20 YEARS AGO TODAY!

[Gillespie]

Well, 20 years ago today at around 2:30 pm Bud Martin and Ernie, his older brother and a Vietnam Veteran who had his share of troubles both with being shot, agent orange and later Huntington's Chorea, a devastating neurological disease had a pretty big “adventure.”

Ernie, brothers Emmett, Buddy, Mike and I all took a nice sunny day ride to Garden Island on the ice. It was a bright beautiful sunny day. Once there we ambled around on the edge of the shore when Buddy came up with the bright idea that it was such a good day we should “scoot” over to Mackinaw City, some 42 miles away! Just as that was being said, Mike feet dropped through the ice! Well, we were very near the shore so they didn't drop far! When that happened Mike and Emmett's enthusiasm took an immediate turn back toward Beaver Island!

So, off we went on the adventure. We traveled East-Southeast along the shore of Garden Island and then East toward Hog Island, passing Pismire and other little spits of land along the way. Then up the East side of Hog Island with a quick stop at Tim's Island off Hog to inspect the old camp shack where the Martins dad Charlie used to stay when fishing those waters in the 50's-60's. From there we continued up in a Northerly fashion to Hat Island, Hat was bombed heavily during World War 2 for practice for pilots in training. There were very few trees on that one!

We then turned East toward Waugoshance Point and Gray's Reef Light. We were going along at a pretty good clip sometimes making 40-50 miles an hour. Again, it was a bright beautiful day with little to no wind so things we going good. We got about 4 miles East of Hat Island when I happened to glance back toward Ernie who was taking up the rear position. He was a good ½ mile back or more making me wonder why he was so slow. At about that time we rolled onto clear clean ice. Not my favorite thing because it usually means it's fresh and perhaps unstable!

As we traveled along I started to question the path in my head although I give Buddy high praise for being better at “dead reckoning than myself. I somehow felt we were a little South of our normal East-West line but, again, the clean ice was making me nervous. As I looked around I glanced North at White Shoal (the barber pole) still musing about our path. Just as I turned to look back at Buddy, all of a sudden, the rear end of his snowmobile started to drop, through the ice! I'll never forget that instant! The back started to drop and almost as if in slow motion, his head turned to the back and he immediately hit full throttle and “shredded” that 1” thick ice leaving nothing but a hole for me!

Now, mind you, we always kept space between us in these endeavors because you never know when something like this might happen! BUT, in my looking around and trying to determine our position I had drifted far too close to him to allow myself to safely stop! NO WAY OUT! So, I turned hard to port (left) and gave it hell hoping I could hydroplane over the “shell ice” to get to safety. Incidentally, Buddy had studs on his snowmobile track which make it much better to track on smooth ice. I did not have this luxury! So with my track spinning, trying to gain momentum, I turned North and gave it hell! I got about 80-90 feet and the wold dropped out from underneath me!

10 million things go through your mind in a split second, my wife Laura, Kellie, Kerrie, Jimmy and Kevin, even our dogs! What would become of them! So, I instantly thought of my dad's most famous saying, “There's No Such Thing As Can't!) while adding my own thought, “I am NOT dying here!” An ambitious thought to say the least! Snowmobile roaring wide open as I then released the throttle and down she went sucking in ice cold water until it quit. In the meantime I had decided I need to do a ballerina pirouette and gently land my 235 pounds on the surface of what was unbroken ice off to my left! That is until my left should went crashing through the ice breaking up most around me!

All of a sudden, here I was, 22 miles from home22 miles from Mackinaw City by myself in Lake Michigan. I had only 6' work boots on and no gloves! I was relying on the handlebar warmers and the beautiful day to carry me! I did have a modestly insulated snowmobile suit on which, in the end, was the perfect thing to have for the time! So, as the water soaked through and body temperature started to drop I turned to look bad toward where I had come from only to realize I now had to swim back to the good ice! It was all of 80' maybe more. You can't wait around to make decisions as I now had to swim through the broken shell ice, pushing it out of the way with my bare hands, to get back to safety. Buddy had made it across that “pond” of shell ice to good gray ice and was then flanking me from the North where he could.

Swim I did, and was getting some 30' from the good ice when I looked and saw Buddy there, off to my right, motionless, looking my way. Ernie was still a substantial distance away and I don't think realized yet what had happened! I got back to the thicker ice in reasonable time and was clinging to the edge of the ice with my bare hands. For the first time in forever I had locked the clasp of my helmet so I couldn't get it off nor my digital camera which was likely ruined! So, I yelled to Buddy, “This is the two minute warning, you better get back over here!” (Later he told me he thought I said there were 2 inches of ice which is generally safe for snowmobiles (but not recommended! So, I kept clinging and pushing ice out of the way and he took his safety line, tied it to the back of his machine and accelerated back across that shell ice to safety, shredding that ice as he did until he got back to the good ice.

My baklava, under my helmet, was shifting around making visibility miserable and blocking my vision, I tried to square it up because I couldn't get the helmet off! In so doing I suddenly slipped the one hand off the ice as the other was busy with the head gear. Down I go, take in a big gulp of water and now my head is as cold as the 25 degree day! Lord!! Coughing and hacking and put my fingers back up on the ice only to find “index marks” I had melted into the ice with my fingertips! By then Ernie had arrived showing great care and concern and got off his machine and started surging toward me! I screamed at him to stop because I knew if he came in with me we were both dead!

In the most amusing moment of the rescue, he stood there desperate to help but what?? I never thought to measure the ice with my two hands but we later found out it was 8 inches thick and no issue. Anyway, Ernie, standing there staring at me, said, “Are you cold Richieeeee!” I looked up at him using a French word and said, “What the _ _ _ _ do you think!” We actually had a little laugh right there. By then I was in the water about 7 minutes. Buddy stopped his machine and started running toward me, I said, “Wait, where's the line?” He look back toward the machine and said, “I lost it!” At that point I felt pretty helpless, hopeless! Anyway, I found out the ice was plenty thick so now it's about getting out. At that point Buddy says, “Christ! I can't believe you're still alive!” My response, “Could we talk about this later!”

So, no rope, don't want someone coming in, recipe for worse disaster! Then Ernie came up with the bright idea of taking his insulated shirt and using it as a “line” to toss to me. Great! So, He and Buddy would daisy chain and pull me out. That all started well when they started to pull but my camera, which I could not get over the stupid helmet, hooked on the ice causing the two of them to slide toward me. Needless to say there was some shouting and cursing at which point I said, “Wait, wait, you guys just lay there and hang on, I'll pull myself out!” So, I managed to flop the camera up on the ice and then pulled myself out on the arm of Ernie's insulated shirt. I lay there, breathless for a few seconds, soaking wet, cold but wanted to stand up desperately. I asked the men if they would please move back so I could stand and what a good feeling that was! It was amazing but then I had to lend my mind to a 45 minute ride back home!

Both Ernie and Buddy immediately started saying, here, take my shirt/jac, take my boots, etc. I said, listen guys, I have size 13 feet and there's just nothing we can do but head back. I'm not going to start taking my suit or clothes off out here. I asked Buddy if he had an extra pair of gloves, and he did. I asked that he open the hood of his snowmobile so I could put the gloved hands (once I had them on) on the muffler and slowly warm up the hands. They were on “fire” and putting the gloves on was the most painful thing I can remember! So, I got them warmed up and said to Ernie, “You have a two up snowmobile here, if I can drive it and you sitting behind me will keep the wind from swirling around me I think I'll be fine!” He agreed. So, off we went, back to Hat, South, back abreast Hog Island. We got a little more than half way down Hog and Ernie had been slapping my torso like a man with their arms crossed to keep my warm! He was beating the crap out of me! I stopped the machine and he quickly and concerned said, “Are you ok, Richieeeee!?” I said, “Ernie, I'm fine but to go through all this to have you beat me to death.” Another laugh and off we went.

So, we get back to Beaver and immediately to my house. They walked me into the back door whereupon Buddy grabs me and Ernie and said, “Christ, I just can't believe we all made it!” I said, “Thanks boys, I think I want to take a hot bath!” No one was home! They leave, and, I for the most part was back to my regular temperature and all but I thought I will take the bath anyway. Lukewarm! It turns out Kellie had used up all the hot water just before leaving ahead of me to a safari cookout which Laura had tried to get me to go to. Not my kinda gig! So I cleaned up, grabbed a few beers and headed out in the pickup. I got to the West end of PaudEenOg's road and bumped into John Runberg. He said, “What are you up to?” I said, “Not much, just came from falling through the ice half way to Mackinac City.” His eyes about popped out. Said I was lying, etc. I said, “Nope, it's true.” Told him the snowmobile was sitting on the bottom.

Anyway, Larry McDonough comes along so we got talking and John left. I was relaying some of the story and then headed toward the safari. Turns out John had spilled the beans, and, by the way, my sister Cindy had knocked the chili pot off the cook stove with her rear end! They were cleaning that up when I arrived. Needless to say the banter started and Laura comes out and starts hitting me etc for being such a fool (Yes). I said, wait a minute! I'm alive, the fish could be eating my eyes right now, take it easy! Later that day I saw Ernie and Buddy again, we planned to go back to the scene on Sunday to mark the spot near where the snowmobile would be for spring. Well, the next day there was a blizzard and we couldn't get out there. We started out but had to turn around. We got out Monday and marked it.

In April, we organized a dive crew, a barbecue crew, beverages and more and took about 30 people out there for the recovery. It was a glorious East Saturday! Two divers went in, tied lines to the snowmobile and we pulled here up! I immediately started working on the machine to get it running. It wasn't easy, and my mechanics and assistants starting to wander off. After a time I found out there was only a smidge of gasoline in the tank neck and the rest was ALL water! We could get it to run on ether or direct sprays of gas but not from the tank! We turned it upside down, drained out everything and boom, she started and stayed running!

It was covered in Zebra mussels and the hood was gone from the spring ice drifting around. She wasn't too pretty! Strangely, I had bought this machine in January of 1996 and flew it home in one of Paul Welke's Islanders! So this machine had been above the island, on the island and below the island! We nicknamed her the Nautilus! To the amazement of many I drove it off the West Shore and right around the harbor on bare streets to the Shamrock! She ran for 5 more years finally burning a piston for lack of proper carburetor maintenance! Our son Jimmy preferred to drive that one because it had “history!” Sadly, Ernie died 5 years later, he saved my life, something I can never thank him enough for! On this 20th anniversary I pay homage to him and Buddy even though they led me out there! Ha!

[IslandDano]

This gave me anxiety to read. Glad you made it out okay.

[BMcCaw]

Well Told Richie!

[medic5740]

Great story, Richie! Willing to share it and the pictures? Let me know.

Joe

[John Bolton]

I don’t know if I liked reading about your misadventure as much as I loved hearing it in the Beach Comber over beers...back in the day...
Glad your still here