A Winter Islander

Round Island, Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

Well, it's a good night for a report from the head of the island. Bob Digel suggested "McMuddle Sound". It surely has an antarctic feel to it. It's been snowing all day, with winds 15-25 and gusts to 30. It is still warm, so the snow has a high water content. It is heavy and very slippery. Lots of accidents on the scanner. Now it is dark. There are drifts to about 2-3 feet in places. I just made a tour of the island on the snowmobile and then walked STORMY on a leash down to Pitt's corner and back.

Dick Withington's iceboat at his Round Island dock.

Heard thunder in Canada, and glimpsed lightning. Wind just veered west and increased. Snow is heavier too. I can just make out the glow of the boathouse light. Couldn't get the airboat back into the boathouse, so it is on the end of long line and jacked up on wooden blocks between our skiff house and Anne's boathouse. It would have been funny to see a video of me trying to get a tarp around the engine cage in that wind. I took two of the old plywood cement forms that are stacked so ungraciously behind our property, got out the sled that is pulled behind the snowmobile, got the snowmobile started (low battery), and loaded the forms on the sled. Took the snowmobile down to the seawall to break a trail, then hooked the sled to the snowmobile and hauled the forms down to the ice. With not much help from the wind, I placed the forms over the cockpit of the boat to try to keep some of the snow out. Windchills are expected to approach -30F before morning. We'll see. Hope the power stays on.!!

Yesterday was tiring. I set out in the morning to finish putting half-sheets of plywood over the second and third story windows that had blown out in the Christmas gale. It takes a lot of rigging to get a half-sheet of plywood to rise to the upstairs windows and then hold still long enough to put a few screws in place. I had them positioned but not fully secured, and a wind forecast of gusts to 40mph made me want to finish the project and get the rigging down. I wish I'd counted the number of times I climbed the ladder. Silly little inconveniences, you drop a glove, the trigger of the screw gun freezes in the on position, then the battery dies of exhaustion and hypothermia., etc.

I was distracted by the sound of an airboat near Clayton. There are not a lot of us, so we tend to look out for each other. Binocs showed an airboat stopped about mid-channel. The noise was from a second boat that was going in slow circles in the same area. I called Junior, and he said the mail-airboat had broken down and Jay Slate was there to help with his boat. I have respect that borders on awe for the guys from Grindstone and the things they can do.

Looked like someone was walking on the ice between the tow boats, and soon they both started off toward Clayton. Back to work. Shortly, I got a call from Junior. Jay is trying to tow Brian, and he'd like you to come and help. Told him I'd be a few minutes. Check the stoves, don the exposure suit, gather radio, ropes, helmet, etc. Started to Clayton, and saw coyote tracks on the ice. Up ahead was the trackee. On closer inspection, I was horrified to see it was STORMY. I won't terrorize you with the details; suffice it to say that it was a very fortunate retrieval of the dog. Neither of us was happy, and we didn't talk much on the ride back to Round Island. When things go bad, nothing beats good luck. !!! But I digress. Locked her in the house and resumed the run to Clayton. As I got closer, I could feel the stern starting to settle. I got close to the two boats and stopped to discuss the plan. Immediately, my boat settled into its "displacement mode", ie: the ice broke under me and we just became a real boat. Plan was to try to break ice toward shore to facilitate the tow. Jay took his boat and we both broke ice toward Frink pier and Jay put his boat on the ice where the municipal floaters usually live.

I took Jay as crew, and we went back out to Brian, who was waiting patiently, but with considerable interest. We came alongside and shut the engine down to prevent unpleasantries. Next we tied the ropes together into a long towline, and transferred it all to Brian's boat. His job was to keep the line out of my prop, and try to hide from my propwash (flying ice). Jay would sit on my foredeck to keep us balanced and to watch Brian. He would signal if there was a need to stop. All clear! Contact!.....Nothing. Now the only boat working is on shore, and we are drifting to Montreal. Fortunately, the miscue was due to my inexperience and stress, and was quickly solved. The line came taut, and we made progress to Frink dock. There we were able to transfer the end of the line to the pier. At that point, all the Clayton onlookers mobilized into a tug-o-war team and pulled Brian closer to the pier. I called for the Fire/Rescue truck to utilize its winch, and eventually, the boat arrived next to the Golden Anchor dock for repairs. Kenny Brabant and Jeremy Kellogg showed up with their airboats. Jeremy and I took Skip Rawson's party of three to Calumet to repair the computer and webcam, so that all you folks can watch it snow. (See calumetisle.com)

Then I hurried home to finish dismantling the rigging. The ladder is a commercial-grade 40-footer which I cannot lift alone. It froze in the extended position, so I used a fairly complex system of a floating block with a 3:1 mechanical advantage to  lower the ladder with one hand. In the other hand was a guy rope from the top of the ladder to control its sway in the rising wind. Finished re-installing the windows using a headlamp in the dark. Went to bed early.

You'd enjoy seeing this place in its winter decor. Most would probably find it cluttered. Wood is stacked to the windowsills, emergency backpacks are by the door, there are four pairs of footwear lined up. One pair of insulated rubber boots for walking in slush, and for quick runs outdoors to check the yellow-snow supply. One pair of mucklucks for working in snow; one pair of boots for XC skiing, and a pair of slippers for indoors. I keep three suits of outerwear hanging from the drying hooks in the ceiling. One suit of Carhartts, one exposure suit for boating and airboating, and one snowmobile suit for riding on the island. Then there is the 200 feet of rope that has just come out of the dryer. Dock lines make the house smell like seaweed when wet. Have to have the lines dried to be ready for next adventure. Cat is asleep in the recliner by the stove, ...just keeping the seat warm in case I feel a need for a catnap before dinner. I practice the fiddle some, but I can't tell whether STORMY is singing along, or wailing at the sounds. Have to wait until she's outside. Doesn't say much for my skill.

Got battery acid on my coveralls when the battery on the airboat died. Hard to find a marine battery on a Saturday afternoon. On the way back to the island, the snow was perfect, so I opened it up. Always wondered how fast it would go in good conditions. Well, I didn't find out, because there was a funny noise, like I'd hit something. I backed off, but was not in a good place to investigate. When I got to the island, I discovered that the passenger's life cushion had become airborne and passed through the fan. Really lucky this time.... no damage to the prop, and the remnant of the cushion is just the right size to cover the hole the acid left in my coveralls. I'll sew the patch in tonight.

Lots of folks call just to see if I'm still here. If this keeps up, it will be the Mother of all Winters, but spring is coming.

Dick (Withington)

PS - Clayton is having its winterfest Feb 20-22. Lots of fun things to do in Clayton and LaFargeville. Good time to check your island property that is taxed so heavily. 

Dr. Dick Withington is a retired Orthopaedic Surgeon, living out a childhood dream spending his fourth consecutive winter alone at the head of Round  Island. His wife Roseanne heads to Florida when "Rivercroft" is closed in October and Dick moves into the former servants' quarters, "Wintercroft". His old but faithful Siberian Husky Stormy and a rescued Siamese cat Mylie keep him company. Dr. Withington has an airboat, which he keeps at his own dock in winter ready to help. The Sheriff's office will call him directly if and when there is a problem.