North Channel SWS Cruise 2000
Page 1 - Saturday
Spanish Municipal Marina, Spanish, Ontario

Quote of the day:
"I can't wait until we tie the boats together with strings,
so we can hop on them and meet all the people"
Gabrielle DeMass

The boats and crews arrive
These pictures were taken during the day, we showed up a little later!
See below for the rest of the story.


 
         Nick and Gayle arrived at our home shortly after 7:00 am.  We hitched up the boat and headed off for the North Channel.  We convoyed through Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsular, and into Ontario.  The drive for the most part was uneventful.  That is, until we got about an hour and half away from our destination, Spanish, Ontario. My transmission decided that it didn't want to go any further. Quickly Nick decided how best to handle the problem, he took Gabrielle, Gayle and the Shearwater and headed off to Spanish.

 
       Dave arranged for the car to be towed.  Roby and I would wait with the boat until Nick came back to tow it with the truck.  In the meantime, we unloaded the gear from the car and began to load the boat. Dave went with the tow truck driver.
         After we finished arranging the gear, we still had a three-hour wait until Nick got back.  Not having stopped for dinner, Roby and I pulled out the Coleman stove.  We set up the stove about 30 feet from the road and made easy mac and cheese.  Sitting on our rolled sleeping bags and eating dinner Roby turned to me and said "Mom these people driving by must think we are geeks."
          It seems that most cruises I've been on have had either a pre-cruise or post-cruise adventure.  I remembered some of the adventures I had when we first started going on these cruises, like stopping in a small town in Ohio, because high winds made towing the boat impossible and finding the Ohio Toy Factory.  Perhaps Roby would have enjoyed a toy factory more than sitting by the side of the road!
          Soon things got boring enough that I convinced Roby to take a nap.  No sooner had Roby fallen asleep, my father arrived.  We hitched up the Dovekie and headed off to Spanish.  It was 1:00 AM when we arrived.  Roby was still asleep so I put him in the Shearwater.  Ellen, who had arrived earlier from New York, showed me where the phone was.  I called home to let my husband know about the car.  I arranged for my father-in-law to take care of dealing with the mechanics.  Ellen, Gabrielle, and I headed off to sleep in the Dovekie.

Click below or select a Day

Next Page     SWS Home