

July 1997

DATE:	THURSDAY, JULY 31, 1997
TIME:	18:20 1997-07-31
POSITION:	Latitude 41 52,21 N Longitude 087 28,67 W Under sail between Chicago and Milwaukee
ENTERED BY:	Captain Jan Miles

So long Chicago!

We are underway again after ten days of dockside life at Navy Pier, in Chicago. Our stay was punctuated by fireworks, day and evening sails, open houses and dockside receptions. In between events, the crew got a fair amount of cosmetic and rig maintenance done. And they also had some time off. But now it's time to get reacquainted with PRIDE's big rig and life at sea with it's routines and discipline.

We have newcomers aboard too. Two new crew -- Niel Tangri is aboard again. He sailed with PRIDE in 1995. And Lara Mrosovsky who comes aboard for the first time. We also have six guest crew. This makes a total of eight newcomers to acquaint with the ship. That number makes for a bit of confusion on top of what the old crew may have forgotten during our longish stay in Chicago. However, with a smooth lake and light winds, there is an unrushed opportunity to show and tell the newcomers what they need for now.

We have done so many things during our stay in Chicago it's hard to pick a place to start. PRIDE was open to the public on four different days for a total of 19 hours. He welcomed 8,511 visitors aboard -- for an average of 448 visitors an hour. We had to move PRIDE three times just to get out of the way of fireworks shows. We also got underway four times for sailing receptions with Maryland interests aboard. These interests were First National Bank, Tate Access Floors, the Maryland Port Administration, and the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association (Mayor Schmoke joined us for that one.) PRIDE also hosted dockside receptions with T. Rowe Price and the Maryland Office of Tourism.

For fun, PRIDE participated in Chicago's Venetian Night festivities on Saturday, July 26. This involved moving to a yacht harbor, called Monroe, a couple of miles away to shoot off our cannons and make a pretty picture before the parade of lighted boats began to circle the harbor (which was too shallow along the parade route for PRIDE, but deep enough to go in and show the flag). All this activity was spread out over our ten day stay -- and still the crew got most of the varnish re-coated. They also got quite a bit of rig care done. AND everyone got two days and at least three evenings off. Now the crew are glad to be underway again, even if only for one night, before jumping back into more events planned for our stay in Milwaukee.

For me, the highlight of our stay in Chicago was spending time with Bill Pinkny, the first African-American to sail around the world single handedly. I first met Bill when PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II was in Chicago in 1989. Back then Bill was putting together his plan for a solo sail around the world. His idea was to send back to schools in Chicago (where he grew up) reports of his experiences. The vessel was to be named COMMITMENT and the whole trip was to symbolize the power of commitment to a goal, and to stimulate students to continue their education. The trip was a great success and Bill has become quite a celebrity. Since the trip, Bill has spoken to more than 400 school groups. He estimates that there are over 200,000 copies of his children's book about the adventure in libraries around the county. During his voyage he actually did report back to the Chicago AND Boston school systems as he sailed around the world. I have seen a 45 minute video narrated by Bill Cosby that was made of his voyage. It is fascinating to see how stimulated both students and teachers became as they followed Captain Pinkny's way around the world. (We expect to generate the same kind of excitement with Maryland kids on our voyage to Asia new year.)

Bill's latest plan is to embark on another voyage beginning this November. He will sail around the South Atlantic with teachers aboard to tell the story of the "middle passage" This was the route that the slave ships most commonly used when taking their human cargo from Africa to the Caribbean. For those of you that want to learn more about this important research and education effort, you can read about it on the web.

Bill and I have another more mutual interest because of the LA AMISTAD story. A near replica of AMISTAD is to be built soon in Connecticut and Bill has been chosen to be the first captain. Because LA AMISTAD is Baltimore Clipper type and therefor very similar to PRIDE (we "played the role" of AMISTAD in the Steven Speilberg movie filmed in Mystic, CT., last March), Bill wants to absorb whatever he can of the idiosyncrasies of this type of sailboat. During our Chicago sojourn, Bill sailed with us for a hot, slow day sail with the Maryland Port Authority. Sometime in the next couple of years when he can take time from his fundraising and his new educational enterprise, he hopes to come and sail with PRIDE for a longer period. He will be most welcome to join us.

In other highlights, we managed to get a number of guests sea-sick during our sail with the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association. Mayor Schmoke was aboard for this sail. I was careful to explain to Carroll Armstrong, Executive Director of BACVA, that Lake Michigan was kicking up a bit and that he may wish to return early. After some thought, both he and the Mayor were gung-ho to give the sail a try. Although I was busy sailing the ship, I eventually observed that a number of guests got very quiet after reveling in the initial thrill of plunging through the waves with sprays of water splashing in their faces. I heard later that Mayor Schmoke managed a small nap during the roughest part of the sail. Napping is a VERY good way of coping with motion sickness! When I get woozy, that is exactly what I do (unless I am tied up with other activities like sailing the boat.) On PRIDE's return, virtually all the guests lined up to get off, even though we returned early. I have since heard that many of the sea-sick guests reported back they really liked the chance to come aboard and sail with PRIDE, despite the "inconvenience." In general, rough water sailing is not what PRIDE's mission is all about. However, I bet that PRIDE and Baltimore will not soon be forgotten by that group of guests. I hope it means more convention business!

Another exciting occurrence was the lightening show we saw when a thunderstorm passed by. The world was all lit up - the towers of the city skyline was lit by night workers, the dark and ominous clouds overhead were lit by lightning bolts, the lake was lit by lightning strikes AND the running lights of the many weekend boaters scurrying to take cover from the storm. It was easy to feel smug about being tied up safely at the dock enjoying the pyrotechnics.

While I have been writing this, the crew has finished setting all sail and have almost completed the safety lecture we always give newcomers at the beginning of a voyage. Meanwhile the wind has all but died. PRIDE is just sitting in the water much like the "painted ship on a painted ocean." With 70 odd miles to go to Milwaukee, we may eventually start motoring.

Cheers
Captain Miles

Ahoy!

"Chicago! Chicago! That todilin' town...." Or so I remember the song. Certainly Navy Pier is a happenin'' place! It's an Inner Harbor type of facility complete with a huge Ferris wheel, lots of dinner cruise boats, and a four-masted schooner that sails out frequently with revelers. PRIDE is an obvious oddity in this dockside lineup, but very interesting to everyone though. The curious range from a few traditional sailing enthusiasts to those who hardly know PRIDE is an historical replica. The most common question is, "How did you get here?" So this is PRIDE's temporary berth for the next seven days - Navy Pier and the wonderful Chicago skyline on one side, with the open expanse of Lake Michigan on the other.

PRIDE arrived in Chicago on Monday after transiting the remaining length of Lake Michigan from Little Traverse Bay. During the transit the weather cooperated enough to provide thirty hours of straight sailing before going nearly completely flat. Before going flat it had been blowing from the northeast. Then it shifted slowly, in a clockwise motion, till it finally came out of the south. (In the northern hemisphere we call this "veering.") The wind direction forced PRIDE over to the west side of Lake Michigan between Sheboygan and Milwaukee before dying out almost completely late Sunday afternoon. By motoring through Sunday night at around 8 knots, PRIDE arrived at Chicago early (0600 hrs) Monday and hove- to awaiting our scheduled hour of entry - high noon. Arriving so early turned out to be a fortunate happenstance because we missed some thunderstorm activity that occurred just before dawn between Chicago and Milwaukee.

PRIDE's was accompanied in her arrival into Chicago harbor by the brand new four-masted schooner, WINDY. This schooner is somewhat larger than PRIDE -- she's made of steel and painted white. Her profile is unique in the United States. Even though WINDY is larger, PRIDE sailed happily past her on the way in. The press boat caught some great pictures of PRIDE under full sail approaching Navy Pier with the Chicago skyline in the background. The photos showed up in the papers Tuesday.

Since Chicago is one of our important stops on the Great Lakes Tour, Erin Lassen from the office was in town to meet us. As usual, the crew was interested in the mail she brought from the office. Mail is the single greatest prize that staff who meet the ship in scheduled ports bring from the office. Woe be the staffer that comes out to visit the ship without the mail! (Even if it has only been a few days!) This delivery proved quite a haul for the crew.

After the ship was put away, I declared the rest of the day off and handed out the goodies. Everyone was happy to sit and read for at least an hour before the activities of Navy Pier drew the crew away from the ship. My time was spent in getting updated on the many events scheduled for the ship during it's stay in Chicago. A lot has been arranged. We'll be tripled up on several days. Thankfully there are a few days with only one event scheduled which will provide time for some needed maintenance.

Tuesday, our first full day in Chicago, started out pretty early. The local ABC affiliate sent down their weather lady to transmit from PRIDE. Preparations for this started at 0430 hours! Fortunately, we could wake the crew in stages. Even so, we rescheduled breakfast for 0630 so everyone was up for the last few feeds. The crew were quite chirpy and responsive, so everything went smoothly.

On Tuesday we also said good-by to the First Mate, Nick Alley. It was a melancholy departure for Nick. While there is always a bit of dislocation with each departures, there is usually an upswing, too. In this case three promotions are happening as Nick leaves. The Second Mate, Chris Flansberg, replaces Nick as First Mate. Jason Quilter, Bosun, moves up to Second Mate. John Hope shifts from Engineer/deckhand to Bosun. The Engineer/deckhand slot will remain temporarily unfilled. But Cindy Thomson will have the opportunity to fill in till a decision is made on who will be the next Engineer/deckhand. Maybe Cindy will prove she should be given a chance. She has been working diligently as the 'assistant' to the Engineer for the last three weeks.

With these promotions, there is less 'knowledge loss' accompanying the changes. John has not fulfilled a Bosun job before. But he has acted as a senior deckhand or Mate for schooners in Maine. With Jason aboard, he can be shown what he is not sure about. The same can happen between Cindy and John in the engine room. All these changes are good opportunities for crew. They are happy for them and all feel the pressure to perform well.

Tuesday was made longer because we had to leave our berth at Navy Pier due to a fireworks show nearby. The inconvenience of having to leave was more than balanced by our live-and-up-close view of the fireworks along Chicago's lit-up skyline.

Wednesday brought us more crew changes. Mary Walker, our temporary cook, left and was replaced by Theressa Tiedman. Theressa has sailed with us before. She has recently been sailing for Sea Education Association on their two ships CORWITH CRAMER and WESTWARD. She will be reorganizing the galley and getting us back into a routine. Neil Tangri joins us again as deckhand. Neil replaces Pat Curry who got off in Wyandotte. Neil sailed with us in 1995. Since then he has spent a year in India. Recently he sailed aboard the square-topsail ketch HAWAIIAN CHIEFTAIN, mostly in San Francisco Bay.

Meanwhile, some of the crew had some time off on Wednesday. The Chicago Aquarium offers a show on frogs. But the most interesting report the crew brought back was about the beluga whales that blow bubble rings, similar to smoke rings, as they go through mating rituals. Interesting!?

I spent my time Wednesday scoping out details for the Parade of Boats scheduled for "Venetian Night" on Saturday. I was taken out by Chicago's marine police to check water depth along the planned route of the parade. The route turned out to be unsuitable for PRIDE because of her size and depth. However, since the request to participate had come from City Hall, Erin and I went to a meeting with the Chicago authorities to see if we could come up with an alternative plan. (There's a lot schedule on Venetian Night besides the Parade of Lighted Boats including a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter air-lift demonstration a plane formation fly-over, and fireworks.) We'll come up with something to contribute to the festivities.

I returned from that meeting at 1700 hrs in time to get PRIDE underway for an evening sail with our co-hosts from Tate Access Floors and their partners and customers from Chicago. The sail turned out to be just perfect. We have had 100% overcast and occasional drizzle since Monday night. But suddenly the sky cleared and we had a cloudless evening with the Chicago skyline in perfect relief as an awesome backdrop as we sailed along the Chicago shoreline some six miles.

On this Saturday morning, just as I was proof-reading this log, the new First Mate came to me and showed me a fancy card with Pride, Inc.' logo on it saying that one "Everett Cooper of Lake Forest, IL, is an Honorary Crew Member of Pride of Baltimore II ." Mr. Cooper was standing on the pier asking if he could come aboard for a look around because he could not be here during the times of the scheduled open-houses.

My first reaction was #$@%%! To understand that reaction you must try to understand the pressures on a skipper as he tries to balance all the scheduled events with the needs of the ship and crew. For instance, Tuesday had been a long day due to morning and evening events and a lot of maintenance in between. On Wednesday we had an open house from 1100-1500 hrs during which we hosted 1,657 visitors. Before that we had 50 adults and kids aboard from the Chicago Lyric Opera along with the local chapter of Friends of Amistad aboard for an hour of maritime history lectures. Then there was the evening sail. Today is maintenance day with another sail scheduled this evening. To take time out and escort someone around when we are focused on maintenance is disruptive to the mind, even if not a disruption in itself. But an "Honorary PRIDE Crew Member" card is something special and not to be ignored. These are the kind of die-hard enthusiasts that keep us sailing. So I told Chris, "Yes."

Chris just came back to report that Mr. Cooper was most pleased to get a chance to walk around the deck. He had just finished building a model of PRIDE. He credits that effort with saving his life. He has been in chemotherapy for cancer and took up the model during his treatment. To be able to walk aboard the ship he had just built a model of during a fight for his life, and knowing he would never sail aboard her, just made his day!

Coming to understand what the visit meant to him and how easy it would have been to say "No" (even with a ton of plausible excuses) has made OUR day. Good luck Mr. Cooper!

Cheers
Captain Jan Miles

Ahoy!

PRIDE made an awesome single-ship parade arriving at Bay Harbor on Thursday, July 17th! The wind was between 20 and 25 knots and she fair flew on the approach to the new resort. We made 10 and 11 knots as the order of the day. With that much wind, we carried only the working sail -- mainsail, foresail, forestaysail, jib, and square-foretopsail. Even so, it was almost more than the crew could handle efficiently. I did my best to make it easy on them by gibing. But that didn't seem to help -- maybe because we haven't gibed in a long time. So we tacked the next time and they did much better. (For some reason, crew never forget how to tack, but frequently forget the sequence for gibing.).

On our way into Bay Harbor, we were met by two motorboats and a small fixed wing photo airplane arranged by the resort. There were whitecaps about and so it was a bit rough for the motorboats (and for the plane, too, I later learned). The speed boat sometimes left the water as it roared about at nearly 70 knots.

In conditions such these, it is very hard to put on a show of any kind. PRIDE was moving so fast I couldn't take her in close to the shore so people could see her better (she takes too much room to maneuver). And the high winds require twice as many crew members per task, so course changes simply can't be accomplished quickly. But in spite of these limitations, I was told that PRIDE looked magnificent by those that saw her.

After all this racing around, we finally sailed in close and took sail to prepare for entering Bay Harbor Lake. This is a new lake that has been created by dynamiting a channel through a slim bit of land separating an old cement quarry from Little Traverse Bay. There are now some newly built summer homes scattered around the shoreline of this new lake. The architecture is similar to New England summer homes on the Atlantic coast.

As the crew was getting the sails furled and deck cleared, I was trying to get a "read" on the entrance to this lake. I did not have a chart of it since the facility is so new. I had a verbal description that had been communicated to me via the phone. As I stared at the shoreline, an escort boat sent out by the Bay Harbor Yacht Club informed me by radio what to look for.

As it turned out, the entrance to the lake is through a narrow channel that follows a bending path, like an 'S,' from Little Traverse Bay. The channel passes between a pile of rocks that serves as a breakwater on one side and the rocky shore on the other. There seemed to be plenty of depth, especially as Lake Michigan is up some 2-3 feet higher than normal for this time of year. But from a distance, and having only verbal descriptions, the channel looked VERY narrow. When I became reasonably comfortable that I understood the layout of the channel, I headed PRIDE in slowly. Enter a new harbor for the first time can be a bit tense under any condition. Doing it without a chart with the wind up and blowing across the ship only adds to the tension.

However, we eventually entered the lake with no problem. With her twin engines and props, PRIDE is very easy to operate at slow speeds. I took my time and we crawled in quite safely. That gave us plenty of time to shoot off the cannons announcing our arrival.

There are two dock facilities inside the lake -- the marina to the east and the yacht club on the south shore. We were escorted to a position of honor at the center of the yacht club's mooring wall, right in front of the clubhouse, which is an imposing building on the side of a steep rise. There is a terrace at least two stories up from the dock area. The building rises another two stories with several turrets with plenty of glass for yachties to look out onto the boats and the Lake beyond.

Everything is brand new and quite grand. It became quickly evident that PRIDE, with her traditional looks kept so clean and Bristol Fashion by her crew, was a perfect centerpiece for the club.

PRIDE was the only wooden boat at the club docks. In fact, the only other wooden thing in the whole facility was the clubhouse itself. Everything else was fiberglass, concrete, or steel. PRIDE provided a lot of color along with her distinctively unique profile.

PRIDE made the call at Bay Harbor in order to host a reception sponsored by Walter Kidd, a property salesman for Bay Harbor resort. We cooked up the visit somewhat unexpectedly during a phone call I made to the Kidds from Wyandotte. Walter is the son of one of PRIDE's old friends, Jack Kidd. Jack has retired to Boyne City, MI, after living in Baltimore for 50 years. He served on PRIDE's Board of Directors between 1983 and 1988 and has always been one of our strongest boosters. Walter Kidd, Jack's son, knew that PRIDE's would be a perfect venue to show off his new resort for potential customers. A party aboard would also be a great way to say thanks to his associates and staff.

The area of Michigan the Kidds now live in is another place one could justifiably call "God's County". It is beautiful for it's green hills, clear water, and country style. Ever since my first visit to the Great Lakes with the original PRIDE OF BALTIMORE back in '81, I have stopped in this part of Michigan on every voyage we've made ('89 and '93). I got my first taste of the area from Jack Kidd who recommended Charlavoix as a rest stop for the crew after appreciating their hard work during several day sails out of Chicago during that '81 Tour. On this visit, Jack assured me that stopping at the new facility at Bay Harbor would be a treat for the crew because of the great hospitality he was knew they would receive. After scrutinizing weather predictions for the next couple of days and assuring myself that we could make Chicago on time even with this unscheduled stop, I went for it. So here we were!

Once secured to the club dock, it was immediately evident things were going to be really "nice" for the crew. A few of the amenities at their disposal-- a swimming pool, a supper at the club, a van on loan to drive where they wanted to go. Plus showers at the clubhouse (not ordinary showers, mind you -- these came with towels and three kinds of soap, plus sauna, and TV in the changing room).

PRIDE's guest crew were pleased by the stop, too. The Walton brothers, Victor and George, have a brother in nearby Petosky whom they see regularly. The brother knew about the resort but had not visited it before. Another guest crew member, Rich Lyons, former Baltimorean now living in Detroit, knew about the resort as well and was pleased to visit it.

Everyone made good use of the hospitality offered after the ship had been put ship shape. Meanwhile, the Kidds and I fielded an interview with the Petosky paper. While work never ends for the skipper, at least the interview was held up on the terrace with cool drinks and a great view looking down at the jewel that is PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II.

Friday, July 18, was a maintenance day. The club facility was perfect for getting some top-side painting done. With such perfectly dry, cool weather, we also jumped at the chance to do some more varnishing.

The reception was held between for 1630 to 1830 hours on Friday. During the affair, David Johnson, the idea man and one of the key developers of the resort, recognized his staff and his new customers. I must say, David did not think small with this resort. It took a lot of imagination and guts to take an abandon rock quarry and make use of it like this. It's a large piece of property. It encompasses some six miles of waterfront that will eventually include a world class golf course right on the water, a first rate equestrian center, a hotel and shopping area, a marina, a second harbor, and some 700+ residences including condominiums and houses.

When the yacht club gets up to speed, it will be able to host any maritime sport. And since the club is only 100 yards from the deep and open waters of Little Traverse Bay, it will be able to host any kind of boat race imaginable. And the race will be seen from just about anywhere along the bluffs that make Little Traverse Bay a natural arena.

There was a good turn out for the reception with a great deal of admiration for PRIDE and curiosity about the crew. David gave a warm welcome to us and his guests and asked me to give a brief explanation about PRIDE, which I did. We then thanked our hosts for their warm welcome with a cannon shot. The crew ended the evening sailing one if the club's racing dingies and then taking the van to see the movie, MEN IN BLACK.

Today, Saturday, July 19, we set sail for Chicago. We got underway after breakfast with a favorable breeze. We took the opportunity to get all sail set and grand-stand along the shore of Bay Harbor. We fired off a two gun salute in farewell and thank you.

Since this morning we have sailed all day and it looks like we may sail all night. If we do, it will be the first 24 hour sail since arriving into the Lakes. So far we have made it down to Sleeping Bear Point where there is a very significant sand dune. This is distinctive and important navigation landmark for us sailors as we go by.

Cheers
Captain Miles

Mackinac Island. Pronounced Mackinaw. This is another location with a bit of 1812 history. It's now an island that sells fudge. Fudge of any type. In any quantity. They will gladly ship it anywhere too. Just like crabs back in the Chesapeake Bay.

Mackinac Island is as far north in the Great Lakes as we will get on this trip. We are at the confluence of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. From here we travel south toward Chicago -- but not till tomorrow morning.

We arrived here this morning after a rather uneventful trip up the Detroit River, across Lake St. Clair, up the St. Clair River, and into the southern end of Lake Huron.

It was uneventful except for the many horn salutes we received from passing lake freighters and one Lake Huron Lightship, now a museum. This salute is a series of horn blasts - one long followed by two shorts. I was surprised by the lightship salute. Why would a lightship museum salute us? Maybe this is another example of just how well known PRIDE is around the world.

We made Lake Huron around 1930 hours Monday and kept motoring through the night. There were a few thunderstorms about and it seemed prudent to wait for them to pass before setting any sail. A good thing too because one storm passed right over giving us 35 knots of wind for about 15 minutes. With all sail down, there was no great risk to the ship. However, it was necessary to send crew up to the square foretopsail to furl it hastily. (In anticipation of sailing, I had ordered it unfurled earlier while we were still in the St. Clair River.) The crew ran up and furled madly till I called them down in deference to the approaching lightning. Within a half hour, all was quiet. Too quiet to sail. So we motored till breakfast on Tuesday. We then set all sail and spent the rest of the day drifting around the area of Thunder Bay, near Alpena, Michigan.

Weather forecasting is not an exact science -- particularly prognosticating about anticipated patterns. What was forecasted as a steady breeze from the southwest shifting west for the day, turned out to be a virtual calm between zephyrs of breeze from the south. Finally at supper we took all sail in and motored through the night for Mackinac Island.

After arriving here at Mackinac this morning, our six passenger crew went ashore while the crew dove into sanding the rail-cap in preparation for another coat of varnish. By 1500 hours all was varnished and everyone took a well earned rest. Some spent it going ashore. Some stayed aboard and snacked on fudge brought to the ship by our passengers. Some napped. After supper many hands and passengers struck off ashore again. Now at 2245 hours, all are aboard again.

At 2124 hours engineer John shot off a evening colors cannon shot. It was gigantically loud (forgive the non-English). The waterfront momentarily came alive with people gawking out into the harbor to find out where the noise came from. There was no hiding what with all the smoke wafting slowly away from PRIDE in the evening air. A little later, two crew members lent a little friendly aid to a small boat that had a power failure not 300 yards from his destination, which was only 150 yards from where PRIDE is anchored.

Speaking of booms, there are even bigger ones occurring just now. Thankfully they are distant. There are big thunderstorms passing by about 10 miles to the south. The pyrotechnics are awesome and the rumbling aftershocks of the thunder is threatening. It is comforting not to be having to deal with storms in this small harbor.

We are 'up and at 'em' tomorrow at 0430 hrs. We are going to try and do a bit of tall ship parading in Little Traverse Bay on our way into Bay Harbor, the new condominium and marina complex being built in an old cement quarry just west of Petosky, Michigan. I don't know how much of a parade we will make all by ourselves. But if the wind is decent we can sometimes make a pretty awesome scene as we sail.

Cheers

Ahoy,

Is it hot where you are? It's hot where we are - 90 F with rising humidity. It's just like good ol' Chesapeake Bay weather this time of year. Plus, we have poor air quality. This is a result of the languid weather system we have - a high pressure system slowly drifting off to the eastward. The high pressure holds in the heavy industrial exhausts that abound in the Detroit River basin. It will take all day to get to Lake Huron. So it will be at least a day before we get the first breath of coolness that could/should come when we leave the narrow channels linking Lake Erie with Lake Huron and slide into the cooler waters of Lake Huron. Our departure from Wyandotte was marred by an inadvertent stumble into a local feud between two marinas that dispense fuel. The "situation" was set in motion last Saturday when I informed the First Mate that we would stop about a mile up river on Monday morning just after leaving Wyandotte to take on fuel. I made the arranged through a friend. Now the Mate happens to have a tireless, enthusiastic, pro-active personality. On his time off, while riding around on one of the ship's bikes, he stopped to investigate the area in question so we would be prepared for the stop. He informed me of what he found, namely, that some tricky docking would be required to get to the fuel dock at the marina -- something about "going up a narrow trench-like slot perpendicular to the river between a row of pilings and the shore." I wasn't too concerned because my contact had already informed me that he had checked the depth and length of dock where we were to be refueling and the conditions were satisfactory for PRIDE.

When we arrived in the area, we found there were actually two marinas. The "Mate's pier" was indeed up a narrow trench, while the intended one where my contact was waiting was easily accessible. As we passed the Mate's pier, the proprietor, feeling slighted, launched a bunch of phone calls that shortly escalated into yells and epithets. One of his calls was a formal complaint to the City of Wyandotte arguing that we would be getting fuel from a truck at the intended marina rather than from his tank.

During the ensuring delay while we tried to sort things out, I dispatched the Mate to apologize for the misunderstanding. All to no avail. Despite efforts of various parties -- friends, owners, the Fire Marshal, and the Wyandotte Police -- to reverse the situation, the proprietor was adamant.

As Everett Dirkson said, "All politics is local." And since we were not local, I felt the best course of action was to retreat out of that hornet's nest and beat our way upriver. Which we soon did -- without fuel. Fortunately, we were not in immediate need and will refuel in more hospitable quarters elsewhere. This was the only negative occurrence PRIDE has encountered in two stops at Wyandotte over the last 5 years.

So we are now underway again. We're northbound up Lake Huron around the entire state of Michigan. We'll go through the Straits of Mackinaw and then head south down Lake Michigan to Chicago. While we motor along, the crew is familiarizing our six new passengers with the ship, and getting some cosmetic maintenance done as well.

Our stay in Wyandotte was very pleasant. Until Sunday the weather was brilliant, dry, and cool. The public was very enthusiastic about the ship. Since we were tied up at the town's waterfront park, we had folks coming down to look PRIDE over all hours of the day (and night). The Wyandotte Police were attentive to our needs and even arranged transportation on Saturday afternoon for the off-watch to visit the Henry Ford Museum. On Sunday night, our engineer got a sizable splinter in his heel and the Police transported him to the clinic and back.

On Saturday evening the Maryland Port Administration held a dockside reception. They were gracious enough to invite some of the Wyandotte authorities who were very appreciative of the opportunity. Since it was the last cool night of the weekend, the party was particularly enjoyable.

We are now without one of our deckhands. Patrick Curry, our ace cannoner, has left us as scheduled for home. I will miss him. Patrick is a very quiet and competent individual. I hope he will to come back and sail with us again soon. After some time off, Pat will go to sea again aboard the HAWAIIAN CHIEFTAIN, a replica Spanish merchant trader, out of Sausalito, CA. I'm sure they will find him as much of an asset as I did. Meanwhile, his replacement will join us in Chicago.

Cheers
Captain Miles

21 DAYS -- from New York City to Wyandotte! For all the planing of time and distance for this leg, it still felt to me like we would never get to our destination. All that motoring and docking and locking and piloting between buoys, rocks, boats, squalls and bugs! But we are here now and busy hosting new Michigan friends at open houses while we get maintenance done too.

Getting west through Lake Erie was relatively unremarkable. Again the wind was pretty fickle and we motored most of the way. Tension was added later in the run by the appearance of thunder- clouds preceded by numerous announcements of the threat of strong thunder-storms by both the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards. The watch leaders were diligent about keeping me informed of the presence of such phenomenon by close scrutiny of the radar and distant sky. The radar often observes moisture in the air. Sometimes it is possible to estimate the squall potential of a cloud if it has lots of water in it. So I was called numerous times to verify a possible threat. It was not till 2200 hrs that we got a serious looking threat and we took sail. That was simple matter since we had taken in quite a lot of sail and commenced to motor earlier because the wind had gone light and ahead. We got a lot of rain for a few minutes but no real wind. We managed to miss any further squalls and pushed on to the northwest corner of Lake Erie near the mouth of the Detroit River.

Later, about 0200 hrs on Wednesday July 9, the wind went northwest for real and blew to near 25 knots. We hove-to with no sail and waited till it was time to enter the Detroit River and proceed to Wyandotte.

With a northwest to north breeze, it is virtually impossible to sail PRIDE up the Detroit River. To motor up with sail set is possible but not efficient. Nor is it easy on the sails, which can set to flogging like flags when the wind is not hitting then from a wide enough angle. So we arrived Wyandotte with only one sail set, the mainsail, which was set not 20 minutes before it was taken down again when we arrived at our docking location. Not a good entry! But I did not feel there was another choice with the strong 'down river' breezes in the narrow confines of the shoal-strewn river. However, we did shoot off several loud cannons, which were appreciated.

The rainy and squally weather turned into lovely, dry, cool, sunny weather. Spirits of the crew lifted with the clearing, and were lifted higher by the boarding of our new temporary cook Mary Walker. HURRAY! A real cook with real experience and dedication! Mary set-to getting familiar with the galley and planning her first meal, the day's supper, with the help of the most recent 'fill-in' cook Summer. (Summer improved a great deal in her cooking over the period she held the post. Still, it was good that one of her meals was substituted when all the crew opted to go ashore together for dinner the one night we visited Erie, PA. Even so, it must be said, Summer was as happy as the happiest crew member now that Mary had arrived).

Meanwhile the crew set about getting the ship ready for four days of public visiting and the opportunity to get substantial maintenance done. There was also several details to coordinate with the Wyandotte officials about hooking up to electricity and water and dealing with garbage and security. Then there was mail! This is a most important 'cargo' that the advance person from the office brings to the ship.

Today has been a busy day. The laundry went out with two crew. Erin Lassen, our office liaison person here and Public Relations Director for Pride, Inc., has acted as chauffeur. She transported the laundry crew to the Laundromat. She also took our departing passenger Vic Kilkosky a native Marylander, to the airport and then came back to take the cook shopping. Meanwhile the crew jumped to various chores: scrape and sand channels then spot paint; prep the CHASSUER for a coat of oil for the inside of the planking; sand, patch paint, then put a final coat of paint on the bowsprit. I defrosted the freezer and the cool-box. The engineer toiled away in the engine room.

Meanwhile there was open house from 1000-1500hrs. So some of the crew had to stop their work and get into uniforms for hosting the public. In the middle of all this the groceries arrived and so did the laundry. Stops in port can often be busier than sailing. They can also be more exhausting since they last longer than a four hour watch. The daily naps available underway can be sorely missed. Especially if one has been out late into the evening.

Cheers,
Captain Jan Miles

DATE:	TUESDAY, JULY 8, 1997
TIME:	13:58 1997-07-08 GMT TUESDAY (0958 HRS SHIP -4)
POSITION:	Latitude 42 02,67 N Longitude 080 39,80 W
CONDITIONS:	SP: 6 KNTS. C: 255 M. WX: SE FORCE 3. SS: LESS THAN TWO FOOT. TEMP: 79 F. BP: 998.5 F. SKY: 7/8 THIN ALTO STRATUS. 24HP POS: DETROIT RIVER NEAR AMHERSBURG, CANADA. 24HR WX: NW-N FORCE 5.
ENTERED BY:	Captain Jan Miles

We are almost finished with this three week transit between New York City and Wyandott, Michigan. It's hard to believe we have been at this 'voyage' for that long. There are some 160 miles still to go and we have one and a quarter days to do it in. Weather looks moderately favorable so we can get well on our way before the next change. Another cold front is due later today/tonight -- a mild one by all the descriptions from both Canadian and American weather broadcasts. That is good. I would hate to be late in arriving at Wyandott after taking the time to stop in Erie, Pennsylvania for a night!

We got underway from Erie this morning at 0530. The wind has been light and variable all night. It is now slowly filling in from the southeast and is soon to shift to the south and later to the southwest, strengthening some, possibly to small craft warnings, meaning upwards of 25 knots of wind. We will set sail soon and take best advantage of the wind as it builds.

Lake Ontario proved to be a bit of a frustration for sailing. After leaving Clayton, NY, we motored till midday. The breeze had been light from the southwest and west in the early morning -- as predicted. But it built to some 20 knots before midday. So we set sail. Soon after we had done so, the wind dropped to less than 8 knots. We kept sailing to the south in the light breezes. The weather reports continued to talk about moderate breezes, yet we had only very light winds. Finally, near sunset, we stuck all sail in a virtual calm and motored west toward the Welland Canal. Soon after dark the breeze came up and built to near 15 knots -- a perfect sailing breeze And it was only a half hour since we'd taken in ALL sail!!! We continued to motor till midnight waiting for the wind to die, as it often does. But it did not and we set sail AGAIN. This breeze took us through the rest of the night till breakfast Sunday morning. Again the wind died, and we took in all sail and motored to the Welland Canal, arriving at noon.

The Welland Canal is a short canal of about 27 miles with 8 locks. The significance of this canal is it takes vessels over the Niagara Escarpment (which is responsible for Niagara Falls). The locks raise vessels 326 feet - from 243 feet above sea level in Lake Ontario to 569 feet above sea level in Lake Erie. From a sailor's point of view, another significance is the way water is let into each lock. Unlike the locks of the St. Lawrence River where water is let in from the bottom of the lock, Welland Canal Locks are filled from the side. The circulation of water in the lock being filled greatly affects smaller vessels. With side-loaded locks, the cross currents are very strong. Under the right circumstances a small boat can be cork-screwed around so much that damage can occur.

I have been up-bound in the Welland Canal four times previous to this trip. Some of the crew have been up in other vessels. All of us look at the Welland Locks as a huge potential for damage -- and a lot of physical labor trying to prevent that from happening. And, truth be told, each time I have been up these locks has been a significant learning experience due to the different information one gets from the lock masters regarding their ability to provide a 'smooth' lift and where the best position in the lock would be for least turbulence.

The most turbulent of the 8 locks in the Welland Canal are locks 4, 5 and 6, known as the "flight locks" because they are literally back to back. As you pass through the exit door of lock 4, you enter lock 5, and so on to lock 6.

Due to PRIDE's status as a "yacht," the canal authorities did not permit us to start into the locks until late in the afternoon (after they let three large ships pass through first - two up-bound and one down-bound). For us locks 1, 2 and 3 were virtually turbulence free. The lock masters of each choose to fill each lock very slowly which gave PRIDE a very gentle ride. The ride in lock 2 was so smooth I complimented the lock master on it.

Before starting the flight locks, the lock master came and discussed the turbulence issue with me. He said he could not give a 'slow fill' because the process was now computer controlled and there was only one speed. I was not alarmed by this so much as interested that computerization had eliminated having a choice of rates to fill the lock. I also doubted the "computerized rate" of fill could be any worse than my previous nightmare experiences in the flight locks. But I did describe to the lock master the fact that when PRIDE leans against her main-rig channels, she has a tendency to be off- balance toward her stern. To compensate I often back with the engines against the bow line to hold the bow 'in' and therefor keep the stern from bashing into the wall as the lock is filled. The lock master seemed to understand what I was talking about and offered an observation I had not heard in my previous 4 trips - that the least turbulence was at the north end of the lock. (I had previously been told it was at the south end.) I agreed to try the north end.

Let me say that the current of water that comes at the ship from the inflow tubes on other wall is akin to being sideways in a white-water rapids. It is truly alarming! At night it is beyond alarming. While the water is boiling up at the ship and sliding under and against the keel, the ship is tipping away from the lock wall. The water-side of the ship is lowering down toward the turbulence. We hear the ship groaning against the special fenders and we feel the vibration as they slide along the wall as the water level rises. It's easy to get the notion the ship is going to continue tipping and soon the boiling water is going to pour over the rail and on deck! But this time there was none of the old tendency for the stern to swing in. PRIDE lay against the lock wall squarely on her two channels. The crew did not have to do anything but drag in the slack of the bow and stern lines as the ship slid up the lock walls. What was at first an alarming concern for our and the ship's safety as the turbulence built to a crescendo, became a fascinating ride from the bottom of a deep concrete chamber, full of loud rushing water noises, to the top of the chamber some 50 feet up.

The rest of the passage through the locks went uneventfully. Since we were traveling with two smaller yachts which could only make 6 knots, it was another two and a half hours to reach the end of the canal rather than one and three-quarters hours it could have taken. By 0500 hrs Monday morning we were clear of the canal and I could get some sleep.

We arrived Erie, PA, midday Monday under full sail and shot a two cannon salute toward the United States Brig NIAGARA . This vessel is a near-replica of Commodore Hazard Perry's NIAGARA of the 1812 War in Lake Erie. During that campaign, Perry, with a small fleet of vessels, bested an English fleet from Canada. In declaring his success to his superiors, his first message quickly became one of America's famous quotes, "We have met the enemy, and he is ours!"

Today the NIAGARA is a traveling living museum. She has a professional crew of twelve and a volunteer crew of another 40. When she sails, she needs all of them. She strikes an a imposing figure in the Lake. Several of PRIDE's crew are alumni(ae) of the NIAGARA. Hence our visit, time permitting, to see mutual friends on a vessel of like-minded people. The crew put the afternoon off I gave them to immediate good use by spending time with old and new friends of the NIAGARA. The good times ran on into the evening. But with plans to get underway at first light, all hands were back aboard and asleep by midnight. IMPRESSIVE!

Now we are underway again. As the breeze has filled in, we are under sail with most of the canvas set (everything but the studding sail and ringtail). As we sail along, we pass many small motorboats out fishing. For some reason fishing in Lake Erie is very popular. I have not seen so much sport fishing in any of the other Lakes as in Lake Erie.

Cheers
Captain Jan Miles

WESTWARD HO! Underway again after waiting out a blow for the last couple of days. We left Clayton, New York, this morning around 0540 and are now pushing into the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. The wind is light, about 10 knots on the bow. The Lake has a left over swell of about 2-3ft. It's enough to give us motion, but not large enough to cause a major slow down.

Serendipity - a word that I think applies to the past two days. Maybe the last three days. If we had not spent all day Wednesday looking for a way to get fuel aboard and get clearance into the country, we may have found ourselves in the middle of Lake Ontario when the cold front came through. By taking the time to resolve the fueling and clearance issues, we found Clayton with it's warm welcome and a decent dock. The time consumed getting fuel eliminated any possibility of crossing the Lake before the blow started. This provided the stimulus to trade an open house on the ship for the privilege of staying in Clayton till the storm blew out.

Since our stay was over the 4th of July there was a lot of extra visitor activity in town to see PRIDE and a lot of visitors aboard. In fact we had some 2,063 visitors over the five hours from noon to 5pm! The summer residence of Clayton is 5,000. One of the crew was told by a store proprietor that she was pleased that we were able to be in town over the 4th because she has not had the flow of business thorugh her store this 4th since 1990! Serendipity!

Along with all this were free passes to the Thousand Islands Antique Boat Museum - a really nice collection of pulling skiffs and powered vessels spanning the last couple hundred years. The crew were also invited to supper at the Thousand Islands Inn, courtesy of Allen and Susan Benas, proprietors. Allen is also with the Clayton Chamber of Commerce. Supper was excellent! The Inn is a slightly rustic 5 star restaurant. The menu has choices from game to local Lake fish. All very well prepared according to our discerning crew. The surprise of the evening was a fancy official plaque from the Clayton Chamber, recognizing and thanking PRIDE and crew for stopping in Clayton.

All this happiness and goodwill because of the need for fuel and the desire to avoid a period of foul weather! Serendipity.

Meanwhile, we have now started on our third deckhand/cook in three weeks. First it was Pam Coughlin. Then Patrick Curry. Now Summer O'Malley. The first two did an excellent job. There is no debate though that Pat was the best so far. He really went out of his way to be imaginative as well as perfect. Summer admits that she is a novice compared to Pam and Pat. She has never cooked steadily for as large a group as this, nor has she Pam's experience in catering. Nor Pat's experience in menu planing. But she is serious about trying and understands there is a lot resting on how she does. Aside from her own pride, there is the general morale of the crew. Good food, good morale. Very simple but very slippery too. We will soon learn about Summer's persistence and ingenuity.

Meanwhile, everyone is going to heave a sigh of relief and dance a little jig when we meet up with our temporary full time cook replacement upon arrival Wyandott. Mary Walker joins us from Chicago to fill in till our regularly scheduled cook, Theressa Tiedman, arrives July 23, in Chicago.

Cheers
Captain Miles

The wind is blowing strong from the southwest and west. Lake Ontario has seas of between 5 and 8 feet. Weather prognosis advises of the possibility of greater seas. The wind is coming from right where PRIDE wants to go. The crew is working hard, but in this case, they are not having to deal with rough open water. I have decided to stay in the New York town of Clayton until early Saturday, the 5th of July, to let this blow die down. So the crew is getting maintenance done and readying the ship for an unscheduled open house for the residents of Clayton during the afternoon of July 4th.

As the wind blows, crew morale is high with the feeling of having made a prudent decision. It has been a while since anyone has seen lumpy water. The Great Lakes are not to be taken lightly. When it comes on to blow, lake water gives the sailor a whole new appreciation of the meaning of rough water. The difference between the ocean and the lakes is the salt. Lake water is lighter because it doesn't have salt in it. So the same wind that makes a sea in salt water, makes a steeper sea in fresh water, and the are closer together. That can make for a very rough experience! But not for us. Not right now, anyway.

Getting to Clayton was, for me, an experience in how my own ignorance is exceeded only by the lack of detailed information available and the inaccuracy of it. It started on Thursday morning in the Thousand Island area where we had docked for the night. I decided that we needed to get more fuel before heading out across Lake Ontario. (Coming from Montreal had used more fuel than I anticipated because of strong currents). We had anchored for the night near Alexandria Bay, an American port that offers a lot of services to the island population, as well tourists. It is also a "port of entry" according to the U.S. Department of Commerce 1996 Coast Pilot covering the area. However, this "official" document gives no other information.

Getting clearance back into the U.S. is a necessary formality, and one that can be very confusing. I have never found the process to be handled in the same way in any of the different points of entry I have used. While I knew we would need clearance, what we really needed was fuel. So the first priority was determining where that would happen. Coast Pilots are pretty sketchy on those details and there was not a 'cruising guide' aboard, since they are expensive and often redundant.

The first option was Alexandria Bay, but finding out if fuel was available would have meant send a scouting party out in the rubber boat. Further, the harbor is quite shallow. So, after another referral to the Coast Pilot, I determined that the next town, Clayton, was also a port of entry and off we went.

Clayton has plenty of water at the available docks. But no services such as fueling. So, before committing to a landing, I told the Mate to find out if fuel could be delivered. This takes a while to determine. In the interim, I check out the feasibility of staying on the Canadian side by going to Kingston, Ontario, a half a day's travel away. The fuel would likely be expensive there, maybe $1.30US+ per gallon. But finally, the mate comes back with, "Yes, a truck can come, but not till the next morning." The price will be near $1.00 per gallon. So we dock, with the sincere welcome of the town authorities, namely the dock master.

PRIDE is quite a curiosity wherever she goes. But in small towns, especially in The Lakes, there can be a very intense enthusiasm for her. So it was greatly appreciated that she came to their town. While the crew got out the display boards that describe the ship and her mission to satisfy local curiosity, I went off to declare our landing in the country to Customs.

This takes a telephone call. It turns out that the call was went to officials in Alex. Bay. When I get a Customs official on the line and explain what's up, he says that clearance can't be done in Clayton since is not a port of entry (despite what it says in the official Coast Pilot). I asked what I could do. He said, "Go to Cape Vincent, the next town down the Lake since there is no provision for an inspector to come to the ship." I had already checked out that town on the chart and it did not have the depth of water needed dockside. In summary, what had to be done was get the ship to a Customs place before the end of the day and return to Clayton for the fuel that would be delivered the next morning.

Upon review of the charts and with information from Customs through a second phone call, I decided that it was best to go back to Alex. Bay. It was 5 miles closer to Clayton than Cape Vincent and, get this, was located on an island called Heart Island that has a great big dock with plenty of water alongside! NO WHERE is this described in the Coast Pilot! PRIDE had been less than 1/4 mile from the facility that very morning while waiting for the Mate to find a fuel location in Alex. Bay! With the current of the St. Lawrence now behind us, it only took 1.5 hours to cover the distance and we were docked at 1630 hr. By 1715 we were done with formalities and underway again back to Clayton.

The highlight to all this is Heart Island which has as it's most prominent feature Boldt's Castle. The Castle is an imposing yet fantastical summer residence that was built in the early part of this century for a successful New York City gentleman in the hotel business. The large brown stone construction and early European architecture is quite stunning in a medieval way. Having PRIDE alongside was an interesting contrast of periods.

With all best intentions, this morning started out with fueling with intent to get underway. But during all of the above consternation and time wasting, I was aware that some strong weather was headed our way. By the time we were done fueling and saying our thank-yous to our local hosts, it was after 1000 hrs. The latest weather reports predicted that it was going to blow some 25-30 knots from the southwest and west. It became apparent to me that prudence was the better part of valor. There was no reason to go out and bash around in that!

After some discussion with the Mates about the weather situation, it was decided that we would ask our new friends if we could stay through the 4th. We promised to open up the ship for an open house on the 4th from noon to 5 pm. Not surprisingly, the response was a resounding, "Yes!" The Chamber of Congress offered to announce the open house hours on the local TV and radio. Many of the folks that have come by to look are pleased to be able to come back tomorrow and have a walk aboard. The crew has reported back that as they walk about town they are queried by the locals, "You're off that boat aren't you?"

Our hosts are not only the Chamber of Commerce. The dock where we're moored is owned by The Golden Anchor Restaurant. The crew has been invited to a shore supper at the Thousand Islands Inn for tomorrow night. A night off for the cook too! Meanwhile the wind comes and goes in squalls and a little bit of rain. But mostly it has been a dry and clear day. The weather is predicted to clear up some more and remain windy from the southwest tomorrow. I hope this system will provide enough moderation in the wind to permit us to get underway Saturday morning. Till then, we will enjoy Clayton, New York. A place that has it's own 1812 history.

Cheers
Captain Miles

Sometimes there are set-backs in plans that seemed sound in the heat of the moment, but fail during execution. In the current situation, this is not a serious set-back. Merely irritating.

The good part was that we anchored last night at a little after 2200 hrs. All hands could go to sleep because the weather was so quiet. In fact, it was so quiet the shadfly population was out in full bloom!

For those of you that are not familiar with the shadfly, let me say that a full bloom is akin to the horror movie BEES. Fortunately, shadflys are one of the more benign creatures that fly. The problem with them is that when they swarm you can hardly breath without in-haling them. It was with great relief that we could drop the hook and dive below behind the insect screens PRIDE has at all of her openings!

This morning started at just after first light, 0500. The anchor was hauled and all hands dismissed except the on-watch. The morning was very quiet and mildly misty. The bugs were beyond counting. But as the daylight came on, they tended to settle down by alighting on some part of the boat -- any part of the boat that did not have a wind caressing it. Like under the bulwarks cap, in the folds of the mainsail, in the coils of line -- anywhere there was protection from the wind. After breakfast two watches came on deck and dismissed the early watch.

The idea behind two watches 'on' together was maintenance. The weather report indicated dry for a while and since the Seaway is so smooth, all hands would get enough rest to balance the 'on' time doing both a watch and maintenance.

The morning was spent hosing off the bugs, mixing a salt-brine solution for the wood decks (a continuous fresh water wash on deck can lead to rot; hence, while we are in the Lakes, a salt brine rinse will be done frequently) and getting through two locks, numbers 5 & 6 (Snell and Eisenhower, both on the U.S. side).

Once through the locks, maintenance was started with a will. Then came lunch and more maintenance. Things appeared to be going smoothly. But one of the Mates discovered that they had not mentally added up the hours correctly. Although they had been gung-ho last night to see the maintenance happen while we were underway, he had just discovered that his watch was going to be 'up and at'em' a full third more than the other two watches by the end of the day. A very inequitable situation. (There are few things quicker to damage moral than to be heavily out of balance between watches on a small island society such as exists aboard PRIDE.) Upon being appraised of the situation, I grumbled some unmentionable rumbles and had the watch in question immediately dismissed below. Maintenance is now stopped until after 1600 hrs when there will be two watches back on deck again. The "underway maintenance plan" is under review.

We are now out of the last lock of the St. Lawrence River. PRIDE cleared Iroquois Lock fifteen minutes ago. In something like 6 hours time she will be in the Thousand Islands -- a wonderfully idyllic wonderland of private homes, large and small, mounted on islands and rocks with the water often right at the door-step. It is my intention to anchor there tonight. Another night of relatively full rest won't hurt the crew. And hiding from the jillions of bugs will be nice too!

Cheers
Captain Jan Miles

Other Past Logs

| June 1997 | May 1997 | March - April 1997 | December 1996 | September - November 1996 |
| August 1996 | July 1996 | June 1996 | May 1996 |