1,500 Mile trip in an Ariel to the North Channel

[Theis]

Last summer I took my Ariel, no. 82, on a 1,500 mile trip to the North Channel of Lake Huron and back from my home port of Racine, Wisconsin. The trip took two months to complete.

For those that are interested, the story of the trip, with pictures and a portion of a chart is posted at www.conservit.com/northchannel.htm

A word of caution. The file is 6mb long. If you print it out, it is 78 pages. My strong recommendation is that, because of the pictures and chart, it be printed out at "Best" and on inkjet paper if you are using an inkjet printer. "Normal" is OK but much is lost. Draft loses the pictures.

I think for those of you interested in cruising you will find it easy reading, interesting, and informative - if I have succeeded in what I set out to do.

Enjoy

Peter Theis

[D. Fox]

Tried to look but got a message that the file is "no longer available"...

Dan

[Theis]

Dan:

You may have hit it the article when it was being updated last Friday. It works now though - I just went there. Do you have Acrobat Reader 5. Many people only have version 3. I think you will need to update your reader (its free at www.adobe.com). Try it again and let me know.

Thanks for the comment.

Peter

[D. Fox]

Hi Peter, just tried again and got the following message:

We're sorry, the page you requested is no longer available.
Click here to go to ConServIT Home

I used the link provided in your initial post...could it have changed?

Dan

[French]

I got the same message:

"We're sorry, the page you requested is no longer available.
Click here to go to ConServIT Home "

[Theis]

Sorry about that. I think I have found the problem - an interesting problem at that. I edited and fixed the URL in the first screen, tested it, and it works. Before the fix, it did not work for me either.

So, for you computer junkies, here is what happened. The URL is www.conservit.com/northchannel.htm

Notice that I did not, in the above example, put a period at the end of the sentence. What the browser did is to include the end of the sentence period as part of the URL. And there is no such URL with the "htm." suffix. So, these machines are not so smart after all. Or said differently, these machines are now so smart, that no matter what you do, they will defeat you.

The correct address, and I apologize if this sentence does not have a period as it should to be grammatically correct, is www.conservit.com/northchannel.htm

Keep me posted if you have any further problems, and thanks for reporting the problem.

Peter

[Janice Collins]

I still can't open it up....

[D. Fox]

I got it open earlier tonight. Nice job - that must've been a ton of work (I've only gotten thru about 10 pages so far). You may have set a record for length ownership - are you the original owner of the boat?

[Theis]

Janice:

I just checked it and got through OK. What may be the issue is that when you go to the site, it starts downloading immediately automatically . I did not build a cover page (perhaps I should) with a check box to download. As a result, what you get when you log on is a blank page. But if you look at your transmission "meter" (If on windows go to "Dial up Networking" in the "Start" tab, or for the Mac "Remote Access Status in the Apple pull down menu) for the transmission activity you will, or should see data being received.

Fox:

It was a lot of work - about six months of much more than incidental writing and culling. What started it all is a request that I talk about the solo trip down the lake to the BSYC - you should imagine what the letters stand for, but in polite society it is Bay Shore Yacht Club. I figured I should put something down that I could reference so the talk didn't just wander.

From there I did the up lake section, figuring my son might appreciate it.

Having the two legs done, the third leg became a Must Do, wondering if my wife would appreciate it.

Then my brother suggested pictures - wow was that something I hadn't planned on.

Then Jill suggested I put in the chart.

So, in mid-April, I was done and wanted to get rid of it to go work on Solsken. That was why the rush last week.

So I got the WORD source document pdfed, put it out on the web, and went to print out a copy for my scrapbook. The printer ran out of ink (both the color and B&W cartridges simultaneously). I got replacement cartridges and found that WORD had spontaneously reformatted the Cruising section (that was when I sent out the first web mayday)

That being corrected, I tried sending the corrected WORD document to be pdfed again, but my ISP was down. So I brought a disc with the WORD version to work and had them do it and mount it on the web on Thursday.

When I found out that the period placed at the end of the sentence had been incorporated into the URL address, well.........

And they say computers add to the nation's productivity. well...

Other than that it wasn't much work.

Peter

[Bill]

Gee, that sounds a lot like putting out the newsletter :p

[commanderpete]

I'm looking forward to reading this. Sounds like a great adventure. Congratulations.

It started to download, got to 39%, and quit. I'll try again later.

This should be better than my usual story:

"1.5 miles in a Commander to the waterfront restaurant...And Back!"

[Theis]

To make life easier for everyone, I changed/added a web page as an intro. The new address is

www.conservit.com/northchannel.htm

Once there you will be asked if you want to download the file, save it, etc. This should be easier for everyone. The addresses given in earlier messages I edited and changed to the new address.

The old pdf address still works, but this is easier, clear and better. Hope it holps those that were encountering perceived or actual difficuties.

Peter

[Janice Collins]

I was able to download the text only! I would have liked seeing the photos .

But I got a message saying " Could not find the Color Space named "Cs6"

:confused:

[Theis]

Based on a similar problem reported, you may not have Acrobat Reader version 5X, but an earlier version of Reader. Reader 5X is a free download available at www.adobe.com. I think you may have Reader 3X.

Please let me know if that is the problem as I suspect it is.

Peter Theis

[Mike Goodwin]

Had insomnia last night , downloaded with all pix at 3am ,ended up reading the whole story .
Quite a trip !

[commanderpete]

You should read this.

A good tale well told.

A nice adventure and a fine piece of writing.

Thanks Theis.

[c_amos]

Peter,

I have been meaning for a couple of weeks now, to thank you for taking the time to put this together and post it here.

I knew I was going to enjoy it, and after scanning a page or two had it printed out on a color laser printer and professionally bound so I could enjoy it.

I spent a rainy Saturday below on Faith, enjoying reading of your journey. Very well written, and appreciated all the more read in a warm cabin on a rainy afternoon.

I have shared it with a friend who is working on #243, and am sure it will be enjoyed by him as well.

Thanks for taking the time, and letting us come along.

:D

[Theis]

Thank you for your comments. I have written another story that is not posted (but perhaps should be) that you might enjoy (They are a bit shorter). Email me at theis@owc.net if you want me send it to you.

A little anecdote that you might enjoy. I was honored to be given an award for that article by the Great Lakes Cruising Club. Before their Annual Meeting, I received a call asking me for the name that should appear on the plaque. After giving them my name, they asked if my wife's name should also be included, since every prior year it had been awarded to a couple. Pondering that, I decided, for good reason, that it should only be my name.

At the Annual Meeting, before I was called to the podium, I pondered how I was going to get around the "macho" image that might be perceived by the audience, using my name alone for the award. So I told this (true) story:

On a dark, cold, wintry, February night following completion of the article, my wife and I were seated at the dinner table. It was blowing and snowy outside. I asked her "Of all those wonderful times we had on the North Channel trip, the sparkling water under the full moon, the sound and smell of the summer evening breeze, the interesting places we visited, the friends we met, the cries of the loons and the other birds, what stands out first and foremost among your memories."

She replied, without a moment of hesitation - no thought involved - "when I jumped ship in Hessel, Michigan.

Thanks again for your comment.

[c_amos]

PM sent, looking forward to the next installment.

Peter, I have to tell you by the way. I originally intended to share your story with my wife...... :eek:

.... I thought better of it at the end. She has been quite happy to accompany me thus far, I don't want to take any chances. :D