I've been to the Ark but haven't been there in quite some time. Yes, Stan Rogers is a big fave of mine. I think "Fogarty's Cove" is my favorite CD of his ("Fisherman's Wharf" is one of the greatest maritime pieces ever written) but "Between the Breaks" is mighty good also. There's actually quite a body of Great Lakes music out there. Matt Watroba of NPR's "Folks Like Us" program on WDET plays a lot of it. In fact, I first got into Stan Rogers from listening to "Folks Like Us". Too bad Stan's dead. Is Garnet related to him? They didn't look much alike.

The thing that frightens me about Great Lakes storms is that they can drive you onto rocks or into a pier at an incredible speed. Smash you like a bowl of eggs--to steal a line from "Barrett's Privateers". There's no mercy. Sailing thru squalls and gales on the ocean fascinated me with all the power and noise they make but I was never really scared even when the ship sounded like it was shaking apart. When I was out on a tug with the pilot showing me how it worked so I could write the repair manual and parts list for it, we ran into a storm that caught us by surprise. This was on Huron. Man alive! I thought we were going to die!! I kept thinking, "If I make it back alive I'll never go out on the Lakes again." I made it back alive and was back out on the Lake within 2 hours. I'm more fickle than Michigan weather!!