9 8 



RECREATION, 



of the day to find him, away on the out- 

 skirts of the town. He had evidently 

 passed through the main part of the town 

 without realizing that he had arrived at the 

 City of the Garfield Monument that we 

 hear so much about when thev take a cen- 

 sus. They count all the people in the West- 

 ern part of Ohio, and then stand on the via- 

 duct and count them again as they pass 

 back and forth. 



On previous cruises we had taken on 

 gasoline at many points, and the obliging 

 and prompt service of the Standard Oil 

 concern has always been a marvel, but at 

 the headquarters we had a great deal of 

 trouble. They refused to allow the man to 

 pump into the boat, and after much argu- 

 ment they sent a little toy tin pump with 

 a spout about a foot long. We were lying 

 in a dock about 6 feet high, and. had all 

 kinds of trouble before we got the tank 

 filled. 



We expected to complete our outward 

 voyage the next day. The wind was blow- 

 ing fresh, but we decided to make a start. 

 As we made the first plunge after clearing 

 the breakwater, there emanated from the 

 depths of the cabin a rapid fire of announce- 

 ments from one of our party who styles 

 himself a canal sailor. 



"The gasoline tank is slopping over, the 

 water is coming in on all sides, the port 

 lights leak, our grips are getting soaked ! 

 Aw, what's the use !" 



Added to this was the din of kettles and 

 pans slamming around, and as soon as this 

 excitement subsided and we saw an oppor- 

 tunity for turning, we reluctantly put back. 

 We were, however, impatient to get under 

 way, and decided to try it again and run 

 as far as Rocky river, about 8 miles, a 

 pretty harbor used as an anchorage for the 

 Cleveland yacht clubs. We got a better 

 slant by going out of the West gap^ of the 

 breakwater, and by the time we reached 

 Rocky river we were riding the seas so 

 gaily, and so enjoying the sensation of 

 leaping from crest to crest, that all hands 

 voted to continue to Lorain. We rounded 

 Avon Point close to the shore, as there is 

 good water all along. The shores of that 

 Point are beautiful, with manv splendid 

 summer homes nestling among the trees on 

 the high bluff overlooking the lake. 



The wind subsided and we passed Lorain 

 and continued to Vermilion. There we 

 found one of those charming old ports that 

 are left entirely to the pleasure cruisers, 

 dilapidated piers, a picturesque lighthouse, 

 and summer girls, idly paddling up and 

 down the Vermilion river, which empties 

 into Lake Erie. There is no commerce at 

 that port. Sand bars have filled the en- 

 trance, and it is accessible only to small 

 craft. 



Daylight the next morning found us stir- 



ring, as we were scheduled to reach Put-in 

 bay by noon, but the fates had decreed 

 otherwise. Our start was promising, but 

 our finish was not far off. Sandusky bay 

 sets in some distance, and we laid our 

 course for Marblehead, a prominent rocky 

 headland, and a picturesque spot, with 

 lighthouse, life-saving station, and storm- 

 signal station. It has been the scene of 

 many wrecks. There we left the open wa- 

 ters of Lake Erie and entered the South 

 passage, leading to the intricate channels 

 through the numerous islands, rocks and 

 reefs at the Western end of Lake Erie. 



We passed Marblehead in high spirits, 

 with' a fresh head wind and a sea that 

 tossed our little craft about regardless, but 

 she dug into it as if she enjoyed it as much 

 as we did. We were bowling along at a 

 swift rate when suddenly the engine slowed 

 down and then stopped. The launch fell 

 into the trough of the sea and rolled fright- 

 fully, and we feared it would swamp ; but 

 we shipped scarcely any water, so we began 

 to look for the trouble. Gasoline was test- 

 ed for water, vaporizers taken apart to look 

 for dirt, wiring overhauled, batteries tested, 

 spark plugs taken out, cylinder heads take i 

 off and new gaskets put in ; every possible 

 symptom was diagnosed over and over with 

 no results. We were completely stumped 

 for the first time. 



We were about 3 miles off shore and 

 right abreast of the life-saving station, 

 and we saw that they had launched the life 

 boat and were coming to our rescue. As 

 we had absolutely no means of helping our- 

 selves, we considered it fortunate that our 

 accident occurred in sight of Uncle Sam's 

 watchful guards, who are always on the 

 alert to assist the shipwrecked mariner. 

 We were in no immediate danger, so we 

 had the long-looked-for opportunity to try 

 our drogue, which had been carried on 

 many a trip and had never been wet. As a 

 means of keeping the boat head-to, it was 

 a dismal failure. We put it out to wind- 

 ward, and it drifted back up against the 

 side of the boat. 



When the life-saving crew reached us, 

 they passed us a line and towed us to Kel- 

 ley's island, about a mile distant, where we 

 tied up to a dock, and proceeded to take the 

 engine apart several times more, in a vain 

 attempt to get it started. Just as we had 

 given up hope of finding the trouble, one 

 of the party hung over the stern, looked at 

 the propeller wheel, and found one of the 

 blades perfectly flat. The lock-nut had 

 worked loose, and that was the cause of all 

 our trouble ; but to fix it was not easy. 

 There are large limestone quarries on Kel- 

 ley's island, and they were loading a vessel 

 at the dock. The captain rigged up a tackle 

 from the mast and hauled up the stern of 

 our boat with his engine, which he carried 



