Ferry boat passengers popped out of seats, became seasick, and were soaked from rain and wind that blew sideways in the worst gale of the year, so far, Friday, October 23. By the end of the day, everyone arrived safely at their destinations at Mackinac Island, St. Ignace, or Mackinaw City. All three boat lines said safety was their first concern. High waves reaching from 15 feet to 17 feet battered the ferries, causing engine problems and cracked windows.

The east wind is the worst wind for both the Mackinac Island and the Mackinaw City harbors. St. Ignace harbor is in the lee of the Island.

It's not over, said Jim Keysor, a meteorologist with the National Weath- er Service in Gaylord. A gale is expected to blow into the Straits area Saturday, October 31, he told The St. Ignace News Monday, with the same potential as Friday's storm. The weather could make Halloween trick-or-treating difficult, he said, although the exact timing of the storm was hard to predict Monday. Forecasters are estimating winds up to 40 miles per hour with rain, and snowflakes are possible as the storm exits the area and temperatures fall.

Last Friday's storm, said ferry boat line representatives, brought high seas and rough boat rides, and crew members handled the challenging conditions well and safely.

"The ride itself was quite wild," said Jean Traxler of Mackinac Island and Saginaw. "It was a ride to remember, that's for sure."

Mrs. Traxler and her husband, Bob, took a Shepler boat from Mackinaw City at 5:30 p.m.

The boat was filled with passengers, said Mrs. Traxler, and on the way to the Island, a couple of windows cracked from the force of the waves. A Shepler employee offered his rain coat to the nearby passenger and his jacket to a second passenger. They were getting wet with water coming in through the crack, she said.

Passengers applauded when the boat rounded the breakwall and entered the Mackinac Island harbor. The pilot did a wonderful job, said Bob Traxler.

The seas were building steadily throughout the day, said Chris Shepler, vice president of Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry. He hopped on a boat in the afternoon.

"I wanted to be where people were to make sure everything was OK," he said. "I made three trips and it felt like 30."

During that 5:30 p.m. boat to the Island, seas were 15 to 17 feet, said Mr. Shepler, with solid 6-foot to 8- foot waves inside the Island harbor. It was the last run to the Island that night for Shepler's.

"We decide that was it for the day," he said. "It was challenging enough in the daylight, but another thing to make the trip at night. "There's a point, it's just not safe."

During the storm, the highest wind gust recorded on the Mackinac Bridge reached 61 miles per hour, said Bob Sweeney, executive secretary of the Mackinac Bridge Authority. The peak was at 4:45 p.m. For more than 11 hours, high profile vehicles were escorted across the span by bridge crews. Escorting began at 11:22 a.m. and ended at 10:50 p.m., he said.

Arnold Transit ended service out of Mackinaw City early, but not before one vessel had mechanical problems.

An Arnold catamaran took a hard hit from a wave as it left Mackinaw City, causing a computer malfunction, said General Manager Bob Brown. The boat faced 8-foot to 10- foot seas as it left the dock.

The Coast Guard, which had moored its motor life boat at the St. Ignace marina owing to high waves at the Coast Guard dock, got the call to aid the ferry, said Chief John Tracy of the station. While in route, the assist was called off, he said, the ferry boat engines restarted and vessel got underway.

By 1 p.m, said Mr. Brown, the company shut down its Mackinaw City operations. Passengers heading to Mackinaw City were rerouted to St. Ignace and shuttled across the bridge to their vehicles. Arnold operations continued from St. Ignace as waves rolled over the Island's breakwall.

"It was pretty nasty, " said Mr. Brown.

Grand Hotel pastry chef Donna Louwers of St. Ignace and a passenger on the Arnold 7:30 a.m. boat out of St. Ignace said she enjoys a good boat ride, but Friday's conditions were challenging.

"As we made the turn into the Island harbor, it got quite turbulent," she said. "I was bumped out of my seat just for a minute, but, nonetheless, I was out of my seat. It felt like we were airborne."

At the end of the day, riding this time with the wind, the return trip to the mainland easier, said Seth Baker of Trout Lake and a teacher at Mackinac Island Public School. Mr. Baker was on the 4:30 p.m. Arnold boat to St. Ignace.

"The hardest part was getting on and off the boat," he said.

All three boat lines escorted many passengers and tried to keep lines single file as boarding ramps swayed and boats rocked at their moorings.

"It was an adventure just to get on and off the boat," said Mr. Baker.

After its first morning trip out of Mackinaw City at 7:30 a.m., Star Line shut down its operations there, shuttling passengers to St. Ignace, where service continued until after 9 p.m. Friday night.

"It was a rough ride, but not to the point of shutting down," said General Manager Mike North, who has 23 years experience as a captain. He also rode the boats throughout the day as a crew member, helping out where needed.

"It wasn't the roughest day I've ever worked, but it was the most memorable," he said.

Combining efforts with Arnold Line, the cold, rainy, windy weather, and the high volume of passengers made the day one to remember, he said.

With conventions ending on the Island, others beginning, and more than 1,000 half-marathon runners heading to the Island to participate in a Saturday morning race, the boats were full and busy, said Mr. North. With a break in the Star Line schedule in the afternoon and Arnold Line swamped with passengers and not enough room, Star Line offered to assist and added a boat run. In exchange, Arnold line offered the use of it's boat dock. Of the three boat line companies, said Mr. North, Star Line's dock on the Island is the most exposed to east winds.

The collaborative effort between Star Line and Arnold Transit worked well for both companies, said Mr. North.

Star Line continued operations through the evening. The company held the 7 p.m. boat and ran two later boats at 8:15 p.m. and at 9:15 p.m. carrying a total of about 300 people, who arrived in St. Ignace later than expected, a result of the storm.

On the final trip to the Island, an engine light came on, said Mr. North. No return passengers were planned for the trip back to St. Ignace and, considering the rough conditions, he decided it was safer for the crew to remain on the Island for the night, rather than venture out and face engine failure and high seas in the dark. The vessel was repaired the next day, he said.

Jeff Halblaub a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord said winds in Mackinaw City peaked at 49 miles per hour during the day Friday. The two closest weather buoys to the Straits also recorded strong winds, said Mr. Halblaub. The North Lake Huron buoy, which is 37 miles northeast of Alpena, had a peak gust of 46 miles per hour and a peak wave height of 13 feet at midnight Friday. The North Lake Michigan buoy, which is half way between North Manitou Island and Washington Island, Wisconsin, had peak winds of 46 miles per hour and 10 foot waves.

Editor’s Note: A video by Chris Shepler of the ferry leaving Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island is posted at The St. Ignace News Web site and can be viewed free by clicking on the “Watch Videos” button on the left side of the page. www.stignacenews.com.