Monday, May 18, 2009

Umm.... Gale Force!


After gallivanting through Fishtown and Glen Arbor, with Martin, Dana and I thought we would give 25 knot winds and 35 knot gusts a shot. Once we got back to our camp we dressed and loaded the boats. Pushing off seamed to be quite a challenge as it took us multiple attempts before we were successful. As we paddled out it soon dawned on us that we were not going to make it very far in the strong headwinds blowing us backwards. We pushed on for about a half hour. Realizing that we only went two hundred yards and every muscle in our bodies hurt, we decided to turn around to set up camp for the evening and listen to the weather report.

The forecast was calling for gale force winds lasting through Tuesday. Since Dana is in a wedding on Saturday and his mom planned on coming to get us on Wednesday, we figured- why sit on the beach for two days when we can't paddle anyway? So Dana called and asked his mom to come and get us. Sunday morning, she and Uncle Jim showed up to greet us just as we pulled our kayaks up from the beach. We unloaded everything and strapped the kayaks to the top of Dana's vehicle. We were on our way and out from the grip of the cold, windy, lake.

Come to find out when we got stuck on the beach because of the winds we were in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. One of the rangers Approached us Sunday morning and asked us what we were doing. We informed him of our cause and why we were stuck on the beach. He proceeded to educate us that all campers must comply with the regulations of entering the park through designated areas and that they must also purchase a short tern or seasonal pass. In addition, intended campers must use designated camping areas only and may not pitch tents just anywhere. So chatting with the friendly ranger turned out to be rather informative and we just wanted to share that with you so that you may all avoid expensive penalties.

I will meet with the Chippewa County Red Cross Board on Thursday and will also try to set up media spots for the following weeks. This is also a good time for us to ditch our unused gear and grab the stuff we forgot. Sunday, May 24th is when we will begin again, and the weather is predicted to reach average temps for this time of year by the end of the week : )

Stay tuned...

Sean

3 comments:

B.Hood said...

Sean and Dana,
Its great to read about how things are going. I hope things contiune to go smooth. The wind sounds brutal. I am praying for you guys, and look forward to reading about how things are going.

Coach Stephen Eles said...

I hope the weather calms down for you guys. Our family is thinking of you!!! Keep working hard.

Anonymous said...

Keep on paddling guys :) When are you guys gonna be down by Ludington? I am gonna be down there soon, Ill bring some refreshing beverages.

Eric