We had 32 slips reserved at the Harbor Front but only needed 16 this year. All the docks were posted reserved for Escape. There were a few strange boats occupying the reserved slips, but most of them were just using the docks for a few minutes. The day was sunny with a high temperature of 65 F. Registration went smoothly during the afternoon.
The paper had advertised the Escape would be using the docks and giving boat tours to any interest local people who would like to see bigger boats and learn what Escape was all about. Escape members enjoyed meet new people.
At 3:00 pm. Escape gave boat rides to 12 special needs adults in two boats. Russ Warne took out 6 people and Norm Miller took out six people. Everyone was excited to go for a ride. They especially wanted to go over by Coney Island beach. The really had a good time and thanked Russ and Norm over and over for the great boat ride.
We were all disappointed that there were no fireworks this year on the July 1st in Kenora July 1st was on a Wednesday. Fireworks on Saturday would attract more tourists and cabin owners from the Winnipeg area. Next year July 1st will be on Thursday and there will be fireworks on July 1st in Kenora.
At 5:30 Escape presented an appreciation plaque to Hank and Ginny Henderson who started Escape back in 1974. They were the first commodores of Escape and helped formulate the idea that there should be a different commodore each year and that the commodores for next Escape should be from Canada and then alternate back and forth with the next commodore coming from the U.S. This system insured new ideas from each new commodore on where Escape would go and what they would see and do. Last year it was decided this system needed to be modified as there are 80% Canadians to U.S. participants and there should be more Canadian commodores versus U.S. until such time that there are more U.S. Escape members to be commodores.
Dinner Wednesday night was up to the captain and crew from each boat. Some ordered pizza and some eat at Hap’s Restaurant. Days leading up to Escape was cool and windy. As a result there were very few bugs Wednesday night and all the way through Sunday. A little socializing took place later in the evening. John Wiebe created a little interest when he dove into the water after a beach ball that went into the water and was caught be the evening breeze. Unfortunately the beach ball was traveling at 6 miles an hour while John was swimming at 4 miles an hour. He soon came back and announced the water was really cold. Rolf Gretshmann retrieved the beach ball with his fishing boat.
The following morning the 400 division left with four boats and the 600 bubbling division left the docks around 11:00. Don Parks and family had rented a house boat and were waiting for us in the Kenora Bay. I told Don to pull in behind me and we would head for Sanders Bay. In just a few minutes it became apparent that the 49 foot house boat could not go 7 miles and hour it could only go 5 miles an hour. Don suggested maybe we should go on without him as the house boat was to slow. This was his first Escape. He did not realize that no boats get left behind. The division just put there engines in neutral for a minute ever so often and we all could ride as a group with out a problem. When we went through devils gap the current was strong and the house boat almost got turned sideways and was heading for shore. Don got the house boat straightened out and we were on our way. The fast 200 division passed us up before we got to Sanders Bay anchorage. The 400 division was already there. The 400 and 600 division anchored together in the bay with four sailboats in the middle of the bay already anchored for the evening the 200 division was anchored on the other side of the sailboats and the houseboat rain up on the sand beach. It was now about 4:30pm with a gentle breeze out of the northwest. The temperature was close to 70F. It was a sunny afternoon.
About 6:00 pm. Chad Gropp and crew arrived by boat from Gropps Measts in Kenora and set up the evening pig roast on the sand beach at Sanders Bay. The idea of a catered meal at a remote anchorage had never been tried before. The catered meal idea came up in an email I receive from Rolf Gretshmann last winter. I thought he had a great idea, but what if the wind was out of the south and the temperature was 85 and no breeze. We would have every mosquito visiting us that was alive in a one mile radius. As luck would have it, the weather was perfect as you can see by the pictures. The gentle breeze off the lake and 65F at 6:30pm. was perfect.
You can see in the pictures that there was an uninvited quest named “Fred Fox” the local profession thief and hunter who would appear for a few seconds every 20 minutes for about two hours to see if anyone left some food unguarded. He did manage to abscond a batch of dinner rolls from Gropp Meats when he first came ashore and was setting up the pig roast. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the pig roast, sand, water, and conversation as the evening progressed.
Friday morning there was a light breeze out of the west and the weather prodiction was for 70F. A few boats started slowly heading toward Redwater Bay about 20 miles to the south and west about 10:00 am. Don Parks and family in the 49’ house boat tried to back off the sand beach. With great effort they were able to back off the beach, but something happened the transmission. There was a bad noise and then there was no transmission. Don Parks and family Escape experience was cut short. They called the House boat rental company. They were on there way to drag the house boat back to Kenora. We hope the Parks family will be back next year to complete their four day Summer Escape cruise. The remaining twelve boats slowly made there way 20 miles past many islands and bays to Redwater Bay for the evening anchorage. The slow bubbler division stopped behind Quartz Island to check out ancient Indian Rock sculptures and paintings on a small island to the east of Quarts Island. Unfortunately we could not find any sculptures and paintings. I think time, wind, and rain has finally removed and hidden Indian sculptures and paintings.
The bubbler division arrived at Redwater Bay anchorage around 4:30 pm. The other divisions were already there trying to figure out how to safely anchor all 12 boats together in the middle of the bay for the evening. Rolf Gretschman the owner of All or Nothin, a 37’ Sea Ray is very good at orchestrating large anchorages into a safe design for spending the evening without problems. The weather channel said the winds would be light and variable out of the northwest and that there was no possibility of a thunderstorm with changing wind directions. Rolf gave directions to boats on the marine radio on how to move the flotilla into facing the northwest. Alain’s 42’ Sylvan had 100’ of chain with 200’ of rope attached to his anchor. He was positioned in the middle of the flotilla and 200’ of rope and chain was put out to anchor the boats. Al and Patti’s 45’ Bayliner has the same set up with chain and anchor and their anchor was put out the same distance. Other anchors from smaller boats on the ends were also put out. Two rear anchors were also put out one from Big Dog and one from Into the Mystic.
The winds became very calm. It was time for cocktail hour and a swim for some. The water was quite cool so most people did not spend to much time in the water except for Donna Roman who was in the water for about 15 minutes. Women can stand cold water better than men pound for pound. It is a fact. Dinner was up to the individual boats. Many wonderful smells of barbequing great food was coming from the back of many boats. The boats are lined up so the swim platforms on the back of the boats are all line up even so people can walk from boat to boat to share food and sea stories late into the evening. Those who have dogs takes trips to shore with their animals every four hours or so and for sure just before bed time to make sure their needs are taken care of.
The next morning at 7:00 am. there was no breeze, warm temperatures, and a deep blue sky, absolutely beautiful. Check out these pictures taken from the top of Big Dog at that moment in time of near by islands in Redwater Bay and their reflections into the water. It was the beginning of a great day.
By 10:00 am. the flotilla broke up and we slowly made our way west down Tranquil Channel and then turned south past Lilly Island, Hank Henderson’s favorite Island, but that is another story, and on to Sportsman’s Lodge in the U.S.
We arrived around 3:00 pm. It took about an hour to get most boats tied to the Sportsman’s Lodge docks. Rolf Gretschmann volunteered to cruise 10 miles round trip with all the captains from each boat to Young’s Bay to check in by phone to U.S. customs. All pass port information and citizenship information was faxed to customs before boat captains arrived at Young’s Bay to talk on the phone. Total insanity still persists after all these years concerning checking in to U.S. customs on water!!!!
John Wiebe the vice commodore was in charge of the “games people play” for Summer Escape. John and Shawna Gillepie the other vice commodore came up with three crazy redneck games. We divided into three teams.
The first game revolved around drinking beer out of a bucket with a straw. Each division had 6 straws to drink the beer. The when a team was done they had to put the bucket on a members head upside down. The first team to consume the beer and place the bucket on a team members head was declared the winner.
The second game was a relay race involving pushing a watermelon around a white post and back to the finish line. If you pushed the watermelon to fast it would break apart. Then you had to put the biggest part left.
The third game involved a roll of toilet paper and a plunger. I have no pictures of this game.
The games were great fun. There is more enthusiasm to play games when the temperature is 75F versus 95F as it is most Summer Escapes.
Dinner was served at 6:30 pm. consisting of steak, walleye, salad and desert.[img]
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After dinner more party time took place. There were a lot a sail boaters from Canada who took part in the Dominion Day Race who sailed from Warroad on the same day that spent the evening at Sportsman’s Lodge on Saturday night. It was a full house.
Lots of sailors and power boat people know each other because there mutual home port is Northern Harbor Marina out of Kenora. Some sailors were checking out their computer for quite a while trying to figure out handicaps and times from the race from Warroad to see how they placed. It took lots of concentration. It was very noisy in the lodge and got noisier as the evening wore on. Some where along the line, the vice commodore decided that a good redneck would enjoy having beer poured in their mouth.
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Thus the pictures of the happening. Seems there was always a little more beer poured into ones mouth the one could hold.
The next morning there was a brief business meeting. Commodore Patti Halfaker who is also the treasure gave a treasures report. It was pointed out the treasury is slowly going down each year and there will have to be an increase in dues for each Escape event in the future to cover expenses.
After the treasure report and some discussion the passing of the commodores flag ceremony took place with John Wiebe and Shawna Gillespie receiving there commodores flag and Stan and Barb Newman receiving there vice commodore flag and Al and Pattie Halfaker receiving their past commodores flag. The meeting was then turned over to our new commodores John Wiebe and Shawn Gillespie.
John spoke briefly about dividing next years four day Summer Escape event registration into $10.00 per day. Some people may not be able to go on Escape for four days and this way they could participate for as many days as they could. John also mentioned he would like to dedicate next years Summer Escape in someway to Cancer survivors. It was obvious that John is quite sensitive about cancer as his mother is a cancer survivor.
John mentioned that Nester Falls or Sioux Narrows will be a major destination point for next Summer Escape and something about scuba diving and lessons, stay tuned.
The meeting was adjourned about noon. Members started making plans on what to do on the long voyage back to their home ports for the rest of the day.
