Hi All,
Some of you have been following the travels and experiences of the crew aboard 'Rongevaer', a Pacific Seacraft 31, which is traveling from Duluth, Minn. to Bergen, Norway with a good friend of mine aboard. They are currently making excellent progress, and have exited the Great Lakes, traversed the Erie Canal despite the flooding and week long shut down of the canal from lock 26 down, and toured the New York harbor area, seeing the Statue of Liberty, the Battery, Ellis Island etc. Current status is that they are nearing the jumping off point for their transit of the North Atlantic.
But things were not always so rosy for the crew of Rongevaer. As mentioned above, they ran into severe difficulties at the Erie Canal's lock 26. The lock was closed for a period of over a week. Unfortunately, the conditions at the lock are fairly primative. There are no facilities there at all in fact. Rongevaer had a crew of 5, which burned through the water supply fairly quickly..and the holding tank was also quickly filled. Next, food supplies were getting a bit down and needing replacements in the fresh food dept. The Spirit level was also taking a beating I imagine.
The guys waited a week, with daily updates going back to Minneapolis, where my friends 'Significant Other' and partner Judy Taylor receives the messages, and forwards them to the Web Site set up to track their progress and display some of the more interesting pictures of the trip, as they become available. {See the URL below}
Early on in the waiting at lock 26, we started to get a bit concerned about the consumables disappearing and the water and wastewater conditions. So alternative routing and up to date info on the canal systems condition were needed asap.
I put out a single call for immediate help on the Liveaboard Listserver, asking for anyone in the area if they could ascertain the lock situation with the canal authorities , and maybe suggest an alternative plan for the boat, since time was getting shorter. I got 5 responses back within 30 minutes, each with a different piece of information that helped the crew of Rongevaer determine what the situation really was like. Several folks called the canal commision and asked about the situation at lock 26..I imagine that they had Rongevaers name memorized by the time the day was over with.
One of the responding boaters was Ed Haley, who is a member of both the Liveaboard Listserver and the Calif. Cape Dory Owners Assoc. (CCDOA). He said that he had to bring his daughter to the airport nearby where the guys were waylayed at, and he volunteered to drive on by in a few days and see if they needed something. Well, one thing led to another, and soon his daughter was suggesting that she and Ed drive to the Rongevaer the next day, and see if a pizza and other treats might lift the spirits. So it was decided to do so.
Ed and daughter did as planned, finding the crew tired of waiting, but entirely surprised by this visit. We had just notified them via a satellite connection, that they may have some company from a fellow sailor, and true enough, Ed Haley and his Daughter appeared as promised, loaded with treats and supplies, as well as a car to use while Ed and Daughter visited with the guys. By all reports, it was a great day indeed. The boys had their spirits lifted considerably by this act of unselfish concern for fellow sailors. Afterward, I wrote a letter to Ed thanking him for his efforts and kindness, which he tossed aside to tell me the following story about why he did this nice act of kindness. I will quote the story directly from Ed's e-mail to me, as his words say it better than I could ever. Please read on!
.....
"Larry,
One thing I mentioned to the crew of Rongevaer was my visit was in payment of the "tour" of DeLaMer (my boat..LD.) that you allowed me back in the summer of 1997 when I was attending a Physics Institute in River Falls, Wisconsin. I missed my CD so much, I travelled to the Apostle Islands and looked for masts. I found a nice marina and walked on the docks. If I recalled correctly, your slip was the next to last on a long dock. It was docked starboard to and it felt good to see her. I tossed your "good name" amongst the crew of Rongevaer for that favor. What goes around, comes around in a positive
sense. Plus all your good ideas (sand bags in a bow etc.) about sailing on the Cape Dory website. I hope you include all the info and commaraderie we experience because of Walt Bilofsky (the hard working list owner).
Keep sailing,
Ed Haley
Captain S/V Jasmine
CD28 #272
...............
Well, Ed, you made my year! You also made 5 guys very happy and buoyed their spirits remarkably. Who knows how this reinforecement will play out in the end. It could be the one factor that keeps the right person going at the right moment later in their crossing..when the chips are down again, and things are starting to get a bit tight. We have no way of knowing what effects our dealings with others may have in the overall scheme of things. Look at me..it's a great example. A random act of sharing ones time and knowledge with a lonely sailor on my part had an almost immediate effect on several good friends who were really in need.
What Goes Around *Does* come around. So make that thing going around something you are proud of.
Cheers All!
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 ~~~Happily Sailing Lake Superior~~~~
demers@sgi.com
What Goes Around..Came Around! A Story about one persons kin
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