Hello all!
It’s a brisk morning aboard Lynx, as we stow for sea and get ready to leave our anchorage in Lake Charlevoix, headed for Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and eventually Lake Erie. Our next stop is in Erie, PA, for their first big tall ship event in a number of years. Erie is home to the U.S. Brig Niagara, and has personal ties for a number of our crew. Captain John Beebe-Center sailed as Mate and Captain there for a number of years, and she was the vessel where both Chief Mate LeeAnne Gordon and 2nd Mate/Bosun Ryan Whitehead sailed as volunteer deckhands. Jamie Trost, currently aboard Pride of Baltimore 2 and often Captain here on Lynx as well, has himself called Erie home.
In order to get to Erie, however, we have a lot of miles to cover. Today we are headed out of Lake Charlevoix into Lake Michigan, where we’ll turn north and then east through the Straits of Mackinac and under the “Mighty Mack,” a fixed bridge that connects the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. From there we’ll head into Lake Huron, turning south along the east side of the Michigan mitten and heading for the Detroit River. We hope to transit the Detroit River early next week and then sail into Lake Erie, where we hope to enjoy some favorable weather on our run down the lake.
Erie, PA, here we come!

LeeAnne

At 1600 GMT Today, Lynx was in position
45 degrees 19.049 North
085 degrees 19.991 West

We are hugging the Michigan coast between Grand and Little Traverse Bays. We’re doing a mini-tour of small Michigan ports, anchoring last night off of Northport and planning to spend tonight anchored near Charlevoix. Tomorrow morning we plan a grand arrival in Charlevoix, with lots of canvas and gunfire.

As we were making our way up to the Manitou Passage yesterday, we encountered the lake freighter St. Marys Challenger. Launched in 1906, St Marys Challenger (not her original name) has been operating on the lakes for over 100 years. While not the largest vessel we have seen, St Marys Challenger is magestic in her own right, and drew awed gazes from several of the crew members who have heard of her extensive past.

Yesterday I also spoke with both Molly, our volunteer deckhand from most of the summer, and Lori, a recently-departed relief cook. Molly is getting oriented to life at the University of the Puget Sound, where she’s now thinking of joining either the rowing or crew clubs. Lori is back home in Erie, planning what will surely be a successful event for Tall Ships Erie, in about ten days. We miss both of them, as well as all of the other passengers, crew members and friends we’ve made so far this summer.

LeeAnne – First Mate

After a long battle with Hepatitis induced liver disease, Captain Craig Chipman passed away peacefully August 30, 2010 at 1210 hrs with Jeffrey Woods and close friend Connie Allen by his side. A man of patience, Craig touched many lives and taught valuable lessons to those who knew him and most importantly those who sailed with him. His relationship with the sea was like no other, and Craig’s journey and teachings will continue as he sails the oceans far and near.
There are only a handful of people who come into your world, and touch your life in a dramatic fashion. Some of the people are just flickers of light during a long life, while others are consistent glows for years.

We miss you, and Lynx misses you,
Fair winds always and keep your powder dry Craig.

I am standing upon the seashore

A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength and I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says, “There… she’s gone.”

Gone where? Gone from my sight – that is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side,
and just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of destination.
Her diminishing size is in me, not in her.

Just a moment when someone at my side says, “there…. She’s gone,”
There are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout,
“There she comes!”

- Author Unknown

Greetings all!

We are in our last day of the Chicago festival and have enjoyed it very much-an opportunity to visit with old friends and meet many new ones. Many of the ships who were not doing “sail a ways” were able to send crew members over to the Lynx for a quick respite from the heat of the docks by being a part of one of our daysails. Always a pleasure to introduce sailors to the superior sailing characteristics of this Baltimore Clipper.

Tommorrow we board four guest crew for the run to Charlevoix. We have also been facilitating a normal crew rotation so Dennis, Beau, Theo and Molly have gone on and Grant, Haley, Isaac and Samara have joined. The up coming trip to Charlevoix will therefore be an indoctrination trip for the new joins-as they learn how to best sail their new ship!

Cheers John Beebe-Center

Tuesday Aug 24th will be a day I will remember for the rest of my life. The Lynx is a fabulous ship. My wife, Debbie and I had a wonderful time aboard her.

A great crew made the voyage a pleasure. They were very personable and easy to talk to. The entire experiance surmounted into the best birthday gift I have ever recieved. Thank you Lynx, and my best friend and wife Debbie for a GREAT day!

- John “Jack” Lawrence

Pride II finished at 04h14m25s, Friends Good Will 73 minutes later, and then Lynx at 07h19m. Friends wins class and fleet, Pride II is second in both and Lynx is 3rd in both.

August 17 & 18^th Captain’s Report

Greetings all!

 We are here snug in our berth at Port Washington preparing for another week end of sail-a-ways. Last Monday, leaving Green Bay we and the fleet of Tall Ships had a smoking good run up to Sturgeon Bay which, while great fun in its own right, also served as a tech-up for the last ASTA race of the season-from Sturgeon Bay to a point just off Racine, WI, on Tuesday, August  17th.

Tuesday morning dawned clear with a fresh Westerly breeze as the ships headed through the ship canal into Lake Michigan. The start was at 1000 hrs and, again Lynx was close to the line-though Roseway was actually first over the line down at the leeward mark (we were at the windward pin). The course was 119 miles long and the wind westerly and so off we went with the fore and aft vessels of longer water line gradually pulling away and all enjoying a fast sail!

But for Lynx it seemed that she was not doing her best. I kept puzzling at this; Lynx is a fast boat and I figured that she was good for at least 8.5 knots in the current conditions. She was only doing low 7s. I had previously feathered the prop-which I could tell was feathered because the shaft had stopped free wheeling. About 45 minutes into the race, while still considering the speed I looked back at our wake and observed alot of turbulence – and I realized the awful truth; with our variable prop pitch guage not working that I had, indeed stopped the shaft from turning but had done so by putting the prop into full nuetral position, not full feathered position. Full neutral was straight drag-a variable speed brake. I quickly feathered the prop and our speed came right up to 8.5-9 knots.

On Wednesday morning, August 18th, Lynx crossed the finish line, 3rd of the boats racing in actual line crossing. We are waiting to figure out who won in corrected time but it is assumed by all in the fleet that “Friends Good Will”, a topsail cutter rig of very light displacement who crossed second will almost certainly be the winner-as she is so short.

From Port Washington its on to  Chicago.

Best to all! Cheers John Beebe-Center

Read the fox11online.com article here:

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/laura-smith-sets-sail-on-a-tall-ship

At 2030 GMT Lynx was at L/L 44-31.1N by 088-01.0W or in down town Green Bay. Wind was light and NE and the tall ships fleet is filing in!
Cheers John Beebe-Center

11 August, 2010
At 1600 GMT today, we were in position
45 degrees 19′.707 North
085 degrees 17′.833 West

Just entering Lake Michigan from Charlevoix, MI. We’re headed for Sturgeon Bay at 6.3 knots, expecting to arrive tomorrow in the early morning 0600 or so, where we’ll pick up passengers for the trip to Green Bay and parade of sail.

Thanks,

LeeAnne