The Riders of the Realm assembled with their ship-shape Worthy Steeds at the Red Wing waterfront for another mission to sail around Lake Pepin. Baggage was deposited in the hold of the three-speed lorry, old friendships were renewed, hands were shaken and soon the vicar was delivering the highly-anticipated "blessing of the bicycles" from the bulletin.
The message of "godspeed" from the Queen was delivered by petty officer John Palmer and first mate Willy Gobert. This year included a signed letter of recommendation from the Canadian Parliament to admirals STO and Noel Robinson. Gone are the days when we questioned the ability of this leaking old vessel to complete the appointed tour of duty; this English Navy is hale and hearty, thank you, and quite up to the task.
Soon we shoved off from port Red Wing and those friends and family left behind were waving their kerchiefs as we floated off into the unknown. Cool and cloudy with a light breeze at force three winds on the Beaufort scale proved near perfect sailing weather as we cruised past the bow and arrow marker.
Soon, a rogue wave appeared on the horizon; the Bay City Hill. Some fortified themselves with ice cream and readied themselves for the charge. Full speed ahead was the call to the engine room as the bow rose up to meet the challenge. At the top, the nutters felt the wave to be nothing more than a gentle swell and they paused to gather their courage for the descent. Down they went into the trough hurtling at high speed. Several more waves were encountered plus a welcomed rain shower that kept our record intact (there has never been a Three-Speed Tour without rain) and soon we were in Maiden Rock.
With the Smiling Pelican Bakery in dry dock, Maiden Rock proved to be an empty port-of-call and so we moved on. Wave after wave came our way but we rode them all and soon Stockholm harbour was in view and shore leave was granted for lunch. While we ate, and without warning, force three became force four and so the die was cast. By the time we hoisted anchor, force five was upon us and we could do little but ride it out. The pier at Pepin soon was a welcome sight. For one unlucky sailor who was enjoying the day on the pier, his three-speed was caught by a force six gust and off it went to Davy Jones Locker in 12 feet of water. A rescue mission was immediately mounted and soon both rider and steed were found dripping safely on shore.
From Pepin, the force six wind turned into a force seven gale. We fought our way toward [Lord] Nelson whereupon we were greeted with force eight and hapless sailor Scott was cast adrift and blown off course to Alma; several miles downstream. A chance encounter with good friend Dave Siskind who happened to be on tour in the area, fixed Scott’s rudder and set him back on course. At that time we received word about another castaway, Peter 'Wrong Way' Jourdain, who became separated from the group early on and then rode to Wabasha mistakenly on the Minnesota side.
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