Bermuda Triangle Trouble

My trip out of Bermuda was filled with the grim foreboding of a tragedy plotline.  Our route from Bermuda to St Martin took us down the eastern edge of the Bermuda Triangle, which also completed our circumnavigation of the Triangle, so it was bound to come with some challenges. 

Just like the America’s Cup, where the race begins before the start line, our problems began before we departed.  Before we could leave Bermuda, we needed to sail over to St George - on the east end of the islands - in order to check out at the customs office.  We pulled into the harbor and as we reversed throttle to set the anchor, the boat swung to port.  The captain thought the starboard engine might not be engaging, but we soon discovered that the propeller we had just cleaned was gone! 

Fortunately, we had a spare.  We pulled it out, assembled it, took a three-hour tender ride to rent extra dive gear to install it, dove in, and discovered the propeller was the wrong size!  So, the $5,000 worth of bronze-feathering propeller was now extra ballast weight returned to the bilge.  AND, to make matters worse, the company that made the propeller informed us that they no longer manufacture the $5,000 three-blade version anymore.  Now, they only make an $11,000 five-blade version.  So, our $5,000 one-prop fix jumped to a $22,000 two-prop problem!  This is why they call a boat a hole in the water that you throw money into.

Before we committed to replacing both props, we decided to search the channel and harbor for the missing propeller.  On the trip into St George, the captain had noted our propulsion was lackluster, but had attributed the poor performance to the strong tidal current.  Having discovered that the propeller was missing, we assumed we may have lost it when we made the turn into the harbor, so we focused our search on the entry into the harbor. 

On the first day we searched with our four-person boat crew.   We had a line and buoy to track the divers from the tender (small motor boat) above, and the grid search seemed pretty thorough, but we failed to find anything.  With poor visibility below, and a large area to search, our efforts were like trying to find a needle in a haystack, so we tried to employ more resources to the second day of the search. 

First, we visited BIOS (Bermuda’s Institute for Oceanic Sciences) to see if they might want to deploy their research vessel and it’s high-powered underwater RADAR to help look for the propeller.  The BIOS center is a world renowned research and education facility; however, every time I had boated past the BIOS center, it seemed to give off a frat house vibe.  The first time we went by, some people were out grilling on the BBQ, while other 20-somethings sat on the dock tossing a throw net in hopes of shrimp dinner I assume.  Dress was always more beach party than science lab, and on our visit to inquire about the boat it wasn’t much different.  Our enquiry was not met with the enthusiasm we had hoped for, but they did put us in contact with a local guy that had an underwater metal detector.

 

Although the local guy was an amateur, he told us tales of previous discoveries in the area and seemed like an experienced old salt.  However, as I waited on the surface, it soon became apparent, by the bobbing buoy following the path of irregular search patterns unfolding below the surface, that he had exaggerated his skills.  The captain, who was also searching for the propeller, had to turn back a few times to find his dive buddy, and finally lost him before completing a grid search.  After the captain boarded the tender, we scanned the horizon for our local assistant, and a few minutes later he surfaced about 180 degrees in the opposite direction from our start point and the intended search area.   

Our final dive was another comedy of errors and hampered further by strong currents.  The needle was not found, so the new props were ordered to be delivered to our destination of St Martin, and we departed without one of our props.  Lots of boats only have one engine and propeller, so this wasn’t an outrageous move, but we were sailing around the Bermuda Triangle, so of course it didn’t go smoothly.  Our one engine began to sputter, and eventually quit a day out from our destination.  Fortunately, we were sailing and had good wind to carry us the rest of the way to St Martin at a nice speed. 

During this crossing, I read “The Godforsaken Sea” by Derek Lundy about the Vendee Globe solo round-the-world sailing race.  The race takes the solo sailors south from France, through the Atlantic, around Antarctica, past the three southern capes, and back north up the Atlantic to the start.    

In the 1996 race, three boats capsized and one boat was lost completely.  In two cases, racers turned back, into the storms, in order to search for capsized or damaged ships.  One actually saved a fellow racer’s life, while the other had to give up the search as there was no rescue signal to hone in on. 

It is an amazing and insane race, and the first attempt was described in the book “A Voyage for Madmen” by Peter Nichols, which described the 1968 Golden Globe Race in which only one of nine contestants crossed the finish line!  I won’t spoil the ending by telling you who won, but he was not considered a strong candidate going into the race.  However, he ended up doing some amazing repairs at sea, overcame countless setbacks and challenges; and became the first person ever to sail non-stop solo around the world. 

I tried to imagine what it must be like to compete in the race as we sailed through a few minor squalls on our way to St. Martin.  At our latitude, the rain and wind were warm; the seas were calm and the winds were light.  However, I still found it both thrilling and challenging to manage the sails and helm through these short lived squalls.  The southern ocean’s weather and waves are treacherous and I cannot imagine what it must be like to sail, solo, in 60-foot icy seas, hurricane-force winds, snow, and the threat of icebergs for months on end! 

The first Golden Globe and the modern Vendee Globe races are considered the Everest of yachting.  However, Everest is climbed in two months with a team of support and a series of acclimation camps during the accent.  The Vendee Globe is twice as long, in total isolation, in seas that rarely give you a break.  These sailors are truly mad to subject themselves to these conditions for so long to simply get back to where they started!  As Ishmael said in Moby Dick, “Round the world! There is much in that sound to inspire proud feelings; but whereto does all that circumnavigation conduct? Only through numberless perils to the very point whence we started.”

I finished the book and the sail to St Martin, and spent a wonderful day touring the island before flying home for a month off.  I was excited for all the destinations that still lay ahead on the boat’s itinerary: the British Virgin Islands in the fall, followed by Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Columbia over the winter.  Unfortunately, Hurricane Irma came along and destroyed the boat.  I was crushed to lose my job, but at the same time thankful that was all I had lost. 

Before Irma

After Irma

Before and after pictures of one of the British Virgin Islands

So many people across the Caribbean have lost everything, and have months to years of recovery ahead of them before their lives and island homes will resemble anything that they remember from before the storms.  I would encourage everyone to consider giving to an aid organization supporting the recovery in the Caribbean. 

Below are some charities and relief groups that you might consider.  If you donate before 7OCT, let me know how much you contribute and I will match it.  (Fine print: I’ll match up to $100 per person, and not to exceed $1000 in total matching contributions) 

Initially, I was looking for local groups, but decided it is difficult to confirm the efficacy, efficiency and legitimacy of new groups.  So these are established groups with very high ratings on financial performance, accountability and transparency.  With most you can direct your contributions to a specific relief campaign, or give a general donation.

International Relief Teams During disasters, IRT deploys medical and reconstruction teams, provides supplies, and finances the restoration of infrastructure. IRT builds healthy communities through medical training programs; medical missions to low-income countries, including surgical and eyeglass teams; shipments of medicines to rural hospitals and clinics; and health, nutrition and education support for vulnerable populations.

Direct Relief Direct Relief’s medical assistance programs equip health professionals working in resource-poor communities to meet the challenges of diagnosing, treating, and caring for people without regard to politics, religion, gender, race, or ability to pay.

Samaritan's Purse  is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world since 1970.

Let the giving begin! J

Travel through time in Wyoming

Recently, I returned to Wyoming for a short vacation from my vacation. That isn’t entirely true.  I do work at my job as a deckhand; however, my vocation is another man’s vacation.  The trip home - from Bermuda via St Martin – wasn’t short of adventure, but I’ll tell you about that in my next blog.

 

I made it home to Green River, and during my stay in Wyoming, I drove across the state along I-80 several times.  Although I’ve driven this route hundreds of times in the past, this time I made several stops along the way as a tourist in my home state.  It’s a historic route in American transcontinental transportation.  It roughly follows parts of the Oregon and Overland Trails, the transcontinental railroad, the Lincoln Highway, and even a major air corridor, which began with giant painted cement arrows along the route to guide pilots. 

These routes originated with old Native American trails that also followed this path over the continental divide, the spine of the continent.  The high desert has preserved many of the ruins from the early trails, with ruts from stagecoach wheels still visible today, along with names carved in cliffs like Independence Rock, and even petroglyphs from the Native Americans who crossed the high plains long before Europeans landed on American shores.

Petroglyphs outside Rock Springs

In the early days, these routes hugged the rivers for both the people and horse power.  Even though horses and coaches were used, most people still walked the trails, and a trip across Wyoming could take nearly a month.  In northern Wyoming there is a town called Ten Sleep.  It got the name because it was ten days/sleeps from Yellowstone, to the west; and ten sleeps to Fort Laramie, to the southeast. 

 

The railroad began to drift away from the rivers to find the most gradual grades, but still needed the water for the steam engines, and forts were added at strategic bridge crossings to both protect the bridges, but also act as supply hubs.  The highway didn’t need to follow the rivers, but hugged the same paths because you still needed stops for rest, food and fuel. 

You might think the Lincoln ‘highway’ (established in 1913) would speed up travel, but it was actually still a dirt road, and the speed limit was a whopping 25 mph, for those daring enough to drive that fast.  At that speed, the 450 mile, dusty, bone rattling drive across Wyoming would take over 18 hours!  However, that was lightning speed compared to the month of walking with wagon trains.

Today, the driving route has been straightened, paved and the speed limit reaches 80 mph, so you can make it across the state in about 5 hours, a third of the time.  And if you fly, you’ll be over the mountains and on to the Nebraska plains in under an hour.  However, I recommend the drive with stops to see some of the historic sites along the way. 

Cheyenne

In the tradition of manifest destiny, I’ll travel east to west starting with Cheyenne.  Cheyenne, as well as the rest of Wyoming, was part of the Dakota Territory, until the Wyoming Territory was created on July 25^th, 1868.  The railroad came in and the town was established in 1867.

The early years were lawless and the town was initially just another ‘Hell on Wheels’ railroad boom town, at the end of the plains and foot of the Rockies.  However, it didn’t bust like many railroad towns across Wyoming, and with cattle barons, and gold coming in from the Black Hills, Cheyenne became the richest town in the world by 1882.  There was Millionaire’s Row on what is now Carey Avenue; and the famous Cheyenne Club, where the cattle barons gathered for fine dining, socializing, and even acted as the de facto government.  The Cheyenne club and all but one of the mansions are gone now, as are the cattle barons.

That all began to change in the 1890’s after the economic crash of 1893 and several harsh years of winter blizzards and summer heat killed off much of the herds.  This drove the leaders of Cheyenne to develop the tourism draw of Cheyenne Frontiers Days, in 1897.  Today it is the world’s largest rodeo known as the “Daddy of Them All.”  Last year the crowds that came to see the show doubled the state population!  500,000 people came through Cheyenne during the ten day event, and 29,000 people volunteer to make the whole thing possible!  I’d love to tell you all about my experience, but in all my years living in Wyoming I’ve never been to the big show! 

Cheyenne Train Depot Plaza and one of many painted boots, which can be found throughout the city.

Buford or Phin Deli Town

Buford is another of the ‘Hell on Wheels’ railroad towns that sprang up in 1866 to ‘support’ the railroad with booze, brothels, and gambling halls to separate the workers from their pay.  The most notorious was the town of Benton, which sprung up west of Buford and disappeared in 90 days.  Many of the ‘residents’ were even shorter-lived because the town racked up 100 murders in those 90 days! 

Buford's famous pop. 1 sign.  Don Sammons had Buford recognized as a town and requested signs to help bring in customers to his gas station and store.  Then he sold the 'town' to Vietnamese investor Pham Dinh Nguyen who renamed it Phin Deli Town.

Buford wasn’t as notorious, but the population also crashed when the railroad moved on.  Today, it has gained quite a bit of notoriety as being the smallest town in America, population one!  As I pulled into town, semi-truck traffic hummed past on I-80 to the north, while a train squealed along the tracks to the south.  A billboard reads “Welcome to Phin Deli Town Buford”, much to the annoyance of the gas station attendant.  “There is no deli, but I get asked about it every day.”  He is now the population one.  He lives in the house behind the station, but he’ll be leaving after Labor Day, and the store will close its doors unless the town’s owner can find a new tenant. 

Me and Buford's one resident.

The owner, Mr. Nguyen, is a Vietnamese investor and coffee roaster, and he bought the whole town in 1999 for a cool $900,000 in an online auction.  He had grand visions of the town being the US hub of Vietnamese imports, but the main product sold is his line of Phin Deli Coffee.  It has a unique nutty flavor thanks to being roasted with soy and butter. 

Mr. Nguyen bought the town from Don Sammons, who is quite the character, as you can read in his book “Buford One.”  He writes about making Buford a town, his shoot-out in the parking lot, fires, Buddhism, and the bidders from 110 nations and 30 news outlets that took part in the auction.  On the cover it says ‘Don Sammons, former Mayor of Buford, Wyoming', but in the book he is makes a point to note that, “I didn’t call myself Mayor of Buford.”  Quite the character, story and ‘town.’

Ames Monument

Just a few miles west of Buford is a six-story pyramid on the site of another bygone railroad town named Sherman.  I found this strange pyramid in the middle of nowhere interesting as a kid, but would have never guessed that there was once a small town surrounding the site.  I also had no idea that there could be quite a bit of controversy about the site, if anybody knew much about it. 

It stands on a knoll about a mile south of I-80, but you have to watch carefully as you drive by, or you might miss it.  The original railroad line ran 300 feet north of the monument, and early train passengers gawked at the towering pyramid and some even were hoisted to the top of it, before the tracks were rerouted three miles south.  The monument was built to honor Congressman Oakes Ames, and his brother, the Union Pacific (UP) President, Oliver Ames. 

The Oakes family had made their millions starting in shovels and moving up to larger earth moving projects like the building of the NYC Subway.  So it makes sense that President Lincoln would turn to him to revitalize the transcontinental railroad project, when it looked like construction was grinding to a halt.  Ames invested a million dollars of his own money into the project, and was a driving force behind the eventual completion of the transcontinental railroad, completed in 1869. 

So, what’s the controversy?  Is it the fact that the monument is in the middle of nowhere and cost $65,000 to construct in 1880 (equal to about $1.4 million today) and was shaped like a pyramid from Egypt?  Nope, the issue is that the men were honored for completing a project that turned out to be one of the greatest cases of political graft in American history! 

Turns out the Union Pacific (UP) railroad company created a satellite company, Credit Mobilier of America, and they subcontracted the construction of the railroad to them/itself.  Credit Mobilier then charged the UP almost twice the actual construction costs, which UP turned around and charged the government, and they pocketed the $44 MILLION in overcharges (equal to about $673 million today)!   Thirty-two politicians were given shares of Credit Mobilier stock at discounted prices with hefty dividend returns, to include the Vice President, Secretary of the Treasury, and Congressman Ames.  The fraud and graft were uncovered in 1872, but Ames was not even removed from office (he did resign)!  Instead, the men he made rich built him a monument eight years later to shift the nation’s focus from great controversy to great accomplishment!

In 1885, a man tried to buy the land the monument was on and planned to plaster the monument with ads, but the UP was deeded the land to preserve the monument in 1889 and turned it over to the state in 1983.  In 2016, the monument became a National Historic Landmark, and new historic plaques all echo the UP’s sentiment that the Ames brothers were great patriots and the railroad’s construction was a grand accomplishment.

Fort Steele

I always drive past Old Fort Steele, which isn’t much more than a rest stop now.  However, on the south side of the highway, is an old gas station that I thought was photogenic in its decay, so this year I stopped to snap a quick photo.  As I was snapping the picture, I wondered what the story behind the name was, and as I was pulling back out to the highway I saw the answer in a sign for a historic site.

I like the sense of humor in the graffiti: "Armed Guard on Duty (took rest of year off)"

Fort Steele also traces its origins back to the transcontinental railroad.  The military fort was established on the North Platte River, to protect the strategic river crossing and as a supply depot, for receiving military supplies by rail to support other forts throughout the region.  It was established in 1868 and abandoned in 1886.  The local community took over the buildings primarily supporting the timber and sheep grazing in the area, but it had a second transportation boom in the 1920/30’s with the building of the Lincoln Highway.

Today, there is little more than a few buildings and a few more foundations remaining.  However, the state has done a good job refurbishing the remaining structures to create a museum.  I found it particularly interesting to read about the officers that were stationed here, to include Arthur MacArthur Jr. (Douglas MacArthur’s father) and several West Point graduates. 

Foundations and chimneys are all that remains of two enlisted barracks.  They were converted to hotels for Lincoln Highway travelers before vandals burnt them down on New Years Eve 1976

Troops from the fort protected settlers and the railroad from Indians in the area, and also were dispatched to quell labor riots as far afield as Chicago.  They also quelled local labor clashes like the Chinese Massacre in Rock Spring, Wyoming in 1885. 

Rock Springs was a coal mining/UP company town and Chinese labor had been brought in to replace white workers because they would work for less.  The riots left 28 dead, 15 wounded and 78 Chinese homes burned.  Local officials and citizens supported the white miners, and not a single person was convicted for the crimes committed.  In addition to the Ft Steele troops, there were six companies sent to Wyoming from Utah, and a military camp remained outside Rock Springs until 1899.

Point of Rocks Stage Station

This stage station is another poorly marked historic site.  It dates back to 1862, when “Stagecoach King” Ben Holladay took over the transcontinental stagecoach business and United States mail contract.  Ben decided to use the more southern route through Wyoming and Colorado, rather than the Oregon Trail route, which followed the North Platte river out of Nebraska toward Casper and then over South Pass and on to Fort Bridger, where the two trails reconnected. 

What remains of the Stage coach stop, and my modern coach parked where the Overland Trail was located.

During the Civil War, Lincoln believed it was imperative to maintain communications with the west coast in order to keep them in the Union.  The Pony Express and these Stagecoach lines were key to that effort.  However they quickly fell out of favor when the Railroad was completed in 1869, but pioneers continued to use the Overland Trail and Stage stations like this into the early 1900’s. Much of the Overland Trail route was also chosen by the railroad and later the Lincoln Highway as the preferred route west across Wyoming.

Green River

Just west of the coal town of Rock Springs is my hometown, Green River.  It also got its start as a stage station on the Overland Trail. When the railroad was built though town it became one of the major hubs for rail routes on the western side of the continental divide. 

View of town looking NW.  Castle Rock is in the upper right and the palisades are in the upper left.

The railroad hub also made it a convenient stepping off point for several expeditions, to include early trips into Yellowstone, and the first rafting expeditions down the Green/Colorado Rivers and Grand Canyon by John Wesley Powell in 1869 and 1871. 

One armed John Wesley Powell stands in front of the Museum, which was the originally a Post Office

Thomas Moran, a famous American painter started his trip to Yellowstone from Green River and painted some of his most famous paintings, based on sketches he did in Green River, to include several of the Palisades. 

One of several paintings Thomas Moran did of the Palisades in Green River

The Lincoln Highway ran through Green River, and I-80 still runs along the north side of town.  However, don’t just drive by, stop and enjoy the same buttes that so impressed Thomas Moran, and visit the County Museum or Expedition Island where you can learn more about the Powell Expeditions, railroad history, wild horses and more. 

Fort Bridger

As a kid I remember visiting Fort Bridger on school trips and with my family for the Fort Bridger Rendezvous.   The fort is a great spot to learn about the long history of migration across Wyoming and the pioneers that settled here.  The fort was established in 1842 by its namesake, Jim Bridger, a famous mountain man and trapper.  In the early days, the fort was a trading post for trappers and mountain men who would rendezvous here to trade and ship their beaver and other fur pelts back east.

Entrance to the replica of the original fort

Jim Bridger is one of the men that are credited with finding south pass route later used by settlers traveling the Oregon Trail, as well as the pass leading to Salt Lake that bears his name, and is still used as part of the I-80 route.  The fort became the hub for the California, Oregon, Overland and Mormon trails, making it a key fort for resupply for settlers heading west.  

In 1847, there was a dispute between Mormon settlers and Jim Bridger because Jim was selling alcohol and firearms to the Indians.  By 1853 the Mormons had formed a militia to arrest Jim, so he left the area.  In 1855, the Mormons bought the property to expand their own settlement and supply post, although Jim Bridger denied he ever agreed to the sale. 

However, they hadn’t even paid it off before the military arrived in 1858 and took over the fort, which the Mormons actually burned as they left the area.  After the military left in 1890, the post and buildings were bought up by locals, and parts became milk farms, motels, cafes, and stores to support the new Lincoln Highway traffic.  Finally, in 1928 the site was sold to the state to establish a museum and historical site. 

One of the oldest remaining building from the military days, this cabin was an officer quarters duplex, built in 1858.

Black and Orange Cabins was built outside the fort grounds as Lincoln Highway traffic increased.  It is an early example of the motor hotel, or motel, with carports next to each cabin.

Today, you can relive some of the historic glory during the Fort Bridger Rendezvous, where traders hawk their western wares, participants dress in authentic pre-1840 clothing and camp in tents and tee-pees from the period as well.  It is held at the fort every year around Labor Day weekend.

Teepee city at the edge of Fort Bridger Rendezvous

Native dance demonstrations

There’s much more to see in Wyoming and along I-80, much of it I haven’t even explored myself.  I hope the next time you’re traveling across the country you think back on the long history of migration across the United States.  And if you’re driving the historic route of the Oregon Trail or Lincoln Highway seek out some of the historic sites along the way.  After all, what once took 20 sleeps now takes one day, so spend a little of that time saved, off the path now paved.