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We are currently sailing slowly toward Summerside, Prince Edward Island. We are significantly ahead of schedule due to a very favorable weather pattern from the SW to the NW. We are intentionally going slowly in order to arrive at 1700 hours, which is some seven hours and 30 miles away.

After the first ASTA Tall Ship Challenge Race between Cleveland and Put-in-Bay, Pride II rejoined the fleet and entered the harbor at Toledo, Ohio. This was the first time Toledo had ever hosted a tall ships fleet and they did a commendable job of getting the fleet to their births past several low bridges without tying up highway traffic unduly. As tall ship festivals go, the experience is similar in all ports. Lots of crowds and lots of questions. Lots of food and trinket vendors, too. ASTA hosted a race awards ceremony and although Pride II crossed the finish line 2 minutes behind Niagara and had a handicap that owed Niagara time, she came in first in her Cruising Division while Niagara came in first in her Sail Training Division. There was no formal recognition for first vessel over the finish line. But everyone knows who it was (Niagara).

Pride II's transit from Toledo to Green Bay was much more pleasant than I expected. There was the necessary motoring up the Detroit River, across Lake St. Claire, and up the St. Claire River. I expected to be able to sail in the open waters of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, but I never expected to sail through the Straits of Mackinaw, too! But I get a little ahead of myself.

On our way up the Detroit River, during the midnight change of watch (we had departed from Toledo late Sunday afternoon on July 20), the crew heard a lot of hysterical yelling from the distance. We soon determined it was coming from a drifting small boat and the voice was calling for help. There was no other vessel around, so we stopped and went to check out the call. In the Detroit River this is not as simple as it might sound. Not only is the river narrow enough at the location of the call for help that Pride II could not simply turn around, but she was being monitored by a vessel traffic service (VTS). Diverging from any plan while participating in VTS requires calling in and describing the diversion. Overlaying all of this was the fact there was a substantial rain and lightening squall coming towards Pride II as indicated by the radar. Division of labor was instituted immediately. The crew readied the rescue boat while I called VTS and got the ship turned around. Just as I completed my description of our intended moves with VTS and the crew were dropping the boat in the water, the squall hit and I called a pause to launching operations since I did not want the small boat getting separated in the middle of the squall. With reduced visibility in heavy rain, I used our new onboard charting software to keep Pride II in deep water and out of oncoming big ship traffic following us up the river. Radar would have been the tool to use if the ship had not been equipped with electronic charts. But radar would not have had the precision that electronic charts offer. Our ability to use both to stay in deep water and to stay out of the way of on coming traffic reduced the anxiety level for us as well as the oncoming ships. With the electronic charts it was easy. So we waited for the squall to moderate as we kept an eye on our victims between moments of loosing sight of them in the squall. In a lull, Pride II's small boat was dispatched and, with the use of portable radio, I learned that there were some 8 individuals in a 26-foot cabin cruiser with an engine dead. They were concerned about the coming weather and wanted assistance. We passed this on to VTS who dispatched a rescue vessel from the nearest source, which happened to be from the Canadian Coast Guard. Within twenty minutes the Canadians were on-scene and Pride II was able to recover her small boat and proceed on her way.

It was not till Monday afternoon (July 21) and some 6 hours after entering Lake Huron that we got any wind to sail with. It was the beginning of a very pleasant sail that took Pride II all the way around Michigan's Lower Peninsula and all the way to the mouth of Green Bay. It began with a beat to windward and ended with a broad reach. In between, there were moments when the wind died and I was sorely tempted to start an engine or two. But after reviewing of the weather reports, I realize the lulls were to be expected and so I held off. And soon the wind was back. Hence Pride II glided through the Straits of Mackinaw and on into Lake Michigan.

The city of Green Bay was where I would get some relief by my former partner, Captain Dan Parrott, who is now an instructor at the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, ME. We executed a fast captain's command exchange and I was off for home Saturday, July 26. Dan took Pride II down to Chicago and remained aboard till the end of that stop. I returned to the ship in Chicago Sunday, August 3, after a lovely visit home.

From Chicago, Pride II raced to Muskegon, MI. This was Race 3 in the Great Lakes 2003 Tall Ships Challenge hosted by ASTA. Pride II missed participating in Race 2 because of obligations in Green Bay. Race 3 pitted Pride II against an old friend Highlander Sea. In the first leg of Race 3, Pride II was hard pressed to keep her lead with a wind of nearly 18 knots. In those conditions, Highlander Sea was steadily closing the gap. But the wind was predicted to go light and, when it did during the evening, Pride II escaped and led the rest of the race circuit.

There was on odd element about Race 3, though. Pride II had obligations that were squeezed into the race schedule (we had to drop off six Guest Crew in Kenosha, WI, which is sort of on the way between Chicago and Muskegon). As a result of this obligation, the big question was would Pride II be able to finish the race and then fulfil her obligations or would she be forced to drop out of the race early. I consulted with ASTA Race Director, Steve Baker. He indicated that consideration would be given to Pride II if she had to drop out early due to obligations. As luck would have it, the wind became almost calm during the second day of the race and Pride II was making only 1-2 knots all day. In the morning of the third day, Pride II had to drop out some 45 miles short of the finish. We did our run to Kenosha as quickly as possible and returned to the exact spot where we dropped out and restarted the race - then sailed to the finish. But the weather by this time, some 12 hours after we dropped out, was fresh. So Pride II sailed the rest of the race at 8 knots whereas she had been sailing at 1-2 knots when she dropped out. Again as luck would have it, a mere two hours after Pride II dropped out, the whole race was called. The nearest boat to the finish was over 90 miles out against Pride II's 40 odd miles. At a glance it looked like Pride II may have been able to place well despite her dropping out early. We would find out at the awards ceremony in Muskegon.

Muskegon Tall Ships Festival was marked for me by a visit from my wife Leslie who came up to sail the next leg back around Michigan's Lower Peninsula to Bay City, Michigan. With her visit, I had reason to get away and explore. Leslie is an enthusiastic explorer as well an enthusiast for geology. So it was off to explore the sand dunes of Michigan. For instance, did you know that Michigan sand is of so high a quality for manufacturing that those who are interested in protection of the dunes have had to lobby to have regulations enacted to keep the dunes from disappearing?

At the ASTA Race awards ceremony, Pride II was presented with First in Class despite dropping out two hours before the race was called. Highlander Sea took second.

Our passage to Bay City was marked by an opportunity to give the crew a day's R&R at Mackinac Island. There was no racing during this transit and so it was a simple cruise. When the wind was light, we motored. When the wind was strong, we sailed. For most of the transit, the wind was light. But there was one day, right after departure from Muskegon, when Pride II sailed to windward in 20 knots of wind along the shoreline of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Just before dusk, Pride II sailed by Sleeping Bear Dune, a very large dune some 900 feet high near Traverse City.

Mackinac Island is a tourist attraction not unlike an ocean beach town. There is a lot of walking and exploring as well as a lot of small shops. But what is unique is that there are no cars and everything is done on foot, bicycle, or horse drawn carriage. The island has a minor War of 1812 history. It also has the longest running porch in the world at the Grand Hotel. Aside from walking and bicycling, one can rent a horse and go riding in the "back country" of the island. The crew had a great time on a very lovely day that was actually cool for August.

Bay City Tall Ship Festival had similar logistics as Toledo in that there were several bridges that had to be opened. When open, highway traffic was tied up for miles. So there was an attempt to coordinate the fleet into smaller groups to break up the time the bridges were open. Sadly the plans did not work out. On top of that, the great Northeast Blackout occurred just as the fleet was coming into Bay City. Still the ships arrived and the festival was a success. But Leslie had to return home to start her job as teacher of 9th grade Earth Science. I will not arrive home for another 6 weeks.

Race 4 was the last race in this summer's series. It was from Bay City to the headwaters of the St. Claire River, or the bottom of Lake Huron. Again we were competing with our friends aboard Highlander Sea. The race was mostly in light air and Pride II remained ahead. But she did not remain as far ahead as she had in the past. (Highlander Sea is getting better at sailing in light winds.) In the middle of the race, the wind came up and Highlander Sea closed a gap of 5 miles to less than 2 miles when the wind went light again. Pride II led Highlander Sea across the finish by about 4 hours and both vessels anchored up on the Canadian Shore of Lake Huron about 5 miles east of the mouth of the St. Claire River for the evening. Some of Highlander Sea's crew came aboard Pride II for a gam (sea slang for a gathering and conversation) as we waited to see if any other vessels would pop up over the horizon and cross the finish line. Highlander Sea was concerned about a small schooner from Chesapeake Bay called Serenity. At the start of the race, she stayed with Highlander Sea for a long time before the larger Highlander pulled away. With the handicap rule between differing vessels, it was possible that Serenity could "catch Highlander Sea's time" and steal a place in the race results from her.

Sarnia, Ontario, the site of the last Tall Ship Challenge Festivals, is a small town across the St. Claire River from Port Huron, Michigan. Their tallship festival was similar to the others and was a success in that a lot of public came to view the tallships. The American Sail Training Association Award Ceremony in Sarnia would be the last for the season, and so total performance awards were given out as well as awards for Race 4. Pride II took another first in Cruising Division and Highlander Sea was indeed caught by Serenity. She fell to third as Serenity took second. In the end, Highlander Sea took first in Cruising Division for the race series and Pride II was second. Which is fair I think. Pride II may have raced 3 out of 4 times and finished first in all three races, but Highlander Sea raced all four races though she only took one first place in a race in which Pride II did not participate. But with her effort to attend all four races, it makes sense that she should take first overall in the series.

Since departing Sarnia Monday, August 25, Pride II has been making her way out of the Lakes. There has been some sailing and a lot of motoring. Locking down through the Welland Canal was a piece of cake, no stress at all for this captain or the crew. With the majority of wind behind us, it was easy to get ahead of schedule. We spent one night at anchor just before the Thousand Islands in order to go through them in daylight. We also were able to stop in Quebec City for a day.

Quebec City is the most European city in North America. When you visit, you are immediately struck with the architecture and the predominance of French being spoken there. After that I found the coffeehouses my greatest interest. I hear the restaurants are great, too!

When traveling by smaller boat like Pride II to Quebec, one is faced with the large tidal range of the St. Lawrence River. It is anywhere from 15-18 feet twice a day. To accommodate the smaller vessels, a locked basin has a marina. This basin is called Basin Louise. During the high water stages, the lock is left open at both ends. There is only a single lane road bridge that must be opened if your vessel is a sailing vessel or has a high enough structure to require a bridge lift. During low water levels, the lock is closed and a vessel wishing to enter or leave Basin Louise must lock in or out. The lock is just long enough to permit Pride II's 157 feet of overall length. But if a vessel is much longer, they must wait to enter or exit Basin Louise during what is called "free passage" - a time when the St. Lawrence River is near high water. Pride II's arrival to Quebec was complicated by the likelihood she would arrive after the lockmaster goes home at midnight during the summer and after "free passage hours." Every hour Pride II spent going down river from Montreal with her pilots, her arrival time in Quebec was updated earlier and earlier. Finally it was determined Pride II could arrive before midnight. But it was not clear if she would arrive before "free passage." If she were to arrive after free passage or after midnight, she would have to wait till the next morning when free passage was again possible. At first I was not concerned with the possibility of arriving late. Pride II could just wait in the outer basin on a floating pier managed by the marina. But then the pilot told me it would require another pilot to make the shift from the outer basin to the inner basin via the lock. This would cost money and I was not interested in that! So, as Pride II got closer and closer and the radio and the cell phone were used to discuss the timing of free passage and whether or not Pride II could be locked through. As the discussions progressed, I got more and more concerned about possible costs associated with stopping in Quebec. That stop would be good for moral but not good for the company if it cost additional money. As it turned out, Pride II arrived off Quebec about 2300 hours and she was permitted to lock through after the pilot was able to assure the lockmaster that not only was the ship short enough to fit in the lock, she was shoal enough to cross the sill of the lock at the lower water level at the time of arrival. But still there was the business of entering the outer basin from a river with a full-ebb current of nearly 3 knots. It was a dramatic scene as Pride II entered the outer basin from the river, first going sideways as we approached the outer basin entrance, then swerving as she passed from moving water to still water in the basin entrance, and re-swerving as I countered the first swerve. Pride II was then carefully lined up for the lock and entered slowly and gently.

Pride II was secured before midnight and, with some guidelines offered by the pilot as to where one might go at midnight on a Friday evening of the Labor Day Weekend, all hands took off to see and experience what they could. The next day was an all hands day off, including the cook, so there was about 34 hours of free time for everyone. The icing on the cake was being told by the marina manager that Pride II's stay was gratis since she is operated by a not-for-profit organization and is such a beautiful tall ship. I was very pleased to be able to share that with our Executive Director!

From Quebec City, the run down the river was uneventful. Our pilots were friendly and outgoing. In fact for the first time we had a pilot who had been aboard once before. Jean Pouliat was our very first St. Lawrence River Pilot back in 1999 for the up-bound leg from Les Escomins to Quebec City. Considering my black mood at the time caused by the sudden enforcement of a pilotage requirement after so many trips up and down the river without a pilot, having Jean Pouliat as the first pilot was a fortunate thing. He was and is a personable individual with fluent and clear English. He is also an enthusiastic small boater, so we got along well. To see him again after four years was both a surprise and a pleasure.

After dropping the pilots off at Les Escomins, Pride II motored on down river for the Gaspe Peninsula and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Fortunately the weather has been clear and favorable which provided a fast passage with a mixture of sailing and motorsailing. Now we are soon to arrive in Summerside on Prince Edward Island two days early. A good thing considering the possible approach of Hurricane Fabian, which is expected to have an influence on the weather patterns of the Canadian Maritimes over this weekend, although it is not expected to make landfall. It will be nice to have a secure place for Pride II as Fabian passes by.