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We are back in Cleveland again to pick up our main compass, which has been undergoing repair. Coincidentally the wind is currently against us. So while we are idle here, it blows. The predictions say the wind will go light later today and more favorable tonight. I don't think this delay will cause us harm. The stop is necessary and expedient for getting the compass back. We are also overhauling the wiring on the instruments that measure boat speed and wind direction. We found corrosion that was probably triggering some intermittence.

We spent Labor Day weekend in Port Huron, Michigan. This is further up the river from Detroit, so we spent Thursday motoring upriver to get there. The crew remained in maintenance mode up the river and completed a number of projects begun earlier in the week. There was as a Parade of Sail from Lake Huron back down into the St. Clair River. Sadly the wind was strong from the south and southwest so there was very little sail set in the fleet of 5 vessels. Norfolk Rebel was in the lead followed by Highlander Sea, Larinda, and Cape Rose. Pride II brought up in the rear. There was no question that Pride II had the loudest cannons.

It was always the plan to provide the crew with two days off in a row here. What was not planned for was the free hotel room for each vessel as well as transportation. So the first watch off got into the van and quickly occupied the hotel room with its two large beds. I hear television was the main entertainment followed by sleeping late in the morning.

Port Huron is a small town with a lot of its classic architecture intact and in use. It was never a center for heavy industry so there are few abandoned warehouses or factory buildings in evidence. There is rail running along the river and, with Canada just across the way, there is evidence that a lot of freight was moved across the river by rail car ferry. I have passed Port Huron on many transits since my first Great Lakes voyage in 1981 and there has always been a highway bridge crossing from the US to Canada at the head of the St. Clair River. But there was a time when there was no bridge, so there must have been a car and passenger ferry. But I have only seen pictures from those days. Today there is a major road artery that cuts right across the northern part of Port Huron to Sarnia in Canada with all the logistics for traffic control headed across the boarder, i.e. duty free shopping, toll booths, customs booths, etc. Despite the planning for traffic, whenever we see the bridge there are large trucks backed up end to end all the way across.

The crew was hosted to a barbecue at the Lake Huron beachfront familial home of one of Pride, Inc.'s past Public Relations officers. Erin Lassen's mother had the whole crew over and the time was spent throwing balls on the beach, or watching a silly movie on television, or eating, or all of the above. It was too cold to swim since with the new cold front the wind was up and the temperature was down.

Yesterday we headed down the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers for the second and last time in this summer's campaign. It is now time for Pride II's run for the Atlantic. With so many new crewmembers aboard, we spent the day going over safety equipment and drills. By evening, Pride II had reached Lake Erie and moderate sail was set for the north-northeast breeze of 15 knots. We were in no hurry to get to Cleveland since we were expecting a package the next day via overnight post to replace a newly found faulty part on the ship's emergency pump located on deck. The package would not arrive till about 10 am so we cruised our way across Lake Erie. It also provided the new crew with time to learn about some of the sails and how they are set. This is preferable to the mind boggling experience of strong sailing in the dark with little absorbed due to the hectic pace. We pulled into Cleveland around 6 am and I left the crew in watches.

This morning Cal the engineer got into the misbehaving electronics. I worked on logs and getting a handle on the weather in order to plan the run toward the Atlantic. As the watches rotated as usual despite being docked, maintenance was executed where it could be, considering we would be getting underway later today. Now it is nearly 5 p.m. and I have decided to wait till after supper to get underway. The wind is still out of the northeast but I hope the next weather update at around supper time will confirm an anticipated reduction in wind strength. Meanwhile Cal has completed his repairs, the compass is aboard, and the long-expected package as well. I don't want to dawdle here in Cleveland since every moment spent here might be needed later on getting to New London on schedule. But if there is a chance the wind will moderate soon which will allow the sea to reduce, then motoring tonight will be fruitful rather than just expensive and frustrating in a smash and bash sort of way.

Cheers,

Captain Jan Miles