ICE, COLD, MONEY and WEED

Early morning ferry, Wednesday, March 12, followed
track from previous day to open water.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Wednesday morning the crossing was quite good, but man, I got cold!

The temperature was +5 degrees, but the wind was 30+ mph, and it felt as though it circulated up one pant leg and down the other.   Warmer clothing would have been smarter, but I was on a mission to Sister Bay where I would speak in front of a group, and coveralls didn't seem right.  Standing outside my truck taking photos of the boarding, then underway out the channel, then outdoors again at Northport, took the warmth out of me.  And that was before I visited cousin Steve's farm on Old Stage Road, where with shovels we pried up frozen corn cobs from a crib to feed deer that roamed in our island neighborhood, and before we loaded a dozen hay bales Steve tossed down from his barn's loft, for daughter Evy's horses.

A warm-up at Al Johnson's never felt so good.

Have I become sissified these past 12 months, working from the comfort of our home, venturing outdoors only for mail or an occasional trek on snowshoes?  I credit the many people whose work requires they be outdoors for extended periods of time, including our ferry crews.

The compliment of vehicles on the
ferry Wednesday included two empty trucks and
the Bethel Church passenger bus.

The crossing itself Wednesday morning was excellent.  Solid bay ice held to the west of Plum Island and in its lee our route smooth and easy, despite the brisk NNW.   We were quickly into open water after first passing through the previous days' track for a mile or so.

That same morning, several miles north of Washington Harbor I was told, the Roger Blough had been stuck for nearly 24 hours in ice.  It was escorted by a Coast Guard cutter as the two made slow, and then no progress.  The cutter Mackinaw arrived to assist, and eventually the Blough made it rhough the Rock Island Passage and beyond, into the partially-open lake.  This event occurred just days after the suggested curtailment or postponement of lake freighter operations came from the Ninth Coast Guard District that anticipated such heavy ice conditions.  (See previous blog.)

I spoke this afternoon with Randy Holm, Rock Island State Park Ranger, to find out what was happening on Rock Island.  He makes a few trips over to Rock each week he says, by snowmobile, to check on buildings, and campers.


"Campers?" I asked, surprised there were people interested in winter camping, much less on Rock Island.  Three groups have camped there so far, according to Holm.  He's generally notified in advance - and he tries to leven their experience with useful information, such as low wind chill predictions, pending snow storms, and snow depth.  Last weekend about 45 snowmobilers gathered in the shelter house on Rock Island, during a pleasant afternoon group outing from Washington Island.

Randy's partner, Melody, he said, recently slipped on a patch of ice in their drive while getting out of their truck, and she struck her head sharply against the running board.  Bruised, and now with stitches in her head, Randy suggested she consider safer activities than birding and photography.  We hope this won't slow her down for long, as she's often captured great bird photos.

Oldy, moldy -

Contemplating this winter's snow and ice cover (although it is raining this Friday afternoon as I write) made me think back to several occasions when I've snowmobiled to Plum Island.  In even the coldest of winters we've observed, the Door Passage and even the waters near Plum Island in the Back Door can remain open.   For that reason, crossing the ice in the area of the Door is never recommended.

But, there are always exceptions to a general recommendation.  In 1979, when the ferry C. G. Ricther's gear went out, coupled with a long stretch of cold weather and heavy bay ice, I snowmobiled with Nathan Gunnlaugsson to Northport.  Our first trip was a sort of test run from Washington Island to determine ice thickness.  At that time, solid ice spread from the Bay well beyond Pilot Island to the lake itself, and this ice never moved in the ensuing weeks.  We chose to cut across Plum Island, from the Coast Guard life saving station to the Rear Range Light, as much for the novelty as anything.  Crystal clear ice in the Door was a bit unnerving, but trapped bubbles indicated that it was 10 or more inches thick, and this ice cover continued to build in the ensuing days.  For 19 days, in fact well into March, no ferry runs were possible.

The Cutter Acacia nosed up to the Northport dock (prior to the break wall, 
of course) and Coasties formed a grocery brigade, passing stores from the 
Shannon delivery truck to the ship's deck. Once groceries, passengers and the
 reduction gear replacement part (a piece that weighed in at #400) were loaded, the cutter 
headed for the Potato Dock, where the process was reversed.   This time, 
however,passengers walked an improvised gangplank and the 
ship's crane swung the cargo to shore.  This was the last time the
 Acacia was seen for several weeks, as she worked her 
regular assignment keeping ore boat traffic moving.

First, repairs had to be made.  The cutter Acacia, home-ported then in Sturgeon Bay, made an emergency run to bring across the weekly allotment of groceries for Mann's Store, and also the Twin Disc transmission part, which had been flown from New Orleans to O'Hare Airport, and then was picked up by Arni and Mary Richter.  We had no idea then, that even after repairs were accomplished, we would not be able to get under way again for some time due to heavy ice in and beyond the Door.

From L to R:  Bill Schutz, Bill Jorgenson, Mark Dewey, Rich Ellefson, 
Kevin Kruegerand Hoyt Purinton.  (I was the photographer)

Kenny Koyen drove his Dodge Power Wagon to Northport daily, picking up bulk freight for Island businesses.   We made daily runs with snowmobiles, too, towing sleds for the U. S. Mail and United Parcels, and whatever other freight we could manage.  On one run, as I recall, Nathan and I picked up Bob Rainsford and Ruth Wilcox, and their suitcases, passengers for the return run.  Most islanders stayed put, but for those who chose to travel, their first leg was by snowmobile, and then a friend's borrowed car at Northport.  A few arranged flights to or from the Island Airport.

Then (in 1995, I believe it was) a group of six from the Ferry Line, plus Kevin Krueger, made a late afternoon trip over the ice to Plum Island.  Daily, we'd watched a hole in the otherwise icy crossing near the Plum Island green can #1 as it closed up, getting smaller and smaller each day. Finally, it froze over solid.

I was convinced it would be safe going to Plum Island from Willow Point, near the Rutledge home on Green Bay Road.  We headed west for half a mile or so, and then came ashore close to the lagoon and away from the long, shallow reef, and we had no problems.  We rode single file in deep snow to the range lights, took a few photos, and then headed back to Washington Island, taking a tour along the west shore where Jack Hagen, among others, fished through the ice.

The strongest memory from that trip?  Bill Jorgenson riding his dad's (Walt's) Polaris, a snowmobile without padded seat, just a plywood board!  Bill taught us the meaning of "tough sledding."

Another form of tough sledding -

In the recent Peninsula Pulse we received in today's mail, Steve Grutzmacher, who professes to love numbers and statistics, reprinted three years of Door County township and village income.   The numbers he used, taken from public tax records, were in columns headed "Adjusted Gross Income" (for the townships) and the Adjusted Gross Income (for taxpaying individuals), which is more or less a per-household figure.

The figures were quite astounding.  Washington Island was listed in 2011 as averaging $32,240 per household, and 2012,  $37,700.   Although those two years' figures are somewhat comparable, in the other year cited, 2007, which may be considered "pre-recession," the figure was $73,155.  (This seems like an anomaly, a printing error.)   Among Door County's 14 townships, in 2011 and 2012 Washington Island placed dead last.

It is no secret that winters bring hard times, when many are scrambling to make ends meet.  Summers, for all our tourism and economic well-being, are too short to make up the difference.  When home starts lag, as they have for a number of years, ancillary businesses suffer, too.  People are resourceful, but the reality is that making maple syrup, cutting wood and plowing snow keep one busy, and maybe help stave off bill collection for a bit, but there is a tendency to go into the hole deeply during long winters.

No answers are readily apparent, other than, let's get on with summer and put some positive $$ back into those bank accounts.  I might add that this is true for a larger business, like the Ferry Line, just as it is for a mom and pop operation.  Earlier springs have generally brought with them more travelers, and folks who open their seasonal homes, less so when there are still snow banks in the woods.

Noxious Weed tamed, slightly -

If you somehow thought I might be commenting here on the prospect for medical marijuana in Wisconsin in this column, I have no desire to do so!

Instead, this is meant to further broaden Nikki Weed's apology via public forum.  She wrote this letter, we'd like to think, in heartfelt response to the many letters written when she dissed Washington Island and its people in her earlier Roundel, BMW owner club magazine, column.

A copy of Weed's response was tacked to the bulletin board at Mann's Store, and Hoyt took a cell phone photo of it, which is how I received this information.

Also published by Roundel,  just above Weed's apology, was Kerrie McDonald's well-written letter to Weed.  This also appeared, I am told, on Kerrie's Facebook page along with photos she's taken of Islanders.  Here is the text of Kerrie's letter:

"People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for"

Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird

Ms. Weed,

I read your scathing column about Washington Island and, having grown up there, I can confidently say that you have sorely misjudged and misrepresented us.  Our community relies on tourism and your column is an offensive disservice to that industry.  

I hope that you will visit again but, until then, here is a glimpse of the people you so fiercely and unabashedly criticize.  The beautiful woman in photo 1 is the wife of ferry captain Joel.  The laughing children in photo 2 belong to ferry manager Rich.  The smiling deckhand in photo 3 is my brother Conrad.  The pictures surrounding them contain just a few of the many beautiful and intelligent people that make up the Island community.  

It seems to me that you came to Washington Island looking and listening for all the wrong things.  Life is more than BMW's and "reasonable good looks".  
Island people understand that and I hope that one day you will too.

Kerrie McDonald

The following is Weed's response: 

Posted at Mann's Store...

Nikki Weed replies:  As a former resident of Wisconsin, I apologize.  My mother and I drove up to Door County and had nothing but high hopes and dreams for what we would find on the island.  However, I did not plan ahead, and found many of the sights we wanted to see closed. Rather than take the opportunity to discover the natural beauty that is in abundance on Washington Island, I brooded about my mistake - and compounded that mistake when I wrote my column.  I meant no disrespect to Washington Island or its residents;  I can see now that what I meant to be an account of my own inner demons and foibles could be seen instead as an attack on a place and its way of life, and I am sincerely sorry. - NW

Apology accepted.

Now, if you'd care to bring a BMW car club to Washington Island some day, and infuse our local economy, we'd be happy to oblige you with information, a tour, and activities that might provide positive memories.

-  Dick Purinton

LENGTHY PROCESS OF ICE BREAKUP SOON BEGINS

Birds, like this lone duck in an opening over a small spring, have had
 a hard time of it with this winter's extended cold, and ice that restricts
their ability to feed.  Their survival rate should improve rapidly in the
coming days and weeks.  Dozens of duck have expired - even along Island
roadways - in the recent weeks, weakened by cold and the inability
to dive for food.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

After our first 50-degree day of the year yesterday, it seems like winter may finally be ebbing.  Inland locations, even around northern Wisconsin, reported temperatures in the 60s, and in a few cases, 70 degrees.

But, there is lots of snow and ice yet to be melted, and already there are concerns in certain cities and towns of impending flooding due to frozen culverts and streams that jam up with broken ice, backing up an abnormally brisk spring runoff from field and wood.

The Great Lakes commercial navigation season is typically back to a regular pace by now, but that's during the years when there's been scant ice to contend with in shipping lanes.  Although some of the vessels wintered at Bay Shipbuilding already fired up and broke out for their first loads, running the more-or-less navigable route between the Escanaba ore docks and the mills south of Chicago, the U. S. Coast Guard's Ninth District issued a friendly suggestion in a letter of March 7th addressed to the American Great Lakes Ports Association.  We received a copy courtesy of the Port of Green Bay's information release.

Rear Admiral F. M. Midgette, Commander, Ninth Coast Guard District, warned of challenges ahead in his letter addressing shipping concerns and the resumption of Great Lakes shipping.  Available ice breaking assets will include all nine Coast Guard icebreakers ready for deployment, plus one additional icebreaking tug, for a compliment of six of the Bay-Class tugs.   Ninth District anticipates the Canadian Coast Guard will bring an additional icebreaker into the  Great Lakes.

ADM Midgette's letter warned:

   "Breakout will be long and difficult.  Transits in current ice conditions are slow and arduous.  Just this week, a vessel under icebreaker escort took over a week to transit St. Mary's River.  Another vessel required an escort all the way across Lake Erie.  The USCGC HOLLYHOCK encountered ice conditions in the St. Marys River and Straits of Mackinac beyond its capability.  And we expect conditions in Lake Superior that could exceed USCGC MACKINAW's capability.  According to the U. S. National Weather Service, temperatures are expected to remain below normal through March."

His letter ended with this request, due to ice conditions, which I believe is a message unprecedented in recent times:

   "I understand some industry stockpiles are low, and shippers are anxious to resume cargo operations.  In spite of that, we anticipate ice conditions worse that what caused some of you to lay up early in January.  Consequently, I urge you to consider delaying sail dates and curtailing early operations where possible until ice conditions improve."   

If memory serves, following a very cold winter in 1979, numerous lakers came in to the yards for structural repairs due to ice damage.   These are massive vessels, but their steel shell and structure weren't designed for repeated encounters with heavy ice.  There appears now to be more ice breaking vessels available to assist than in previous years, but broken fields of thick ice, wind-driven, can still challenge with unusually deep, dense ice at times.

Our ferry crews operated daily along the edges of heaviest bay ice this winter, with nary a hitch, but that, too, can quickly change as larger fields break into ever smaller pieces and jam up, or stream through, the Door passage.

On the nature trail

Deep snow and colder temperatures have been ideal for snowshoeing this winter, and we've managed to create several interesting loops in the surrounding area.

Some would suggest that snowshoes shouldn't be necessary when the wearer's boot size is 15, but that's a tread-worn joke that doesn't begin to describe the difficulty of tromping in snow several feet deep!   Even with snowshoes, and poles for added stability, this activity can be a challenge.  The reward, however, is a good workout that offers pleasant observations of the outdoor world.

Above the small islands, the bright, red growth of white birches stood against a deep blue sky.  In the topmost branches, scarlet dots of cardinals added further accent.

In the late afternoon hours, my treks have been accompanied by an owl's hooting from deeper in the swampy woods.   Deer tracks show the deer taking the easiest possible trails, sometimes old snowshoe tracks, then jumping from one point to another in belly-deep snow when necessary.  Their activity under cedars shows many more prints where the snow is generally not so deep and food is available on overhead branches, for those deer that can reach.

One afternoon, winding through the woods on my snowshoes, I happened to spot at eye level the bulging bark of a large cedar, what I think may be the start of a super-burl.   The tree itself is about 16 inches in diameter and nearly 35 feet tall, and by my estimation it appears healthy.  How rapidly its bark will continue to expand like a tumorous growth, and whether the tree becomes weakened by this abnormality, will be interesting to follow over time.  I've not generally noticed cedar burls, although they seem to be quite common with other tree species.

And maybe, I'm thinking, I only noticed this one because my eye level was a good 18 inches above the usual height with the help of the snowpack.

-  Dick Purinton

QUILTS OF VALOR AT SIEVERS SCHOOL

Eight quilt tops were completed Saturday, March 8,
over a several day period at a Sievers School classroom.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Approximately 20 women participated in this year's Quilts of Valor effort held in one of the Sievers School of Fiber Arts classrooms this past week on Jackson Harbor Road.  Pairs of quilters selected their  fabric choices, cut and sewed, and arranged their fabric pieces in the "Thank You Star" block pattern theme that has been chosen for this year's Quilts of Valor Foundation (QoVF) quilts.

Nancy Thiele and Deb Anderson partnered to sew 
block patterns.

Each quilt top, along with its one-piece corresponding backing, will be sent to a long-arm quilter.  These skilled people have the proper quilt frames and larger machines to accomplish through-stitching that combines the multi-layers into one. This process also adds batting, the filler that gives each quilt loft, and ultimately, warmth for the user.

Anne Delwiche and Peg Nikolai confer on quilt details.

Once the expansive quilt surfaces have been stitched, quilts are then returned to Washington Island for finishing, which includes the binding along edges and label with names of the volunteers that states it was a QoVF product.  Each quilt will be folded and stuffed into a cover resembling a pillowcase, ready for presentation to a veteran of military service, which is the end-goal behind the QoVF program.  Many steps, many hours, many hands - in addition to the emotional investment - are behind each presented quilt.

Jill Jorgenson and Linda Henning made quilt cases
and cut pieces that will be used for backings.

This year, in addition to the organizational skills and quilting leadership of Marianne Fons, a nationally recognized quilter from Iowa, and Ellen Graf, an Island quilting instructor (these two women also pre-planned this event,  including behind-the-scenes fundraising, purchase of material and supplies, and team logistics) two guest quilters were on hand.

Karen Demaree, who is Wisconsin's Coordinator for the Quilts of Valor Foundation, and friend Sue Kahre-Stradford, both from Platteville, Wisconsin, offered perspective on the QoVF volunteerism in Wisconsin, as it relates to the national organization. It's been the general intention of QoVF to do as much through volunteerism as possible, drawing on a broad spectrum of quilters whose work will then be worthy of presentation to a military veteran, one way of personalizing a thank-you for their service.

This block was sewn by a long-arm quilter using a
star pattern, detail that shows how one section of
the completed quilt might look.

Marianne Fons, Karen Demaree and Ellen Graf
hold QoVF poster at conclusion of Island
quilting event.

Within the next month or two in the United States, the 100,000th quilt made by QoVF quilters will be presented.  (Since there are also some quilts made but not recorded, this number remains a symbolic milestone, but never-the-less, the volume of quilts produced and the handiwork behind them is significant.)

Each Island quilter received this pin
marking the upcoming milestone in quilts presented
to U.S. military veterans.

I was asked by Ellen Graf to record the Washington Island QoVF project during the past few days, and the photos on this posting are but a few to show the colors, patterns, participants and progression during the approximately 3 1/2 day project.

-   Dick Purinton

HELO UNDERWAY VIA FERRY, HIGHWAY

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

The photos above and left make it seem as though the task to remove the U. S. Coast Guard Air Rescue Helicopter from its position on an east side beach was rather easy.

In fact, it took Maintenance Chief John Lee and his crew of five men most of the day, working in temperatures that never went above 12 degrees, to remove rotor blades, dig out the aircraft, slide it to an open area, winch it aboard their trailer, and secure the load for the highway.  A second trailer from Yacht Works in Sister Bay was also on hand, as was Tom Jordan's excavator to lift the aircraft, but the final decision was made to use the Coast Guard trailer brought from Traverse City, at least for the first leg of the trip to a yacht storage shed in Sister Bay.

By 3:45 p.m., the trucks, trailers and crew started down the temporary road plowed parallel to the beach, from in front of the home of Jim and Janet Wilson to the end of Lake View Road, a distance of just over 1/2 mile.  

Dismantling blades, securing the aircraft prior to removal from beach.

The location where the helo set down early Sunday morning happens to be a wide, flat stretch of beach, features not always found along the island's shoreline.  And, as providence would have it, this  location was also in close proximation to the only beach access road along the entire eastern shore of Washington Island, easing substantially one major obstacle to removing the aircraft by trailer from the beach.

Chief John Lee (second from left) and his salvage crew, ready to depart the
beach with helicopter secured to trailer.

Chief Lee isn't new to this particular routine.  He extricated this same aircraft just six weeks earlier from a farmer's field in lower Michigan.  Then, too, the pilot and crew had experienced "flight control problems," according to a news report, similar to the crew's experience in yesterday's cross-lake flight from the Traverse City Air Station.

This helicopter model (Eurocraft AS365 Dauphin) has been utilized by the Coast Guard since the early 1980s, and has been a serviceable workhorse during this time.  But, as Chief Lee noted, there are parts no longer stocked on the shelf or easily procured.

Such flight control problems, manifested now on several occasions, surely weigh on the minds of the Coast Guard command, and may serve to hasten the effort to renew the fleet.  In 2010, according to one news release, the Traverse City Air Station Commander requested replacement Jayhawk helicopters, newer aircraft with more power and longer range.  But, apparently, the cost, time of procurement, training, parts…all were a part of the challenge to effect change.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard's air and ground crews, not to mention the occasional citizen whose life may one day depend on such machinery, would certainly prefer the use of the safest and most robust aircraft available.  Days for aging "Dolphin" helos like #6578 may be numbered, with safety compromised if deployment of this aircraft continues to be extended.

Time in the air for the "Dolphin" is something like 2 1/2 hours on a full tank, after which the aircraft requires refueling.  A flight to Washington Island from Traverse City, as an example, would take approximately one hour.  With one hour for the return flight, that leaves only 30 minutes on station, unless the aircraft is refueled.

View from the Wilson home toward the open lake.

Welcoming hosts:  the Wilsons

 When the crew of #6578 landed in front of their home around 7:50 Sunday morning, Janet was already up, and after the helicopter landed she soon saw one of the men coming toward their house.  Jim, still sleeping, had incorporated the whirr of the blades into his dream, believing he was again aboard Eagle III, the medivac helicopter that took him on an emergency flight to a Green Bay hospital in July of 2012.  It took him time to determine where he was and what the activity was all about.  It wasn't long before Jim joined Janet and the four men in their living room, sensing their relief for a safe landing.  It was at least an hour, Jim said, before he realized he wasn't yet dressed.

Janet and Jim Wilson gaze out their living room
deck window toward the helicopter.  

The activities of the past 30 hours in front of the Wilson home are now over.   The safe emergency landing - a precautionary landing - becomes a good story that might add push for the Coast Guard to renew this aging aircraft.

-  Dick Purinton

COAST GUARD HELO MAKES PRECAUTIONARY LANDING, EAST SHORE OF WASHINGTON ISLAND

Flight crew with Air Rescue Helo 6578 on beach in front of Wilson home.
Hog Island is visible in background, above tail section.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

U. S. Coast Guard Rescue Helicopter 6578 landed safely on the snow along the eastern shore of Washington Island this morning, in what was termed a "precautionary emergency landing" by aircraft commander LT. Chris Breuer.

The MH-65C "Dolphin" helicopter with four crew aboard had taken off from the U. S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City around 7:50 a.m. EST.   As their aircraft flew over Lake Michigan and approached within approximately ten miles of Wisconsin's shoreline, intending to fly over Washington Island enroute to a search and rescue assignment (SAR) near Ashland, Wisconsin, a "flight control issue" arose.   A decision was then made to land along the flat, broad portion of beach just south of Hog Island and the Percy Johnson County Park, an area separated from the trees along shore and the open lake waters by ice banks and snow covered rocks.

According to LT. Breuer, flying further inland wasn't a prudent risk.  It would have been a flight path over trees for another several miles, extending their air time in an effort to reach open fields, or perhaps the Island Airport.   While he couldn't speculate on the nature of the mechanical issues encountered, other than to verify that it was not a fuel related problem, such landings, while not routine, are occasionally made, always with safety of both crew and aircraft foremost in mind.

With landing wheels now deep in snow and the aircraft unable to be flown, the most likely resolution to repairing the helo will be to lift it by crane to a flatbed truck, and transport it back to their air station, rather than perform on-the-spot repairs.  Engineering tech support at the Traverse City airbase will determine just when and how the helo extrication might be accomplished.   When this is sorted out, likely by early afternoon today (Sunday), Breuer's crew will be airlifted back to their base.  A "salvage" detail will then likely take over to ready the plane for lifting and transport, first by ferry, and then via highway back to a facility where it can be properly repaired.

Air crew secured rotors in preparation for their anticipated departure later today.

The helo crew includes:  Aircraft Commander LT Chris Breuer;  Co-pilot Jim Okorn;  Flight Mechanic Matt Lussier; and Rescue Swimmer Tom McArthur.   The crew had responded to a call around 5 a.m., an "uncorrelated Mayday" reported from the Ashland area, which, according to Breuer, could be almost anything, including an ice fisherman or snowmobiler needing assistance.  It was unlikely, he said, due to the heavy ice conditions in that area, that this call would have come from a vessel in distress.

According to Breuer, his aircraft had been used earlier last evening by a nighttime crew, before his crew responded to the Ashland call.  They were in the air some 50 minutes, he said, before putting down in front of the Jim and Janet Wilson home around 7:45 a.m. CST.

"Did you head for the widest stretch of flat beach, or the nearest home with smoke curling from the chimney?" I joked, noting the warm, comfortable surroundings of the Wilson home.  Safe landing was foremost on their minds, I was assured, with the nearby hospitality of the Wilsons an added bonus.

By the time I arrived to interview the crew, around 9:45 a. m., the Wilsons had just departed for Sunday morning worship service, leaving their lakeshore home in the hands of the air crew, plus the Island's two policemen, Gary Schulz and Tyler McGrane.   The morning was fresh, with bright sunshine, temperatures slightly below zero, with very little wind.  Circumstances could certainly have been more extenuating, the crew noted, than along this shoreline, a location where a century or more ago crews of sail schooners sometimes found themselves wrecked.

Aircraft Commander LT Chris Breuer

While LT Breuer was occupied with phone and email traffic, coordinating plans going forward, he also kindly answered my questions.  Crew members' families had been provided notice of their status, each man noted.  After a quick couple of photos taken in front of the fireplace, scenes that might depict their situation as just a bit too comfortable, considering the circumstances behind the forced landing, the crew donned their boots and winter gear and waded through the snow to secure the helo in preparation for their anticipated departure for home base.

L to R:  Pilot LT Chris Breuer, Rescue Swimmer Tom McArthur,
Co-pilot Jim Okorn, (and seated) Flight Mechanic Matt Lussier. 

The Coast Guard regularly assigns helicopter crews to assess ice conditions for commercial shipping, operations called "ice reconnaissance." This is one reason why, periodically through the winter, Islanders can see or hear helicopters flying overhead.  Great Lakes shipping has been slowed greatly by this winter's ice conditions, but vessels that still operate - or that will begin their 2014 season soon - rely on both satellite reports and the Coast Guard's eyes to assess navigation conditions.   And, there are also the several Coast Guard ice breakers and the administrative commands at the various Coast Guard Sectors of Operation that use such ice updates to advantage.

Islanders, ferry operators and commercial fishermen, or any citizen with extraordinary medical need, may also find comfort in the fact that four such helicopters are assigned to the Traverse City Air Station. These aircraft generally have much quicker response time than a vessel, weather permitting, should there be a need for flight rescue assistance.

-  Dick Purinton

MORE EXCUSES...

From L to R:  Atlas, Aidan, Zander, Birthday Boy Thor, Magnus, 

Boyne City, Michigan -

No one says I have to put out a blog, but after a fashion, I sense pressure from afar and guilt that comes from not producing.  Guilt (and Thor's 34th Birthday) breaks another gap of nearly two weeks without blog communication.

Boyne City is where Thor works and lives, and aside from the large Boyne Hill ski establishment, there really isn't suitable nearby lodging that will hold twelve people and allow for indoor activities.  We opted instead, three families plus Thor, to occupy a rental home.  It was a great decision in terms of room to spread out.  I will add that our first day in Boyne City, following an uneventful drive into the eastern UP, saw gale force winds with blizzard conditions that prompted MDOT to close the Mackinac Bridge for one day.  Snow continued the next day, Saturday, and the day after that, too.

The amount of snow cover in that region, due to almost daily lake effect snows, I estimated to be nearly three times the accumulation of Washington Island.  Each bright winter day here, when we look out over the East Channel and see banks of dark clouds, snow is being produced on the eastern shore of the lake.  For that same reason, overcast skies are quite common there in winter, too.

Our main reason for the get-away was to celebrate Thor's birthday.   Although there was swimming, sledding, plenty of eating, and a mad piñata bash, the four boys spent a great deal of time crowded together on a couch playing Minecraft.   I know very little about this game, despite having it explained to me several times, and despite the fact I was convinced months ago to load it on my iPad so they could use it.   This game can be played individually, or as a group.  During this outing, their devices were connected while they quietly and politely assisted one another in building virtual scenes.

We toured the Van Dam boat building shop Saturday afternoon (except for Magnus, who fell asleep in the warm truck, and Kirsten, his mom, stayed with him).   Two new construction projects were on the floor, and this was a chance for the boys to ask questions and see the craftsmanship of Thor and his co-workers.   At one point, Thor demonstrated use of a small block plane, one of his safer woodworking tools.  He let each of the boys try their hand at planing a strip of mahogany.

When it came to his turn, Zander hefted the plane and made this observation:  "This thing is heavy enough to kill a chicken!"

We're still not sure how that connection was made, but we agreed it was probably true.

We're back home now, for the rest of the winter.

-  Dick Purinton

Note:  For a great web tour of Van Dam Wood Craft products past and present, and production details, go to:      www.vandamboats.com

IT'S WINTER, STILL

If there was a run on bread and milk prompted by the storm, the
stampede had ended by late afternoon.  Not many cars
were out on the roads at this point.   Snow let up by
early evening, and Town crews cleaned up
roads by daybreak.  

Erik Foss, at the aft controls, maneuvers the AJR to the shore ramp.  

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Winter is still here, in case we were thinking spring was around the corner.  A wave of cold air blanketed the Upper Midwest for over one week straight.  Then, yesterday's snowfall came along, far more intense than the several inches that were predicted for our area.

By my unofficial, boot-top measurements I'd say we got twelve inches of light, fluffy snow in about 9 hours.   Outside air temperatures were in the lower teens.   The lake seemed to add moisture to Door County's precipitation, although the television weather radar didn't pick it up.   Large flakes fell from noon to around 9 p.m. Friday, one of the more intense snowfalls of recent years.  Wind gusts sprang up in late afternoon sweeping new, light snow into obliterating clouds of white.

Anticipating the arrival of the afternoon ferry at the island dock, I waited in calm conditions with two cameras tucked inside by my jacket.  During this 45 minutes time, while I waited and photographed, nearly an inch of snow covered my cap and shoulders.

Here are a few more photos taken yesterday afternoon.

Lars Goodlet drove from his home near Washington Harbor
to the Island Post Office
to pick up his mail prior to the 4 p.m. closing.

Thursday, winter records were set for the number of days with recorded below zero temperatures for several northern Wisconsin communities.   But, cold temperatures aside, Thursday had proven to be bright and beautiful.  N-NW wind carried out much of the ice from the passage, leaving open water stretching a good mile west into the Bay.   It also cleared channel ice from inside the entrance light.  The  20-inch ice I had walked on Thursday to get this photo (below) floated out over night.

Thursday the sky was blue, the temperature near zero.  I stood on
approximately 20 inches of clear ice.  This ice comes and goes,
as the ferry's wake will break it up and northerly winds
take it from the harbor, from time to time.

 
Recent high winds, according to satellite imagery and Great Lakes reports, set up wave action that broke up much of Lake Michigan's open lake ice cover.  The bay of Green Bay, however, remains solidly frozen in place.  Break up of this ice, now estimated to be over two feet in thickness (with added snow ice on top) may cause havoc with ferry crossings when it loosens and streams out the Door passage.  But, that activity, over a period of time, now seems to be weeks away.

We're expecting another four to five days of low-digit cold before temperatures once again approach high 20s and low 30s, which is closer to normal temperature for this time of year.               -  Dick Purinton

QUICK SET CHANGES

Green Bay Road, Monday morning, Feb. 18 - 8:15.

 Washington Island, Wisconsin -

If this top photo looks inviting - a pristine scene, fresh snow on the ground and frost on tree limbs - it certainly was.

Since returning home last Wednesday we've seen a range of weather, but none more changeable than the last 24 hours.   Generally, we've had consistently cold weather with highs of ten degrees or so for the day.  Snow has fallen every other day, it seems…then yesterday we had five inches (by my estimate), sometimes with blizzard conditions due to blowing snow in the 30+ mph gusts.

It was a great day to be indoors.  By later that evening, a nearly full moon had come out.  But in the early morning a fog bank crept in from the lake, hovering about 20 feet off the ground.  Six degrees, according to our thermometer, and very still.  A temperature inversion had apparently brought the fog. It was dramatic and quick, like those set changes on a stage between acts, where all of a sudden the lights come back on and the audience is transported yet again.  This foggy act was brief, and it departed along with the ferry by 8 am.

By that time, bright sun took over and burned off the fog, raising the temperature and highlighting frost everywhere in the trees.  Even the well-plowed roads looked clean and fresh this morning, with only a patch of sand here and there at intersections to smudge the scene.  By noontime, our thermometer's needle approached 30 degrees and an overcast sky obliterated the sun.  Along with this change, winds had picked up, enough to begin drifting the light snow once again.  A fine snow had begun to fall, too, making the day now look like the remains of yesterday's storm, an earlier act.
 

Unless you know the color of someone's jacket, you
won't be able to recognize individuals at the annual
Ice Party on Detroit Harbor.  I estimated between
150- 200 people made their way onto the ice in ten degree
weather, enjoying themselves on the ice.
The following day, Sunday,was bright and clear.

Ferry crossing has been consistent these past days, but not always easy in terms of visibility, or with ice sometimes packed at the outer edge, toward the open lake, when strong southerly winds and seas ground flat ice in to a denser mass of small pieces.

Last night, Joel and Hoyt made an emergency medical run.   Then, with some energy yet to burn and snow drifts sure to interfere with morning loading, they plowed for several hours to get ahead of the morning's work.  As a result, when I drove out to the ferry dock, around 7:45, sidewalks, parking areas and approaches were cleared, with final clean-up work in progress.  It was time to take a ride…which I did!

Con McDonald (foreground) and Joel
Gunnlaugsson (backhoe) clean up surfaces as the AJR
loads in the background for the first run of the day.
Not easily seen is the early morning fog in
the distance still obscuring the harbor.

From a vantage point on the Potato Dock, Mary Jo and I surveyed the ice conditions - as far as could be seen.  Thursday, the route had been cleared by northerly winds, but it was now on the fourth or fifth day of newer ice.  Still, the Arni J. moved along briskly in the old track, as if there were nothing to impede progress, in fact.  When the break-up of bay ice comes, and it will, sooner or later, there will be heavy ice to deal with.

I had no sooner commented, "I wonder how the birds fared in yesterday's blizzard?" when Mary Jo spotted an eagle (photo below) sitting in a birch tree, a favorite place for them to roost, not far from the water (or ice, as the case was today).

Bird activity must slow during such storms, although turkeys were out, looking for seeds beneath our feeder.   Attrition must thin the ranks when long cold spells, high winds and limited food sources add stress to their bodies.

We're headed south, then north, then east, then south tomorrow, to Boyne City, a drive of 450 miles "over the top" of Lake Michigan to visit Thor.   This is a drive that can take all day and then some, including various stops along the way.  We're hoping to slip into the Straits of Mackinac area before sundown, thereby beating the next weather pattern that's forecast to bring rain, sleet or snow - depending on where the line falls across the upper midwest separating colder air from warm, moist, southerly air.

We generally tell ourselves - to cheer each other up - that we're on the downside of winter in late February.  This year could be different.  More daylight each day, which is pleasant, but there hasn't been much settling of the snow accumulated since back in early December.

I worked my way through the deep snow this morning to read my fuel tank gauge and in several places I sank to my hips (drifting snow being partially responsible for the depth, of course).   We hiked on snow shoes Sunday, and in the areas of vegetation where snow accumulated and hadn't blown away, headway was slow and the slogging hard!  Hoyt reported passing drifts along Detroit Island's shores that were eight feet in height, made up of grains of snow driven across the open ice.  One thing can be said, it's a great year for snowmobiles!

One last photo shows the look in the woods earlier today, this one taken along Town Line Road.
 -  Dick Purinton

Light flakes blew from the trees with the softest of breezes as this
photo was taken.

BACK IN WISCONSIN

Arni J. Richter approaching the island dock,
Thursday, February 13th.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

The photo shown above was taken 24 hours ago, when 30 mph southwest winds whipped icy snow crystals across the harbor.   Visibility was down to 1/4 mile at times.

We received approximately four inches of new snow yesterday (by my estimation), but it was the cutting wind that made being outdoors unpleasant.  In fact, the temperature was a rather balmy 25 degrees - pleasant by standards of the past several weeks, others reminded me.

AJR maneuvering to back in to the shore ramp.
Captain Erik Foss is at the controls.

Overnight, winds shifted to the NW and the velocity dropped, as will the temperature tonight, expected to dip into the now all-too-familiar minus 5 degree range.

The annual Lions Club Fishing Derby is underway, with this being the final weekend of activity.  Traffic heading onto the ice from the south end of Main Road was light, due to the miserable, white-out conditions.    Water forced up through cracks in the ice near shore made the under layer slushy, but that's firmed up now, and the driving with pickup trucks should be good once again.

There are Valentine's Day activities today, too.   At school, the day started with a pancake breakfast for seniors (defined as 50 and over for the day's purposes), which yours truly joined in.  I was greeted by Finn Hagen, who shook my hand and knew my name, "Mr. Purinton," as I'm often seated near him in church.  It was wonderful to be so recognized.  This was a festive occasion, with some 35 guests in addition to the school children who assisted parents and staff in serving the breakfast in the school commons. Afterward, we followed as the younger grades lead us in singing the Star Spangled Banner.

Our four grandsons were there, too, and their parents who helped serve.  But it was the overall camaraderie of young and old, students, staff, parents and citizen guests, that made this morning special.

We'll see more activities for young and old out on the ice tomorrow, not only fishing, but other activities, too.

 - Dick Purinton

NOTES FROM SEDONA

Sedona, Arizona -
This blog is somewhat of an experiment, because in previous years I've not been able to construct text from my iPad.   Now, text seems to work, but so far I haven't been able to access my photos to illustrate and dress up this communication.  (photos shown were added 2.14.14 from my home computer.)

We're in Sedona, Arizona, where we'll complete two weeks of hiking, visiting historical sites, and relaxing, fully conscious of the cold and snow that's smothered the upper Midwest since Jan. 12th, the day we left Washington Island and headed to Houston.   Texas weather was quite pleasant...upper 60s, even low 70s several days...but it really didnt matter much since nearly the entire five days there were spent inside an sir conditioned Hyatt hotel, at the Passenger Vessel Association Maritrends Conference.

What I can pass along that has some bearing for readers is that here in Arizona, we've had very pleasant, and meaningful, visits with two men whose names might be familiar to Washington Islanders.

Monday we drove to Prescott, a drive of some 60 miles from Sedona, to see Goodwin Berquist.   I learned when I called Goodie several days earlier that Nancy, his wife of many years, had passed away Sunday, Jan. 26.   Nancy, many will recall, was the Chair of the Island Music Festival in its early years and she worked closely with Stephen Colburn to coordinate the many details -including performance locations prior to the existence of the TPAC.     I believe Nancy was a regular in the bridge circle that included Mary Richter and Clara Jessen, among others.   Their day to play was Tuesdsy, an all-day affair, more or less, rotating among homes, with each participant bringing their own lunch.

Goodie indicated that Nancy's wish was to have her ashes brought to Washington Island.  

During their years on Washington Island, Goodie, who was Professor Emeritus, Ohio State Speech Department, participated on the Archives Committee.   He was also a member of the Trueblood Theater Committee, as it was then known, during the formative years of the concept that eventually morphed into the Trueblood Performing Arts Center.   He co-authored a number of history books, including one on Milwaukee's founding fathers.   For nine years, I believe he said, early in his teaching career he taught at UW-Milwaukee, before returning to Ohio State where he became a tenured professor.

His interest in the people and activities of Washington Island, and Nancy's, continued through their years in Arizona, partly through letter correspondence, but also through the pages of the Island Observer, of which they continued to subscribe.    In later years, because Nancy's eyesight had failed, Goodie read to Nancy.  

Unfortunately, I'm unable to bring up a photo taken of the three of us on Monday - Goodie, Mary Jo and me.   Our visit over lunch covered many pleasant topics, often with us supplying the answers to Goodie's questions about Washington Island in the present day.   We hope he might be able to visit this summer, as he and Nancy had planned to do last September, before travel for her became impossible.

Island Tour Guide

We called on Bill Krieger last week, and following breakfast together, Bill offered to lead us to several local points of interest.   He guides Road Scholar groups in the Sedona area, and also to the Grand Canyon, which he will do again later this winter.   Bill's island home is adjacent to the Red Cup, in summer months.   We three seemed to share a common interest in history, especially Indian history, but also Washington Island and Rock Island  history.    Bill and  his late wife, Dottie, were docents on Rock Island at the lighthouse before they bought their island home.

We had a most pleasant day touring the national monument at Tuzigoot, an ancient  Indian village near Cottonwood, and the old mining town of Jerome.   But as much as anything, we valued Bill's time visiting with us.

That's our news - if it can be classified as news.   During our time away, several reviews of my book,Thordarson and Rock Island, have been published - Lakeland Boating Feb. issue was one -  and I've been able to monitor my online website successfully for orders, of which there've been several.   All of this is heartening as we head home and my thoughts turn more seriously to another writing project.     -  Dick Purinton

PS - By the time we arrived home, Feb. 12th, following our visit with him in Prescott, two books co-authored by Goodie Berquist were found waiting in our island mail box.  

MAY I RECOMMEND…?

    So You Want to Own an Oil Tanker

      Captain Donald Kilpela - Harborside Books

      24 Waterfront Landing, P.O. Box 24

      Copper Harbor, MI  49918

      221 pages, with photos

      $15.95 + $2.00 S+H

During winter when outdoor activities become limited in the Upper Midwest and when evening's curtain is drawn earlier than we'd like, reading becomes a way to lose ourselves.

Let me recommend a book to you.

If you enjoy learning about maritime matters, if you have a background in either vessel operations, vessel management, marine insurance or marine regulations, or if you enjoy being entertained reading about another person's plight as he spirals into an abyss while still managing to keep a determined and optimistic outlook, or if you enjoy wit and humor - much of it self-inflicted - then this book is for you.

This book gets complicated.  That is, the story gets ever more complicated, and yet it reads beautifully, easily, with conversations between real people of contrasting backgrounds and wills.  Only a Kilpela would have done these things, you come to believe.  Only Kilpela has the courage - now with hindsight of some 30 years - to tell his story without sparing us awkward and painful truth.

We've had the pleasure of knowing Don and Betty over the years through passenger vessel owner gatherings.  I've always respected their hard work in building and operating their passenger ferry business to Isle Royale from their home port in Copper Harbor, Michigan.  This four-hour run over open Lake Superior, at 60 miles, is one of the longest offshore runs made by any small passenger vessel in the U. S., and they do this in all types of conditions.  Seasickness and discomfort among passengers is a normal part of the trip.  Don keeps a file of humorous - in retrospect - customer letters, and he pulls them out to read every so often at gatherings.   He's had us in tears with laughter.   His humor in relating one near-financial disaster after another as an oil tanker owner struck me in a similar, unexpected way.  I thought also for a moment as I began reading of similarities with Anne Proulx's Shipping News, a fictional account of Newfoundland's maritime community.

Don is a funny man, but he's also seriously insightful and critical of himself and the actions he took some 30 years ago when possessed by a notion to buy an oil tanker in the Caribbean.  With multiple warnings that it was the wrong thing to do, that buying an oil tanker was a very risky proposition, he admits to being overwhelmed by the notion and plunging ahead regardless.  Credit the Finnish honesty in his veins, Kilpela had the stuff to stick it out and make overbearing circumstances work in the best way possible.  Just as remarkably, Don's wife, Betty, and his close family members supported him, and they came to enjoy this unique opportunity to spend a part of their lives in the warm, sunny Caribbean, away from the snowy Keweenaw Peninsula.

Kilpela did bring considerable experience to the tankerman's role, having lectured and written about business management.  He started several small businesses - several of which also failed.  Mostly, he relied on his experience running a successful passenger vessel operation.  The rest he made up for with his waterfront smarts, and propitious timing when his back was pressed against the wall, as it was time and time again.

Descriptive passages and lively dialog makes this book flow from one sentence, paragraph and chapter to another.  The unpredictable turns of events, the manner in which Kilpela frankly relates his blunders as well as successes, kept my interest at a high level.

I would also recommend this book to anyone interested in traveling vicariously to the Caribbean through the pages of his book.  Along the way you'll gain insight into how residents and businessmen manage affairs in these islands colonized by European nations centuries ago.

  - Dick Purinton

KEEPING COUNT, KEEPING WARM

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

You're looking across steaming Death's Door in the above photo, with the Door Peninsula headland on the horizon.   It was 5 degrees below zero when this photo was taken, a gain of ten degrees over dawn's temperature.  Out of the frame and to the west of the old Plum Island Coast Guard facility, the Arni J. Richter made its afternoon run to Northport.

The main reason I posted this photo, though, besides showing the steam and ice, is the bird represented by the black dot seen in line with the tip of Door Bluff.   It's a snowy owl sitting on the ice bank, apparently content with its exposure in the 15-20 mph winds.  At first, I was unsure of the dark mass, but after borrowing a pair of binoculars from the ferry office, both Hoyt and I confirmed it was an owl hunkered down, feathers fluffed, occasionally turning its head from side-to-side.

Another reason for posting this "bird" photo is to introduce results of the recent Christmas Bird Count held on Washington Island December 15th.  Birders pooled their sightings for that day, and for the day or two on either side of that date.  Most observations are made in the field, but reports are also submitted from kitchen window yard feeders.  Sandy Peterson made the final tally seen below, along with supporting information.  This annual bird count activity takes place simultaneously throughout Door County, with Washington Island well represented by both experienced and novice birders.  Due to very cold temperatures, high winds, and ice covering the harbors, the birds seen this year were fewer in number and in variety of species than in years past, according to Sandy.

A snowy owl (or perhaps two different owls) are found in this year's count.

Our youngest son, Thor spotted a snowy owl after Christmas as it perched on the rocky point of Susie's Island.  It's likely this same bird has stayed in our area during this whole time.

Note added 01.09.14 -  Following our sighting of this owl, Melody Walsh was able to photograph the bird with a telescopic lens, and it had brownish feathers.  According to Sandy Peterson, this indicates a young bird, perhaps a young female.  Her email comment: "Snowy Owls are desperately trying to survive this winter all over Wisconsin.  Many are young of the year with no experience with winter or civilization - the ones with darker markings."  

More nature observed

Adding to local birding observations are reports of a wolf - and wolf tracks - sighted by several people on Washington Island.   At one point,  it was seen on Detroit Island, and then just Saturday it was spotted by the Arni J. crew from the wheelhouse as they crossed to Northport.  Seen scampering over broken ice, the wolf appeared to be heading toward to the mainland but was stopped by the open water in the Door.  When last observed, it was headed toward Plum Island.  According to Capt. Bill Jorgenson, it looked healthy and "well fed."


Otter hangs around

On New Year's day I tried to get several good shots as the ferry departed the Island docks, and I located myself at the tip of Kap's point, near the Travelift.   Prodigious piles of otter poop decorated the snow and the surrounding ice shelf.   Belly tracks, where it slid along in the fresh snow, were on both the shore and the neighboring, old barge that's moored there.  This is the same area where, a few years ago, similar signs showed that an otter lived in the area.

Carp or other fish pieces are often scattered about on the ice, among the piles of scat.  This animal makes raccoons seem like great housekeepers in comparison.  About the only thing the otter leaves uneaten from a fish are the boniest pieces surrounding the carp head.  The rest is ingested, and it seems rather quickly chewed.  The results scattered on the ice and snow indicate a quick trip through the otter's digestive tract.



Ferry Line mascot

The only close-up bird photo I can contribute today is of a ring-neck pheasant, taken this afternoon.  This fellow has taken to hanging around the terminal building, and, maybe to relieve boredom, he sometimes jumps to the window ledge to peer at Bill Schutz's computer.  By now he might anticipate the handouts, because I've seen him jump from the ground to the wooden deck by the south door and snatch a cookie or piece of bread offered him.  Some days he's accompanied by a hen, but today he "foraged" alone.

Winter's just begun, but already school has been called off two days in a row, this coming on the heels of a two-week holiday.  The upper and lower bay is locked up with ice, and ore boats still operating will have their share of troubles.

With this ice and cold, it will be interesting to see how wildlife continues to adapt.

  -  Dick Purinton