[Rhodes22-list] Wish me luck

[ROGER PIHLAJA]

Hi All,

Well, our camp is all set up and we just finished dinner.  Straits State Park has a “Dark Park” section.  The sky is partly cloudy right now, but it’s clearing to the west.  Hopefully, by dark, the sky to the NE will be clear enough to watch the tail end of the Perseid meteor shower.

Tomorrow’s 1st dive doesn’t start until 3:00 PM.  So, in the morning, we plan to visit Historic Mill Creek, about 11 miles away.  This mill is an accurate reproduction of a water powered saw mill dating from just prIor to the American Revolutionary War.  The British made dimension lumber in the mill all spring, summer, and fall.  Then, all winter, they hauled it on sleds across the frozen Straits of Mackinac to Mackinac Island.  This lumber was used to build Fort Mackinac out on the island.  Fort Mackinac is built on top of a 600 foot limestone bluff and is far more defensible against an enemy with a navy and cannons vs Fort Michilamackinaw built at lake level with only a wooden palisade.  By the time of the American Revolution, there had been Europeans living in the Straits area for 40-50 years.  Between the trees used for log cabins, the wooden palisade at Fort Michilamackinaw on the lower peninsula mainland (now Mackinaw City), and firewood, there was actually a local shortage of wood.  The British were forced to use dimension lumber vs logs in order to make more efficient use of the remaining trees.  In the summer, the park service will have costumed reenactors running the saw mill.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium 


Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 13, 2020, at 7:59 PM, Chris Geankoplis <chrisgeankoplis at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Sounds like a great adventure that you are making happen.  The kids will
> remember this experience for a long time.
> Chris G
> Enosis
> 
>> On Thu, Aug 13, 2020 at 6:59 AM ROGER PIHLAJA <Roger_Pihlaja at msn.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi All,
>> 
>> Well, later today I’m leaving with my Boy Scout Troop on our Shipwreck
>> SCUBA Diving High Adventure Trip!  We will be camping in Straits State Park
>> in St. Ignace, MI.  Our dive charter boat will pick up/drop off from the
>> St. Ignace Harbor of Refuge, which is about a 10 minute drive from our
>> campsite.  Weather permitting, we will make 2 dives per day each on Friday
>> and Saturday, for a total of 4 dives.  The weather forecast in the Straits
>> of Mackinac looks pretty good with sunny skies and temperatures in the low
>> 80’s deg F for both dive days.  However, the wind is forecast to be 15-20
>> mph from the E and SE.  This sort of wind can make the Straits of Mackinac
>> very rough.  This narrow strait at the northern end of Lakes Michigan and
>> Huron tends to develop “pyramid-shaped” waves as the wave patterns from the
>> two lakes constructively and destructively interfere with each other.  Even
>> worse, it can cause strong underwater currents thru the Straits to form,
>> which we don’t want to have to deal with.  The underwater currents may
>> force us to adjust which shipwrecks we visit for safety reasons.  The only
>> positive factor here is that the wind has been blowing like that for
>> several days.  So, the lakes may already be equalized in their wind driven
>> levels and the underwater current may be OK.  We will be relying on the
>> local knowledge of our divemaster and dive charter boat operator to access
>> this safety concern.  Yes, this is serious blue water diving and it’s not
>> idiot proof!  This is also one reason why there are so many shipwrecks here.
>> 
>> Anyway, one way or another, I’ll be back Sunday afternoon.  Wish me luck!
>> 
>> Roger Pihlaja
>> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for
>> Windows 10
>> 
>>