Excerpts from 1996 Flotilla Journal by Pam Rice

...Saturday, August 10, 1996...

...The flotilla left Jackson Park Yacht Club at 9:30p.m. The seas were choppy, with easterly winds. It was a dark night—no moon, no stars. At the horizon , it was hard to distinguish the sky from the lake. We were headed 72 degrees southeast to Michigan City, IN; from there, north to St. Joseph, MI, South Haven, and then onto Saugatuck. Just for the record, I need to introduce the flotilla participants: Purple Reigns—Captain Pam Rice, Fleet Commander and Captain Wanda Robertson, skipper of My Tyme II; Alpha Rays— Captain Alpha Ray Thompson, Rear Admiral of this flortilla; Aloha—Captain Roger Shuppert and First mate, Dianne Shuppert; Captain Lance Lovely, skipper of Seeking; SeaHorse—Captain Wesley "Smitty" Smith; Aminah—Captain Elliott El-Amin; J-Runner—Captain Johnny Johnson (who will sail from East Chicago and join us in St. Joseph) Most of us in the flortilla are experienced sailors. Pam Rice and Wesley Smith were members of the first African American crew (of both men and women) to sail in the Mackinac Race in 1994. The crew of nine was captained by Captain William "Bill" Pinkney, world reowned, solo-circumnavigator. The boat Upanayana (Keeper of the Magic Flute) was that of David Blackwell, also of the crew. Rose Rogers and Robert Bassett are both active members of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Lance Lovely, an experienced yachtsman and mechanic. Myself and Wanda Robertson with twenty plus years of sailing experience; David and Judith Davis sailed the east coast for many years and shipped Obsession to Chicago to sail Lake Michigan, where they currently reside. Al Thompson and Yvonne Nelson have sailed the entire Lake Michigan and parts of Lake Superior. They have sailed for up to 40 days and nights at a time to various islands and through the Straits of Mackinaw, the North Channel and up into Canada...

Download Journal

<< Previous... >>