Sailing Saint Barbara
The Voyage
In early May, 2006, the St. Barbara will set sail for Ireland. The Atlantic leg of the journey will reverse the route of millions of Irish fleeing the potato famine. Their voyage will carry them past eerie reminders of less fortunate sailors that went before them - the route they are taking is dotted with shipwrecks.
The crew will first sail north through Lake Michigan for three days to Mackinac Island, home of the legendary Mackinac Sailboat Race. The men will then head toward Canada, stopping in Detroit and traveling on to Lake Erie.
Two days later, the crew will navigate the Welland Canal, heading past Toronto for Montreal. In Montreal they will replenish their supplies. After Montreal they will head past Grosse Isle, where six thousand Irish fleeing the potato famine were quarantined and buried in unmarked graves. The crew will also pass the site of the Empress of Ireland wreck, a large steer ship that sank in 1914, killing over 1,000 passengers and crewmen.
The crew will go through the St. Lawrence Seaway into the St. Lawrence Gulf, and on to the Gaspé Peninsula. They will dock on the peninsula for supplies once more before initiating their journey across the North Atlantic. Setting sail for St. John's, Newfoundland, the crew will pass within 30 kilometers of the ill-fated Titanic wreck. They will need to be especially alert during this stretch, as the heavy fog ubiquitous in the area obscures everything from icebergs to cargo ships - giving the area its reputation as the "Graveyard of the Gulf." Arriving in St. John's the crew might be greeted in a dialect called "Newfoundland Irish," a derivative of the Gaelic spoken by early Irish settlers.
The next leg of the journey is the seven-day stretch between Newfoundland and Nanortalik, Greenland. The St. Barbara crew must be vigilant around the clock as they pass through the largest concentration of icebergs on the journey. Adding to the eerie effect of twenty plus hours of daylight as the crew heads further north, is the ominous noise of enormous icebergs cracking and groaning as they break apart around the St. Barbara.
After stopping again for supplies in Nanortalik, the crew will head on to Reykjavik, Iceland, a city so far north that the night is nearly as bright as daylight during the summer. The crew will leave Iceland around June 22nd for the final stretch of the journey. During this portion of their voyage, the crew is likely to encounter the most volatile weather. Waves in this region can swell to over 50 feet, and stormy weather with gale force winds is not uncommon throughout the year.
In late June, the crew hopes to arrive safely in Connemara. There has been much media interest in Ireland surrounding Steve's story and the St. Barbara, and the crew will be greeted by thousands of people on land and in boats. Steve mother will be waiting on the pier for him, as will dozens of other eager friends and family of the crew. The Irish media will be out in droves, and a large celebration will follow. It will be an emotional homecoming for the crew as they end their unprecedented journey home aboard the St. Barbara. We wish them fair winds and following seas.