SEPTEMBER • DECEMBER, 1998 Volume XLVI; Number 3 MEMBERSHIP NOTES
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SEPTEMBER • DECEMBER, 1998 Volume XLVI; Number 3 MEMBERSHIP NOTES Dated 3 August 1998 From C. Patrick Labadie Lake Superior Maritime Visitors Center U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS It is announced with deep regret that maritime historian Robert J. MacDonald passed away at his home in Erie, Pennsylvania on Saturday, August 1 following a long bout with cancer. Bob MacDonald was a native of Northeast, Pennsylvania, were he was bom June 19, 1930. He was a Lakes sailor and a descendant of Lakes sailors, his grandfather, Donald Sutherland MacDonald having commanded the McBrier steamers NYANZA and SEVONA in the last years of the 19th and the first years of the present century. Bob served as an A.B. seaman on the Interlake steamers PATHFINDER, ODANAH, HARRY R. JONES, J.L. MAUTHE, and SAMUEL MATHER plus Pittsburgh's PHILIP R. CLARKE and Cleveland Cliffs' CLIFF VICTORY. From 1956 until his retirement 25 years later, Bob was manager of the bookstore and Adjunct Instructor in continuing education at Behrend College in Erie, the local campus for Penn State University. He was an avid collector and researcher, and he prepared numerous lectures, slide talks, and articles on Great Lakes history. His articles were published in the Great Lakes Maritime Institute's Telescope magazine and the Great Lakes Historical Society's well-known journal Inland Seas. He was named Great Lakes Historian of the Year in 1987 by the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. In 1996 he collaborated with writer David Frew to produce Home Port Erie, a fine pictorial maritime history of Erie. It was at that time, too, that he gifted his extensive collection of books, notes, photographs, and reminiscences to the Erie County Historical Society. Bob is survived by his wife of 36 years, Maijorie, daughters Karen and Sarah, son Donald, and five grandchildren. CONTENTS • Sailing M em ories......................................................................................................... gy Mid Lake Huron Collision - 1959 Port Huron-to-Mackinac R ace ....................................................... Reflections Of A Wheelsman................................................................................ 90 The Night the Wilmette Went Ashore ................................................................... 94 Labour Strife Rocks Port of Wallaceburg 50 Years Ago ................................................................ 98 With Three Straight Gold Cups, Dave Villwock is in Good Company 102 Great Lakes & Seaway News........................................................................................Edited by James Morris {(H OUR COVER PICTURE ... "COMING TO THE LINE" - Start of 1997 Port Huron to Mackinac Race. John Polacsek, curator of Dossin Museum, took this photo from the official start boat. Telescope© is produced with assistance from the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, an agency of the Historical Department of the City of Detroit. Published at Detroit, Michigan by the GREAT LAKES MARITIME INSTITUTE ©All rights reserved. Printed in the United States by Macomb Printing, Inc. MAY • AUGUST, 1998 Page 87 Sailing Memories by CANDICE S. MILLER Secretary of State There's no mystery as to why boating in Michigan is so popular. With the Great Lakes and more than 11,000 inland lakes, Michigan is the undisputed fresh water recreational mecca of the world. The beauty of Michigan waterways is unparalleled. Ask anyone who has enjoyed a sunrise over Lake Michigan or the forested majesty of the Upper Peninsula coastline. We are all very fortunate to live and sail here. Our state truly is a boater's paradise. There are more than 900,000 watercraft on file with the Secretary of State's Office, more than any other state in the nation. We have the world's longest freshwater shoreline, which provides boaters with a little of everything. Whether you enjoy the untamed splendor of nature, charming waterfront towns or the metropolitan excitement of a city, you'll find it along Michigan waterways. With all our state has to offer, it's no surprise that sailing and boats have been a part of my family for as long as I can remember. I learned how to sail as a young girl, and it wasn't long before I began competing in races. In 1970,1 was pleased to sail with the first all-female crew to compete in the Port Huron-to-Mackinac race. One of the world's premiere yacht races, the Port Huron-to- Mackinac is a two-day race. Boats must choose between the 259-nautical mile Cove Island course or the traditional 235-mile Shoreline course, which follows Lake Huron's western coast. This year will mark my twenty-second Port Huron-to-Mackinac race. For the past several years, my father has crewed with me aboard the 40-foot Ricochet, and we will be racing together again this July. My brother and brother-in-law also race in the Mackinac. It's clear to see that sailing is in our blood. One of the aspects of racing that I love the most is the camaraderie that develops among crew members. You have to learn to get along, to work together. You can have a boat with the best navigation equipment available, but it's teamwork Dossin Dossin Museum Collection that wins the races. The most diverse personalities can form a crew, yet you must rely on one another. There's an old saying that you can't control the wind but you can control the sails. Competitive sailing is a mentally intensive and physically demanding sport, which is why I love it. Every race is different and each one challenges me to become a better sailor and competitor. Becoming a better sailor is a lifelong pursuit rich with rewards, and I'm not talking about trophies and prize money. Racing involves teamwork, concentration and practice, skills which have enriched my life on and off the water. Sailing is a sport that is continually evolving. Innovations in sail and hull design, lighter, faster boats, and new navigation equipment create new challenges for sailors. It also is a sport for a lifetime, which is why I look forward to many more Mackinac races to come. TELESCOPE Page 88 MID LAKE HURON COLLISION 1959 PORT HURON to MACKINAC RACE by Wm. C. Saunders As a youth, I watched, with envy, the annual Sunday dawned bright with a steady S.E. wind. migration of sailboats up the St. Clair River, past I was at the helm around 11:00 a.m. and noticed Marine City, to participate in the Port Huron to another sloop, slightly astern and about 1 mile east. Mackinac race. I hoped that someday I would have Our course was roughly 341° . The other boat, the the opportunity to sail in the race aboard one of those only one in sight, was on a more NNW converging magnificent boats. That chance came in 1959 with an course that offered her a slight speed advantage but invitation to crew on the Windquest, a 40' sloop out of required tacking. When the helm was turned over to South Haven and owned by Dr. Donald Sargent and my relief at noon, the other boat had closed to 1/2 W. J. Hoover. mile. I went below, climbed into the top port bunk After the traditional Friday night of revelry among and fell asleep. Suddenly, I was thrown out of the the 86 boats rafted on the Black River, the race began bunk to the sound of a shuddering "bang" followed shortly after noon the following day. Our class, by shouting from the cockpit, the rattle of rigging Cruising C, crossed the starting line around 3:00 p.m. and the slapping of sails. A glance through the The last to start was the racing class featuring the overhead skylight revealed another sail next to our legendary 87' yawl Sabre. By 6:30 p.m. the Sabre was mainsail. Bounding up to the cockpit I was startled seen moving ahead of the entire fleet! The Sabre is to see another sailboat held fast to our starboard side another story in itself. by dangled stays. We quickly let go our halyards to Free Free Press Photo by JIMMY TAFOYA Port Huron's Black River is seams with Mackinac hopefuls MAY •AUGUST, 1998 Page 89 Small Craft Sailing on the St. Clair River by Wm. C. Saunders Although sailing was never a major pastime on the St. Clair River, there were a few adventurous locals around Marine City who waited for a brisk south wind so they could step their sprit rig sails and go sailing. The south wind was critical since it allowed the sailor to return to his starting point in spite of the up to 4 mph south-bound current. Once underway, it was usually a wet ride with sizeable waves being created by the south wind blowing against the Times Times Herald Staff Photo current and on the beam. The usual course was the mile east to Sombra, Ontario and back with SABRE OFF AND RUNNING' a slight pause on either side to bail on the often THE "BIGGEST" ENTRY in any sports event is usually a significant amount of water that came over the prime attraction, and the Sabre, 87-foot racer from gunnels enroute. Sheboygan, Wis., is no exception. Here Roman Brotz' big vessel is shown under heavy canvas as she heads northward The boats themselves were locally built, 15', into Lake Huron at the start of the annual Bay View Yacht 16' or 17' open, "clinker" style, double-enders Club's Port Huron to Mackinac race. or "Whitehall" type rowboats. Masts were un stayed and stepped forward in the manner of a catboat. None were equipped with centerboard drop our sails as the two boats banged and tugged or rudder. Direction was controlled by sail reach against each other. I went forward to contain the genoa and weight shift of the one or two man crew fore as it came down.